{"id":24056,"date":"2019-04-01T09:35:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T13:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=24056"},"modified":"2020-04-11T04:20:06","modified_gmt":"2020-04-11T08:20:06","slug":"high-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/high-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"High Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"
Are you up for a <\/span>real <\/span><\/i>adventure in your life? Not group tour stuff but the real deal, the genuine article, the Real McCoy.<\/span><\/p>\n Ready? This is going to be true High Adventure in both senses of the word \u2013 for our entire experience is going to be <\/span>over two miles high<\/span><\/i> (11,000ft\/3,400m) in a hidden region of remotest Asia where the world\u2019s most exotic culture still exists\u2026 that of <\/span>Tibet<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Having driven many thousands of kilometers crisscrossing Chinese-Occupied Tibet, I\u2019ve seen how Beijing has destroyed Tibetan culture, turning it into a Disney-type fake theme park for Chinese tourists. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, there\u2019s a part of Tibet that the British, when they ruled India, prevented China from capturing. Monasteries over a thousand years old still flourish there today.<\/span><\/p>\n Thikse gompa<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Is it in the Himalayas? Yes and no. That is, it\u2019s centered <\/span>between<\/span><\/i> the Himalayas and the great mountain range beyond them, the Karakorum. It is the region and surrounding area of the <\/span>Upper Indus River<\/span><\/i> as it flows out of Chinese Tibet and before it crosses into Pakistan, in the far northwest corner of India. It\u2019s the section in yellow in the map below. (Note: the purple is the Upper Ganges River.)<\/span><\/p>\n Indus River \u2013 red in China, yellow in India, green in Pakistan.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Tibetans who live in the region of the Upper Indus and surrounding side valleys call it <\/span>Ladakh,<\/span><\/i> the Land of High Passes. It is wholly Tibetan \u2013 here you will find real Tibetan culture truly alive and thriving, replete with astoundingly spectacular Tibetan monasteries, or <\/span>gompas<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Like <\/span>Thikse gompa<\/span><\/i> pictured above, below is <\/span>Leh gompa<\/span><\/i> hovering high above <\/span>Leh Palace<\/span><\/i> of the ancient Ladakhi kings, or <\/span>The Tiger\u2019s Nose<\/span><\/i>, Stakna Gompa<\/span>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Leh Palace in foreground, Leh gompa above.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Stakna gompa, The Tiger\u2019s Nose<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s <\/span>Rizong gompa<\/span><\/i>, glued to the side of a vertical cliff\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Rizong gompa<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n And most remote, mysterious, and mystical of all, \u00a0<\/span>Lamayuru\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Lamayuru gompa<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>dukhang<\/span><\/i> or main prayer hall of these gompas are out of a movie, with their gilded and gorgeously decorated statues, wall hangings, and <\/span>tankhas<\/span><\/i> (sacred paintings).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Within Ladakh is an even more remote region called\u00a0<\/span>Zanskar<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u2013 with the extraordinary\u00a0<\/span>Zanskar River<\/span><\/i>\u00a0from source to confluence with the Indus <\/span>over two miles high<\/span><\/i> and\u00a0flowing straight through the crest of the Himalayas. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The only entrance to Zanskar is over the 14,450 ft <\/span>Pensi La<\/span><\/i> (\u201cla\u201d means \u201cpass\u201d) above the gigantic <\/span>Drang-Drung Glacier <\/span><\/i>surrounded by Himalayan giants over 20,000 feet high.<\/span><\/p>\n To camp in the Zanskar Valley with the massive Himalayan twin peaks of Nun and Kun (both above 23,000 ft) towering above is truly unforgettable.<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re among Tibetan nomads tending their yak herds here, so expect to wake up in the dawn light with curious nomad kids peering inside your tent.<\/span><\/p>\n Most unforgettable of all, however, is whitewater rafting through the <\/span>Zanskar Gorge,<\/span><\/i> known as <\/span>The Grand Canyon of the Himalayas<\/span><\/i>. The walls rise straight up for thousands of feet while the river bottlenecks in places only a few feet wide. This is one of the greatest whitewater adventures on our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n Upon reaching the confluence of the Zanskar with the Upper Indus\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n We return to Ladakh\u2019s capital of Leh to celebrate what we\u2019ve had, a true thrill of a lifetime.<\/span><\/p>\n In our <\/span>exploration of Indian Tibet and running the Zanskar this August<\/span><\/i>, what we\u2019ll see, learn, and unforgettably experience is far, far more than this small glimpse in the photos above. This is Real McCoy High Adventure. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To participate, you need no special skills, just normal good health and condition, capable of being at between 10,000 and 12,000 feet (3,000-3,700 meters) of altitude while in Ladakh.<\/span><\/p>\n Note that Wheeler Expeditions will also operate this expedition to Ladakh and Zanskar next year, in <\/span>August 2020<\/span><\/i>. To apply to participate either this year or next, <\/span>contact me at <\/i><\/b>Jack@WheelerExpeditions.com<\/i><\/b><\/a>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Carpe diem<\/span><\/i>. Life is short. The time for a great adventure is <\/span>now.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Jack Wheeler is the founder of\u00a0<\/b>Wheeler Expeditions<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n