Shang La - Matho La Trek

Shang La - Matho La Trek is the Easiest and Beautiful pass Crossing Trek for Beginners in Ladakh. We organize both fixed departure and premium, small-group, customized private trekking expedition to Shang La - Matho La Trek every year. Join us Book online

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Duration
7 days 6 nights
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Altitude:
5200m
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Grade:
Moderate
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Best Time:
May - Oct
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Temperatures:
🚩
Starts From:
Leh
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Airport:
Leh, Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport ( IXL)
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Railway:
Katra, (KEA), Jammu Tawi ( JAT)

Key Geographical Highlights

1 Popular Peaks:

Stok Kangri ( 6153m )

2 High Passes:

Shang La ( 4950m ), Matho La ( 4950m )

1 Rivers:

Indus

2 Villages:

Leh, Stok Village

1 National Parks Or Forest Reserve:

Hemis National Park

Reach Leh find other treks

Daywise Itinerary For Shang La - Matho La Trek

(click to read detailed route briefing, elevation graph, altitude time info and photos from the day)

▼ Day 1Arrival DayLeh 3500m
Arrive In Leh
Overnight In: Leh (3500m )
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: None
Cost Of Transport Included: NO
Where and How To Reach Leh
Today, we fly from Delhi to reach Leh by afternoon, and checkin to our hotel. All of a sudden when you take in the cool dry air of Ladakh, your body won't not conform to the new changed environment, that too in only couple of hours !!

Staying hydrated is the key to a successful trek in Ladakh. Drink enough water from the previous night itself, and not after landing on Ladakh. Likewise, have a Vaseline convenient to apply to your nostrils to keep it moist, else you will feel the air is excessively dry and cold making it difficult to inhale comfortably.

We rest for the rest of the day and meet in the evening for a light Snacks and a formal Team Introduction where we share few important information on the trek preparation and planning.

Time for Dinner to catch some more sleep.
Day 1
220 - Delhi
Day 1
3500 - Leh
2hrs.
▼ Day 2Trekking DayLeh 3500m
From Leh (3500m ) To Leh (3500m ), Via - Chemo Monastery (3600m ), Shanti Stupa (3600m ) - 4 - 5 Hrs.
Overnight In: Leh (3500m )
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: Morning tea, Breakfast
Today we spend our day visiting places around Leh and acclimatizing further. Leh is at very high altitude and this day is very important for us. We visit places like Leh Palace, Chemo Monastery, Shanti Stupa, etc.

Each of these places can be hiked to and its the best for us to do, if we are not feeling exhausted. If we do, we need to take some light walks in the town itself for some window shopping. Leh has some good shops selling trekking gears. So you can do some last moment purchases.

Evening we will visit the monastery of Shanti Stupa to seek some peaceful aura around it.

