Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

Sometimes, trail maps prove wrong. And here, on the banks of the raging
Zanskar River, mine has proved exhilaratingly wrong. Where the trek starts it
shows a bridge, but there is no bridge. A 2015 flood has left its mangled
remnants frothing up waves and the only alternative is a wire series of pulleys and
a dangling metal basket.
Surviving this contraption, I walk an hour through semi-desert before oases of
emerald-green barley fields start to soothe the starkness of the rocky valley. Small
irrigation canals gurgle by, operating little waterwheels that aren’t for electricity,
but to turn Buddhist prayer wheels fashioned from old tin cans. And their gyrations
fill the air with loving kindness…if you believe that sort of thing. Whitewashed
stupas and sturdy homesteads appear here and there. Prayer flags flutter clues to
the presence of fresh-water springs. Tinkling bells announce occasional trains of
small horses laden with goods or with the camping equipment of trekking groups
who plan to go beyond the homely comforts of the valley.