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Our Ladakh Photo Tour, with from August the 1st to the 15th, 2023 (more dates for 2023 and 2024 available soon), is a fabulous opportunity to capture all the beauty from this area. A great chance to visit and photograph a totally different world, while you improve your photography and live unforgettable moments.
Ladakh, also known as ‘Little Tibet’, is a mountain region located in Northern India, between the Himalayas and Karakoram ranges. It is a high altitude desert area, located at around 10,000 feet (3.000 meter) high on its lower areas (up to 14,700 feet / 4.500 meter high on the highest locations in which we’ll be staying). Being such a really extreme region, located at one of the most remote areas on Earth, we talk about one of our favorite and most incredible photo experiences.
We have been hosting photography tours in Ladakh for several years now, being one of our most demanded trips. We are the ones dealing with all details, since we are an official travel agency for photo lovers. At the same time, you will be guided by our experienced professional photo guides, a guarantee of success! However, we also count with the best professional and human local team in Ladakh. We’ll even have a Buddhist monk, Dorjay, as our local guide, helping us in our visits to the monasteries and the locals.
Be sure you’ll be enjoying one of the most complete photo tours you will ever imagine. We will get extraordinary opportunities for social, landscape, architecture and night photography. Therefore, you’ll get back home with hundreds of wonderful images. All this, while you live moments and meet people that you’ll never forget. For many, as for some of the participants in previous edition tours, this is certainly a life changing trip.
As previously stated, we’ll be covering landscape, portrait, architecture and night photography possibilities during this Ladakh photo tour.
As the area is located by the Himalayas, we’ll be surrounded by incredibly spectacular landscapes, and Nature looks at its best in Ladakh. Some of the most scenic locations we’ll photograph include stunning mountains, precious valleys, wonderful blue lakes, and countless panoramic views of the amazing sceneries around us. We’ll even photograph a magical cold (high altitude) desert with mesmerizing sand dunes!
All those rugged and arid landscapes will bring us infinite photo possibilities, in one of the most spectacular areas on Earth. However, we will be also capturing beautiful cityscapes in Ladakh, from the main viewpoints around the town.
Apart from the landscapes, we should highlight the strong social photography component of the trip. During each of the days of this tour, we will be able to photograph the beautiful Ladakh inhabitants, with their beautiful Tibetan facial features. We’ll photograph the locals in Leh, the main town in Ladakh, as well as in smaller towns and villages. We will even be able to visit some of these people in their own houses.
However, some of the most rewarding portrait photo opportunities, will be those we’ll have photographing the Changpa nomads at their tents, or capturing the Buddhist monks while they pray at their monasteries. Moments like those will bring us extraordinary portrait chances.
Besides, we will photograph the precious architecture of many of those impressive Tibetan monasteries. They are usually located in the middle of impressive mountains, bringing us great compositions possibilities.
Finally, we can’t forget that due to the low light pollution in Ladakh, and to the high altitude, we’ll enjoy some of the best conditions for night photography on Earth. Therefore, we will be doing several night sessions.
We usually do our Ladakh photo workshop during the warmer months, because that’s the season in which all Ladakh is normally accesible by road. Visiting Ladakh at fall or winter, would surely mean that some roads would be closed, being impossible to access to some of the locations. That’s because the area is so high, that it gets a lot of snow during most part of the colder months, specially in the higher areas, as well as in the Mountain Passes. Even during these warmer months, it’s possible to find road closures, due to the weather, or to landslides. But there will be more chances to get to all the places we have planned.
Then, for the June photo tour, we set those dates to be able to visit one of the incredible Buddhist festivals in Ladakh, in this case the Lamayuru Festival. Being able to capture the locals enjoying their annual festival, as well as the monks celebrating this special momento, will be totally worth it. And, of course, it will bring the best photo opportunities for portraits!
Finally, when possible, we also selected these dates thinking about getting better possibilities for night photography.
