Ecology, Spirit, & Textiles
of Ladakh

We will get up early for our transfer to the airport to catch an unforgettable flight taking us over incredible geography: the immense snow covered Himalayan Range to reach Leh, capital of the ancient Kingdom of Ladakh, once a critical crossroads of important trade routes. Bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across theKarakoram Pass in the far north, it is a region rich in history from caravan times to today. We will be welcomed and taken to our home at the Indus River Camp where we will settle in, acclimatize. Optional Bird watching before Orientation distribution of welcome packs. 11,562 ft INDUS RIVER CAMP.
Meals Included: B,L,D

After optional yoga, meditation and breakfast, our adventure begins as we depart for Alchi Monastery (10,200 feet) , perched on the south bank of the Indus 40 miles outside of Leh. According to local tradition, the monastery was built by the great translator Guru Rinchen Zangpo between 958 and 1055 in the Kashmiri style blending Hindu and Buddhist artistic and spiritual details in the wall paintings—some of the oldest surviving paintings in Ladakh. Rinchen Zangpo, known as the ”Great Translator” is credited with building 108 monasteries in the trans-Himalayan region in his quest to disseminate Buddhism and Alchi is considered the finest remaining. To stretch our legs, we will have a short (1.5 hour) trek to the tiny village of Tar, where we will have lunch with a family and learn about village life and harvesting of barley, peas, apricots and apples. We walk back to our vehicles and make it back to Indus River Camp for dinner. INDUS RIVER CAMP.
Meals Included: B,L,D

Optional Morning meditation and yoga. Breakfast talk on Ladakh Ecology with  local environmentalists. We will go and visit a nursery growing traditional healing herbs and we will learn their usage. At lunch, we will meet Venerable Dr. Tsering Palmo, nun and traditional medical practitioner, who has worked tirelessly innovating Buddhist monasticism, training Buddhist nuns as medicinal practitioners to help with the health of their rural communities. We will visit with Amchi Smanla, founder of the Yuthog Foundation, who taking our pulses, will share Ladakhi perspectives on our health and harmony. Amchi Smanla will share the relationship between land, the elements and our bodies for maintaining health as we learn Ladakhi cosmologies of healing and maps of the body as well as medicinal plants traditionally used as natural dyes with their healing properties.  We return to Indus Camp for live folk music concert with storytelling. INDUS RIVER CAMP
Meals Included: B,L,D

For those inclined, we will start our day with optional yoga and meditation before breakfast. We will meet with a Lhamo, a traditional Ladakhi female charismatic healer who channels Palden Lhamo, an important wrathful protector spirit, embodiment ancient divine feminine. We will then head to Leh for a leisurely heritage walk ending at the Textile Museum, meeting with Norbu and Jigmat Wangmo of Jigmet Couture, small ethical fashion house, reviving, preserving and promoting textile arts, ensuring traditional Ladakhi dress is contemporarized, fashionable and relevant. 

We return to WeAreKal, started by our hosts Catherine Alle and her husband Tsering Angtak. “We are farmers, spinners, weavers, nomads, designers, knitters and culture lovers. Our goal is to create meaningful products in harmony with nature and humanity, “says Catherine. “The evolution of raw materials into a final product is what we are excited about. We love the hand-making, therefore all of our fabric is hand-spun and hand-woven.” We will begin our workshop with local Ladakhi women weavers, followed by a snack of homemade sourdough and jam. INDUS RIVER CAMP.
Meals Included: B,L,D

The time has come to meet shepherding families whose home is the Changtang, a sweeping high desert on the Tibetan plateau. We are lucky enough to have Tsering Angtak share with us his home village. After an early breakfast, we will depart for Angtak’s family’s village, stopping along the way at monasteries and for lunch. We arrive in Kharnak and are feasted with local produce: tea, bread, yoghurt before exploring Yakhang village, an old nunnery and settling in for some optional spinning and carding. In the early evening the animals are brought in for the night and once dark, the community gather in the community hall for worship and we are welcome to join them. CAMPING (all bedding supplied).
Meals Included: B,L,D

Everyone is invited to wake up at your own pace. Animals will leave for the pastures at 8 pm. After a breakfast of veggies and bread with Angtak’s family, we depart mid morning, returning to the capital of Leh. We will break for lunch at  World Heritage site Thiksey Monastery, an impressive structure closely resembling the Potala Palace in Lhasa, it is famed for its extraordinary massive statue of Maitreya, the buddha of the future, as we reflect on the future of shepherds, farming, the preciousness of water, Ladakh’s people and its textiles and traditions, the planet, and our way of life.  We return to Indus Camp by 4 pm, freshen up and relax, with an early dinner and wrap up with reflection on our pilgrimage, and the interwoven relationships made between people, fibers, and place.  INDUS RIVER CAMP.
Meals Included: B,L,D

After breakfast, we are dropped at the airport as we retrace our way back over the immense massifs of Himalayas, source of all water for the tiny communities below as we make our way to the bustling capitol of Delhi. Some may transfer to the international airport for evening flights home early on the 28th. Others will be taken to hotel. An optional excursion to explore the Red Fort an impressive Mughal era building made entirely of red stone to learn Mughal history, or explore Hauz Kaus or the fabrics of Chandni Chowk, or find innovative upscaling recycling treasures or other recommended places for Indian silk and cotton treasures.