Ladakh, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, is a remote region north of the Himalaya which has much in common with Tibetan culture and is known as ‘Little Tibet’. Join us on a spectacular trek in this amazing landscape; see the palaces and Tibetan monasteries, and meet the local people in remote villages. Ladakh still sees few visitors. The roads here are closed by snow from about October to May, isolating the region for most of the year. Our trek in this dramatic and arid landscape takes us from the monastery at Spitok, across high passes, through beautiful valleys and gorges, past lakes and rivers, over yak pasturelands, and into remote villages with monasteries and gompas. Leh is the capital of the area, with a palace perched on a high peak at one end of the town, and many Buddhist monasteries.

Ladakhi Man LADAKH-home to 140,000 peoples cover an area of about 96,701 Sq. km and main Language is Ladakhi, Purig, Tibetan and English. Ladakh & Zanskar the first inhabitants of Ladakh were the nomadic Khampas who roamed the remote grazing areas of the Tibetan plateau. The Monks, who professed Buddhism, established the first settlements on the windswept plateau. Dards from the Indus Valley introduced irrigation to make agriculture possible in the higher reaches. The Dards were gradually displaced or assimilated by migrations from Guge, a province in western Tibet..

The Indian teacher Padmasambhaba (8th century CE) crossed the Himalaya to establish Tibetan Buddhism, which enriched by the 11th century scholar Rinchen Zangpo who founded 108 gompas “Monasteries”. In the 14th century the Gelukpa order of monks was introduced to Ladakh. With Islam spreading up the Indus Valley, the divided upper and lower realms of Ladakh united under the Buddhist ruler Tashi Namgyal. Later, however, the Muslim ruler of Baltistan forced the Ladakhi king to marry his daughter. Ladakh enjoyed stability under Singe Namgyal, the offspring of this union. He constructed the royal palace at Leh and established gompas of Drukpa order in Ladakh and Zanskar. The Ladakhi kingdom now included Zanskar and Spiti in addition to the Indus Valley, but these territories diminished after a war with the forces of the fifth Dalai Lama sent from Lhasa. Relations with Tibet improved after the signing of a trade agreement. In 1846 Ladakh became part of territory of the maharaja of Jammu & Kashmiri control until 1995 when it achieved partial administrative autonomy. Whatever LADAKH is the Trans-Himalaya Zone marking the boundary between the peaks of the western Himalaya and the vast Tibetan plateau. Since it was opened up to tourism in 1974 Ladakh has been known as land of high passes ‘the broken Moon’ “The land of mystic Lamas” ‘Mini Tibet’ and even ‘the last Shangri La’ The culture of Ladakh is predominantly Buddhist, with once close cultural and trading links with Tibet. This is particularly evident in the most populated region of Leh and the Indus Valley.