Ladakh, a high-altitude cold desert region in India, is a trekker’s paradise. It is home to some of the most stunning scenery in the world, as well as some of the most challenging treks in India including a soul-satisfying Ladakh trek to Lasermo La, from Leh to Nubra Valley.
Popular treks in Ladakh include the Chadar trek, Markha Valley trek, Lamayuru-Alchi trek, Tso Moriri trek, and Nubra Valley trek (or Lasermo La trek). Ladakh is also a popular destination for expeditions, such as the Stok Kangri expedition, Nun Kun expedition, and Kang Yatse II expedition.
I recently had the opportunity to trek the Lasermo La on an exclusive IIM Bangalore alumni trek. While many of the registrants dropped out due to the time commitments, health issues, high altitude and challenging terrain, six of us decided to go ahead with the trek.
The Lasermo La trek is a challenging but rewarding experience. The scenery is simply breathtaking, and the feeling of accomplishment after reaching the pass is indescribable. I highly recommend this trek to anyone looking for a challenging and rewarding trekking experience.
Here is an overview of the route map, altitude map, and distances for each day of the trek:
Day 1: Arrive at Leh – Rest and acclimatisation day – 3,500 Meters (11,483 feet)
Day 2: Leh – Acclimatisation trek to Shanti Stupa, Market Visit, Rest
Day 3: Drive from Leh to Morbuk (Travel Distance – 70 Kms, 1 hour) and trek to Camp 1 (Trek Distance 6 Kms). Morbuk altitude (4,000 Meters/ 13,124 Feet), Camp 1 altitude (4,600 Meters/15,091 Feet)
Day 4: Trek from Camp 1 (4,600 Meters/15,091 Feet) to Lasermo La’s South Base Camp (5,050 Meters/16,568 Feet) – Trek Distance 6 Kms
Day 5: Lasermo La’s South Base Camp (5,050 Meters/16,568 Feet) to Lasermo La (5,450 Meters/17,880 Feet) and to Lasermo La’s North Base Camp (4,800 Meters/15,748 Feet). Trek Distance 12.5 Kms.
Day 6: Trek from Lasermo La’s North Base Camp (4,800 Meters/15,748 Feet) to Hunder Dok (4,200 Meters/ 13,779 Feet). Trek Distance 14.5 Kms.
Day 7: Trek from Hunder Dok (4,200 Meters/13,779 Feet) to Hunder (3,048 Meters/10,000 Feet). Trek Distance 12 kms, Travel Distance 10 kms. Stay at Hunder Homestay. Visit Sand Dunes. Rest, relax and recuperate.
Day 8: Travel from Hunder to Diskit Monastery, Pangong Tso, Changla Pass and arrive at Leh (This is an optional day at extra cost and only if time permits).
Day 9: Fly back to hometown from Leh
This trek can be done from the Hunder side as well. In that case, the trek will be longer in the initial 3 days and camp 1 can be avoided – as we can directly trek from Lasermo La to Morbuk. We decided to hike from the other side, as after Hunder, a road was washed away and it was difficult for the horses to cross the other side.
Other important details and tips on the trek:
Acclimatise properly in Leh. Please avoid heavy food like fried food, non veg, maida items like bread, pasta, noodles etc. Drink plenty of water (at least 3-4 liters). No alcohol, cigarettes or any intoxicants. Rest and do not overexert yourself. Take medicines only after consulting your physician. Even experienced trekkers can get AMS in Leh. So please be very careful.
Climb slow, but maintain time: Ladakh trek to Lasermo La is not a race. There are no prices for the 1st one to arrive at the campsite! So, climb slowly, drink a lot of water, keep on munching trail mix/chocolates, take a lot of pics, socialize with fellow trekkers. However make sure to arrive in the prescribed time. It gets dark very quickly in the mountains and hiking in darkness is not a very cool experience.
Eat lite food: There are plenty of food options in Leh and during the trek. The cooking staff in the camps are really nice and experienced cooks. They can cook anywhere from Pasta to noodles to momos to cakes to non veg. Please avoid these heavy food while you are climbing up and getting acclimatised. Ask the cooking staff to prepare simple dal/rice/khichdi etc which are good on your tummy. The last thing one wants in a trek is diarrhea or constipation – both are bad and may contribute to AMS.
Drink plenty of fluids: Drink at least 4 liters of water during the day. Start your day with 1 liter of hot/warm water, coffee/tea (black – avoid milk), ginger water. Drink at least 2 liters of water during the trek. Add glucose or ORS in the water for more energy and to maintain body salts. Avoid fancy looking liquids (which are heavily advertised). Finish your day with a liter of water/ginger water/garlic soup.
Respect locals & support staff: Local community and support staff are extremely crucial pillars for the mountain regions. Please respect their culture. Tip them generously and also help them if possible.
Day 1: Arrive at Leh – Rest and acclimatisation day – 3,500 Meters (11,483 feet)
Leh airport is one of the most beautiful airports in India. There are around 6-7 direct flights from Delhi to Leh. It is advisable to take early morning flights, as you can get full day rest on that day. Also, start drinking water the moment you land, so that acclimatisation is faster.Leh Market is a vibrant place in Leh. One can get multiple restaurants, chats, and local shopping places. Try the fresh apricot from the local vendors. Good place to hangout and take pictures.