This is a photo tour totally recommended for any photography enthusiastic. A wonderful option for both landscape and social photography lovers, as well as for architecture, or even night photography ones.
The trip will be suitable for all physical conditions, ages and photography levels. Although Ladakh has wonderful hiking opportunities, we won’t be doing long or complicated hikes. Most of the photo locations will be a short walk from the places where we’ll park our vehicles. Given this, we can say that this is a quite easy to do photo tour.
Equally, there is no age limit, anyone can join the trip as long as he or she is reasonably healthy and well.
However, please take into account that Ladakh is located at very high altitude. Therefore, those people suffering from heart issues, should contact their doctors to check if they recommend them to do this trip. Anyhow, customers of all ages have joined previous edition of the trip with no problems. All of us may experience symptoms like headache or dizziness when being so high, but that does not mean that we are suffering from high altitude sickness.
Finally, no minimum photography level is required to participate. No matter if you are a beginner or a professional, our photographers will bring you personalized attention, adjusted to your needs, in order to help you capturing the best images of Ladakh. And, although you’ll see a recommended gear section below, no minimum photo gear will be needed. That’s just a list of the ideal gear for a trip like this, but never a list of indispensable items. Even taking pictures with a compact camera or with your smartphone, you will be welcome to join us!
As we have already remarked, this Ladakh photo tour is ideal for anyone loving photography. At the same time, it’s such an enriching experience, that you’ll never forget your visit. A fabulous chance for capturing amazing pictures, while you learn and improve your photography. All this, in one of the most remote and extraordinary regions on Earth.
During this photo tour, we’ll be covering several kinds of photography, as we meet the kindness of the Ladakhis, their culture and the Buddhism religion. A unique trip to feel the Tibetan culture, as we photograph unbelievable landscapes.
Do not miss your chance to join this Ladakh photo tour, for a maximum of 12 participants. Book your seat now, and you’ll live a wonderful trip.
The trip will begin at Leh airport, where all the participants will have get early in the morning. To get to Leh, Ladakh, you’ll have to fly from Delhi, in a 90 minute long flight that will reward you with mesmerizing views of the Himalayas, if clear.
Once at the airport, we will be taken to our hotel, where we’ll be resting for the whole morning. Adapting to the high altitude will be essential during this day, so a good rest and a relaxing day will be necessary.
In the afternoon, if all the participants feel good, we’ll go for a short walk in the nearby downtown. We’ll begin taking our first pictures of the trip, shooting the locals by the main market. From this very first day, we’ll get wonderful chances for portrait photography.
Depending on the conditions and on the energies, we might even be able to do our first sunset session of the trip. In that case, we’ll head to the Shanti Stupa, from where we’ll capture the most spectacular view of Leh.
After twilight, we’ll head back to our hotel to rest.
We’ll leave early in the morning, heading to Lamayuru, our next destination for the town’s Yuru Kabgyat Festival. This is one of the most important festivals in Ladakh, and monks of all around the world use to come here for it. Therefore, we’ll try to get as early as possible to enjoy the festival during the afternoon.
Being at the town during this festival, will allow us to capture extraordinary portraits of the locals. Hundreds of Ladakhis will come to the monastery during these two days, dressing their nicest traditional clothes, so we will be able to get hundreds or pictures at such a beautiful event.
At the same time, Lamayuru is one of the most stunning locations in Ladakh. Its monastery, located above the village, is among the most beautiful in the region. Furthermore, the town is surrounded by stunning mountains and rocky formations, known as the ‘Moonlands’, so we’ll get incredible images of the town from the outskirts. We’ll be visit a spot to capture this wonderful view by sunset, when the sun creates an impressive game of lights and shadows as it sets.
After that, we will go back to our hotel to sleep.
Today, we will wake up early to photograph Lamayuru at sunrise. For that, we’ll get to another vantage location, from where we’ll enjoy a fantastic view of the monastery.
