03 Sep 2022
We booked a one day trek in stok. We were given trekking sticks and packed lunch by the tour agency. We were accompanied by our guide Aijaz, who could speak English very well.
The trek is uphill and the path is rocky. The steeper parts were rather sandy i.e. smaller looser rocks which makes it easier for us to slip. Hence, you really need to get the proper trekking shoes that provides better grip and protects your ankles. Please wear sunblock and a hat to protect yourself from the sun. Honestly the trek is not for the faint hearted and low stamina persons as the path going up was by some sort of cliff. Hence, we cut short the trek lol (but villagers walking there were much older than us and were wearing slippers, and they walked through that path easily and quickly that they disappeared from our sight). Nonetheless, we managed to see a pack of wild deers drinking the stream water and then climbing back up the mountains! (Heard that snow leopards would only appear during winter time) And even ate some snacks by the stream.
As we cut short the trek, aijaz took the initiative to bring us to a park elsewhere to have a picnic and cooked us maggi by the Indus river; appreciate how he wanted share the ladakhi culture with us. Thanks!