Tomorrow we start the trek. Hence we recheck that we are all set for it. Do the last moment purchases, repack our bag according to the trek requirement, have dinner and sleep early.
Day 2
3500 - Leh
Day 2
3600 - Chemo Monastery
Day 2
3600 - Shanti Stupa
Day 2
3500 - Leh
4 - 5hrs.
▼ Day 3Driving DayShang Sumdo 3678m
From Leh (3500m ) To Shang Sumdo (3678m ), Via - Alchi Monastery (3100m ), Lamayuru Monastery (3510m ) - 10.00 Hrs. 150.00 Kms
Overnight In: Shang Sumdo (3678m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea,Breakfast,Lunch,Soup,Dinner,Dessert,Hot Drinks
After breakfast drive to Lamayuru 125kms 03hrs , visit moon land and Lamayuru monastery.Later drive back towards Leh . Lunch at Khaltsi, after lunch drive Alchi, visit the most famous monastery Alchi Choskor (Religious Enclave). The 1000 year old gompa was built by a great monk & translator Lotsava Rinchen Zansgpo. The gompa is famous for rare fresco paintings and Kashmiri style woods carvings. Reach Leh and have tea and snacks. Later drive 1 and half hr to Shangsumdo for overnight in Camp enroute visit Thiksey , Takthok and Hemis monasteries. Meet your other trekking crews. Sumdo means meeting place of three ways. The village consists of about 7 houses which takes you to ancient way of living and peace of mind.
Day 3
3500 - Leh
Day 3
3100 - Alchi Monastery
Day 3
3510 - Lamayuru Monastery
Day 3
3680 - Shang Sumdo
150.00Km, 10.00hrs.
▼ Day 4Trekking DayShang Phu 4349m
From Shang Sumdo (3678m ) To Shang Phu (4349m ) - 5 - 6 Hrs. 9 Kms
Overnight In: Shang Phu (4349m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Today the trail ascend gradually through green fields of wheat and barley, after distance walk visit small gompa of Shang and continue to walk path adjacent to a water channel flowing from south of Matho kangri.The trail flourish you with chortens( Buddhist structure which indicates the step to enlightenment of Buddha)many high altitudes flowers like anemone, blue poppies and meadows etc.The valley heads up to shepherd hut where animals from different villages live together for grassing for a period of about 3 months which includes Yak,Zo,Cow, sheep, goat and donkeys. Camp o/n at Shang phu at the height of 4250m.
Day 4
3680 - Shang Sumdo
Day 4
4350 - Shang Phu
9Km, 5 - 6hrs.
▼ Day 5Trekking DayGangpoche 4428m
From Shang Phu (4349m ) To Gangpoche (4428m ), Via - Shang La (4950m ) - 6 - 7 Hrs. 12 Kms
Overnight In: Gangpoche (4428m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
The day is long and strenuous with over 6 hrs. walking. The first three hrs.is gradually steep up to shang pass through couple of zigzag trail. The area declares as snow leopard area by forest Dept, where every year about 30 to 40 pet animals has been killed by snow leopards. The killing actions by snow leopards normally done night time but some time you can see them on high mountain cliff. Animals like blue sheep, marmots and brown eagle can find everywhere in that area. When you reach shang pass the view from there puts you in beauty of nature, the mountain wall of Matho kangri 5800 to 5900 m will refresh your mind. As you descend from the left hill side, the undulating slope makes your way more interesting and beautiful. Gangpoche( high plateau)is most wonderful place for camping.
Day 5
4350 - Shang Phu
Day 5
4950 - Shang La
Day 5
4430 - Gangpoche
12Km, 6 - 7hrs.
▼ Day 6Trekking DayMonkormo 4450m
From Gangpoche (4428m ) To Monkormo (4450m ), Via - Matho La (4950m ) - 5 - 6 Hrs. 10 Kms
Overnight In: Monkormo (4450m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Today the trail steadily ascends to a series of grassy slopes, Yak herders from the nearby villages live in stone settlement at the foot of the pass and the view from the pass is absolute amazing , the popular Stok kangri peak makes you statue for a while. If weather clear you can able to see Karakuram mountains. The route from the pass follows 3 km gradual descend towards Mankarmo campsite
Day 6
4430 - Gangpoche
Day 6
4950 - Matho La
Day 6
4450 - Monkormo
10Km, 5 - 6hrs.
▼ Day 7Driving Cum Trekking DayLeh 3500m
From Monkormo (4450m ) To Leh (3500m ), Via - Stok Village (3600m ) - 5.00 Hrs. 10.00 Kms
Overnight In: Leh (3500m )
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: Morning Tea,Breakfast,Lunch,Soup,Dinner,Dessert,Hot Drinks
Descent along with the stream through rocky trails. This is a delightful long walk and amazing geographical structure of the mountain. We reach Stok village where transport meets us to take you back to hotel in Leh, enroute visit Stok Palace museum
Day 7
4450 - Monkormo
Day 7
3600 - Stok Village
Day 7
3500 - Leh
10.00Km, 5.00hrs.

Shang La - Matho La Trek - An Elaborate Description

Walk the old Indus Valley Civilization. Witness the traditions and monasteries of the Ancient Tibetan Buddhism in the Little Tibet of India - Ladakh. Be mesmerized by the majestic peaks, beautiful valleys, and the lovely people of Ladakh. Oh, there are villages too!! For all those who love not just the beautiful mountains, but also its people, culture, traditions, flora and fauna.. Ladakh will love you back.

In this trek, you venture into the snow Leopard's winter home. If lucky, you might well sight the elegant and elusive cat. The trek takes you through 2 high altitude passes Shang La and Matho La, and the beautiful pasture lands of Shang Phu and Gangpoche to exit via Stok Village.

If you are yet ready for climbing Stok Kangri peak or Kang Yatse, or if you are for the first time in Ladakh and want to get introduced to trekking in this high altitude cold desert, the Shang La - Matho La trek is the best choice for you.

Shang La - Matho La Trek - Why Its A Must-Do

The magical landscape of Ladakh: If you have not witnessed the magic which the mountains of Ladakh does to your heart, you have lost on so many things in life. Being an Indian if you have not visited Ladakh, GO !!! What Are You Doing ??
Ancient Buddhist Monasteries and Culture: There is a reason why people call it 'Little Tibet'. It is said the the most raw and ancient practices of the Tibetan Buddhism can in found in India ( Ladakh and Sikkim ) and not in Tibet.
Moonland scape of Lamayuru. The unique and very famous moonland-scape of Lamayuru can be seen on this trek.
River crossings . Its very exciting to cross a Himalayan river, and on this trek you do that several times. Sometimes you need to take precautions and extra care though!!
People of Ladakh, their culture and way of life. This trek give you a lot of options to interact with the locals and know their way of life.
Peaks of Nubra, Shayok and Zanskar. The views of the snow covered peaks seen from the pass tops are marvelous.