Afterwards, we’ll get to the monastery for the festival, where we’ll spend the rest of the day. We’ll be focusing on photographing the festival and, specially, in getting great portraits of the Ladakhis. Same as on the previous day, this celebration will bring us some of the best photographic opportunities of the whole trip. You’ll have to prepare enough memory cards and spare batteries for this day, since you’ll be able to capture hundreds of nice portraits.
Once the festival is over, already at night, we’ll get back to our hotel to sleep after such a fruitful day. If conditions are good, we’ll go out again to try some night photography in such a beautiful area.
We’ll leave Lamayuru early in the morning, to head to our next destination, Dha-Hanu. This area is home to the Brokpa, Arian people who have been living in these villages for many years. They are believed to be descendants of Alexander’s army, who ended up abandoning the legion. They are well known because of their extraordinary facial features, which will bring us incredible possibilities for portraits.
We’ll get to the area in the afternoon, after several stops for taking pictures. Once there, we’ll be searching for the first portraits of the Brokpa, before getting to our hotel to sleep.
After getting up early, we’ll have breakfast and head to the village, where we’ll have the chance to visit a local Brokpa family. We’ll be invited to visit their house, as they show us the way they live, bringing us the chance to photograph them with their typical dresses. This will be a really enriching visit, both from the photographic and the culture points.
After leaving the family, we’ll explore the village and have more chances to photograph the Brokpa, as they are doing their daily tasks. We’ll get fabulous portraits of the kind inhabitants in Dha-Hanu, and we’ll have a wonderful time in the area.
Once the night arrives, we’ll get back to the hotel to have dinner and sleep.
Today, we’ll leave the hotel early and head back to Leh. Although we’ll have a long drive, we will be doing several stops during our way. We’ll try to leave early to finish the first part or the route before lunch, and then we’ll focus in the most photogenic locations.
Our first important visit of the day will be at Alchi Monastery, a spectacular complex or Buddhist temples, around 1,000 year old. In these monasteries, we will be able to admire extraordinary Buddha statues, precious wood carvings, as well as some of the most antique paintings from Ladakh. Contrary to most monasteries in Ladakh, photography inside these temples is forbidden. However, this is undoubtedly an indispensable visit, due to the beauty of the monastery.
Following this, we’ll head to Likir Monastery, from the XIV century (although reconstructed in the XVIII century). This is another precious monastery, located in a wonderful mountainous area. Before getting to the monastery, we’ll be capturing some distant view from the monastery and the surroundings. Likir features an outstanding golden 75 feet (23 meters) tall Maitreya Buddha statue, next to the monastery, which adds more potential for photography. We’ll spend some time by the monastery, photographing the monks and the beautiful temple.
Then, we will continue to Leh, our next destination. We’ll be visiting the downtown, before going to our sunset location, near the Leh Palace. We’ll be visiting the palace before photographing Leh by sunset, with the Himalayas in the background.
We’ll be heading North to the amazing Nubra Valley today, one of the most famous areas in Ladakh. The way to get there will take us several hours, but we’ll be lucky to be enjoying some of the nicest views of the trip. Soon after laving Leh, we’ll be stopping to take pictures of the town from elevated viewpoints.
This journey will take us through the Khardung-La Pass, one of the highest mountain passes in the world. At around 17,600 feet (5.359 meter) high, we’ll stop for a quick visit in the pass, while we take some pictures from this outstanding spot. After the visit, we’ll begin our way down to Nubra.
Nubra is a paradisiacal valley surrounded by the Karakoram and the Himalayas snowy peaks, featuring many different type of sceneries. Among those, we would like to highlight the amazing Nubra Desert, a high altitude desert where we’ll get extraordinary images.
However, we’ll leave the desert for the following day, and go for a quick visit of the precious Diskit monastery. Afterwards, we will head to our sunset location, a beautiful pond with extraordinary reflections of the Karakoram peaks.
Finally, we’ll get to our accommodation to sleep, although we could be going out for a night photo session, if conditions are good.