Day 2: Leh – Acclimatisation trek to Shanti Stupa, Market Visit, Rest
Shanti Stupa. This was our 2nd acclimatisation day. We started early in the morning for this small hike. We walked from the hotel and the total distance was around 5-6 kms. We climbed through the stairs, so that we could acclimatise better. On the return, we took the longer road route, so that we are easy on our knees and ankles in the early part of our trek.
Day 3: Drive from Leh to Morbuk (Travel Distance – 70 Kms, 1 hour) and trek to Camp 1 (Trek Distance 6 Kms). Morbuk altitude (4,000 Meters/ 13,124 Feet), Camp 1 altitude (4,600 Meters/15,091 Feet)
We started our trek from Morbuk. Which is at ~4,000 meters in altitude. It is around 40 kms from Leh and on the Leh airport road. The weather was cold but it was sunny. We had to put our sunscreens and protection gear before we started the trek.The trek from Morbuk to the first camp is around 6 kms. We climbed over 600 meters in altitude. The route is mostly dry and with gradual incline. We hiked at a leisurely pace and reached the campsite around 2pm.We took good amount of rest, drank water, took pics and chit chatted with the fellow trekkers. It was a fun group. The landscape changed as we gradually climbed up. We maintained a steady pace and stopped for lunch in between. There is only 1 water stream at the start of the trail, so please carry 2 water bottles before you start the trek.The sun was beating down on us furiously. While it was not hot, but the skin would burn if sunscreen is not applied. Also, do not forget to sip water every few hundred meters.
Day 4:Ladakh trek from Camp 1 (4,600 Meters/15,091 Feet) to Lasermo La’s South Base Camp (5,050 Meters/16,568 Feet) – Trek Distance 6 Kms
In the morning after our first camp night. 2 Nomads from our group were not feeling well, so they had to cut short the trek. It was really prudent of them to take this decision and go back. If a trekker is not feeling well, they should discuss with the trek lead and decide to move further or return back. The mountains are not going anywhere, so we can always come back. So, only 4 of us were going to camp 2. This was going to be a tough day!Our tiny campsite from the other side. We had to cross a small but tricky stream to go to the other side. One of our trekker almost slipped and fell. The issue was that the rocks in the streams were covered with invisible ice – which was slippery. We can also see the previous day’s trail.This day, we trekked for around 6 kms. However the altitude gain was around 400 meters. Our 2nd camp was at the height of 5,000 meters. This day was tough as there were multiple boulder sections. The climb was gradual, but it took toll on us due to constant concentration while navigating the boulders.This was one of the most challenging section of the hike on this day. It was around 1 kms and just before the camp site. While the incline is not much, the walk was strenuous.
Day 5: Trek from Lasermo La’s South Base Camp (5,050 Meters/16,568 Feet) to Lasermo La (5,450 Meters/17,880 Feet) and to Lasermo La’s North Base Camp (4,800 Meters/15,748 Feet). Trek Distance 12.5 Kms.
After a long night of sleep, we are finally ready to complete the toughest day of our trek. We would be climbing from 5,000 meters to 5,450 meters in 3 kms. Some of us could not sleep at night due to cold, altitude and ringing our horse bells. However, we woke up refreshed and were ready for our hike after the breakfast.The first 3 kms were very tough, as it was cold and we had to walk on boulders again. However, slowly we inched forward. Taking photographs was becoming challenging as we had to remove our gloves to click pics on mobile phones. However, somehow we managed to get good pics. In the pic, we can see the valley which we crossed to reached the end of the valley – before we do the final climb to the Lasermo Pass.As we climbed higher, the views became breathtakingly beautiful. Also, taking breath was also getting tough due to high altitude. We had almost reached the end of the valley and were getting ready to climb to the pass.The initial part of the climb was gradual climb. After initial boulder section, we got a peaceful gradual trail for 1 km. After the trail, the glacial boulder and scree section started – that was challenging.The trail towards the Lasermo Pass. This was by far the most challenging section. The climb was steep and the path was full of loose rocks and scree. We had to take multiple breaks to cross this section. The pass is towards the right hand side of the pic – where the ice summit is visible. See the horses in the pic to understand the trail. We were almost half way on this path.We were almost 800 meters from the pass when this pic was taken. We had taken numerous breaks till now. Another important aspect of this trek is that, you wont get many trekkers on the route and hence there is less traffic jam or mule crossings.Finally after 3 hours of gruelling climb, we made it to the top of Lasermo La. The team was really tired, but was happy to reach the highest point in our trek. To our amazement, it started snowing on the pass. It snowed till we reached the end of the glacier. We did not know that the tough part of the day has just started!The pass was beautiful. On one side of the pass – from where we had climbed, it was completely rocky. However on the other side, there as a huge 1.5 km glacier – which we had to climb down. Followed by 1.5 kms of walking on glacial rocks – where glacier was underneath these rocks. The Lasermo La is towards the mid of this pic. We had climbed down from the glacier and were now walking on the glacial rocks.Walking on glacial rocks where there was no path! Thanks to the earlier trekkers and guides, there were path guiding cairns in this section. That made sure that we do not get lost in this huge maze of rocks and mountains.Finally after hiking down the boulder and rock section, we could see the vast valley on the Hunder Dock side. Initially, we saw our campsite – we were thrilled and sad. Thrilled because we would get much needed rest and hot food. Sad because, it was far far away! After walking down further, we stopped getting sight of our camp! Our hearts sank!Finally after hiking for over 12 kms from the pass, we reached out campsite. We reached around 2:30pm. We had started the day around 7am. In total, we trekked for around 15kms. The campsite was very beautiful – next to a running stream. The views were spectacular. It was very cold at night due to winds coming from the glacier side.The beautiful Hunder Valley. This is a very wide valley with almost non existent vegetation. There is a stream/river running through the valley. The campsites are beautiful. However, hiking in the valley is tricky. As the valley terrain changes every few kilometers. The decline is mostly gradual once we cross the glacier – which flows from Lasermo La and adjoining mountains.
