Experience the true heritage and culture of Ladakh with Mountain Homestays
Experience the true heritage and culture of Ladakh with Mountain Homestays
Experience the Traditional Craft and cultural reminiscence of Central Asia
Why this experience is unique?
Ladakh is a place where local artists create unique art influenced by Nepal, Tibet, and Central Asia. In Ladakh’s villages, ancient crafts continue, keeping traditions alive for many years. You can experience authentic Ladakhi culture by staying in carefully crafted homestays that show you local life up close. Also, drive on one of the world’s highest roads to see amazing views of the Himalayas. Discover Ladakh’s beauty as it shows you its history and natural wonders, promising a memorable journey into the heart of this special region.
Experience the true flavors of Ladakh and marvel at the wonders of Nubra, Sham Valley, and Rong Valley during your trip to Ladakh. Immerse yourself in an evening dinner in front of the mighty Karakoram Range. Sojourn with local artisans and learn more about traditional art forms and their ancestry.
We will pick you up from the Leh airport and transfer you to your Homestay at Thiksey (11,500ft). You will be resting today and acclimatizing yourself to the High-Altitude environment with a view of the Thiksey Monastery. This day is called the Acclimatization day and is required to adjust your body to the low oxygen levels of this altitude.
After breakfast, visit the Nyarma University at Thiksey – A lost treasure of Ladakh. The monument is known for its ancient relics. The archaeological and architectural findings hint that Nyarma Univeristy must have covered around 2 kilometers in length. This huge site is believed to have eight temple halls of varied sizes along with the Gtsug Lhakhang, the main temple. The university even had a massive statue of 24th Buddha Dīpankara Buddha and had statues of other divine beings as well. As you would expect from this colossal monastery, students from distant places came here to learn mathematician, Pali, Sanskrit and Buddhism.
Towards the evening, visit the city of Leh, and visit Shanti Stupa, Central Asian Museum, take a tour of Old Leh city and Tsemo Castle. Overnight at Thiksey Homestay
Today is the day when we will leave Leh and embark on a journey along the Silk route to Nubra Valley. We will be crossing 17,582 ft Khardung La pass – known to be one of the highest motorable roads in the world. Upon reaching the ‘Orchard of Ladakh’, we will pay our tribute to 33m tall statue of Maitreyi Buddha at the Diskit Monastery. We will visit Hunder, one of the major towns of the region and known for the Double humped camel safari and unique sand dunes. The place was a part of the ancient silk route which is also known as the cold desert. Overnight at Green Valley Homestay (A homestay at Sumoor).
The day starts with exploring the Col. Chewang Rinchen MVC Museum at Sumoor and visit the last village before the Siachen Base Camp. Col. Chewang Rinchen was responsible for capturing Turtuk for India. Towards the evening visit the Samstaling Monastery and sit in the enchanting prayer of the monastery. Samstaling monastery is also a major monastery of the region and has preserved hits old practice over the years. In the evening, spend time with the family and hear stories of Lundup the architect of the homestay and his wife Padma Angmo – A self made entrepreneur . Stay overnight at Green Valley Homestay ( A homestay museum)
Post breakfast, you will travel to Kyungyam Village which is located in Rong Valley, Changthang region. It will take you 6 hours to reach the village from Sumoor. In the evening, enjoy the astonishing landscape in Rong around homestay along with tailored experiences with the family. Immerse in cooking traditional cuisine with host and exchange the local lore’s of the village, Buddhism, wildlife and personal stories. Overnight a curated homestay at Kyungyam besides a stream flowing besides the homestay.
Post breakfast, take a trip along the Indus river back towards Leh. The valley is known for its wildlife and if lucky, you will be able to spot highly elusive Eurasian lynx, Blue sheep, Himalayan wolves and so on. The journey to Leh and further to Phyang will be around 3 hours journey from village Kyungyam. Once you reach Phyang, get stelled into cozy homestay with a view of the Monastery from the room. Experience the stargazing session at Cosmohub during the night with a guided monastery visit.
Today, we will start our day by visiting 1000-years old Alchi Monastery. Visiting the monastery, post which we will take a little detour to the Likir village where we will experience the pottery session with the last potter family of Ladakh In the afternoon, plan your lunch at the Alchi Kitchen to experience award winning Ladakhi Cuisine (As per actuals). In the evening, we will visit Leh market and pick up souvenirs, including Pashmina and other local handicrafts. Penultimate night stay at Phyang Homestay.
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!
