Do you dream of standing upright at 18,000+ feet on only the third day of a trek? Making barren mountains your friend for the coming ten days? Living the nomadic lifestyle without any glimpse of the greenery or the water? Welcome to the world of Parang La trek.
Explore places while acclimatizing in Spiti:
The altitude gain during Parang La trek is quite abrupt. You start from 14,000 feet and cross 18,327 feet on the third day of the trek itself. In order to ensure better acclimatization, the program includes two days at the Chicham village. Use this time to explore the nearby attractions like Komic Village, the highest village in the world connected with motorable road, Hikkim, the world’s highest post office and the famous Key monastery.
Relish the four-peak view on the way to Thathak:
After a short ascent on the fourth day of the trek, the view opens up to the majestic mountains. You can spot Kanamo peak, Kunlun Peak, Sheela peak and the Lakank peak. Take an acclimatization walk here, and you might stumble upon the fossils of marine animals.
The mighty descent and mightier ascent of Bongrojen:
The day starts with a steep descent all the way down to the river bed, and just like a crest and trough wave, get ready for a steep ascent until you reach the next camp site. The day is going to be a long one and the toughest one on this trek.
Never ending Glacier of Parang La:
Hold your breath because the view you are going to witness from Parang La top is going to blow your mind. Completely barren from one side, the Parang La top is covered with a kilometres-long glacier at the other end. Get ready to negotiate some of the deep cut crevasses. Watch the melting ice and the small water streams cutting through the glacier, carrying the sweetest water you will ever taste.
Long Deserted Walk of Datang Yoma:
The tough part of trek is over, and the descent in quite gradual in this trek. The day after the pass crossing is going to be one of the easiest one in this trek. Take time to regain your lost energy, get some sleep in the mild warmth of the afternoon sun. Find your corner in the vast stretched deserted valley of Spiti. You can have all the me-time that you want.
First glimpse of greenery at Phalam Pada:
Parang La teaches you to appreciate small things of nature. Have you ever appreciated a patch of grass. or the trickling water from the stone mountains? A muddy trail? At Parang La, you will. The scenery remains pretty much the same throughout the trek. A small camping site, followed by the valley emerging from the right side, followed by the walk near the stream, followed by a little climb and then getting down to the next patch of flat land. This scenery plays in loop for all five days of the descent, but as you enter Ladakh, you will definitely cry at the view of vast grassland and the yellow flowers and small water patches.
Some Wild Encounters at Norbu Sumdo:
Where Ladakh welcomes you with its lush green valley, expect to spot some of the exotic wildlife at Norbu Sumdo. Keep your eyes open for wild birds, donkeys, marmots, blue sheep, ibex and if lucky, leopards as well.
Camping By Tso Moriri at Kiangdom:
Parang La is one such trek where even after the pass crossing, you have something to look forward to. After five days of descent through barren mountains, never changing scenery and completely on moraines , Kiangdom camp site is a treat to one’s eyes. Reach Kiangdom by afternoon and head out to explore the shores of famous Tso Moriri Lake, watch the valley breaking into a thousand hues of the setting sun and if lucky, a thousand shimmering stars on the clear night sky.
Getting bruised and burnt on the way to Karzok:
You will be walking along Tso Moriri on the way to Karzok from Kiangdom. Sounds lovely right? But, get ready to burn under the blazing hot sun. It is a long walk of 21.5 km, deprived of any kind of shade and even water resources. Make sure to carry enough water, keep applying sun screen. This is where we got our worst burns of the trek.
If you are an avid trekker, love photography, enjoy spending time with yourself, take interest in the local culture and love to spot wild animals, Parang La should definitely be in your list.
