Dates: July 7 – 30, 2012
Length: 24 days
Cost: $3,239 plus intl. airfare
3% discount if you pay by check!

India Trekking and Exchange 2012 program info PDF
to the India program!

Experience a cross-cultural journey through the high Himalayan Mountains to the isolated Ladakhi village of Lingshed where you will live and work with the local villagers and monks.

Ladakh, or “Little Tibet” as it is known, is a wildly beautiful desert region high in the western Himalayas. It is a place of few resources and an extreme climate, yet it has been home to a thriving culture for more than a thousand years.

Within the mountain ramparts of this lost Shangri-La stand a number of ancient, yet active monastic establishments. Some of these religious foundations have evolved around remote meditation caves believed to have been used by a succession of famous Buddhist saints for prolonged meditation in pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment.

During the long winters, the area of Lingshed is isolated from the rest of the world, and some of the villagers are even isolated from each other in their homes. Necessities like sugar, wood, kerosene and soap must be brought from the outside during the summer months. All of it is carried on foot, or by pack animal on a 4-day walk from the nearest road. This geographical isolation, together with the esoteric nature of Buddhism practiced here, has enabled its inhabitants to preserve and perpetuate their cultural identity.

Today, the area around Lingshed is one of the last few surviving cultural satellites of Tibet. Closer observation of the living condition evokes admiration for people who have learned to live in harmony with their unique environment.

Join us as we travel to India to learn about the lives of these amazing people. We will be entering their homes with openness and respect and with a willingness to ask questions, listen, and to offer friendship. By listening to their stories and partaking in their daily lives we honor their knowledge of place, and of a life well lived.

This is an incredible opportunity to witness a people living simply, yet fully, and to understand how you might incorporate lessons from this journey into your own life.