How We Grade Our Treks and Expeditions

Easy

Usual daily walks of 4 - 5 hours in altitude below 4000 meters. The sleeping altitude on these treks are below 4000 meter and the trails are gradual involving no steep ascent or descent. Sometimes, the trail may be longer, but on level trails. The duration of trek may be a week or lesser than it. The trek is not too remote and evacuation might be possible from almost any point of the trek

Moderate

The trek duration each day may span from 4 - 5 hours, but on some days, it may push up to 8 - 9 days. The trail might involve steep ascents or descents on occasions This kind of treks demand good fitness, and trekkers must involve themselves in cardio exercises regularly to do these treks comfortably. Sleeping altitude are below 4000 meters or little above it, but the trail might go as high as 4500 - 5000 meters. The trek is bit remote and evacuation might be possible from almost all, but not all campsites

Moderate+

This type of treks are bit more demanding than the moderate ones. It might involve few days of very long walks at higher altitude, or serious gradients, exposures, more remote or involves sleeping at higher altitudes for more days.

Strenuous

The trek duration each day may span from 5 - 8 hours, and may go up to to 8 - 9 on few days. The trail involves steep ascents and descents. Good fitness are demand of these treks, and trekkers must involve themselves in cardio exercises regularly to do these treks comfortably. Sleeping altitude may go above 4000 meters or little above it on couple of days, but not more than that. The trail might go as high as 4500 - 5200 meters. These trek are remote and evacuation might not be possible from all the campsites

Challenging

The trek duration each day may span from 5 - 8 hours, and may go up to to 8 - 9 or even more than that on few days. The trail involves steep ascents and descents. Crossing a glacier or a scree zone might be a feature of these treks. You might on some occasions, require technical equipment like rope, ice axe and snow stacks etc to complete these treks. Good fitness are demand of any treks, but these treks demands strong character. Sleeping altitude may goes well above 5000 meters on some days. The trail might go as high as 5000 - 6000 meters. These trek are high or remote or both. The trek usually might be a week long.

Sometimes irrespective of altitude and distance, a trek may ge graded Challenging if the route is treacherous, which might demand some footing skills or assistance of ropes and other equipment

Challenging+

The trek duration each day may span from 5 - 8 hours, and may go up to to 8 - 9 or even more than that on few days. The trail involves steep ascents and descents. Negotiating glacial moraines, scree zones, crossing them, camping on them etc are features of these treks. You might also require technical equipment like rope, ice axe and snow stacks etc to complete these treks. Good fitness are demand of any treks, but these treks demands strong character. Sleeping altitude may goes well above 5000 meters on some days. The trail might go as high as 5000 - 6000 meters. These trek are high and remote. A good technical support team and knowledgeable local guide is a must. Only experienced trekkers are advised to do these treks. The trek goes over 2 week and may be longer than that.

Sometimes irrespective of altitude and distance, a trek may ge graded Challenging if the route is treacherous, which might demand some footing skills or assistance of ropes and other equipment

Page Cost Inclusions and Exclusions For The Shang La - Matho La Trek

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE STANDARD PRICE

Duration: 8 Days / 7 nights of the trek cost from Leh to Leh
Accommodation In Leh: 3 night in a good quality hotel or homestay in Leh with emphasis on local organic food and cultural exposure. MAP plan.
Accommodation On Trek: In local homestays or in Spacious, sturdy, and High-Quality Dome Tents will be provided on twin sharing basis.
Sleeping In Tents: Thick Waterproof Mattress complemented with Sub Zero Sleeping bags supported with Warm Fleece Sleeping Bag Inners For Extra Hygiene and Warmth will be provided by us
Dining On Trek: We will provide Dining and Kitchen Tents with camping stools and tables for extra hygiene and comfort.
Toilet On Treks: Dry eco-toilet will be set up with a toilet tent and toilet seat.
Meals In Leh: Breakfast and Dinner Only.
Meals On Trek: All meals. 3 meals (B,L,D) suited for high altitude with evening snacks, soup, hot drinks, and extra energizers/juice for summit days
Trail Safety: Gaiters, Anti Slip Crampons, and Ice Axe depending upon snow conditions.
Communication: For efficient management of the trek, the team will be communicating with each other and trek base with the help of long-range wireless sets.
Medical Safety: Oxygen cylinder, Pulse Oximeter, Thermal temperature scanner, and Emergency Medical Kit accompanied with a trek leader knowledgeable on high altitude medicine and physiology
Trek Leader and Guide: Experienced and Well Equipped English/ Hindi Speaking Trek Leader maintaining guide to trekker ratio of 1:6. That is 1 guide for every 6 trekkers.
Local Support Staffs: Expert and Knowledgeable local guide with cooks, helpers, porters, mules, etc
Permits: All required forest entry permits and camping fees as per the rules of local administrations
Transfers: Leh to Chilling, Shang Sumdo to Leh, for trekkers, equipment and crew members
Max Team Size: Small group of not more than 12 members. You can make any batch a private batch by paying a little extra over the base trek fees.

