To Zanskar, beyond and back again

The path to the remote, but beautiful Kashmir region is treacherous enough, and this hiker did it all alone

My Lahauli friends chide me for being too upbeat about trekking to Zanskar solo, without a map, a tent or a sleeping bag. “Even we locals don’t go alone”, they say.

When you cross the Shingo La pass, the breeze feels icy and the Zankarpa cry “Ki Ki So So Largyalo”, a Tibetan chant meaning “Victory to the gods”

Yaks graze under the Gumboranjan peak, sacred to the Zanskaris

There was no time to linger with the young monks as the journey back had to be made before daylight faded