8/23/12

Itinerary

Itinerary
OurjourneystartsinNewDelhi.Asweareallcomingfromdifferentcountries,ourfirstmeetingpointwillbeinthecapitalof India. Eventhoughwehaveatimelimitationoftwentyfivedays,wedonthaveafixedscheduleinthistravel.Wehaveaplanand anopennesstochangeit,mayitbebecauseoftheclimateorproblemsintheroadorjustbecausethegroupfeelstostay longerorshortersomewhere. Wehavetwodifferentitineraries: InJuly: FromNewDelhiwewillflydirectlytoLeh,thecapitalof Ladakh.Lehissituatedat3500mheight.Flyingthere wewillneedafewdaystoacclimatetothealtitude.After adayofcompleterest,wewillstartwiththreedayssilent retreat.Ourinitialmeetingwitheachotherwillbe throughsilence,inthe"Being".Thepracticeofdifferent typesofmeditationwillhelpourmindto"stop"andour bodytoletgo,experiencingsharingwithothersfromthe heartmorethanfromthemind. Lehisanoldcityfullofcharmandlife.Herethe BuddhistandtheMuslimsarelivingtogetherina peacefulandharmoniousway.Itsbeautifultowalk throughitsnarrowcobbledstreetscrisscrossedby channelsoffreshandclearwater.Ancientmonasteries,stupas,ladakhitraditionalhouses,mosques,theMuslimandtheso differentBuddhistquarters... FromtherewestarttodescendtheMysticIndusValley,connectingLehwithSrinagar,LadakhwithKashmir.Wewillsee manyTibetanMonasteriesintheway,someofthemlocatedinremoteandisolatedplaces.WewillstopinAlchi,Likir, Lamayuru,MulbeckandKargil. AlchiisalitlevillagewithaveryfamousGompa(monastery),morethan1500yearsold.Intheothersideofthevalleywewill findLikir,abeautifulvillage.Wewillsleephere. WecontinuedowntherivertowardsLamayuru,atownstatelocatedinastunningscenery,surprisinglyunusualandcolorful. FromhereBuddhistandMuslimvillagesaremixinguntilwewillreachtoMulbeckwherethereisafamousimpressiveeight metersstatueofMaitreya(thelongawaitednextBuddha)carvedintherock,attractingpeoplefromallovertheworld.Itsa magicalplaceforitsnaturalandspiritualbeauty,30kmdownthevalleylaysKargil,ournextstop.AveryaliveMuslimcity wherewewillrest. AndfrromKargilwemovetowardsZanskarValleyacrossSuruValley.OneofthemostimpressivevalleysofLadakh. Immenselybeautifulandveryasolated.NowordscanexpresswhatIexperienceeverytimeItravelinthisarea.Movingat thebottomofthisvalleyneverfailstoblowmymind.Thevisionoflookingalmoststraightupatmountaintopsof7000m,with someofthemcarryingglaciersendingjustontheothersideoftheriverwhichIfollow,leavesnospaceforanythingbut gratitudbeingallowedtoexperiencethis. FollowingSuruValleywewillreachtoanamazing"GlacierCircus"inwichcenterliesRangdumwherewewillstayforthe night.Thenextdaywewillclimbapassfromwichbecomesvisibletheworldslongestglacier.HereweenterZanskarValley atwichendwereachtoPadum,themostimportantvillageofthisarea.Thisroutisextremelybeautiful.Padumisasmall villageandthebiggestofthisarea,wherevillagersfromalloverthevalleydotheirbusinesandmeetup.Thereisnotmuch transportationhere,sothelocalshavetowalkveryfarsometimestoaccesthemarket.

www.himalayameditationtour.com/the-journey/itinerary.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page=

