India: Losar Ladakhi New Year Winter Festival Tour

Route: Leh airport to hotel

Your guide and driver meet you at Leh airport, in a heated vehicle, and take you to the hotel. Every flight to Leh lands in the morning, because winds pick up later in the day at an airport about 3,250 m high. The hotel is warm, and you are asked to rest.

Leh is at 3,500 m. The Ladakh tourism advisory asks new arrivals to rest on the first day and add no more than about 500 m of sleeping height a day after that. Tonight is Galdan Namchot, the festival of lamps, when the day of Tsongkhapa, the teacher who founded the Gelug school, is remembered. Butter lamps burn on rooftops and in monasteries, and from the hotel window or terrace you see the town light up. Drink plenty of fluids and skip alcohol tonight.

Experience of the Day

–  Met at Leh airport by your guide and driver, in a heated vehicle.

–  Galdan Namchot lamp night, seen from the hotel.

–  A full rest day at 3,500 m, as the Ladakh tourism advisory asks of new arrivals.

Food

Lunch and dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

Light rest only today. No sightseeing is planned on arrival day.

Route: Leh hotel – Old Town – Leh Palace – Leh hotel

The morning is for rest. After lunch your guide takes you by vehicle to the Old Town and the main bazaar, where shopkeepers are already stocking for Losar, with flour, dried fruit, butter and prayer flags. Leh Palace, the nine-storey royal home of the 17th century, can be visited when it is open in winter, and your guide confirms access in advance.

In the evening your guide gives a briefing at the hotel. Ladakhi Losar falls on the first day of the eleventh Tibetan month, and it comes earlier in the winter than the Tibetan new year observed in other places. Homes are cleaned, dough figures of the ibex, the sun and the moon are set on kitchen shelves, and lucky signs are painted on the walls in flour. Butter lamps are lit and buildings are lit up. The core of the festival runs about three days, and some villages celebrate for longer.

Experience of the Day

–  Leh Old Town and the bazaar in its Losar week.

–  Leh Palace, when open.

–  A briefing on Losar, with a printed note on the dough figures, the torches and the greetings.

–  A first pulse-oximeter reading for each guest.

Food

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Leh hotel or in the Old Town.

Activities to Do

A slow afternoon by vehicle; the briefing in the evening.

Shopping

The main bazaar sells prayer flags, juniper incense, dried apricots and warm layers.

Route: Leh – Thiksey – Shey – Leh

Thiksey, 19 km from Leh, is a Gelug monastery of the mid-15th century, with twelve storeys rising up a hill. The morning prayer begins at about 6:30 am, and the horns, drums and chanting in the cold hall carry far in the Ladakhi winter air. A Maitreya about 15 m high stands in a temple built in 1970. Hot tea is offered to the monks, and your guide explains what the prayers ask for at the new year.

At Shey, 15 km from Leh, a palace and gompa were built in 1655 by King Deldan Namgyal, with a copper-gilt Shakyamuni about 12 m high rising through three floors. In winter the old fort above is dusted with snow. You are back in Leh by early afternoon, with the afternoon free.

Experience of the Day

–  Morning prayer at Thiksey, with horns, drums and chanting.

–  The 15 m Maitreya at Thiksey.

–  The 12 m Shakyamuni at Shey.

Food

Breakfast after the morning prayer; lunch at the Leh hotel; dinner at the hotel.

Activities to Do

Monastery visits with short walks and a view over the Indus valley.

Route: Leh – Basgo – Likir – Alchi – Leh

Today is a day trip west along the Indus. At Basgo, a hilltop of ruined royal buildings holds temples dedicated to Maitreya, with murals of the 16th century. Likir, founded in 1065, follows the Gelug school, and its 23 m Maitreya, completed in 1999, looks over the valley.

Alchi, about 65 km from Leh, is a group of temples on the south bank of the Indus at about 3,100 m. Tradition credits the translator Rinchen Zangpo with founding it, and scholars place the main temples between the 11th and early 13th centuries. The Dukhang holds mandalas and a royal drinking scene, and the Sumtsek holds three colossal clay figures with murals in styles that came from Kashmir. Photography is not allowed inside. You return to Leh in the evening, before the roads ice over.

Experience of the Day

–  Basgo's ruined royal buildings and murals.

–  Likir's 23 m Maitreya.

–  The Dukhang and the Sumtsek at Alchi, with no photography inside.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; lunch at Likir or Alchi; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

Temple visits with short walks and a long afternoon at Alchi.

Route: Leh – Stok – Matho – Leh

Stok village lies about 15 km from Leh on the south bank of the Indus, under the royal palace of the 19th century. In the morning you meet your host family and walk through the village, where Losar preparations are under way: houses are cleaned, stacks of wood are cut and barley is made ready.

