From Lamayuru, famous for its monastery, the itinerary goes through numerous villages and monasteries. Between Ladakh and Zanskar the journey offers a large diversity of landscapes, from the jagged Dungdungchen La (4700 m) to the green oasis of the Markha valley. The scenery becomes more and more desert like as we go south to the Rupshu. This high altitude cold desert is the western extension of the Tibetan Plateau. Previously closed to visitors, this region offers some of the most amazing scenery to be found in Ladakh. It is a land of monasteries and high passes, dissected by numerous mountain ridges and traversed by a number of ancient trading routes. We will venture in a mineral wilderness where only a few nomads live, totally reliant on their yak and sheep herds for their subsistence. To be invited into their camp for a rest and a cup of salt and butter tea provides an insight into another world.