Ponies at the Zarlung Karpo La, Karnak | Photos of Ladakh

A photo of our trekking ponies descending from the Zarlung Karpo La pass in Karnak, Ladakh

As we ascended the last 5 metres of the rounded pass of the Zarlung Karpo La it was if an old style cinema curtain rose to reveal this whole spectacular view. One of the most beautiful of all mountain passes in Ladakh, the name Zarlung Karpo La means white pass; the ridges opposite are dusted with white mineral deposits.
To the right of this photo the landscape looks down into the deep valleys of Zanskar. The clouds were scudding rapidly across the sky although there was no wind on the pass.

Someone who'd been there before us had written with large white stones on the grey ground the words Free Tibet. In ten days of walking in this remote part of Ladakh we saw no other trekkers. The photograph was taken as the pony men started to lead the horses down to the valley below.

Landscape format.

A guide to approx sizes
A3: paper size 42x29.7cm, image size 40x28cm
A2: paper size 59.4x42cm, image size 57x40cm
70x50cm paper size, image size 68x48cm

Photo by Silk Road Gallery director Peter Bennion, 2012.

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