Today, we’ll pass the whole day at the Nubra Valley. We will begin waking up early to head to the desert, where we’ll be shooting sunrise from the sand dunes. We’ll stay in the desert for several hours, photographing the dunes, as the sun illuminates the area.
Then, we’ll be exploring the area looking for portraits, before going back to the Diskit monastery. This time, we’ll be doing a longer visit, so we’ll be able to photograph every single corner in the location. We’ll be specially focused on capturing portraits of the monks who live there.
Finally, we will move back to the desert, where we will prepare for our sunset session. In this case, we’ll enjoy a wonderful time photographing the camels in the desert, with the Karakoram mountains in the background.
After having dinner at our accommodation, we’ll check the conditions to go out for a night photo session.
On this day, we’ll get up early to head to our next destination, Pangong Lake, one of the most scenic locations during this Ladakh photo tour. The way to the lake will be long, but we will be crossing by unbelievable sceneries, so we’ll be stopping several times to take pictures.
The wonderful Pangong lake, located at almost 14,000 feet (4.200 meter) high, is a 83 mile (134km) long lake, whose 2/3 parts belong to Tibet (now occupied by China). This deep blue lake is one of the most famous and photographed locations in Ladakh, and it will bring us infinite photo possibilities. The area, surrounded by stunning peaks, will allow us to be taking pictures for hours.
We’ll be photographing several views of the lake until the sunset, which we’ll capture by the shoreline. Then, after dinner, we’ll get out to the lake again, for a night photography visit. Given the high altitude, and the low light pollution, we’ll have many chances of enjoying a great Milky Way photography session.
Today, we’ll stay in the area during the whole day. We will begin early, getting back to the shoreline by sunrise. Photographing the incredible scenery around us, as the sun illuminates everything, will be a fantastic experience.
After exploring several locations by the lake, we will drive to some nearby locations, to visit the locals. We’ll be able to capture extraordinary portraits of the people leaving near the lake, and we’ll even visit the local school. We already know many locals in the area, and we come back to see them every year. Therefore, great moments and photo opportunities will be awaiting!
After spending the afternoon doing portraits, we’ll get to the lake again for sunset. We will visit a different location this time, searching again for the lovely golden light over the lake.
Finally, after having dinner, we’ll check the conditions to get back to the lake for another night photography session.
We will leave Pangong Lake in the morning, heading to Sakti Valley, our following destination. Again, we’ll have a long way, but there will be several stops, as the surroundings will be precious too. We’ll pass by another high altitude mountain pass, Chang La, around 17,600 feet (5.300 meter) high. However, during our way, we’ll be doing some interesting social photography visits too, trying to get portraits of the Changpa nomads.
Once we get to our accommodation, we will visit the nearby Takthok and Chamday monasteries. Then, for sunset, we’ll be visiting a fabulous spot by the road, from where will be able to capture the spectacular views of Sakti, with the Himalayas range in the background.
Then, it will be time to get to our accommodation and sleep.
Today, we will be waking early to a very special session. We’ll be visiting Thiksey monastery, one of the most stunning ones in Ladakh. For sunrise, we’ll get to the top part of the monastery, where we’ll enjoy incredible views of the valley.
However, the main purpose of this visit will be trying to photograph the Buddhist monks at their early morning prayers. If we are lucky to be able to capture pictures of them, we can certainly say that it will be one of the highlights of this photo tour. We’ll dedicate enough time for this visit, to maje sure that we make our best from it.
After this fantastic session, we’ll have a long way to our next destination, Korzok (also known as Karzok), and the Tsomoriri Lake. We’ll be doing some stops along the route, mostly to photograph the locals at some of the villages we’ll be passing by.
Finally, we will get to the lake late in the afternoon, so we will heading directly to the lake shoreline, from where we will photograph sunset. Same as in Pangong, we will be enjoying an incredible location, surrounded by the spectacular Himalayas. If conditions are good, we’ll come back after dinner, for another night photo session.
