Ladakh

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Myths and Mountains 25th Anniversary – Congratulations

Ladakhi Women in her Perak

Ladakhi Women in her Perak

Myths and Mountains is a fabulous adventure travel company who I have worked with to set up  many of my adventures. I am excited to be collaborating with them on their new website  and newsletters. Traveler, humanitarian, and teacher, Toni Neubauer is the guiding spirit behind Myths and Mountain. She and her team create  intimate experiences that are the heart and soul of every trip, and  what makes each journey so unique.

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Back from the Hermit Kingdom of Ladakh

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Stretching from the Great Himalayas, across sections of the Zanskar, and the Karakoram ranges, Ladakh is a land of extremes. Extremely high peaks, extremely blue sky, extremely stark beauty. It is a land of foreboding landscapes and of an extremely friendly and welcoming people. People who live today as they have for centuries. While change is coming fast and the schools are educating the children in English, Ladakh still maintains a timelessness found only in a few places on the planet still largely inhabited by an indigenous people.

Cut off from the rest of the world by the great Himalayan range, Ladakh, has for centuries been a crossroads for pilgrims and traders. Called by some “The Last Shangri-La” it is a land of monasteries perched on high peaks and ancient fortress palaces built upon steep rocky slopes. Villages are scattered among the valleys between ranges connected only by mountain passes which tower as high as 18,500 feet. Therefore, the name Ladakh, which literally means  “the land of passes.” Buddhism, its traditions, its monasteries, its people, its chortens and its mani walls, dominate the culture and panorama.

I feel like I have come back from another world…

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The Hermit Kingdom of Ladakh

Ladakh, or “Little Tibet” as it is known, is a wildly beautiful desert region high in the Western Himalayas. It is a place of few resources and an extreme climate, and a culture over 1000 years old. Leh, Ladakh, a fabled city, is  on the ancient silk route.

In the month of September, the ‘moonscape’ of Ladakh comes alive with a magic of its own. The people, wearing  gold and silver ornaments and turquoise headpieces, dance in  the streets. Traditional dances depict the many legends of Ladakh, the hermit kingdom. Ancient monasteries sport flags in a riot of colors, display tankhas and have archery competitions,  horse-polo, and more .

Leaving Tuesday, finally, after many earlier summer plans went awry…I wonder how it will be…

September Festivals in Ladakh

September Festivals in Ladakh

This is a photo from The Crooked Trails website…
We will have little internet access but I will try to post when I can…