Stay with a local family near the Siachen Glacier
Stay with a local family near the Siachen Glacier
A homestay located in a remote village near the Siachen Glacier, surrounded by traditional farming fields and local community life
Siachen Eco Residence, also called Siachen Eco Homestay or Siachen Ecostay, is located in Tongstet Village in the Siachen region of Nubra Valley, 196 km from Leh. The village is the second-last settlement before the Siachen Glacier and lies 32 km before the Siachen War Memorial. It is a small community with around 40 households, where families continue farming and livestock rearing.
Since the Siachen region opened for tourism in 2019, Tongstet residents have started hosting travellers. Staying at Siachen Eco Residence provides access to the remote region, local culture and day-to-day village routines. The residence offers a stay close to key sites such as the Siachen War Memorial, Yarma Gonbo and Yarma Monastery.
Guests like to eat our Ladakhi food. They say it is delicious, even when it is prepared by an elderly ama (mother) like me. I always make sure I serve them the cleanest and healthiest food. My husband is a copper artist. When guests leave us, they say ‘Julley’, and hug us. It makes us feel happy.
I became a Mountain Homestay Host in 2018, and I have hosted many travellers since then. Running a homestay has helped me and my family a lot. Not only is the solar set up in our house useful for us, but even travellers prefer to stay in our homestay because of it.
The training we got in astronomy turned out to be a life-changing experience for our village. I felt happy and proud while mapping the position of the planets and sharing the secrets of the universe with the tourists. Tourists told me that even they didn’t know so much about the dark skies!
