5
One of a kind most unique & exhilarating races I’ve ever done in the Himalayas.
The Ladakh Trail to Heaven takes you through an incredible, raw and truly untamed landscape, with remote trails, high mountain passes and constantly changing terrain. The route is challenging, spectacular and unlike anything I’ve experienced in a 100K.
The organising team was excellent throughout, with well-stocked hydration and aid stations, exceptional route markings and a strong focus on runner safety. Given the altitude, the acclimatisation run organised by the team was particularly helpful and a very thoughtful touch. A special mention for the GPX file shared by the organisers – it was exceptionally accurate and made navigating such a remote route much easier.
An unforgettable experience and one I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a truly unique mountain ultra at an altitude highly uncommon without compromising any safety and support for runners!
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5
Ladakh was a wonderful experience. The race is very well organized, and the support team is highly competent. It is a challenging race due to the altitude and steep mountains, but it is undoubtedly well worth doing. I left India delighted and would certainly recommend the race to any runner interested in participating. However, it is essential to invest in good training, proper gear, and an acclimatization period for those who do not live at high altitudes. Thank you very much for the wonderful experience I had at this race.
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5
What an experience! Racing a 100-miler is always something special and so is an expedition in high altitude, but racing a 100-miler in high altitude? That’s a whole other beast. The kind of challenge that only the Ladakh Trail To Heaven is offering in the world today.
The course is obviously spectacular, with 5 passes around 5000m high, and although the terrain is mostly rolling and easy to navigate, there are a couple or very difficult sections including dozens of ice-cold river crossings. Yes, dozens.
The main challenge is obviously the altitude, which leaves us with exactly zero minute of respite. Over here with the lack of oxygen, even taking a break isn’t really rest so your body and mind are always at work. Enduring is what it’s all about.
The whole staff and volunteers are here to make the experience special and as comfortable as possible (all things considered) and they’re doing a fantastic job at that.
Ladakh Trail to Heaven in a few words:
High mountains.
Adventure.
Endurance.
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4
I think everything in this race has been very well conceived, particularly I appreciated a lot the previous acclimatisation days because other than allowing our bodies to gradually adapt to altitude, they also provided the opportunity to have a look at the surrounding and helped to figure out what was ahead.
About the race itself, of course I loved the majestic nature and the mountains that were actually unique.
The paths were not extremely technical although the multiple river crossing especially during the night can be demanding. Aid stations were well equipped because they provided a satisfying choice of carbs and proteins as well and this is important in ultra races and especially for a 100 mile race.
I completely recommend this experience because it is the only 100 miles at a such high altitude and there is nothing else in the world that can be comparable.
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5
I was lucky to be a pioneer of this event! It has been an incredible experience — the beauty of the place is so distracting that at times you forget how tough the course is and how hard it is to breathe. I’m Costa Rican, and in a tropical country like Costa Rica, it’s hard to find the kind of mountains needed to prepare for a race with the conditions found in Ladakh.
Even so, I wanted to face the altitude and the extreme temperature changes. I did have issues with the cold, but that doesn’t overshadow how proud I am of completing 110 km and feeling good all the way up to the point where the temperature dropped significantly.
I will definitely be back, and I invite the ultratrail community to try this experience — but be very aware that finishing this race takes a lot of experience, and both physical and mental preparation!
See you in 2026!
Tuve la suerte de ser pionera de este evento! Ha sido una experiencia increíble, la belleza del lugar desconcentra tanto que por momentos se olvida la dureza del recorrido y la falta de aire. Soy costarricense y en un país tropical como Costa Rica difícilmente encuentre las montañas ideales para preparar una carrera con las condiciones que reunía Ladakh. A pesar de quise enfrentar la altura, las altas y bajas temperaturas. Tuve problemas con el frío sin embargo eso no va a opacar lo satisfecha que estoy de haber completado 110 kms y sentirme bien hasta el punto máximo que bajo mucho la temperatura. Sin duda volveré e invito a la comunidad de ultratrail a probar esta experiencia eso si muy conscientes que para ser finalista de esta prueba se requiere mucha experiencia y preparación física y mental!