We’ll stay in the area during the whole day, waking up early to photograph the lake at sunrise. The golden light illuminating the surrounding mountains will be a magical opportunity to get marvelous images.
Then, after breakfast, we’ll have other of the most exciting moments during the trip. We’ll visit the area near Korzok, searching for the Changpa nomads who use to stay in the regions at this time of the year. If lucky, we’ll be rewarded with wonderful chances for social photography, photographing the nomads in their rebos. These traditional nomad tents are made of yak wool, and help to filter the light, so the interiors are simply perfect to photograph the nomads.
We’ll spend most of the day with the Changpas, but might get back to the lake for sunset, if conditions are good then. Same as the previous day, we will study the option of going our again at night, for a Milky Way photo session.
One more day, we’ll wake up early, to head back to Leh. Before leaving the area, we might go back to visit some Changpa nomads again. Anyway, and despite the route will be long, we will have some chances for photography along the way.
Our first and most important stop will take us to a Tibetan Refugee School. Here, we will be rewarded with wonderful photo possibilities, as we photograph the children at their classes.
Finally, before arriving to Leh, we’ll be visiting Matho and Hemis monasteries. Once the night has arrived, we will continue our journey to the town, heading to our accommodation. There, we’ll enjoy the last dinner with the group.
Today, we will be taken to the airport early in the morning, where this Ladakh photo tour will end.
Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh, Ladakh, India (Google Maps)
This Ladakh Photo Tour is recommended for any person, no matter the age or the physical level to join the trip. As long as you are able to walk for a short five minute hike with no difficulty, you are welcome to come with us. Most of the photo locations are located just a short walk from the places where we’ll park, so this will be a easy trip.
However, we will be at very high altitude locations, from around 10,000 to 15,000 feet (3.000 to 4.500 meter) high, or even higher when crossing the mountain passes along our journeys. Therefore, people suffering from heart issues or other health problems, should be asking their doctors about joining the trip.
Finally, there is no age limit for the tour, as well as your health and conditions are reasonably good.
There is no need of a minimal photography level to join this Ladakh Photo Tour. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to come to this trip, nor even having a lot of experience with your camera. All our photo tours are open to all levels, even for beginners, or unexperienced photography users. Sometimes, we even have people just taking shots with their smartphones.
One of our highlights is providing customized attention, so we will help you to get the best possible images, regardless your previous level. We’ll be there to help you becoming a better photographer!
During this Ladakh Photo Tour, we can expect warm temperatures during the day, and mid to cold ones during the night, specially at the high altitude lakes.
Given this, we need to be properly prepared for the trip. We recommend dressing in layers, so you can add or remove clothes depending on the conditions. You should also bring a warm jacket (a light or mid one should be enough), for those colder moments. A Gore Tex jacket or similar could be interesting, for the occasional rain. Mountain boots or hiking shoes would be perfect for most of the time. Once you confirm your booking, you will also receive a guide withe the recommended gear list for this Ladakh Photo Tour.
This Ladakh Photo Tour, includes meals (breakfast, lunch or dinner). Normally, we will be having breakfast at our accommodation, before or after our photo sessions. During some of the long route days, we could be having lunch boxes instead. For lunch, we’ll be eating at restaurants during our visits, or at the accommodations again. Then, dinner will be normally at our accommodations too.
Beverages are not included during the meals. However, mineral bottled water will be included during our routes and for the nights.
You will have the chance to try the nice Ladakhi food, a mixture of Indian and Tibetan dishes. Spicy lovers will be at home here (although we can ask for not (so) spicy meals)!
Currently, the main payment option we have is the bank transfer. However, if you prefer it, we also have other payment options, such as credit or debit card, PayPal or Transferwise. Please notice that these other payment options may apply a commission fee. You can ask us about these different payment options.
If you choose to pay by credit or debit card, or by PayPal, you can process your payment online, when you finish the booking process. For bank transfer payment, you just have to proceed with the booking and then, once you finish the process with the chosen payment method, you’ll receive an email with al the instructions and bank details.
