Ladakh for Families

Since it started in 2009, ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ has been a huge hit with local families. Its centrepiece is a spectacular outdoor show featuring a feast of Bollywood-inspired music, dance and acrobatics. Think crazy light shows and dozens of dancers in glitzy costumes performing live on stage. It’s all a far cry from what you’ll be experiencing in Ladakh, but is certain to entertain your jet-lagged offspring! It’s also located a short drive from the airport and south Delhi hotels.

Our walks around the market district of central Delhi are guided by youngsters who, apart from showing visitors around the historic sights and backstreets, also give a vivid account of what life is like for disadvantaged children in the area. Income from the scheme helps the NGO Saalaam Balak fund its shelter and outreach programme, and provides a living wage and much needed boost to the self-esteem of the enthusiastic young guides. Your offspring will also gain a valuable insight into what life can be like for people of their age growing up in poorer parts of Delhi.

Made of white marble and crowned by a gilded onion dome, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and shimmering pool inside it are places of great sanctity for Indian Sikhs, and offer the most atmospheric introduction possible to the capital. The complex in its present form dates from the late-18^th century and was constructed at a place associated with the eighth Sikh Guru, Har Krishnan. At a Langar, or ‘canteen’ in the temple, devotees and visitors are fed nourishing, free meals of chapatis and black dal by volunteers. If you’re lucky, you may see groups of Akalis, members of a Sikh warrior sect, dressed in traditional ceremonial garb.

Ladakh is India’s most physically remote region, and during your flight you’ll appreciate why. Vast, ice-encrusted Himalayan mountains separate the plains from the Indus Valley, where the airport and capital city, Leh, is located. As you land, you’ll catch your first glimpse of the white-washed Buddhist monasteries perched atop crags near the river, and of the pretty Ladakhi villages huddled around them, wrapped in stands of poplar trees and fields of vivid green or golden barley.

With a population of around 1,500 people, Stok is a typical Ladakhi village of large, traditional farmsteads and chortens (stupas) scattered across a patchwork of barley fields and fruit orchards at the mouth of the Stok Chu River. From a low outcrop overlooking the riverbank rises an imposing 14^th-century monastery with multi-storey whitewashed walls and windows picked out in burgundy – the colour denoting holiness in Tibetan tradition. You’ll be staying in the grounds of a palace which the local royal family built in the early 19^th century. The village’s only other monument of note is a giant golden Buddha, inaugurated in 2016 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which is always intriguing for children (and eminently Instagram-able!).

With its gorgeous farmhouses and jaw-dropping backdrop of Himalayan peaks, Stok makes a perfect introduction to Ladakh.

Prepare for a total change of atmosphere as you explore the narrow alleyways of Leh’s old town in the morning, where the once grand houses of Ladakh’s aristocrats and merchants huddle at the foot of a towering, Tibetan-style palace. The market is a compelling mix of souvenir shops filled with Tibetan jewellery and handicrafts, and essential supplies for locals, including traditional Himalayan costume, outdoor clothing, prayer flags and incense. Your children’s eyes will be on stalks!

After lunch back at the hotel in Stok, climb to the palace’s temple to make a sacred amulet with one of the resident monks. Each of the charms contains a prayer hand-written in Tibetan script on a piece of cloth, which will be bound by strands of sacred threads. The pattern these form depends on the purpose of amulet, which your children make take home as souvenirs or gifts.

Later, drive to the edge of Leh to visit the gleaming white Shanti Stupa, a modern chorten which you can climb for a superb sunset view extending to the distant Stok Kangri massif. Younger children will enjoy spinning the large brass prayer wheels lining the approach to the stupa.

One of the largest and most spectacular Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas, Tikse rises up the flank of a sacred hill of pale grey rock and sand. Morning prayers are preceded by blasts of giant Tibetan trumpets from the roof terrace (riveting for children) where an expansive view extends across the Indus Valley to the ice giants of the Stok Kangri massif. Attend prayers in the main assembly hall, under the watchful eyes of a 15-metre (49-ft) gold-faced Maitreya, then visit the other (often rather spooky!) chambers, whose walls are decorated with multi-coloured murals.

