ointment and apply a plaster if necessary. Before you leave for the trip buy gel plasters designed for blister protection and healing as well as a suitable ointment for treating blisters and small cuts. Ask your doctor or chemist for advice.
Trekking socks may save you from blisters – it is worth making an effort to find good ones and to pay for them. Two pairs should do; washed socks left out overnight will usually be dry by morning. You need strong, leather trekking boots that support your ankles, not light hiking boots or sandals.
The type of rucksack you need depends on the style of trekking you plan to do. On a supported trek a daypack of around 30l will be sufficient (you will need to carry an extra jacket, water and probably a camera). If you are going to carry everything yourself, the back system is most important. A strong and comfortable hip-belt is vital if carrying heavy loads. All the straps must be easily adjustable; carrying the bag for hours necessitates changing the position of the load often. The size of bag required for an independent trek depends on how much of the load you can share with your companion, on the time spent in the area where no food is available, and so on. A rucksack of around 80l capacity seems to be a minimum requirement. Remember to make use of the space and that it will be easier to carry the load if you pack everything inside the bag instead of attaching some items to the outside.
Electronic equipment
Although electrical devices are generally available in India, you will probably want to bring them from home. Bear in mind that unless you use a solar charger you will not be able to charge batteries during your trek. Good quality AA and AAA batteries are available in the cities (including Leh), but do not expect to buy them in villages. Proper recycling of used batteries is not popular in India, and so using rechargeable batteries is recommended. When buying them, consider their capacity, cycles of charging, durability and the time the charge will hold at low temperatures.
India uses a 220–240V/50Hz electric system. European plugs with two round pins fit most of the sockets used in the country.
If you still use a film camera, do not expect to buy your favourite film in Ladakh (although there are a few shops offering a range of film in Delhi) so bring all you expect to need. Processing at a Kodak Q-Lab certified laboratory is possible.
Medical supplies
Medicine is easily available in India, and is cheap; usually you can buy antibiotics without seeing a doctor. However, according to popular opinion, some pills available in the country are made of substances that are banned in the West, and medicine storage regulations are less strict than those in Europe. On the other hand, some local medicaments, antibiotics especially, are more effective in fighting local bacteria. This seems to be particularly true in the case of common gastric problems.
Valley north of the Kanji La (Trek 6); shepherds spend the summers in the upper valleys and high mountain meadows, tending yaks, sheep and goats
It is strongly recommended to visit a doctor before leaving your home country. Do this well in advance – at least one month – of your trip as you will probably be advised to have a course of vaccinations (hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus). You don’t need malaria prophylaxis for Ladakh, but it is quite possible to get infected on the way to Leh. However, unless you are spending some time in the lower parts of India, avoiding mosquito bites and using a strong mosquito repellent should be sufficient precaution. Seek the correct medical advice concerning malaria. MASTA (Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad) is a useful source of information in advance of your trip. See www.masta-travel-health.com.
If you spend an adequate amount of time on acclimatisation you will not need any medications for altitude sickness. If you need to adjust rapidly, however, you may want to use drugs that support the process. See below and consult your doctor, and go to the website of the International Society for Mountain Medicine at www.ismm.org. Soluble multi-vitamin and mineral tablets are recommended; choose different flavours.
A light space blanket (mylar or first aid blanket) is very useful, not only for use in an emergency, but also for protection against the cold.
Water purification should be considered before the trip. You should never drink tap water in India, not even for cleaning teeth. In cities outside Ladakh you should use bottled water, available everywhere (make sure that it is sealed). The mass disposal of plastic bottles has become a serious problem in India (and Leh in particular), and it is strongly recommended to refill bottles with boiled or filtered water. This can be done in many shops and guesthouses in Leh.
DRINKING WATER ON TREK
Opinions on water purification during the trek vary. Although water in small streams is generally clean, there is always a risk of bacterial or viral infection, especially if the stream passes a village or pasture. Boiling water is the most effective way of making it safe for drinking, even at high altitude. However, considering that you need to drink about 5 litres a day, it is not practical. Chemical methods are based on iodine, chlorine and silver. The simplest consists of dropping iodine into water and waiting for some time. This, however, does not kill all the bacteria and is sometimes considered unsafe for anyone with a thyroid problem. Advanced chemical methods (available as soluble tablets) are effective in treating bacteria and viruses, but these usually affect the taste and smell of the liquid.
Toze Chu: a braided river (Treks 1 and 2)
Water filtration does not usually change the taste and is helpful in cleaning cloudy sediment-filled water and reducing chemicals. However, filters are ineffective in protecting against viruses.
Generally, water from small streams in Ladakh is clear, but will need chemical treatment for protection against bacteria and viruses. Buy an adequate quantity of solution or tablets before the trip. Use vitamin tablets (vitamin C is effective, particularly against iodine), powdered fruit-flavoured drinks or neutralising tablets to improve the taste of the treated water. Although you will use cloudy and turbid water from a big river at a few camps on some treks, filtering is not the most important gear you need for a trek in the region.
For more information on water treatment check www.high-altitude-medicine.com, www.katadyn.com and www.msrgear.com.
Health and fitness
You do not need to be extremely fit to go on a trekking trip, but you do need to choose the right option. The various styles of trek, the distance covered, flexibility of stages and diversity of routes make trekking possible for people of different physical strengths and age. Trekking is a matter of walking – you don’t need any particular skills to do it! But it has to be said that the fitter you are, the easier the trekking will be, so some preparation in advance is essential. You can train for long walks in Ladakh anywhere: go for longer and tougher walks than usual, carrying on your back the sort of weight you expect to carry on trek. Ideally, of course, your preparation for Ladakh would take place in a mountainous area though this is rarely feasible.
Preparing for a trek at high altitude
A trip to any high altitude region requires acclimatisation. This is the process of adjusting the body to lower oxygen levels at high elevation. Most of us need a few days of acclimatisation to any altitude higher than 2500m. Inadequate adjustment to high altitude can lead to altitude sickness and,