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED

Personal Travel and Climbing Insurance
Personal Purchases
Food Purchased Outside Our Menu
Personal Gears
Lunch in Leh
Bottled Water or Any Other Drinks
Anything else not mentioned in the inclusion list

Cost Terms For The Shang La - Matho La Trek

Price Specifications:

Standard Price Specifications:

Below is the Specification for our Standard Trek package. Do note that our service is a full-board service from Leh airport back to Leh airport. Refer to inclusions and exclusions in the trek package description to know about it. This sections details the specifics of that inclusions.

Hotels: 3 Star superior hotel on double sharing basis
Meals In Leh: In Leh, we provide buffet meal (only breakfast and dinner) through the hotel. The menu contains a mix of Indian, Ladakhi, Chinese and Continental menu options varying from day to day.
Service Expectation in Leh: A trek leader will meet you in the airport or hotel on your arrival and his role be as below, but not just limited to these:
1. will brief you about the entire trek plan and day-to-day plans as well.
2. will check your personal gears and suggest if you're good or need to buy anything from Leh.
3. will take you on city walk to get you introduced to the city
4. will show you important counters like foreign exchange, ATMs, main market, mobile shop, cafeterias, etc.
5. will take you to acclimatization walks as per the itinerary
6. will undertand your food choice and coordinate with his logistics team to plan the ration and menu on trek accordingly.
7. will take concern of your medical sencitivities and plan accordingly
8. will understand your communication comfort and plan accordingly
9. will cordinate with you and keep the entire team on the itinerary and time
Transportation: All transportation will be in standard tourist vehicles on Mahindra Xylo, Suzuki Ertiga for longer tourts and Suzuki Eeco for city tours
Sleeping Tents: All-weather 4 person tent shared by 2 person (single accommodation available as add-on)
Sleeping Bags: 1 sub zero polyamide sleeping bag, 1 down sleeping bag inner
Sleeping Mattress: 1 hitlon mattress + 1 thick waterproof foam mattress
Light: solar lights in sleeping tents, mess and kitchen tent
Dining: Big mess tent with camping table and stools
Water: Boiled and hot drinking water in camps on morning, evening, dinner and on-demand
Meals on Camps: All meals from morning tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea, snacks, soup, dinner, dessert and hot drinks. The menu contains a mix of Indian, Ladakhi, Chinese and Continental menu options varying from day to day. Our menu typically is like the one below, which is subject to localizations as per the region we trek in.

Morning Tea: Black tea with ginger. Lemon, sugar, honey, etc can be added to it

Breakfast: oats porridge, milk cornflakes, bread, chapatti with vegetables, boiled eggs, omelets, upma, pancakes, poha, etc.

Fruits: Seasonal. Bananas, oranges, apples, watermelons, pears, peaches, plums, etc.

Lunch: Rice, dal, curries, khichdi, pulao, seasonal vegetables, papad, pickle, salad, etc

Evening Snacks: Pakoda, Popcorns, noodles, pasta, dumplings, maggie, soup noodles, fried noodles, poha, etc with coffee or tea

Soup: Packet soup like tomato, mushroom, mixed veg, etc

Dinner: Rice, chappati, pizza, pasta, dumplings, curries, dal, seasonal vegetables, papad, pickle, salad, etc

Hot Drinks: hot chocolate, mint tea or ginger tea
Hot Washing Bowls: None
Solar Charging: None
Tea/Coffee/Drinks: only on breakfast, on reaching campsite and evening snacks
Camping pilllows: None
Hot Showers: None
Guide to Trekker Ratio: 1: 6
Cloakroom In Leh: Yes (its not a locker room, no fragile or valuable items)

Premium Price Differentiators:

Our Premium trek package is a luxury, yet eco-friendly. It includes everything thats included in Standard package with topmost quality gears with below specifications and added services:

Hotels: 4 star premium hotel in Leh on twin sharing basis and best hotels in other sites as per availibility
Meals In Leh: same as standard, but with upgraded menu as per hotel
Transportation: All transportation will be in Toyota Innova
Sleeping Tents: premium all-weather tents on twin sharing basis
Sleeping Bags: super-down sleeping bag with fleece inner liner
Sleeping Mattress: 1 hitlon mattress + thick inflatable air mattress
Light: solar lights in sleeping tents, mess and kitchen tent
Dining: Big mess tent with camping table and chairs (instead of stools)
Water: Boiled and filtered hot drinking water in camps on morning, evening, dinner and on-demand
Meals on Camps: All meals as on standard but on upgraded menu with more emphasis on fresh fruits, meat or veg proteins and as requested
Hot Washing Bowls: Yes, morning and after reaching campsite
Solar Charging: Yes
Tea/Coffee/Drinks: any time. It will be ready to drink in the mess tent
Camping pilllows: Yes
Hot Showers: yes, requested
Guide to Trekker Ratio: 1: 4
Cloakroom In Leh: Yes (its not a locker room, no fragile or valuable items)

Trek Gear Rental Specifications:

Our trekkers come from far away countries and hence flights have their own limits on weight and also restictions on certain mountaineering gears. Also, our trekkers usually have long plans in India and they travel elsewhere after the trek. Keeping all of these in mind, we offer all the personal trek gears on rent so that you travel light weight and need to just reach us in Leh. We take care of the rest!

Do note that all personal climbing and camping gears are included in the trek cost. This is personal 'trekking' gears only and includes the below:

65 Liter Rucksack with waterproof cover
Expedition Down Jacket Supports Upto -25 Degree Celcius
Trekking pole ( 1 per person)
Rain poncho
Waterproof Trekking shoes
Waterproof gloves
Headlamp

Extra Permit Cost For Foreigners - Explainer:

Trek cost for foreigners is slightly higher than the cost for our Indian guests, mainly due to the higher permit fee applicable for admission to National Parks or protected forest areas. Sometimes, it may be higher due to higher local crew wages and other specific arrangements we make to ensure a safe, comfortable and enriching travel experience in India. However, we absolutely DO NOT 'hyper-charge' our International guests ever and at the same time, ensure that we meet all the standards for highly qualified trek leaders and guides, safety, medical preparation, evacuation strategy, rescue arrangements, eco-sensitive travel, high-value knowledge sharing about the area and customs of the locals.

This cost includes:

Altoa Trekking Fee
Red Cross Environmental Fee
Inner Line Permit
Support Crew Adjustments
Document and Handling Charges

Personal Porterage For Bags - Explainer:

Free personal baggage load porterage, upto 11 Kgs per bag, is included in all of our package types like Fixed Departure/Standard Private/ Premium Private Treks. However, if you need to offload more than 11 Kgs, then you may add this service to your cost. This typically applies for heavy camera gears, telescopes or similar things, as usually a trekkers bag weighs about 8 - 10 Kilograms, given that all technical gears, camping gears including sleeping bags, climbing boots, etc required for the trek will be carried by our logistics team.

For Personal Baggage Porterage, do note the below pointers:

cost is for a single bag only
no duffel bags or suitcases will be allowed. only trekking rucksacks.
The weight of the bag should not be more than 11 kg.
bags will move from camp to camp and not with you during the trek
if you offload your rucksack, you should carry a day pack with you containing emergency use items, rainwear, jacket, medicines, food, and water.
it is either full or none and cannot be arranged on an ad-hoc basis in between the trek or for partial trek days only.
you need to book your baggage porterage along with the trek booking as it cannot be served if too late.

Single Accommodation In Hotels - Explainer:

We do provide single accommodation in hotels in Leh as Add-on service. However, since the cost of it depend upon so many factors, like the hotel, season and demand. It also depends upon which category of Hotel we will be staying as well, their availibilities, and so many other things. Hence we are not able to provide this cost now, but we can arrange this. Do let us know if you need us to book you single accommodation in Leh, and we will let you know the cost on actuals without any assumption

Single Accommodation On Camps - Explainer:

Single accommodation on tents is a very popular demand on our trek. Despite the fact that we provive 4 person tent for 2 people only, privacy sometimes is still important and we understand that well. You may book this Add-On service if you need single accommodation on camps and we will carry separate tents and all other required gears for that on the trek. Do note that sleeping solo on big tents makes it really cold, hence if you choose Single Accommodation, we will provide All-Weather 2 Person tent which will be spacuious as well as not that cold on higher camps.