The Ladakh Experience

Resting in the Sky of Awareness

with Nikki Costello and Ben Williams

June 6–18, 2027

The Ladakh Experience

Resting in the Sky of Awareness

with Nikki Costello and Ben Williams

June 6–18, 2027

Our 12-day pilgrimage is an immersive opportunity to study:

The role of maṇḍalas in Vajrayāna Buddhism and Śaiva and Śākta tantra. This includes a study of how these “deity-enthroning diagrams” connect the body and mind to energies of awakening and sacred geography.
The initiatory power of “seeing the maṇḍala”. What this means in practice and as a form of community.
The practice of yogic asanas, pranayamas, and mudras
The mystical maps of subtle energy and transmissions
The landscape of Ladakh, its history, and the esoteric traditions that flourished there, including art, images, and murals.
Non-dual meditation practice related to space, and the sky-roaming gesture of awareness
The teachings, songs, and stories of sky-faring Yoginīs and Siddhas

Trip at a Glance

June 6–18, 2027
Experience the beauty of the Himalayas on India’s Tibetan Plateau
Special access to ancient prayer halls at Thiksey Monastery
Teachings and discussions with Tibetan Buddhist monastics
Monastic single accommodations near Thiksey Monastery and along the Indus River
This journey is double carbon offset from door-to-door
Maximum of 15 guests

Save $500 when you register before December 1st!

Special price of $7650 when you register with a deposit before December 1, 2026. Price increases to $8150 when you register after December 1st.

How to Apply for The Ladakh Experience

Please familiarize yourself with the retreat details on this website
Click the button below for the retreat application (or waitlist)
We will reach out within a week with more information and deposit options

Please click here to apply for The Ladakh Experience

Questions about this journey? Click here to write us.

Together, Nikki Costello and RetreaTours founders BJ Graf and Lauren Rathvon created The Ladakh Experience in 2015, born from a shared love for the Tibetan Plateau and a desire to introduce others to this extraordinary landscape, its spiritual traditions, and its people.

Over the years, we have welcomed yoga students, meditators, Buddhist practitioners, and curious travelers into an experience shaped by practice, pilgrimage, relationship, and the profound natural beauty of Ladakh.

In 2027, we are delighted to welcome scholar-practitioner Ben Williams, who will join Nikki in teaching The Ladakh Experience. Together, they will offer practices and teachings that deepen our encounter with the contemplative traditions, culture, and sacred landscape of the region.

Central to the journey are the relationships we have cultivated over many years with our Ladakhi friends and extended community—families, monks, artists, shopkeepers, teachers, local dogs, and all who make this experience so personal and meaningful.

Each journey is limited to 15 guests, allowing us to travel with intimacy and care. If you feel drawn to join us, we encourage you to submit your application soon. We will respond within seven days with the next steps for confirming your place.

Click here to learn more about Ladakh

This photo and header photo by Kelly Fogel

Meet Nikki Costello

Nikki Costello is a practitioner-scholar and healing artist whose work explores the conditions that cultivate human flourishing through embodiment and contemplative practice. She is a Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher and a meditation teacher of non-dual Śaiva tantra. Nikki collaborates with people and projects that are creating new possibilities for learning, healing, and living together, building bridges between contemplative traditions, interdisciplinary research, the healing arts, and the science of human development. At the heart of her work is a simple yet radical idea: practice is not something we do, but a way of being—an invitation to participate more fully in life. She is currently a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Meet Ben Williams

Ben Williams is a scholar-practitioner and a historian focused on South Asian religions and Śaiva tantra. He has received extensive training in Indian philosophy, literature, and aesthetics in Sanskrit sources and completed his PhD in the Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard University. Ben is currently an Associate Professor of Hinduism at Naropa University. At Naropa, he helped create and guide an MA program in Yoga Studies that integrates academic training with contemplative practice. Ben is also the first Research Scholar-in-Residence with the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute where he offers scholarly support for the preservation, study, and translation of Śaiva and Śākta literature.

About your Experience

Your Arrival in New Delhi

You will arrive in Delhi on or before June 5th to prepare for your June 6th flight over the Himalayas to Ladakh. Your hotel night on June 5th is not included on this journey in order to allow the most freedom and flexibility in your arrival date and hotel choice. We’ve created a guide to our recommended hotels in New Delhi and will be happy to discuss your options with you.

Welcome to Ladakh

On the morning of June 6th you’ll take a gorgeous one-hour flight to the Tibetan Plateau of India. Upon landing, we will greet you at Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Airport, and we will drive 40 minutes to Thiksey Monastery.

Our first home base for The Ladakh Experience lies at the base of this picturesque Tibetan Buddhist monastery, often called “Little Potala” for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Tibet. Thiksey Monastery is rich with history and some of the most iconic art in all of Ladakh, including a breathtaking statue of the Maitreya Buddha that was consecrated by the Dalai Lama himself.

We have created the ideal container for your journey in Ladakh, with a combination of practice and personal time for exploration, both internal and external. We have special access to a centuries-old sacred temple for our yoga and meditation practice.

Each morning at Thiksey, we’ll attend morning puja (chanted prayers) with the monks of Thiksey in their main prayer hall or their Protector Temple. We’ll meet and engage in dialogue with monks about Buddhism, philosophy, and Ladakhi culture. If his schedule allows, we’ll have a private audience with the abbot of Thiksey Monastery, Rinpoche Kushok Nawang Chamba Stanzin, who has been a progressive spiritual and political leader in Ladakh for decades.