In the host family's kitchen you help to prepare the Losar dishes. Guthuk is a soup of dumplings, and each dumpling hides a small filling, such as wool, chilli or coal, which is said to tell the fortune of the one who finds it. Kapse are twisted pastries that are fried and stacked. You also try your hand at the dough figures of the ibex, the sun and the moon. After lunch you visit Matho, about 26 km from Leh, a Sakya monastery of the 16th century, where a lama will talk about the new year's prayers. Matho is also known for its oracle festival, held after Losar.

Experience of the Day

–  A walk through Stok village in its Losar preparations.

–  A cooking session with a host family: guthuk, kapse and dough figures.

–  Matho Monastery and a talk with a lama.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; a Ladakhi lunch with the host family; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

A cooking session, a village walk and a monastery visit.

Shopping

Wool, cheese and crafts can be bought directly from the family.

The Human Story: The Shelf of Dough Animals

In many Ladakhi kitchens the dough ibex, the sun and the moon are set on a shelf at Losar as signs of good fortune. They are made by hand, and no two look the same. Ask your host to explain the family's own custom, and ask before photographing the family.

Route: Leh hotel – Old Town – a village on the outskirts of Leh – Leh hotel

The day is slow. Leh is busy in the morning, with final purchases and cleaning, and your guide takes you through the bazaar. In the afternoon you rest.

At dusk you go with your guide to a village on the edge of Leh for the evening of the eve. In Ladakhi villages the old year is sent off with fire. Torches are lit, and people walk in procession through the fields, chanting and carrying flames to drive out ill luck. Young men in some villages swing burning bundles on chains. The monastery signals the start with a long horn. Details differ from village to village, and your guide confirms the village and time with the host family a day before. You return to the hotel for dinner.

Experience of the Day

–  Leh bazaar on the day before Losar.

–  The torchlight procession of the eve in a village near Leh.

–  Fire, chanting and the sound of the horn.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; lunch in town; dinner at the Leh hotel after the procession.

Activities to Do

A rest in the afternoon; a short evening excursion by vehicle.

Route: Leh hotel – Thiksey – host family – Leh hotel

Losar morning begins quietly. Prayer flags are raised on rooftops and mountainsides, and juniper is burned for incense. Families visit the monastery to pray for the year. You go to Thiksey with your guide, to hear the new year's prayers, and you wish the monks a happy new year with a white khata scarf, which we provide.

At midday you are invited to a host family's table. There is a spread of Ladakhi dishes, with kapse, momos, skyu, butter tea and warm barley beer, and you are asked to share the family's blessing. In the afternoon neighbours and relatives come and go. Gifts and good wishes are exchanged, and some families wear festive dress. The Ladakhi greeting for the new year is Losar tashi delek, and your guide teaches you how to give it.

Experience of the Day

–  New year prayers at Thiksey, with a khata offered to the monks.

–  Midday at a host family's table.

–  Gifts, greetings and visits in the afternoon.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; Losar lunch with a host family; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

A monastery visit, a family meal and a slow afternoon.

The Human Story: A Table at New Year

Losar is first a family occasion. Neighbours visit in turn, and a guest who is invited in is treated as one of the house. The greeting is spoken, the khata is offered and the tea is poured. You are never expected to do more than accept what is offered.

Route: Leh hotel – Old Town – a village – Leh hotel

Losar continues. Many families keep visiting for a second day, and the monasteries hold prayers. In the late morning your guide takes you to the Old Town, where public programmes of folk music and dance may be held in the Leh market in the Losar fortnight, as in recent years. These are run by the local administration, and your guide confirms the programme on the day.

In the afternoon you take a free walk through the bazaar, with time for a final purchase of pashmina, silver and prayer flags, and a visit to a family home or a quiet café. The farewell dinner at the hotel is Ladakhi, with a toast of warm barley beer if you wish. On the third evening of Losar, families look for the first moon of the new year and pray for a good harvest. As flights leave in the morning, you will have left by then, and an extra night can be added if you wish to see it.

Experience of the Day

–  The second day of Losar in Leh and its villages.

–  Public music and dance in the Leh market, when held.

–  A farewell dinner at the hotel.

Food

Breakfast, lunch and a Ladakhi farewell dinner at the Leh hotel or in town.

Activities to Do

A free walk through the Old Town; a visit to a family home if invited.

Shopping

Leh's main bazaar sells pashmina, silver jewellery and prayer flags.

Route: Leh hotel – Leh airport

Your driver takes you to the airport, in a heated vehicle. Every flight out of Leh leaves in the morning. If you are staying on in Ladakh, today is the day to move on to your next stop.

Guests with an evening international flight from Delhi can connect the same day. The Leh–Delhi flight takes about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Experience of the Day

–  Transfer to Leh airport for a morning flight.

Food

Breakfast at the hotel; other meals as you choose.

Activities to Do

None scheduled. The day is kept free to flex around your flight time.