To the blessed valley of Ladakh
To the blessed valley of Ladakh
A thousand-year-old village with an ancient monastery visited by his holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Why this experience is unique?
In one of the most remote regions of the world – Ladakh, you’ll find the isolated village of Lingshed and a stunning 1,000-year-old monastery! On this 8-day experience, you will cross through the beautiful landscapes of the Ladakh mountains, stay with local villagers, and experience the living traditions of Lingshed. Lingshed is situated at the junction of Leh region and Zanskar Valley. The roots of Buddhism of this valley goes back 900 years and is still as authentic as it was back then. Probably that is why it is often visited by his holiness the Dalai Lama. The village hosts multiple Buddhism festivals and spiritual events. Visiting the valley during such festivities is an enriching experience one should not miss out on.
We will pick you up from the Leh airport and transfer you to your eco-friendly homestay in Leh (11,500ft). You will be resting today and acclimatizing yourself to the High-Altitude environment amidst the picturesque Himalayan landscape. This day is called the Acclimatization day and is required to adjust your body to the low oxygen levels at high altitude.
Before we step into the villages of Ladakh we would acquaint ourselves with the Ladakhi culture, heritage, and lifestyle. As per your choice, you can pick local places to visit. Hall of Fame, Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, Central Asian Museum – these are the places we recommend you to visit. Come back after spending a day doing sightseeing and rest in the same homestay.
After breakfast, you will start the drive to Skyumpata from Leh. It is a scenic journey of 6-7 hrs and you would be crossing two mountain passes Singge La and Sisir La. The route takes you through beautiful valleys and sceneries. After the last point, you go downhill for an hour before reaching the village Skyumpata. After this long drive, you will be staying at homestays in the village Skyumpata.
Your day starts early in the morning today. Post breakfast, you will drive to cross a mountain pass at a height of 14500 ft. A 1-hour climb to reach the top and another hour to descend. You will reach Lingshed Monastery by the evening. After reaching, you can make a quick visit to a local school to see how the schools in remote regions operate. The day will be concluded in the beautiful homestay in Lingshed.
It is a day to explore the spiritual village and Lingshed Monastery. Make sure you wake up early and attend the Morning Prayer in the monastery. After the morning prayers at the monastery, you can attend the morning assembly at a local remote school. After that, take a tour of a village with a villager. Experience how a normal day in a remote village is like. You can get to see local handicrafts that you can buy directly from locals as souvenirs.
After spending a day in Lingshed, drive to village Photoksar. Today you will get to stay in the beautiful village of Photoksar. Another day of adventure as we cross the mountain pass and traverse the valley. Located amidst mountains, the village of Photoksar has its own charm. The huge and distinct mountain shapes beautifully carved by nature over millions of years. Spend the day relaxing, enjoying the warm hospitality, and the beautiful views of mountains.
On our drive back to Leh, we’ll visit two very ancient monasteries of Ladakh. Lamayuru monastery is an important spiritual site for the local Buddhists. The monastery is located against a unique backdrop popularly known as the moonland. We’ll also visit the Alchi monastery which is another prominent site of Ladakh well known for its structure and paintings.
On the last day, the tour ends post breakfast in the homestay. One can fly back or keep exploring Ladakh for the next few days.
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!
