Blogs

School on the Roof of the World When school holidays end in the Himalayas, the teachers of Lamdon Model High School begin their dangerous journey back to their school – over ice and rocks, through a spectacular landscape. With temperatures at minus 35 degrees, the hike takes several days: Every year, after the four-month winter break, the teachers of Lamdon Model High School dare to cross the frozen Zanskar River or the rocks on its banks to return to their school. The remote region of Zanskar is located in the Himalayas, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In winter, the only access road is snowed in and impassable, […]

Ladakh Ice Hockey Puck Hunt at 3500 Meters The air is extremely thin and minus 16 degrees cold, even the fittest players quickly run out of breath – but the view and the atmosphere are fantastic: Ice hockey has become very popular in the Himalayas. Teams from Europe are now also traveling to the cult tournament at an altitude of 3500 meters. Only a few minutes remain until a possible triumph. The German-Finnish ice hockey team “Geronimo” is leading 2:1 in this last period, but the opponent from London is putting on the pressure. The “Spitfire” keep getting great chances. The “Geronimos”, including some former German national players, get help […]

Photo Series on Shepherdess Nomads: Damn Tough Few people live at such high altitudes as the Changpa. The Tibetan shepherd nomads traverse a barren high plateau with their animals. A photo series captures their harsh yet romantically wild everyday life. They live permanently at elevations over 4,000 meters and endure long, icy winters. The Changpa are Tibetan shepherd nomads who live in the Changthang plateau, which stretches from Tibet to Ladakh in northern India. In search of grass, they roam the lonely and barren steppes with their flocks of sheep, goats, and yaks. Since 2015, Ritayan Mukherjee has been photographing a group of these resilient people living in a valley […]

Where to Learn to Become a Paraglider Pilot You fold the wing into a backpack, spread it out on the slope, let the wind inflate it – and you’re flying. Alexey Druzhinin, a photographer with RIA Nоvоsтi, is certain there is no flying machine lighter, cheaper, or easier to control than a paraglider. For many years now, Alexey, one of Russia’s finest paraglider pilots, has spent his vacations in the mountains, unfurling his wing over the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Caucasus. Along with his tent and navigation tools, Druzhinin carries his camera with lenses and a dictaphone. He records his observations on the dictaphone, transcribes them at home, and posts […]

India: Red foxes increasingly rely on garbage and food scraps In northern India, red foxes can be seen rummaging through kitchen waste. The growing dependence of wild animals on food scraps could affect ecological processes and increase conflicts with humans. The Spiti Valley, located in the remote Trans-Himalaya, is one of the least populated places in India and home to several rare and endangered wild animals. There, to see wild herbivores like the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), you might have to walk up to mountain pastures sometimes at 5000 meters (16,404 feet) high. If you want to see a snow leopard (Panthera uncia), you might have to track herds of […]

“Reaching for a Dream” by Visiting Ladakh Đỗ An Ninh’s trip to “Little Tibet” left a stronger impression than he had ever imagined. Đỗ An Ninh, 28, a Korean language teacher, recently completed an 11-day trip to India in late August. His destination was Ladakh, a region in the Jammu and Kashmir state known as “Little Tibet.” Ninh joined a group tour, which was cheaper than initially expected, with a total cost of nearly 30 million VND per person. In addition to being a Korean language teacher, An Ninh runs a travel blog named OnTheMars, where he shares his trips and personal travel experiences. Ninh wanted to fully explore Ladakh, […]

The Reference Article Fototour Ladakh A fine pass! Over 5000 meters high, with dramatic mountain lakes: The Ladakh region in the Trans-Himalayas is a photographer’s paradise—if the weather plays along. To capture perfect images here, one must rise in the dead of night. Outside the cabin window, bare rock walls rush past, then a sharp left turn. The airport at Leh, wedged among peaks over 6000 meters, is feared by Indian pilots for its altitude, which diminishes the aircraft’s lift. The small Boeing 737 rumbles onto the 3500-meter-high runway. Ladakh greets us with a deep blue sky and pleasant autumn temperatures. A Taxi brings my friend Corinna and me to […]

Ladakh, Mountains and Men: A Journey into Ladakhi Culture Perched at 3,500 meters above sea level, this ancient Buddhist kingdom harbors a heritage of astonishing richness. Discover a fascinating region within these high Himalayan valleys, where it is hard to tell if they are closer to the earth or the sky. His Excellency Raja Jigmed Wangchuk Namgyal is a reserved man. With salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in a fleece jacket and blue jeans, he drives through the high Indus Valley in his small car. Sometimes he is seen in Leh, the former capital of his kingdom, overshadowed by the imposing castle built by his ancestors over three hundred years ago. But […]

Frozen Indus (Ladakh, January 2018) (Photo: Eszter Tandel) Have you ever thought about what it would be like if we didn’t track the passage of time? No calendars, no alarm clocks—just rising and going to bed when nature signals us. It may seem unbelievable, but the disappearing, yet still existing, nomadic tribes live something like this. Now, through the lens of Hungarian photographer Eszter Tandel, we can catch a glimpse into this simple, civilization-free world. Eszter Tandel was born in Transylvania in a multicultural environment that encouraged openness, curiosity, and acceptance from an early age. Although she always felt that it would be wonderful to show others the diversity of […]

Journey to Ladakh, Following the Tracks of the Snow Leopard EXTENSIVE REPORTAGE – As the Indian Himalayas’ edges are covered in snow, a flow of mantras escapes from monasteries perched on their rocky spurs. Perhaps these mantras reach the ears of the snow leopard, who takes advantage of the chill to indulge in its mountain loves without restraint. It’s barely 10 a.m., and the crowd is already pressing around the tarchem, the great pole adorned with victory flags, and even starts to occupy the high terraces of the monastery. The building, perched on its rocky spur, still bathes in its medieval essence. People, a magnificent parade of weather-beaten faces, old […]