Blogs

The Best Lessons in Climate Diplomacy are Learned from Himalayan Villages The glacier above Kumik is rapidly retreating, and the community is facing tough choices. Photo: Jonathan Mingle “How on earth do these people manage to survive?” This was the question British geographer James Claughton continually pondered during the winter of 1976, spent in the remote Himalayan valley of Zanskar in northwest India. It is a valid question. Zanskar is a very harsh place at any time. The average elevation of its few dozen villages is 12,500 feet (about 3,800 meters). The only connection to the outside world is a 160-mile (about 260-kilometer) jeep road that is closed by snow […]

Ladakh: The Lair of the Snow Leopard In the northern reaches of India, an American wildlife photographer and a BBC tracker, each driven by the chase of the legendary gray ghost, lead an expedition. Their eyes, sharpened by telescopic lenses, fixate on a silent assassin nestled in a crevice. His face bears the scars of three days of blood, and as dusk approaches, hunger compels him to rise. Reluctantly, he rises, crouches low, and moves toward the summit to scout for his next prey. Here, in Hemis National Park on the outskirts of Leh, his primary target is the Himalayan blue sheep. Technically, the blue sheep is neither blue nor […]

One of our team members climbs the ice stupa in Shara. In Sanskrit, “stupa” means “heap” and traditionally refers to structures that house Buddhist relics. For thousands of years, stupas have been constructed from materials like wood, stone, clay, and brick, ranging from simple domes to elaborate tiered towers. The first ice stupa was created in 2013 in Ladakh, Kashmir. Ladakh is a high-altitude desert surrounded by the Himalayas, and its villages rely mainly on glacier meltwater. With glaciers retreating due to climate change, water flow has become unpredictable. Sometimes there is too much water causing flash floods, while at other times there is a severe shortage. The ice stupa, […]

The Dark Sky Sanctuary near the border between India and China houses the Himalayan Chandra Telescope. The photograph, captured in 2018, shows Mars approaching Earth, an event that occurs once every two years. Photo credit: Dorje Anchuk Under the clear night skies along the India-China border, a sense of hope for the future stretches across the heavens. Written by Rag Kurnad and Anmol Tiku, September 19, 2020 Ladakh, often referred to as “the Roof of the World,” is one of the highest regions on Earth. Despite the dangers of altitude sickness, severe cold outside the summer months, and narrow roads prone to landslides, its breathtaking beauty is well worth the […]

Trans-Himalaya Adventure: The Astonishing Bicycle and Ski Traverse by Swiss Adventurers – An Epic Journey Through the Winter Himalayas Trans-Himalaya Companions of the Cold Two Swiss adventurers are attempting to cross the Himalayas by bicycle, on foot, and on skis. The challenges begin once the cycling part is over. To the Horizon and Beyond All efforts are rewarded for such dreamlike scenery. “The winter in the Himalayas is a completely different caliber,” says Claude Balsiger as he burrows deeper into his sleeping bag. He is a Swiss bike adventurer who knows the highest mountain range in the world in summer. He spends one to several months there every year. Once, […]

Stunning Photos of Ice Hockey in the Himalayas After spending a few months coaching in Serbia, Jan Andersen embarked on an adventure among Buddhist monasteries, Muslim villages, and semi-nomadic shepherds. In January 2016, Jan Andersen, a former coach of several North American hockey teams, decided to leave the glamorous ice arenas behind and seek a new adventure on one of the world’s most remote natural ice fields. Located at an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, east of India’s rarely inhabited Ladakh region, lies the Tibetan Plateau, west of the disputed border with China. For three months each year, when temperatures drop below -20 degrees and schools close, natural ponds […]

Why is cashmere so expensive? At an altitude higher than 4,000 meters, where winter temperatures can drop to -40 degrees Celsius, it’s hard to believe that anyone or anything can survive, writes Bored Panda. It’s like a vast, frozen desert, and it’s the Changtang Plateau. Located between the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges, it is the highest permanently inhabited plateau in the world and home to an extremely hardy and rare breed of goat, the Changra or cashmere goat. The high altitude, freezing temperatures, and harsh winds in this unforgiving mountain region are crucial for stimulating the growth of the super-soft wool of these goats. The fibers are only 8 […]

Tibetan people believe that children should be treated like “kings” until the age of 5 and regarded as being in a “learning phase” from ages 5 to 10. Their parenting system has a long tradition and is detailed as follows: All parents hope their children will grow up to be happy and intelligent individuals, but the methods often depend on societal norms and what people in that country consider correct. The book The Tibetan Art of Parenting: From Before Conception Through Early Childhood by En Maiden-Brown, Eddie Farwell, and Dr. Dick Nilson explains how Tibetans raise their children. This book is not written as a conventional manual for parents but […]

The Incredible Ladakh Monasteries One of the most visited monasteries in Ladakh is Thiksey, home to two hundred monks and dating back to the 15th century. I’ve already mentioned in a previous chronicle that traveling through Ladakh feels like traversing the moon. Only the blue serpent of the Indus adds a splash of color and life to the imposing landscape, bristling with peaks. The riverbanks break the gray monotony of the surroundings with the miracle of green life. The rest is bare, torn stone. To the right of the stream rise the snow-capped peaks of the Karakoram, while to the left stand the pinnacles of the Great Himalayas. The Indus […]

Zanskar Trekking Tour : To the Heavens in the Himalayas In the former Buddhist kingdom of Zanskar lie villages and monasteries among the most remote in the Himalayas. To reach them, one must walk—and in doing so, encounters a breathtaking world of mountains. ABOUT THE PERSON Michael Martin, born in 1963, is a geographer and renowned desert photographer. The Munich native has undertaken 150 desert journeys since he was 17 and has published more than 20 books on the subject, including “The Deserts of the Earth” and “Planet Desert.” Martin has named his new project “Terra.” “Julley!” greets us Tesering, a kindly man marked by life in the high mountains. […]