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Plants and animals

At first glance, the mountains seem to be completely barren. However, even the driest slopes are covered by sparse grasses, perennials and small shrubs. Meadows are found in the wide high-altitude valleys, of which Nyimaling is probably one of the most beautiful. Bigger shrubs, like seabuckthorn or willow, grow only on the valley floors, by rivers. Trees are limited to riverbanks or irrigated places at elevations around 3000m or lower. Agriculture is restricted to land where irrigation is possible; the main crops are barley, wheat and peas.

A poplar tree in Zanskar in autumn

Surprisingly, despite the scarce resources, the wildlife of the region is quite diverse: there are about 250 species of birds and 30 of mammals. These include the black-necked crane, Himalayan snowcock, golden eagle, bharal (Himalayan blue sheep), Tibetan wild ass, marmot and snow leopard. It is not uncommon to see many of these during a trek; you will certainly see a good number of birds, bharals and marmots. Although snow leopards are extremely shy and very rare, there is always a chance of spotting one (the author once saw one on the way from the Kungski La, just west of Hemis National Park).