LADAKH - INDIA

The Ladakh region is located in the northern most state of India (Jammu & Kashmir), bordering Pakistan and China. It is also known as " the little Tibet " due to the strong religious beliefs of its inhabitants based on tibetan buddhism. In addition to religious ties, Ladakh and specifically Leh, its capital and administrative center, have always been a must for tibetan merchants who brought their precious salt from the lakes, as well as the sought-after wool from their sheep. After the chinese occupation of Tibet in 1951, many tibetan exiles found their place in these inhospitable and cold lands. Currently it enjoys excellent health on a spiritual level, dotted with monasteries, many of them isolated from civilization and safe from bad influences.

The natural setting on which Ladakh is located is overwhelming but beautiful at the same time. Surrounded by mountains and passes that reach 5000 meters, with perpetual snow between the months of December to May and bathed by rivers such as the Zanskar, Nubra or Indus. There is no vegetation, so the only source of fuel for humans during the winter is animal droppings, which are left to dry on the roofs of their houses. They have a subsistence economy based on agriculture and some domestic animals. During the short summers they take the opportunity to obtain up to 2 crops of barley, which constitutes their food base to spend the long winters. Ladakh is one of those lost places, full of peace, where religiosity is kept alive and modernity shyly peeks out.