What is a Homestay?
A homestay is a type of accommodation where you are allowed to stay with a local family for a charge. It’s an inexpensive lodging option that’s excellent for independent leisure travellers of all ages, interns, gap year students, students studying abroad, and anybody looking for a genuine travel experience. It helps them to interact with the local people and culture of the location they are visiting.
You can assist the family with cooking, work in the garden or fields, learn about and experience Ladakhi culture through homestay.
Local Food
Farming is a common occupation in Ladakh, and the produce of these farms is used in the preparation of many of the region’s famously delicious cuisines. Vegetables such as potatoes, turnips, radishes, beans, and many more are eaten with both vegetarian and meat-based dishes. It’s common practise to boil or roast barley to use in Ladakhi cuisine. Ladakhi culture centres around barley, the region’s primary crop. In Ladakhi cuisine, mutton is the most common meat dish. Ladakhi cuisine consists primarily of sku and tukpa (made from wheat flour), paba (made from barley and indigenous pea), and khambir (local bread). Some regional delicacies and drinks
- Paba: Made of Barley and local Pea
- Khambir: Local bread made of dough
- Skyu: Its like a Stiu or Pasta made of dough
- Chu Tagi: Double facing ear like design stiu or pasta made of dough from barley flour.
- Pakthuk: Flat noodle made of local barley flour
- Nrtamthuk: Soup made of roasted barley flour
- Dasthuk: Rice Soup
- Kholak: Dough made of roasted barley flour. Since its a roasted flour, you dont to cook them.It is the mot common breakfast in Ladakh consumed with Curd, Soup, Pickels etc
- Tangtur: Mix of Curd and fresh vegetables like ‘Shangsho’, ‘Ngyu’ etc. Preferred with ‘Paba’
- Tsachoo: Onion Soup mostly consumed with ‘Paba’
- Mok Mok: (Tibetan Origin)
- Thukpa: Noodles and Soup
- Gya Thuk: Flat noodle made of mostly refined flour (Tibetan Origin)
- Tims Thuk: Noodle with soup made of local dough
- Mok Thuk: Mok Mok with Soup (Tibetan Origin)
- Rguma: Sausage
- Tapu: Dry Stiu made of local dough and apricot seed
Beverages Hot/Cold
- Cha Khunak: Salty black Tea
- Cha Gur Gur: Butter Tea (Salty)
- Chang: Local Beer/Wine made of barley
- Arak: Distilled water/ local vodka made of barley
- Das Chang: Rice wine/beer
- Rgun: Chang: Grape wine, mostly made in the eastern part of Ladakh by Dardi/Aryans