There is a minimum of 8 guests required for this journey and a maximum of 14. When we have reached our minimum, we will let you know, at which time you can buy airfare and your travel insurance.

• This journey is $4999 USD per person.
• The non-refundable deposit isﾠ$800 and holds your space
• The 2nd installment of $2500 is due on January 1, 2025
• The balance is due March 1, 2025
• The private room supplement is $499; please note that we cannot guarantee a roommate.

Your Price Includes

• Roundtrip flight from New Delhi to Leh, Ladakh
• All accommodations from May 31 to June 12
• All ground transportation within Ladakh
• All meals from lunch on May 31 until breakfast on June 12
• All tips to restaurant and hotel staff
• An online photo album of the experience for you to download and share

Price does not include

• International airfare
• Hotel night in New Delhi on May 30 or airport pick-up in Delhi
• India visa fee (currently $10 for a 30-day eTourist visa for most nationalities in June)
• Travel insurance (required)
• Rafting experience in Uleytokpo

Please refer to the Price tab for specific information about price & what is included in your journey.

The non-refundable $800 deposit guarantees your space. The 2nd installment of $2500 is due on January 1, 2025 and the balance on March 1, 2025.

For our American guests, we accept payments via check, credit, or debit card (via PayPal), Zelle, or Venmo. Lauren will send you these details after receiving your application has been accepted.

For our guests outside the U.S., Lauren will connect with you about the best ways to transfer money.

We do everything in our power to do right by our guests. We are proud to say that in the wake of our COVID-related trip cancellations through 2020 and 2021, we were able to offer each of our guests the choice of a 100% credit, if not a full refund.

We’ve re-examined each trip and done our best to reduce the deposit amounts as much as possible. Upon your registration, your deposit immediately goes toward reserving your space for flights, hotels, and excursions that must be booked months in advance and are often non-refundable.

Cancellation by our guests

The cancellation charges are as follows unless otherwise indicated on the detailed itinerary for each trip. All cancellations must be received via e-mail or US mail.

• Cancellations prior to 120 days to departure, money will be refunded minus the non-refundable deposit. Please note that deposits for any pre-trip or post-trip extensions are not transferable to another portion of the trip should you decide to cancel that module of the journey.
• Cancellations received 61 to 119 days prior to departure are subject to a penalty of 50% of the total cost of the trip.
• Cancellations received 60 days or less prior to trip departure will forfeit the entire cost of the trip.

If a trip is cancelled by RetreaTours

When a tour is cancelled in the case of force majeure, the Tour Participant will receive a refund minus any funds that we are unable to recover from any supplier.

You can see the full cancellation policy in our contract here. 

RetreaTours is Climate Positive!

We purchase double carbon offsets for your travels with us—that’s from your home, through the entire tour, and back to your home again, times two! 

You may have heard the term “carbon neutral,” which means that a company offsets as much carbon as it produces. With this 200% offset, RetreaTours is actually offsetting more carbon than we produce each year, making us “carbon negative” (or “climate positive,” which has a nicer ring to it!)

Since 2012 we’ve focused on making travel safe and easy for our guests; with our double carbon offset tours, we’re pleased to make our trips as sustainable as they are memorable.

Please see more at RetreaTours.com/CarbonNegative

Your passport must have at least 2 blank pages and be valid for at least 6 months beyond the end of the trip.

You can apply for a 30-day Indian eTourist visa 4 to 30 days before your trip. You can apply for a 1-year or 5-year eTourist visa up to 4 months before the journey.

We will provide detailed instructions and all information you will need for this visa. Currently, 30-day India eTourist visas for that time period are $10 USD plus processing fees.

We want to paint a realistic picture of what to expect on this journey. If you have any questions at all about whether or not this is the right trip for you, please email us!

Stairs

Stairs are a big part of this experience, particularly in the latter half, at Thiksey Monastery. Participants should be able to comfortably climb and descend stairs, often without handrails.

The main prayer hall at Thiksey is up ~130 stairs from the entrance of the monastery that is accessible by road. To climb from the bottom of the monastery to the top (that is, not taking the road!) is ~400 stairs.

It is normal to feel winded climbing stairs at altitude–slow and steady wins the race and you can allow yourself ample time to get to your destination.

Sitting

You will often have to sit on or close to the floor in our prayer halls, although cushions are available and we recommend bringing inflatable meditation cushions, as well.

