Categories: ladakh

[video] Nomadic Shepherds of the High Himalayas

At an altitude of 14,000 to 17,000 feet in the western parts of Ladakh lives a community of semi-nomadic herders that have lived a self-sustained life for millenniums. Despite the new found connectivity with the modern world, they have continued their wandering lifestyle that is essential for keeping their livestock well fed.

My first brush with Changpa nomads happened a decade ago, when I spotted their rebo–traditional yak-wool tents–at a distance on the long road from Manali to Leh. They had pitched tents on the famous Morey plains faraway from the road that made them look like black spots in the landscape. But smoke rising from the cow-dung stoves revealed what they are. Until that time, I had heard time and again that there are no settlements in the highlands on the difficult road from Manali to Leh. I learned few years later that they were not here just for the warm summer months, but continue to live at high altitudes even in winters, braving temperatures of -25C and lower. 

Over the years, I had many encounters with Changpa people during my wanderings in the high-altitude Changthang region adjoining Tibet. A few weeks after I first saw their tents, I had an opportunity to wander in one of their settlements in a place of spell-binding beauty. The land they had chosen was carpeted with lush green grass on a kind of soft ground where you relish walking bare foot. Small streams–springs that emerged from gaps in the ground–crisscrossed the fresh landscape. When you looked up, mountains in every direction were adorned with thick cover of snow on their peaks. The skies appeared eternally blue. Yaks, cows, a few sheep that had not made their way up the mountains and a handful of donkeys grazed happily on the tender grass. 

I was lost in the joy of the landscapes wandering aimlessly, when a freak storm hit us unaware. The raindrops were thick enough to hurt and was so cold that my entire face grew numb in a matter of minutes. But in good time, we were called by a friendly Changpa lady into her tent and were rejuvenated with a cup of hot milk. 

In the last decade, I have had many such chance encounters and as many planned visits to the Changpas in the unforgiving landscapes of Ladakh. Friends from the community have always welcomed me to the region and have taken me around to places that doesn’t get much attention from outsiders.

Despite being exposed to their way of life for a nearly decade now, I continue to be amazed by their resilience to the harsh weather and tough terrain they live in. In the last few years, a handful of Changpa have attempted to explore an urban lifestyle that offered better comforts, made possible with a boom in tourism in the highlands. And surprisingly, some of them have returned to Changthang to find comfort in their traditional shepherding lifestyle. 

Every year, we spend a week with Changpa people, living in their settlements, learning about their culture and photographing their everyday life. Join us on a photography tour to witness, understand and capture the Life of Changpa Nomads on this Photography Tour. Here is a short video that offers a glimpse of their lifestyle. 

See it on YouTube for a larger version. If you are reading this over email and can’t see the embedded video preview above this line, you may have to visit the webpage or see on YouTube. 

Article info