Nos vemos en el 2026
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5
I ran the Ladakh Trail to Heaven – Edition Zero: The Pioneer Edition, and it was one of the most incredible races I’ve ever done. Everything was perfect — from the organization to the course itself.
Running at high altitude was a fantastic experience. For me, arriving in Leh a week before the race was really important to train and adapt. I truly appreciated the huge effort the organizers put in to make everything perfect for us.
The landscapes were absolutely breathtaking. I loved spending time in Leh — such a beautiful mountain city — and crossing the high passes at 5,000 meters. I loved every single moment of this adventure.
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The high desert of Ladakh is no place for half-measures. With its thin air, towering passes, and merciless swings between scorching sun and freezing night, it is a land that strips an ultra down to its essence: runner, trail, willpower, and soul.
As part of the One Hundred® Premier Series, and a key event in the One Hundred® Trail Endurance World Championship series, this was never going to be an ordinary race. It was a proving ground for athletes who aspire to take on the greatest challenges and compete among the best on the planet.
On 7–8 August 2025, the first-ever Ladakh Trail to Heaven, a 100-mile (160 km) ultra, delivered exactly what its name promised. It was both beauty beyond belief and a brutal test of human endurance.
From the start line in the ancient high-altitude town of Leh, runners faced immediate exposure to the extremes. Daytime highs reached around 30°C in the sun, while night dropped close to 5°C. The route threaded across valleys, canyons, rivers, and windswept ridges before hitting the race’s defining challenge: the infamous section over Kongmaru La at roughly 5,300 m (17,388 ft), a height on par with Everest Base Camp.
In a race like this, finishing is an extraordinary achievement. Yet daring to start is also heroic. Every athlete who toed the line stepped into an unknown world, where altitude, weather, and terrain demanded total respect.
Those who listened to their bodies and chose to stop honored the same spirit as those who crossed the finish. Both decisions meant understanding when to push, and when to yield to the mountains.
Chetan Sehgal, the Race Director, summed up the spirit of this pioneer edition:
“When we first dreamt of an ultra trail race in Ladakh, we knew the mountains would test us, but we didn’t yet know how. Would the thin air slow runners more than expected? Could we get supplies to remote checkpoints on time? Would the weather play nice, or remind us who’s in charge here? The pioneer edition wasn’t about setting rules or locking formats. It was about stepping onto the trails with more questions than answers, and finding those answers in the dust, wind, and silence of Ladakh’s high passes.”
It was a journey of trial and learning: what worked, what didn’t, and what must be reimagined. Each problem demanded a solution born from the landscape itself.
Backed by a 42-strong local support crew, many of them seasoned Sherpas, the race carried an authenticity you cannot manufacture. Their warmth, resilience, and deep mountain knowledge gave runners a genuine connection to Ladakh’s high-altitude spirit.
Perhaps the most talked-about moment came at the finish. The first, and only, woman to complete the course arrived just beyond the original cut-off time. In some races, that’s where the story ends. However, not here.
“We’ve embraced every runner who reached the finish line as an official finisher, even beyond the cut-off. In Edition Zero, the true victory was in taking on the challenge and seeing it through.”
This decision reflects the ethos of the event. In this first step into the unknown, the measure of success was not just the clock. Instead, it was the courage to keep moving until the end.
The Ladakh Trail to Heaven has already earned its place in the lore of high-altitude ultras. With only four finishers, temperatures that swung from punishing to frigid, and altitudes where oxygen is a luxury, the Pioneer Edition lived up to its promise: beautiful and brutal.
For the runners who dared, the reward was more than a medal. It was the memory of a place and a challenge that will live in them forever.
September
Gstaad, canton de Berne, Suisse
60 km
Up to
3000 m
Up to
September
Gaspé, Québec, Canada
160 km
Up to
5360 m
Up to
September
Embrun, Hautes-Alpes, France
100 km
Up to
5969 m
Up to