1/3

8/23/12

Itinerary

InPadumbeginsafivedayseasytrektoPhuktalmonastery. Anybodyinnormalphysicalconditionscandoit.Anyway,if somepeopledontwanttowalkthatmuch,theycanstayin Padumthosedaysvisitingthebeautifulmonasteriesand villagesaround.Trekkingwewillsleepandeatinlocal houses.Phuktalmonasteryisbuiltcompletelyhangingfrom therocks,inveryspectacularnaturalsurroundings. InonedaywewilltravelfromPadumbacktoKargilandnext dayweenterthegreenKashmirarrivingnighttimetothe beautifulcityofSrinagar.Weleavebehindusthedesertofthe highmountains.Kashmirosfamoussincecenturiesforits extraordinarybeauty. InSrinagarwestayingorgeoushouseboatsinoneofthe lakesofthisbeautifulandfriendlycity,knownforitslotus floatingparksandthehouseboatsoriginatingfromtheenglish colonialtime. AftertravellingthroughthedesertofLadakhitsagifttobeinaluxurioushouseboatandinthesoftbeautyofthelakein Srinagar.Wewillhavetheopportunitytosailonthelakesinromanticboatsanddiscoverthislovelycity. HerewesaygoodbyetotheHimalayasandflybacktoDelhi. WewillhaveonedayinDelhi,someofyouwillwanttorestbeforegoingbacktoyourcountry,andothersmaywanttodo tourismandshopping.Iwilloffereitherpossibilitysoyoucanchoose. ThereisanalternativetrekfromLamayurutoPadum,isabeautifulsevendaystrek.Totakeonepathortheotherwill dependonthegroupandtheconditionsweface. InAugust: FromNewDelhiwedrivebycartoVashist.LocatedinHimachalPradeshat2000m,intheKulluManalivalley.Itwillbeour firstcontactwiththeHimalayaandthemountainpeople.ItsthegatewaytoLadakh.Herethemountainisalive.Peopleliving connectedtonatureastheyhavebeendoingduringcenturies.Vashistisfamousforthesulphuroushotspringwaterandits oldtemple.PilgrimsfromalloverIndiacomehereforpurificationtakingabathinthisholywater.Intheothersideofthe valleyisManali,aknownhillstationforIndianpeople. ItisinVashishtwherewewilldothethreedayssilentretreatinabeautifulmountainhousebuiltbyaseekeroftruth.Nowan 80yearsoldindianmanwhohasdevotedmanyyearsofhislifetravellingalloverthehighHimalayas(ThelandofGodfor theHindus)inhissearchfortruthandhebuiltthishousemanyyearsagowiththepurposeofsharingmeditationwith seekerslikehim. Thesethreedaysherewillhelpourbodytoadjusttotheheight. FromVashistwemovetoLeh.LeavingbehindthegreenHimalayasandweenterthehighmountaindesert.Crossingfour mountainpasses,traversinganamazinglybeautifullandscape,naturewillshowitselfinallitsmagnificenceandpurity. Travellingslowly,veryslowly,givingusthechancetoenjoythejourney,stoppinghereandthere,walkingalittleorsimply contemplatingthebeautyofthispartoftheworld. ThefirstnightwewillsleepinJispa,oneofthelastinhabitatedplaceslocatedinawildlandscape,andthesecondnightin Pang,atemporarycampat4600mheight,managedmainlybylocalwomen,whichofferfoodandaccommodationand laughterinthesummermonthswhenthisrouteisopen.NextdayineveningwewillarrivetoLeh. FromLehwecrossovertotheNubraValley,climbingKardungLa,thehighestmotorablepassoftheworld(5646m). NubraValleywastraversedforcenturiesbymerchantsoftheSilkRout.WewillenjoyPanamikhotsprings,sanddunesand

www.himalayameditationtour.com/the-journey/itinerary.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page=

2/3

8/23/12

Itinerary

wildcamels,awholerangeofbeautyand exoticism,mysticismandsilence,simplicityand light.OneofthemostmagicaldaysinNubrais whenwewalkfromHunder(thelitlevillage wherewestay)toDiskitmonasteryacrossthe desertdunes. WewillspendfivedaysintheNubraValleyand returntoLehtostartdescendingtheIndus Valley,stoppingatthesameplacesasinJuly, andfinallyreachingSrinagarfromwherewefly toDelhitocompleteourjourney. InAugustwewillmakeasimplethreedays trekkingintheIndusValley,nearLikirandasin Julywewillstayinlocalhouses.

www.himalayameditationtour.com/the-journey/itinerary.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page=

3/3