Trace the trail of pashmina from Ladakh's Changha pastures where semi-nomads roam,  to the looms of Kashmir which clothed emperors and aristocracy of the world. One, a life so simple, yet it feeds the other's desire for the softest of fibres.

Explore the winding alleyways of 6th CE UNESCO “Creative City” of Srinagar, marvel at walnut wooden architecture, and shop teeming bazaars. Venture further out to the beauty of Gulmarg and Pahalgam with visits to saffron fields, orchards, and willow cricket bat workshops. 

In Kashmir, studio visits with award-winning artisans and demos in hand spinning, designing, washing, dyeing, kani weaving, and sozni embroidery on pashmina. Learn about the painstaking process behind the creation of a single pashmina shawl.

In Ladakh, demos in carding, spindle spinning, and lap-loom weaving. 

Hands-on workshops in Kashmiri papier mache, miniature painting, and crewel embroidery.

In Ladakh, take in a hands-on workshop in natural dyeing of cashmere from a local women-run cooperative. 

Deepen your understanding at every stage of the process. 

Spend time with expert locals at Bait ul Miraas, a repository of Kashmiri culture and heritage in Srinagar. In Leh, heritage walks of the ancient city of Leh, once a stop for Silk Road caravans. Private collection visit and audience with premiere Ladakhi designers and visionaries. 

Explore ancient monasteries tucked away into rocky hillsides festooned with prayer flags. Partake in ritual pujas alongside chanting monks and enjoy sipping butter tea amidst the splendour of the Himalayas. Ladakh's Buddhism, allied to Tibetan Mahayana, is filled with imagery, colour, pageantry, and symbolism!

Two day ethnographic foray into the Changthang plateau in Ladakh to interact with Kharnak nomads. Learn about their harsh lifestyle and indomitable will that allows them to brave exceptionally harsh conditions to deliver one of the finest fibres to human touch. 

From royal chefs of Kashmir comes the renowned Wazwan cuisine using the bounty of the valley. Taste food cooked to slow perfection on wood fires in clay pots. Explore the innovative cuisine being forged by young Ladakhi chefs headlining trending culinary news feeds. Warm your hands around offerings of smoky Kashmiri kehwa chai and delicious butter tea. Food has never tasted this good. 

No stay in Kashmir is complete without a night or two gently rocking to sleep on an impossibly romantic shikhara. Awaken to a steaming cup of kehwa while contemplating misty lakes reflecting the world's highest mountains reaching for the sky. On this tour we stay in a premium deluxe houseboat on beautiful and relatively uncrowded Nigeen Lake. 

The way of life for artisans in Kashmir and Ladakh is under greater threat with each passing year. We will visit and support several women's cooperatives as well as interact with Chinar Kashmir to help rebuild communities affected by years of unrest.