Zanskar is a remote valley region of Ladakh, folded into the high western Himalaya between the Zanskar Range to the north and the Great Himalayan Range to the south. The valley floor sits at around 3,600 metres; the surrounding peaks push above 6,000 m. It is one of the most isolated inhabited regions on earth — cut off by snow for six to seven months of the year and linked to the outside world in winter only by the Chadar Trek, a route along the frozen surface of the Zanskar River that has been used by local people for centuries.
The people of Zanskar are Tibetan Buddhists, and the valley's most compelling sights are its ancient monasteries. Karsha, clinging to a cliff above the valley floor, is the largest and most important; Phugtal, built into a natural cave on the side of a gorge, is among the most dramatic in all of Ladakh. The Sani Monastery, just outside Padum, contains a stupa believed to be over 2,000 years old — one of the oldest Buddhist structures in the Himalayan region. Zanskar's religious calendar is marked by winter and summer festivals; the summer festival at Karsha, with its monks in elaborate silk costumes performing Cham dances, is one of the finest in Ladakh.
For trekkers, Zanskar is in a different league. The classic routes — the Markha Valley trek, the traverse from Lamayuru to Padum, the approach via the Shingo La from Lahaul — require genuine high-altitude commitment, good fitness, and proper preparation. The summer trekking season runs from late June to mid-October, when the main road from Kargil is open. The Chadar Trek, walking the frozen Zanskar River in January and February, has become popular as an adventure experience, though it requires local guides and good cold-weather gear.
Padum is the administrative centre and the base for exploring the valley. It is a small, functional town without much to recommend it aesthetically, but it has basic guesthouses and provisions for trekkers. The surrounding valley — green with barley and peas in summer, surrounded by the immense scale of the mountains — is the real attraction. The landscape shifts constantly: glacier-fed streams cutting through pale rock, villages of flat-roofed stone houses, and the silence of high altitude that makes even ordinary sounds feel significant.