In the afternoon, enjoy some downtime back at the hotel before heading into the village to meet and dine with a local family. You’ll be invited to help with some daily chores, perhaps feeding livestock or lending a hand with field work, depending on the time of year. Most local children speak a little English. You’ll learn about the agricultural calendar and how meltwater is used to irrigate crops. This is a great opportunity to experience a traditional Himalayan way of life at close quarters – one that’s supremely well adapted to the mountain environment.

We recommend you break the half-day drive to Nubra at Chemrey, a superbly picturesque village and monastery on the road to the Wari La pass 5,312m (17,427ft). Throughout, the views of local barley fields and surrounding snow peaks are wondrous.

Keep an eye out for marmots as you crest the pass. With coats of dense fur to keep them warm, these curious rodents live in burrows at high altitudes, grazing on shoots and roots. From here on you’re in the Nubra region of Ladakh, where the scenery is a notch more dramatic and the valley flanks correspondingly wilder. Not until you approach the banks of the Shyok River will you see any signs of human habitation.

Thanks to the mild climate and lower elevation of the Nubra Valley, locals grow crops of barley, summer wheat, peas, mustard, walnuts and apricot; you’ll even come across the odd almond orchard.

Spend the afternoon taking in the wild atmosphere of this extraordinary corner of the Himalayas, which once served as the final outpost of civilization for traders heading north across the Karakorums to Kashgar in Xinjiang – a route long since closed, even to Indians.

Cycles are available at your hotel for rides in the local area should you wish to venture out to explore. Birding walks by the river and around nearby villages are also available. Start with a round of the wonderful, 300-year-old mani wall, which bounds the eastern perimeter of your hotel.

Instead of the uphill trek to Samstanling, you can drive up to attend morning prayers with all the monks chanting in the main hall, then walk back down to the village.

Overlooked by the remnants of a palace, fort and monastery, Hundar (30km further up the valley and the furthest point north tourists can travel in Nubra) was in former times the region’s capital. The camels are a throwback to the bygone era when this was a waystage on a spur of the old Silk Route connecting Kashgar in Xinjiang Province and Leh. They live in a tract of dunes, grazing on seabuckthorn and taking tourist out on rides in the summer months – a great Instagram opportunity!

Built in the 1970s to supply troops stationed on the disputed Siachen Glacier, the road to Kardung La reaches an impressive elevation of 5,359 m (17,582 ft) and yields superlative views over the Ladakhi peaks. It was across this pass that around 10,000 ponies used to plod annually en route to and from Kashgar, one of the pivotal markets on the Central Asia Silk Road, until disputes between India, Pakistan and China closed the trail.

Nimmu village occupies a bend in the Indus around 40 minutes’ drive from Leh and offers a convenient base for explorations of points further west.

The confluence of the Indus and Zanskar Rivers traditionally marks the point of departure for those embarking on the perilous ice route through the Himalayas to Padum. Known as ‘Chaddar’, the walk through the Zanskar Gorge may only be attempted for a few weeks in the depths of winter, when the river freezes over. Traditionally, Zanskaris undertook the journey in order to trade yak butter (highly prized for making Tibetan tea). Today, groups of school children also brave the sub-zero temperatures in order to spend time with their families before returning to boarding school in Leh after the holidays. Trekkers sleep in caves and at ruined shepherds’ huts along the way, taking between three and six days to walk from the village of Chilling, near the confluence, to the Zanskar region.

A wealth of sightseeing options are on offer for the late afternoon and evening in Delhi, should you wish to venture into the city. Your consultant will be able to make suggestions according to your interests and location of your hotel. Alternatively, cram in some last-minute shopping at Dilli Haat, a wonderful open-air crafts bazaar in South Delhi, not far from your hotel, where top artisans from across India sell their produce.