Stok Kangri is closed for the next 3 years till 2022. Hence Climbing Stok Kangri is not possible during this time. We recommend you to summit Dzo Dzongo instead in the same itinerary and cost. Dzo Dzongo is a 6100-meter peak in the same region and presents similar challenges as climbing Stok Kangri.
Kang Yatse II - A 6200 meter, glamorous looking mountain peak standing tall right in the Markha Valley is a gem of a mountain and a gift to the mountaineering enthusiasts. The magnificence of this mountain massif has won the hearts of numerous individuals who crave to touch it and stand over it to feel the Himalayan High that is there on its summit, which is as high as 6200 Meters!
This gem has 2 summits - one achieves a height of 6401 meters and is a specialized technical peak, while the second one achieves the elevation of 6200 meters and is a non-technical trekking peak. Although, the fact that its a trekking peak does not imply that it is simple, but rather it just facilitates an easier route up to its summit which does not require any technical ice or rock climbing skills. Trekkers attempting the second peak of Kang Yatse needn't bother themselves with highly specialized abilities to scale it, however having the knowledge of it definitely makes a difference.
It can be thought of as an "Introduction to Mountaineering" in the high Himalayas. The elevation, territory, slope of the ascent, snow conditions and frost offers enough challenges even to the fit and experienced trekkers. Kang Yatse being a lesser-known and remote peak in the beautiful mountain ranges of Ladakh offers an extraordinary affair with the Himalayas.
Stok Kangri, on the other hand, is a 6153-meter peak in the Stok range of mountains in the Ladakh Himalayas. It is undoubtedly the most popular trekking peak in Ladakh. Although popular, it is not that easy and puts a great test to a trekker's mental and physical capacities to reach its summit. It is definitely one of the must-do treks in the Indian Himalayas. If you are a trekker and love the high altitude trekking peaks than Stok Kangri need not be introduced to you. Trekkers frequent Stok Kangri and a well-acclimatized body with good stamina can climb this peak very comfortably in less than 3 days from Leh.
The itinerary that we have designed for Kang Yatse and Stok Kangri Twin Summit is one of the very popular travel plans for hardcore trekkers visiting Ladakh in India. We have designed one of the rarest and the best hiking plan one can ever be on, while planning to trek in the cold desert of Ladakh. Though we see many itineraries similar to this plan over the internet now after we introduced it broadly. On this trek, you experience the charm of Ladakh, get stunned and overtaken by the magical and mesmerizing mountains, the rich cultural intensity of the land, welcoming and hospitable locals, sight of rare flora and fauna of the Hemis National Park including the super elusive Snow Leopard makes this trek a wonderful way to celebrate and live the mystical mountains of Ladakh. In the same process as you slowly trek through the beautiful Markha Valley, you end up climbing two 6000 meter peaks as well taking yourself Beyond 6000 Meters.
The approach march to the base of Kang Yatse takes the route through the beautiful Markha Valley Trek. While you walk the Markha Valley, you are walking in one of the Wolrd's ancient civilization Indus Valley Civilization most of which lies in today's Pakistan. It starts from the roadhead of Chilling and passes by the old and traditional villages of Skiu, Markha, Hankar. Its when you reach the village of Hankar, you get the first glance of the peak you want to climb and stand on top. Continuing further from Hankar, you pass by Thochungtse where you have the best probability of sighting a snow leopard and blue sheep. After Thochungtse, we enter the remote regions of the Markha and reach the base camp of Kang Yatse which is at 5000 meters. Kang Yatse Massif dominates the entire trail and from the base camp, it stands tall right in front of you. We spend a day acclimatizing and sorting our equipment and also giving our body proper rest which is very much required to climb on the peak next day for which the team starts at midnight. A hard walk over scree and snow on a steep gradient takes us to the summit. The beauty of the Land of Magic increases as we keep gaining height and constantly motivates you. Once we reach the summit, climbing on the ropes, we feel peace and are anxious at the same time. It's a feeling which most of us cannot describe in words. If we try, that gets very common...
After successfully summiting Kang Yatse, we return back to take on another giant peak of Ladakh, and that is Stok Kangri. We cross the high pass of Kongmaru La and then trek to the base camp of Stok Kangri. A focused and motivated attempt on the summit of Stok Kangri gives us success and we exit through the Stok Village. This brings an end to a 15-day memorable sojourn which we will remember for a lifetime and keep inspiring many others too!
Markha Valley Trek
If you do not want to return to Leh in between, you can do so by crossing a pass called Matho La via Gangpoche from Chyuskirmo and then reaching the Base Camp of Stok Kangri via Mankormo
WHY SHOULD YOU CLIMB WITH US?
Unlike the mass-trekking and hand-held trekking groups in our country, we, on all of our treks, inspire and motivate to boost more of the Intrinsic and Inherent Adventure Sense of a human being when it comes to our work ethics. We human beings are born to Survive. It is just about letting yourself free to get back your intrinsic senses to adapt, survive and then excel.
Having said that, we take safety as a first matter of concern on any of our treks, and hence provide the Guides and Leaders who are tremendously experienced, knowledgeable, responsible and capable of handling such treks. We keep our group size limited to 12 people on challenging treks like this as smaller groups have more summit success rate since the team is more focused on their objectives, share common physical abilities, are safer and friendlier. Most importantly, our filtration and selective process ensures that the team, unlike that of the mass-trekking groups, is not limited by the weaknesses of the unfiltered, incompetent and unmanageable flock joining the team. Smaller group also helps to create an ambient Himalayan experience of Solitude, giving priority to Safety, Easy Management, Maximum Attention, Utmost care, Friendly attitude, and a Learning experience to make you a better and a humble trekker.
Our forced efforts to keep the group size small have given us a very nice success rate on the summits of these trekking peaks in the Himalayas. Our itinerary and meal plan is very well planned and with further orientation and planning, we move closer to the summit with each of these carefully decided actions.
The equipment that we provide on the treks are some of the best in the industry. Few of those are designed and custom-made just to suit our purpose of a safe and comfortable trek experience. We provide you with all the gears required to be better equipped for the trek. The quality of local resources, cooks and porters are not neglected and we make sure that we hire responsible local resources for your group accompanied by one of our leaders who further ensures that the quality of services are delivered as promised and forms a liaison between the group and the local hires. Right from the food that we serve on the trek to the toilet tents and camping toilet seat that we provide, dining tents to a separate camping stools, pre-trek orientation to proper coordination, SOS arrangements, etc - Everything is taken care of with utmost professionalism and expertise of the field.
We have until now worked across the Himalayas of India, Nepal, and Bhutan with tremendous client satisfaction and reviews. From beginner’s trek to that of highly challenging treks and expedition, we have handled it all very efficiently with excellent success rate. We have always kept and delivered our promise of keeping the team small, like-minded, tidy by proper selection and filtration through discussion and with utmost safety and no incidences of mishaps so far due to our proper planning by experts of the field.
We are a transparent and flexible organization and have kept our reviews online. You may read our reviews on our Google Business Page: https://goo.gl/ezyw13