Trip to ladakh

Trip to Ladakh SOLAR ELECTRIFICATION AND VILLAGE EXPERIENCES

BRIEF ITINERARY • Jagged snow-capped peaks, arid mountains, turquoise blue waters, white stupas and colorful prayer flags lining the mountain slopes. Ladakh is a photographers paradise and a Buddhist haven. Come, spend a fortnight in a traditional Ladakhi village, Takmachik and take back with you, lessons for a lifetime. • Village Takmachik is situated 115km to the west of Leh city on the banks of the river Indus. It is a small village under the Khaltse Block of the Leh district. It has an altitude of approximately 2940 meters (9640 feet) above sea level. There are 60 households with 590 inhabitants. The village practices organic farming and encourages eco-tourism/responsible travel.

An eco-tourist can witness the systems being implemented to produce organic food and sustainable village development based on the principles of combining land-based activities with Ecotourism.

ARRIVE AT LEH AND ACCLIMATISE • We fly into Leh from Delhi and settle into a cozy warm guest house run by a local Ladakhi family. Rest and get used to the high altitude today.

DRIVE TO VILLAGE TAKMACHIK • We will set out on our drive to village Takmachik. Enroute we will stop at the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar, Gurudwara Patthar Sahib and the Alchi Monastery. Upon arrival at Takmachik, we will be greeted by our hosts in a traditional Ladakhi warm village welcome and each one of us will be assigned our host families. • We will also undergo basic solar panel installation demo classes today by our installation team.

SOLAR INSTALLATIONS • These two days involve us trekking into the various Doks of Village Takmachik and solar installing our panels on every home. Based on the level of expertise of the team members, we will be set into teams with an expert each and work on installing our solar units. These two days will be strenuous with trekking and manual work involved for the installations.

• We will be a day of rest and relaxation after our two strenuous days of trekking. The villagers will put up a cultural show for us and we will get a chance to sing and dance in true Ladakhi style!

Things to do in Takmachik: • The village provides a perfect opportunity for a tourist to gain acquaintance and familiarity with traditional systems of agriculture.

• One can enjoy and experience daily village life, without the humdrum of urban living.

• Assist a local farmer in daily farming and visit the local seed bank.

• A cultural evening with traditional Ladakhi song and dance can be put up for the entertainment for the fellow eco-tourists.

• Enjoy local Ladakhi cuisine, all sourced and produced organically and learn how to cook their delectable delicacies.

• Dine in a traditional Ladakhi Kitchen with a local family.

• Visit the ancient monastery and soak in Buddhist spirituality. Experience a monastic prayer experience in a prayer house adorned with Buddhist deities.

• Learn traditional ways of fabric manufacturing, right from spinning of yarn from goat wool to local shoemaking, pottery and woodwork.

• Learn the ancient art of archery and indulge in some shooting.

The Takmachik Monastery: The Takmachik monastery is a branch of the Lamayuru monastery . The monastery boasts of a 11 foot sculpture of a 1000 armed Avalokitasvara. It also has 7 foot tall statues of Buddha and Guru Padma Sambhava. The Takmachik monastery has two branches namely the Hamer Temple and Choskyong Tseumar. The Hamer temple is situated 4km uphill in the inner valley at the face of a beautiful mountain and is surrounded by beautiful trees of poplar and willows and adorned with wild rose bushes. The Choskyong Tseumar is located on eastern side at a distance of 1km from the village in front of a red mountain.

LAMAYURU MONASTERY VISIT AND DRIVE TO LEH

After bidding adieu to our beautiful hosts at Takmachik, we will visit the monastery of Lamayuru and drive back to Leh. Spend this evening shopping at Leh market and bidding adieu to this surreal landscape.

Thank you C O N TA C T U S B 1 2 , F I R S T AV E N U E , S A I N I K P U R I , S E C U N D E R A B A D , T E L A N G A N A 5 0 0 0 9 4 + 9 1 7 674 0 625 8 1 H E L P @ O F F B E AT T R A C K S . U S