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Walks in Changthang
Changthang is a vast high-altitude plateau shaped by movement, adaptation and faith. Stretching across eastern Ladakh, this cold desert landscape has long been home to nomadic pastoral communities, traders, pilgrims and travellers who crossed its plains and mountain passes connecting Ladakh with Tibet. Villages and seasonal settlements emerged around rivers, grazing grounds and natural springs, creating ways of life closely tied to the rhythms of climate and migration. Monasteries, mane walls and shrines stand alongside stone corrals and nomadic camps, while stories of protective deities and ancient trade routes continue to live within the landscape.
The ‘Walks in Changthang’ series begins with the regions of Chumathang and Hanle, tracing journeys through villages scattered along the Indus River and the Changthang plateau. From the geothermal springs and riverside settlements of Chumathang to the vast open plains and historic monastery of Hanle, these walks explore landscapes shaped by both spiritual and pastoral traditions. Along the way you will encounter sacred water-bodies, ancient pathways, meditation sites, old chortens and grazing lands used for generations by the Changpa nomads. You will move through spaces where monasteries, observatories and seasonal camps coexist within one of the world’s highest inhabited regions. Hidden within these valleys and plains are traces of old settlements, oral histories and memories of journeys across the borderlands. As you walk through Chumathang and Hanle, stories. of resilience, migration, faith and survival gradually unfold across the Changthang plateau.
The ‘Walks in Changthang’ series has been developed by LAMO with support from Royal Enfield.
1. CHUMATHANG
The first walk begins in Chumathang, a village renowned for its geothermal springs along the banks of the Indus River. The route passes through Yarsa and Gunsa, the traditional winter and summer settlements of Chumathang, continuing to Mahe and Kotsa where the lake of Yaya Tso lies. The walk traces landscapes shaped by seasonal movement, trade and pastoral life in Changthang.
2. HANLE
The Hanle walk begins in the hamlet of Khaldo, home to the first family said to have settled in Gang. Following the course of the Hanle River, the walk takes you through the five hamlets of Hanle, introducing you to the traditional community groups known as the Matsen. Along the way, you will encounter the famous Hanle Monastery and landscapes shaped by pastoral life, migration and local memory.