During this Ladakh Photo Tour, we’ll be normally staying in hotels, guesthouses or cabins (similar to seasonal tents, with bathrooms inside), depending on the itinerary. Each traveller will be staying in a double twin shared room, shared with another participant of the trip. Rooms (as well as cabin or tents) will always include a private bath.
Please notice that, given the characteristics of the destination and the remoteness of the locations, there are not many options in most of the places we’ll be visiting. In most of these places, there are not great quality hotels, but well be trying to get the best options available in every village.
If you come with another person to the trip, you’ll share the same room, However, if you are traveling alone, we’ll choose a roommate for you between the other participants in the trip (always same genre). Anyway, you will also have the chance to choose a single room for you, paying an extra supplement. Contact us for all details.
Anyone can join this Ladakh Photo Tour, no matter your country of residence. Our main travel agency is settled in Santander, Spain, but our trips are open to customers from countries all around the world. Therefore, we may have clients from different places in our photo tours.
This Japan Photo Tour will begin meting up at Leh Airport, in Ladakh, India. Therefore, all the participants need to get there for the first day of the tour, traveling from their country of residence, with no need to travel to a particular town to fly together to Ladakh.
Once you have confirmed your booking for this Ladakh Photo Tour, we will send you the trip info with a recommended gear PDF guide. This will include suggestions not only about the photography gear, but also about the clothes and accessories you might need during this photo tour. To sum up, you won’t have to worry about anything, since our expert photo leaders and guides will inform you about everything you will need, so you can enjoy your travel as much as possible!
As a first tip, we would suggest you bringing a light color down or shell jacket (for example red, orange, yellow, light green, etc…). That jacket will protect you from the cold but, at the same time, you’ll look great when photographed in some of the most beautiful locations around Ladakh!
‘A wonderful trip and a great travel agency, with guides like Sergio and Dorjay, with a fantastic photogrraphic and human levels, always taking care of the participants, the locations and the security. Everything was well planned and well organized, so I always recommend Dream Photo Expeditions, fue to the great organization and professionalism. Thanks a lot, Sergio.’
‘I have joined two of the photo tours hosted by Sergio Lanza, Ladakh in 2019, and Iceland in 2020, and both of them have been very different but so emotional anyway. I love Sergio’s passion when leading this trips, as well as everything I have learnt in them. So happy to keep discovering new destinations with Dream Photo Expeditions!!’
‘Looking for Leh in Google Maps was enough for me to decide that it was going to be my next photo tour. It looked like a unique territory, worth exploring, as well as very promising photo adventure.
It had everything I like in a trip: extreme landscapes, from the ochres in the cold deserts, to the greenish from the valley fields, or the blue from the mountain lakes. Always with spectacular skies, and clouds that get a whole palette of colors by dawn and dusk; portraits of authentic people, who still preserve their own idiosyncrasy, which is something which is very difficult to find due to the globalization; very old Buddhist temples, even with chances of experiencing their ceremonies, etc.. To be honest, the destination exceeded my expectations.
The photo tour was perfectly organized by Dream Photo Expeditions. I was traveling alone, and the group was formidable. We were able to get all the photo tips and instruction that we needed. Regarding the hotels and restaurants, they were very well, taking into account that this is a very remote area. One hundred percent recommended.’
‘After visiting Ladakh, I think that it’s an essential trip for any landscape and high mountain photographer. We were driving by Khardung La and there wasn’t a single minute on the trip when we didn’t find spectacular views, stopping almost several times until we got to the perpetual snows in the pass.
The guided visits to the monasteries, as well as to many not touristic locations, the visits to many local houses, and living an unforgettable experience visiting a ‘rebo’ (the tents where the Changpa nomads live), where a Changpa womas was making cheese, were some of the highlights of this photo tour. Things happening during the route. A very complete landscape, portrait and night photography tour, with much to see and enjoy, plus getting back home with great photos… And that certainly, I will repeat.’