Day 1: Arrival in Delhi . Transfer to Hotel there.

Day 2: Morning flight to Leh.

Day 3: Tour of Leh city, including the sixteenth-century palace and Gompa.

Day 4: Tour of Shey and Tikse gompas, and Stok Palace .

Day 5: Visit to Basgo fort and Alchi gompa, a remarkably well preserved 11th -century gompa and one of the artistic treasures of the Himalaya .

Day 6: Drive to village of Chiling , from where we begin the trek. A short ways from Chiling we step onto the frozen Zanskar river for the first time. Trek to Tilat Do. Overnight in cave.

Day 7: Walk upstream on the ice to Bakhula. Overnight in cave.

Day 8: Walk through tremendous canyons, inaccessible in any other season, to Nyarak. Overnight in cave.

Day 9: Continue on the frozen river to Sarakdo. Overnight in cave.

Day 10: Walk to Hanuma, the first village and most likely the first people we have seen since leaving Chiling. Overnight in village house.

Day 11: Hanuma to Pishu, another small village. Overnight in village house.

Day 12: Pishu to Karsha, site of the largest monastery in Zanskar. Overnight in village house.

Day 13: Karsha to Padum, the regional capitol of Zanskar and the goal of our journey. Losar (Tibetan New Year's) celebration.

Day 14: Rest day to explore Padum and the surrounding valley.

Day 15: Visit to local villages and gompas, including the kingdom of Zangla .

Day 16: Helicopter over the main Himalaya range to Manali. A spectacular one-hour ride flying over the main Himalaya range.

Day 17: Tour of Manali. Stay overnight at Hotel.

Day 18: Flight from Kullu to Delhi .

Day 19: Depart-Delhi, Transfer to airport for flight to onwards journey.