Day 6: Trek from Lasermo La’s North Base Camp (4,800 Meters/15,748 Feet) to Hunder Dok (4,200 Meters/ 13,779 Feet). Trek Distance 14.5 Kms
Once we had reached camp 3, we were completely acclimatised. We had good dinner with a delectable spread of paneer masala gravy, egg gravy, mix veg dry, phulkas, vegetable pulao and daal. We also celebrated our fellow trekker’s birthday. The cake was made by the cooking staff completely from scratch at the height of 4,200 meters!Early morning the waters were very cold. However the views were superb. We started early to our last camp which was around 13 kms with a steady decline and it was supposed to be cake walk. That is what we thought until, the valley started playing tricks on us!The initial part of the trek was very easy. We were walking on the soft grass next to the multiple streams which were broken from the main river. However, as we progressed, the dynamics of the valley started to change.After a few kilometers, we came across a giant (500 meters wide) glacier which as broken from a nearby peak. The glacier had completely covered the valley and moved water to the far end. There was half a km of glacier in front of us without any visible path. Under the debris of the glacier was solid blue ice! This giant ice boulder was size of half a bathroom! Beneath the mud, it was complete ice. The glacier had fallen from the left side of the pic, covering the entire breadth of the valley.After crossing the treacherous fallen glacier, we again came to open grassland. However this grassland was laden with holes, rocks and boulders. So hiking was still tricky and difficult in certain sections of the trek. Here we started seeing the domestic cows of the Hunder Dock villagers. We were in mixed feelings. Leaving the solitude of mountains and getting back into civilisation.Once we crossed the grassland, the stream started to converge and turned into a river. The landscape changed again. We were walking on the right hand side higher bank mostly during the trek. The river also created small islands of sand. We had our packed lunch on one of these islands. This was probably the most satisfying lunch we ever had.
Day 7: Trek from Hunder Dok (4,200 Meters/13,779 Feet) to Hunder (3,048 Meters/10,000 Feet). Trek Distance 12 kms, Travel Distance 10 kms. Stay at Hunder Homestay. Visit Sand Dunes. Rest, relax and recuperate.
After our early breakfast, we started towards Hunder Dok. Hunder Dok is a small hamlet towards the end of the trek. It is around 20 km from Hunder town, which is in Nubra Valley. Today we trekked over 15 kms. The initial part of the trek was inside the valley. Later, we crossed 2 small rivers and started hiking on a well made road. The road was closed near Hunder and hence no vehicles were permitted. Else, the vehicles can come till Hunder dock, making the trek much shorter.Walking on the road was a different feeling. Initially it felt easy. However due to continuous pounding of feet and that too at a good speed, our soles started burning. In the valley earlier, our steps were slower and calculated due to the uneven terrain. However, walking on the road took toll on us due to continuous hammering of the feet and strong hot sun in the afternoon.This is where the road had collapsed and hence we had to walk for 10 kms on the jeep road. The local authorities had already started the work and were rebuilding the bridge. They had created this makeshift structure. The mountain soil is very fragile here. Even a small push by our boots led to soils and rock crashing down.After crossing the earlier broken road section, we thought that the trek was finally over! But no, this trek had other plans for us. A final goodbye from the trek! This section of the road was completely washed out and there was no makeshift bridge! We had to crawl towards our left holding onto loose rock and soil while balancing and crossing this 50 meter traverse. It definitely gave us chills. The fall was around 10 meters.Finally! We finished the trek. We were tired, thirsty and hungry. Also, we had not showered for a few days. So we definitely wanted a good, long, hot shower. We got all that after a short drive back to Hundar Town. The trek was a memorable one for us. It was challenging, tricky, tough and kept us continuously on our toes.
Thats all folks!
Happy Trekking!
Ready to embark on a Ladakh trek to Lasermo La? You’ll be experiencing a one-of-a-kind adventure that’s sure to become a core memory.
