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Little Tibet of India:
Discover
Ladakh,
one of
the most remote outposts of the earth, a cultural satellite of Tibet and
the best that adventure
and cultural travel in the trans-Himalaya can offer!
Meet warm-hearted
people and curious monks and admire the perfect harmony in
which they have learnt to live with their harsh yet stunning environment!
Discover
Buddhist culture that has enabled its inhabitants to preserve and
perpetuate their cultural identity north of the Himalayas!
Feel
Ladakh's
awe-inspiring desolation, remoteness and thin air high at 15000 feet!
Our guides:
Our guides are all locals, among the most accomplished
mountaineers, having scaled number of prominent peaks in the
region, and knowledgeable about their culture and
environment. Whether you may have questions about Ladakh’s
ways of nature, Ladakhi ways of life, customs or traditions
and ways of thinking, they'll give you an intimate insight
into the fabric of the local lifecycle. Coming from
surrounding villages or Leh, the capital, they pride
themselves in not only promoting Ladakh tourism, the
greatest contributor to the sustenance and growth of the
local economy, but in protecting its nature, customs and
traditions thus helping to safeguard the local environment
and culture.
Eco-Friendly Tourism:
Wherever we camp, we pitch our
toilet tents far away from any rivers or streams, dig a hole
in the earth and following our clients’ departure each
morning cover it with soil. We bring all of the
non-biodegradable garbage we produce on our tours on horses
back to Leh.
Culture-Sensitive Tourism
We gladly turn part of our
clients’ hard earned money to villages and monasteries in
form of payments as camping and monastery entrance fees,
contributing to the maintenance of local camping sites,
trails, bridges and to improvements in water supply and
sanitation, as well as helping monks to fund repairs and
renovations of monastic structures and priceless artwork.
Accommodations:
In Leh, we accommodate you in some of the most charming and
comfortable hotels and high quality small inns built in
traditional style of architecture but possessing modern
amenities. Our favorite inn is the Deskit Villa; located in
a quiet residential neighborhood uphill and away from the
congested center of Leh, Deskit Villa offers fine views of
the valley and the panorama of the surrounding mountains.
On a trail:
Trekking with us you'll have a
guide, a yak or pony (handled by a native "yak driver"), a
tent (more exactly your tent, plus a dining tent, and a
toilet tent) and a cook. Your gear will be on a yak so you
basically walk hands free with only a day-pack. You get
delicious meals cooked by our Ladakhi or Nepalese Sherpa
cooks. As mentioned above, all our guides are local Ladakhis
as are our support crews. This type of travel makes it a
very pleasant experience for you as our local guides and
crew will enable you to visit homes and monasteries, a great
advantage as this type of access you would never have on
your own. We provide all of your gear and equipment - all
you need to bring is your sleeping bag; we don't provide
those because of hygiene and difficulties to find good
dry-cleaning in Ladakh.
When to come:
Although Ladakh is a remote region of the
world, it is accessible by air and
thus conducive to touring almost year-round. The main tourist season in Ladakh
is during the North American summer, from the beginning of June to the end of
September. Although July and August bring the warmest temperatures in Ladakh, this is the period of rainfall in Ladakh. Being in the
so-called 'rain shadow' of the Himalayas, Ladakh sees very little
precipitation, particularly compared to the Himalayas further south, however,
the rivers do rise, making many areas inaccessible, trails and bridges get swept
away, and landslides tumble down. As rain brings snow to the highest
elevations resulting in difficulties crossing the passes, many treks can be
undertaken best only in the later parts of summer and early fall, from mid
August to mid October. Spring and fall only start and end the short but hot
summer, separating it from the long and brutally cold winter. From late September to late
October the days stay pleasantly warm but get shorter and nights become
progressively colder; on the other hand, the rivers at this time are low and
easier to ford, and the crowds of tourists are gone. By the end of October, the
climate starts turning to winter, with the lowest temperatures arriving in
January. Although Ladakh stays frozen until March and it’s completely cut off
by overland routes from Manali and Kashmir south of the towering ranges of the
Himalayas, this is the time we run our winter treks on the frozen Zanskar River. During April and May Ladakh starts to
warm up again, the ground thaws and the color returns. The villages begin slowly
to turn from its winter brown to summer green, a striking contrast to the arid
earth tones of the surroundings, and our summer season of Ladakh treks and jeep
tours begins.
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