LADAKH (INDIA): A Spiritual Journey

This ultimate adventure includes the best of Ladakh without missing Old Delhi’s chaotic silver street, sweets and spice markets and a quiet moment at Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation site as well as the Folk Art Museum.  Then on to Leh with its dramatic high mountain scenery and stunning centuries old monasteries with exquisite vibrant religious frescos juxtaposed with the monochromatic Himalayan scree slopes.  This tour offers a chance to attend an early morning prayer ceremony with chanting monks and mystical light.  With that monastic dedication in mind, travel to another remote monastery to join in with the locals at a fascinating Buddhist festival.  The red robed monks in wide brimmed hats act out the sacred dance dramas or Chhams that form the core of this festival.  Dancers are accompanied by musicians playing cymbals, yak-skin drums, and trumpets.  As if that weren’t enough to photograph, the gorgeous Ladakhi women wear their stunning turquoise studded peraks (headdress), heirlooms passed through the generations.  Tibetan Buddhism thrives in Ladakh and you will visit Lamayuru – the oldest monastery, Thiksey – the largest practicing one, and Alchi with its Kashmiri influenced intricate woodwork.  As a continued immersion into Ladakhi culture we offer a personal visit to a family home, an opportunity to share and show respect for these people and place.

Unique to Ladakh along the fabled Indus River is the restricted Dah Hanu Valley and the Drokhpa tribal people. The Drokhpa are considered to be the last people from an Indo-Aryan culture who migrated here from the Central Asian Steppes centuries ago.  They are ethnically, linguistically, religiously, and culturally different from the rest of Ladakh.  They speak a distinct dialect and live in relative isolation.  Walk to tiny Drokhpa villages set amidst apricot orchards and spend time with the heart-warming kids at the local school.  Brilliantly colorful tribal dances with men and women wearing traditional outfits, an overflowing of flowers and ethnic jewelry, and a true sense of bonded village familiarity, fill you with a sense of wonder and warped time.  Here the accommodations are remote fixed camps.  On the back side of the trip return to Leh through dramatic mountain scenery striped with riverine oases and stay in a special resort that will leave you wanting more time in this tranquil mountain expanse.  By the time you soak in the last of Leh’s ski town vibe and busy bazaar with stores selling fine pashmina, tribal rugs, Tibetan antiques, and variations of the stunning turquoise peraks, you will likely be wishing you could return, even before you board the plane home.

We will arrange the restricted area permits required. 

Destinations

Delhi * Around Leh * Tibetan Nomad & Drokhpa Tribal Villages

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