Timosgam Village: The perfect escape from citylife
Deep in the northwestern mountain region of Leh, about 88km away from the main capital lies a small, quaint village that falls under the Sham region. Here, you will be immersed in the most authentic Ladakhi culture – get cozy in their homes, learn the ways to cook fresh homemade Ladakhi cuisine and be involved in their daily routines. Some of our past participants even shared that it is the perfect retreat during this expedition.
Timosgam Village, two words that hold so much history, is an excellent destination in our curated itinerary for those looking to find solace away from the hustle of the cities. A village that allows you to experience a kampung lifestyle unlike any other, it really hits home. Are you curious to know more about our unique experience that we had? Scroll down and join us as we feed you with bite sized information so that you can still immerse the rawest feelings that you may never find back on our tiny little red dot. Here we go!
On the third day of the expedition, you will be driven far away from the city where your phones will no longer have any connection despite countless attempts of trying to reach out to friends and family back home! The main takeaway for today is to disconnect to reconnect. Upon arriving in Timosgam Village, you will be greeted by local kids playing amongst one another and farmers harvesting fruits - apricots, watermelons, apples, grapes and vegetables - lettuce, cabbages, tomatoes and potatoes.
Throughout the village, huge plots of lands can be seen as almost every family here owns a little nursery or farm. As the car comes to a halt, you have arrived at one of the many homestays that are open for tourists to experience. A rustic building with a unique architecture, yellow painted details and nothing but beautiful mountains that surround you. That's not all, wait till you see the night sky, it’s going to drive you bonkers!
You will be spending a night with a local Ladakhi family as they welcome you in with a warm hug, fresh masala chai (which you may get to learn and brew) accompanied with their everyday greeting “Julley!”. A sense of home away from home runs through our participant's veins as they have eagerly seeked for such an experience.
Shortly after, your hosts will bring you to their little nursery where you’ll get to grab a bite of their freshly grown fruits and collect vegetables which you’ll need to help prepare your very own Ladakhi dinner! In fact, here in Ladakh, most nurseries grow apricots, which is also the region’s national fruit! Fun fact - the locals will always tell tourists not to eat more than three in one sitting (find out why as you travel there!)
Now, with those vegetables that you’ve collected, here comes the activity that most of our participants have been anticipating! The opportunity to put your cooking skills to the test and prepare a Ladakhi dish heavily favoured by the locals - Momo! Momo, inspired by Tibetan bite-size dumplings, are made with a spoonful of stuffing, either meat or vegetables, wrapped in dough. Your hosts will then guide you with a step-by-step tutorial on how to mould the dough into delicate, juicy and flavoursome dumplings. Check out our Instagram Reel to see how Kelly, Our Social Media Guru, fared during this activity!
End the night at the open rooftop to stargaze whilst sipping on hot masala chai with the locals! What a day it has been for you. A trip to Timosgam Village is guaranteed to open your eyes and widen your perspective on life. The simple life may be what most crave for but it is definitely an arduous work just to prepare their everyday meals for their families. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience for city folks, to be in their shoes and experience the rural way of life on an everyday basis.
We, Beyond Expeditions, have always urged our travellers to go beyond and to immerse in unique interactions that can be life-changing. To go home richer in experience, acquiring new knowledge and learning life lessons that can never be taught elsewhere. Some of life’s biggest lessons is to appreciate the little moments and being ever present with your surroundings. Here at Timosgam Village, you’ll experience all that. The perfect escape from citylife awaits you!
Article Written By: Dzul
Beyond Expeditions’ Adventure Content Writer since June 2022 and pursuing his Communications Degree in Singapore University of Social Science. He hopes to continue his knack for travel writing, sharing stories in hopes of inspiring the travel bug in his readers. He dabbles in photography on the sides and wants to incorporate beautiful visuals in his storytelling. A true fan of the outdoors, his thirst for adventure is second to none!