Your hotel rooms have Western sit toilets (the kind you are used to at home), but we may encounter squat toilets when we are on our day trips.

 

Altitude

It is very important that you read the separate “About the Altitude” tab below!

Vaccines

No vaccines are required to enter India, but we suggest you work with your physician or your area’s travel health expert to decide what options are best for you. It’s always best to stay up to date on routine vaccines before you travel.

You can read the CDC’s recommendations here and the UK NHS recommendations here.

Altitude

Please visit our comprehensive blog about staying well at high altitude. 

Staying Healthy on Tour

Please visit our comprehensive article, “How to Stay Healthy While Traveling…Naturally,” which addresses all of the most common travel ailments.

Ladakh is set on the Tibetan Plateau and we will experience high altitude on this trip.

In order to easy you into it, we start at Uleytokpo, which is at 10,000 feet. After a four days we will continue on to Thiksey Monastery atﾠ10,600 ft (3200 m).ﾠ

We plan our first few days very lightly, to allow you to acclimatize to this altitude. However, it is crucial to understand how altitude affects the body and what you can do to minimize any symptoms.ﾠ

Please click here and read our comprehensive blog about staying well at high altitude.ﾠ

Required Coverage

RetreaTours requires that each guest carries travel insurance that covers emergency medical treatment and emergency evacuation and repatriation. The minimum coverage should be $100,000 emergency medical treatment and $250,000 emergency evacuation and repatriation.

Please send Lauren your policy information as soon as you have it.

Suggested Coverage

We suggest trip cancellation insurance, as well, as you never know what obstacles life can toss at you leading up to a trip. However, we do not require this coverage, we only suggest it highly.

Please familiarize yourself with RetreaTours’ guest cancellation policy in your journey’s contract. Please read this article to understand a bit more about trip cancellation insurance and what it may or may not cover. “Cancel For Any Reason” policies do exist, as well, although do check to see what percentage of the trip cost they actually reimburse.

When to purchase your policy

Please purchase this insurance as soon as we tell you the trip has reached its minimum. Please do not wait until the last minute, should you need to use your (optional) cancellation coverage before then.

Where to search for policies

Below you will find some options to start your search for trip insurance. However, we ask that you carefully consider your choice in travel insurance. What works for some people may not work for others, particularly if you have any pre-existing conditions. Please do take the time to consider the best policy for your individual needs.

Squaremouth.com and InsureMyTrip.com are two sites where you can see and compare many policies at once, and you can refine the options by what coverage you would like. Squaremouth’s interface is very easy and intuitive to use, and you can easily opt out of trip cancellation coverage.

World Nomads provides policies for guests under 70 that includes trip cancellation options. Use the link above and pop in your info to get an immediate quote.

It may also be a good idea to check with your credit card companies, especially American Express, to see if they offer any medical coverage for travel.

Ladakh sits on the Tibetan Plateau, a high-altitude desert. Expect the temperature to range from 40° to 70°F (4.5° to 21°C) with very little humidity. Because of the low humidity, it can be chilly in the shade and warm in the direct sun.

For your arrival in New Delhi, expect temperatures from 85° to 95°F (30° to 35°C) with high humidity and a fair chance of rain.

We’ll provide a suggested packing list several months before this journey.

Our Resort in Uleytokpo

For four nights we’ll make Uletokpo’s Ule Ethnic Resort our home. We’ll perch directly above the Indus River in our cottages, and we can even enjoy a bonfire and stargazing with a telescope. This quaint riverside resort even has a spa, if you want to get a massage on the Rooftop of the World. Perhaps you dare to go rafting in the Indus, as well! From here we’ll explore the monasteries of Lamayuru and Alchi.

Each room has an attached bathroom and shower with hot water, and there is electricity 24/7. This hotel’s restaurant is entirely vegetarian, and their specialty is their homemade apricot juice and jam!

There is wifi connectivity in the common areas (restaurant, lobby, lounge) although it is slow.

 

 

Our Hotel at Thiksey

We will be staying at Thiksey Monastery’s guesthouse, Chamba Hotel, with a gorgeous view of the monastery itself.  In fact, this guesthouse is where the His Holiness the Dalai Lama stayed during his August 2016 visit to Thiksey. Although the monastery’s guesthouse is simple, it is clean, and each room has ensuite bathrooms with western toilets, showers, and hot water, and there is electricity 24/7 (with the possibility of brief outages, as can happen anywhere in Ladakh).

