Ladakh
High desert on the Tibetan plateau, monasteries above the Indus, passes over 5,000 metres, and one of the clearest night skies in Asia.
Ladakh journeys open for the 2027 season. We are currently walking the routes and building relationships with the monasteries and families we intend to work with. Tell us what draws you there and we will contact you as dates confirm.
Ladakh sits in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, a cold desert at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 metres. The Indus runs through it, and along the river stand the great Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, Thiksey, Hemis, Lamayuru, Alchi, some of them older than anything comparable surviving in Tibet itself.
When Tibetan monastic life was disrupted in the twentieth century, Ladakh continued. Its gompas hold manuscripts, murals and lineages that were lost elsewhere. Alchi’s eleventh-century wall paintings are among the oldest surviving Buddhist art in the Himalaya.
The landscape is the other reason: bare rock in extraordinary colour, and skies dark enough for serious astronomy.
Ladakh shares the Vajrayana tradition and the maroon robe with Bhutan, and its cultural connections run to Tibet rather than to the Indian plains. Ladakhi is a Tibetic language. The Hemis festival, held in summer, is the largest in the region.
An independent Himalayan kingdom from the tenth century, positioned on the trade route between Kashmir, Tibet and Central Asia. Absorbed into Jammu and Kashmir in the nineteenth century, and made a separate Indian Union Territory in 2019.
June to September, when the passes are open and the high valleys reachable. Winter journeys are possible for travellers who want deep quiet and frozen rivers, but access narrows considerably.
Flights reach Leh from Delhi in around ninety minutes, landing at 3,500 metres. The road routes from Manali and Srinagar are extraordinary but open only in summer.
Ladakh is part of India, so an Indian visa applies. Most nationalities can use the e-Visa system. Inner Line Permits are additionally required for border areas such as Nubra and Pangong, which we arrange.
Altitude is the governing factor. Leh sits at 3,500 metres and every itinerary we build will begin with at least two nights of acclimatisation before going higher. This is not negotiable and shapes the shape of any Ladakh journey.
Register your interest in Ladakh.
We will contact you as the 2027 programme confirms.
Design Your Journey→A boutique travel company creating private journeys through Bhutan, Ladakh and Darjeeling.