During our time in Ladakh, we will have the rare opportunity to witness the creation of a traditional mandala at Thiksey Monastery, one of the region’s most important centers of Tibetan Buddhism. Constructed grain by grain over many days, these intricate sacred diagrams serve as both objects of meditation and expressions of profound philosophical teachings. Observing this process offers a remarkable window into the ritual, symbolism, and artistic traditions that continue to flourish in Ladakh today.

We’ll eat nourishing, vegetarian meals together that highlight local produce and classical Indian dishes. Each guest will have their own simple, comfortable room that includes an en suite bathroom. We’ll enjoy the hotel’s well-manicured courtyard and its comfortable lounge for discussions and catching up with each other.

To the Indus

On June 14th, we’ll bid farewell to Thiksey Monastery and head to our next home base, directly along the Indus River.

Set along the banks of the Indus River in Ladakh’s beautiful Sham Valley, Ule Ethnic Resort offers a peaceful retreat surrounded by rugged mountains, apple and apricot orchards, and expansive Himalayan scenery. This family-run, solar-powered property has been welcoming travelers to the region for decades, with comfortable individual cottages spread throughout its leafy grounds.

The resort’s tranquil setting offers a fitting home for our time together, with Ladakh’s extraordinary landscape providing a natural backdrop for our exploration of sacred geography, contemplative practice, and the Buddhist and tantric traditions that have flourished in this region for centuries.

In addition to our practice time at Thiksey and Uleytokpo, we’ll visit a very special nunnery and learn more about the nuns who live there. We’ll engage with local monks and enjoy visits to their homes. We’ll explore other special Buddhist monasteries in the Indus Valley, including 11th-century Alchi, considered to house the finest and best-preserved surviving examples of Kashmiri Buddhist art in the world.

On the morning of June 18th, our journey comes to a close. You’ll return to New Delhi to head home or continue your exploration of India.

Please click each section to open it.

Price & What is Included

This journey is $7650 USD per person when you register with a deposit before December 1, 2026.

If you register after December 1st, the price increases by $500 to $8150.

The non-refundable deposit is $1000 and holds your space
The 2nd installment of $4000 is due December 1, 2026
The balance is due February 1, 2027

There is a minimum of 10 guests required for this journey and a maximum of 15. When we have reached our minimum, we will let you know, at which time you can buy airfare and your travel insurance.

Price Includes

Roundtrip flight from New Delhi to Leh, Ladakh
All private room accommodations from June 6 to June 18th
All meals from dinner on June 6th until breakfast on June 18th
All tips to restaurant and hotel staff

**Price does not include**

International airfare
Hotel night in New Delhi on June 5th
India visa fee (currently $10 for 30-day eTourist visa in June)
Travel insurance (required)
Alcohol

Payment Details

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

For our American guests, we accept payments via check, credit or debit card, 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.

Cancellation Policy

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 150 days to departure, money will be refunded minus the non-refundable deposit.
Cancellations received 76 to 149 days prior to departure are subject to a penalty of 50% of the total cost of the trip.
Cancellations received 75 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.

Our Carbon Offset Commitment

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 triple carbon offset tours, we’re pleased to make our trips as sustainable as they are memorable.

Please see more at RetreaTours.com/CarbonNegative

Suggested Fitness Requirements

Our practice space at Thiksey is in a centuries-old temple up ~200 steps from our guesthouse. Participants should be able to comfortably climb and descend stairs, sometimes without handrails. It is normal to feel winded climbing stairs at altitude–slow and steady wins the race.

Please see the “About the Altitude” tab above for more important information.

Travel Insurance

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.

HeyMondo provides policies for guests under 80 and younger that include trip cancellation options. Use the link above and pop in your info to get an immediate quote.

Faye comes highly recommended by some of our guests and those in the travel industry. There is no upper age limit, although the price of the policy does increase with the age of the traveler.

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.

Passport & Visa Requirement

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 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 are $10 USD plus processing fees for this time frame (April to June).

Vaccines & Staying Healthy on Tour

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.

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.

About the Altitude

Our home base at Thiksey Monastery in Ladakh rests at a lofty 10,600 ft (3200 m) and Uleytokpo at 10,000 feet (3050 m). 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.

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

Expected Temperatures & Suggested Packing List

Ladakh sits on the Tibetan Plateau, a high-altitude desert. Expect the temperature to range from 45° to 75°F (7° to 24°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.

About our Accommodations

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.

For our stay at Thiksey, there is no heating system but we’ll recommend hot water bottles for your bed at night and we will secure extra blankets. With proper sleep attire, blankets, and a hot water bottle, we’ll all be snugs as Himalayan bugs in rugs!

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

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.

About Your Arrival and First Night in New Delhi

Arrival

You will need to arrive in New Delhi, India by June 5th in order to prepare for your flight to Ladakh on the morning of June 6th. Your hotel night on June 5th is not included in your retreat fee 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 June 5th.

Departure

Your flight from Leh, Ladakh back to New Delhi is included on this journey. Expect to reach New Delhi by 3 PM on June 18th at the latest (barring any unexpected flight cancellations or long delays) and you can plan your flight home accordingly. Any flight time after 7 PM on June 18th should be fine, allowing you time to collect your luggage and check back in for your international flight.