Travel + Leisure - India & South Asia
LCHANG NANG RETREAT, Ladakh
LOCATED IN NUBRA Valley, between the postcard-perfect village of Tegar and River Shyok, and overlooked by three mountain ranges—Saltoro, Karakoram and Stok—Lchang Nang Retreat makes a very special base to explore the monasteries, surreal landscapes, and hot springs in the area.
Nubra is best-known for the Diskit Monastery, which boasts a giant Buddha statue, and the Hunder sand dunes, but both these sites were overrun with tourists when I was in Ladakh. So, we chose to visit Ensa Gompa, a small, isolated monastery with a single monk in residence, who gave us all the time in the world to wander and take in the ancient wall paintings and thangkas, then invited us to chat over soft drinks that he brought out of the kitchen. On another day, we visited the lesserknown Sumur sand dunes, silent and immaculate, and lingered beside River Nubra to watch the sun set behind mountains. We visited the Panamik hot springs and hiked up a cliff to sit beneath a waterfall. On early morning walks through Tegar, one of Ladakh’s most prosperous villages, we caught glimpses of the graceful rhythm of everyday life in the countryside.
The cottages at Lchang Nang (‘The House of Trees’) are built according to traditional Ladakhi architecture and set in extensive gardens. We picnicked in the property’s private meadow, walked through its orchards of apple, apricot, and elm trees to get to the river, and took a guided walk through its organic gardens. Built four years ago, the property is dedicated to sustainability. The resort is almost fully powered by solar panels, much of the produce is sourced from its organic gardens, and the milk comes from cows owned by neighbouring families. There were walks and excursions every day, though I spent as much time as I could in the gardens, with a book and Singge, the friendly resident mountain dog. From `15,000; lchangnang.com
GETTING THERE
Fly into Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport. The drive to the retreat from Leh takes four to five hours.
SEE & DO
Guided walks and excursions to nearby attractions are organised by the property. Yoga classes are held daily, and cultural performances and bonfires are arranged subject to weather.
The spa is currently closed.
My greatest lessons from the pandemic have been about living simpler and respecting nature. After the long lockdowns, my holidays are now about the outdoors, with space and privacy being the biggest luxuries I can afford. These four resorts, each set in the lap of nature, share an ethos of ethical, environment-friendly practices, underpinned by support for local communities. Places like these have existed since long before the pandemic, but they’re getting their due attention now. And I’d like to believe they could represent the future of travel.