The bathrooms at Chamba Hotel follow the typical Indian/South Asian “wet room” concept, where the shower is not in a separate stall from the rest of the bathroom. In addition to the showerhead, a bucket and small cup are given as an alternative to the shower–if you haven’t ever had a bucket shower, we’ll be happy to give you a demo!

Our hotel’s restaurant is entirely vegetarian, featuring northern Indian and Ladakhi/Tibetan classics. We’ll eat nourishing meals together that highlight local produce and classical Indian flavors. We’ll enjoy the hotel’s courtyard and its comfortable lounge for discussions and catching up with each other. Most importantly, we are an extremely short walk to the monastery, which is beneficial for early morning pujas and exploration.  

Wifi is typically available at Thiksey in the common areas (lounge, courtyard, restaurant) but it may be a slower speed than you are accustomed to.

There is a variation in room types at Chamba Hotel so room assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Both of our hotels in Ladakh serve only vegetarian food. The food is primarily north Indian and Ladakhi/Tibetan cuisine with a few Western/Continental dishes tossed in. Food is either served family style or on a buffet.

There is a tiny cafe that opened in Thiksey Village that serves chicken for those that may wish to eat independently, if eating completely vegetarian is a concern.

During our visit(s) to the city of Leh, there are many wonderful restaurants to choose from with a variety of food, from Western favorites (pizza, chicken burgers) to vegetarian and meat-centered Indian dishes, to some delightful vegan cafes.

Eggs are served in the morning in both locations, and there are plenty of protein-rich dishes in the form of lentils and paneer.

If you have any concerns about your dietary needs (veganism, Celiac, etc), please do reach out via email.

Arrival

You will need to arrive in New Delhi, India by May 30th in order to prepare for your flight to Ladakh on the morning of May 31st. Your hotel night on May 30th is not included in order to allow you the most flexibility in terms of schedule and hotel category. We’ve created a webpage here that will give you hotel suggestions in New Delhi.

You will arrange airport pick-up with your hotel, as well as airport drop-off on the morning of May 31st. You will be provided with your ticket for your May 31st flight to Ladakh.

 

Departure

Your flight from Leh, Ladakh back to New Delhi is included on this journey. Expect to reach New Delhi by 2 PM on Jun 12th at the latest (barring any unexpected flight cancellations or long delays) and you can plan your flight home accordingly. Any flight time after 6 PM on June 12th should be fine, allowing you time to collect your luggage and check back in for your international flight.

Please email Lauren with any questions you may have about this journey.

You’ll be joined on this journey by Lauren & BJ, owners of RetreaTours.

Husband-and-wife team BJ Graf and Lauren Rathvon have traveled the globe year-round since January 2013, researching, designing, and leading impactful journeys. We are deeply grateful for the trust that our guests place in us to save them time and resources while they enjoy a memorable journey.

We are committed not only to our guests but to our host destinations and the planet at large. We engage with local businesses and guides to keep money within the community, and we double-carbon offset each of our tours.

We invite you to visit our Testimonials page to see what other people have to say about us!  You can head to our About Us page to learn more about our story.

RetreaTours has a very special relationship with Thiksey Monastery. BJ Graf has been visiting this region since 1995 and has fostered close relationships with Ladakhi lamas (monks) and laypeople alike. This intimate personal connection allows us to reach deeper and more meaningfully into the culture and community.

BJ has been bringing guests to Ladakh since 2006. With our unprecedented access to ancient prayer halls and intimate friendships with Thiksey’s monks and their families in the village, our Ladakh guests always come away inspired and uplifted.

BJ was invited to serve as Thiksey Monastery’s official photographer in 2010, 2016, and 2017 for three very special Thiksey-sponsored events with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In addition to capturing these events in photos, BJ enjoyed conversation, some good-natured ribbing, and a good luck head rub by the Dalai Lama himself. In 2017, we were blessed to create an opportunity for one of our groups to have an audience with His Holiness on his birthday.

Over the years, BJ has had the good fortune to spend time with and photograph the 20th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, as well as the 102nd Ganden Tripa, Ling Rinpoche, Khen Rinpoche (former abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery), KelKhang Rinpoche, Kachen Lobzang Zotpa, and HHDL’s sister and humanitarian, Jetsun Pema. We are eternally grateful to Thiksey Rinpoche, KelKhang Rinpoche, Khenrap-la, and countless others for their endless support in crafting transformative experiences in Thiksey, Leh, and beyond.