India - Kashmir & Ladakh (Zanskar) Photo Tour.

Join us for an epic journey through India’s Paradise on Earth.

The Tour.

Join us for an unforgettable photographic journey to the beautiful lands of Kashmir and Zanskar, offering a perfect blend of natural beauty, culture, and adventure. We have designed this exclusive new tour for photography enthusiasts who want to capture the breathtaking landscapes and portraits of the local people.

Starting in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, we explore the famous Mughal Gardens and take a shikhara ride on the Dal Lake, capturing the vibrant life of the locals. From there, we embark on a road journey in search of the camps of the nomadic tribes who travel yearly from Jammu to the Srinagar Valley, where we witness their daily life and culture.

Along the way, we pass through the picturesque town of Sonamarg, known as the golden meadow, and explore the ruins of a 5th-century (BC!) temple in the valley of Naranag. We also cross the Zojila pass and visit Kargil, a village located in the remote Zanskar region, where we can photograph the dramatic landscapes, ancient monasteries, and unique way of life of the local people.

From Kargil, we pass through the beautiful Suru Valley and onwards to Padum, the main town and administrative centre of the Zanskar Valley, one of the most remote regions in Ladakh. We stop at Pume, a small village famous for its Phuktal (Cave) Monastery, before retracing our steps to Padum for the night. In the morning we set off early on a picturesque drive to Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

In Leh, we visit the renowned Thickset monastery for morning prayers, explore the local bazaar, and take an evening tour of the Tsemo gompa, set on a hill that offers a fabulous view of the town below. We then fly back to Delhi for a night before catching our flights home.

This is a rare opportunity to visit one of the least-travelled regions of India, where you can immerse yourself in the area's rich history and ancient Buddhist culture, and come home with a portfolio of images to make anyone proud. The tour is limited to just eight photographers so early bookings are strongly advised.

Photo Highlights

  • Beautiful scenery of Sonamarg, Kashmir,India.

    Sonamarg

    Beautiful scenery

  • Authentic house boat on Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir, India.

    Dal Lake

    Stay two nights on an authentic house boat

  • Authentic back street walks of Srinagar, Kashmir, India.

    Srinagar

    Authentic back street walks

  • Mass migration of goats in Kashmir, India.

    On the Road

    Endless photo opportunities

  • Nomadic herders in tent in Kashmir, India

    Nomadic Herders

    Private sunrise shoot - meet them in their tents

  • Prayer flags stretching to Leh Monastery, Ladakh, India

    Leh

    Ladakh’s capital

Tour Details.

Est. 2023

Duration: 13 days, 12 nights, 11 days of shooting.

Dates & Prices

2024

September 15 - 27

SOLD OUT

2025

September 28 - October 10

US$6250

Past participants will get a special discount.

Our fee includes hotels, breakfasts, three lunches, six dinners, bottled water throughout the tour, as well as all transport including airport transfers. This tour also includes two internal flights. We base our fee on accommodation in a single room, (usually A/C with private bathroom) though we offer discounts for couples sharing rooms, as well as for non-photographers.

Our Itinerary.

  • Cyclo driver sleeping in rickshaw, Delhi, India

    Day 1

    Arrive in Delhi: Enjoy free transfer to your hotel

    PM: Optional technical and aesthetic travel photography workshop for those who need it

    Sunset: Meet Nathan and the group

    Sleep: Delhi Aerocity hotel

  • Vegatables being sold on Dal Lake Srinagar, Kashmir, India.

    Day 2

    Sunrise: Fly to Srinagar

    AM: Transfer to houseboat on Dal Lake

    PM: Shikara boat ride to floating gardens

    Sunset: Shikara boat open lake

    Sleep: Srinagar houseboat

  • Roof tops of old town Srinagar, Kashmir, India.

    Day 3

    Sunrise: Floating market

    AM: Heritage city walk / spice market

    PM: Traditional wazwaan lunch

    Sunset: Mughal Garden

    Sleep: Srinagar houseboat

  • goat herder on the road in Kashmir, India.

    Day 4

    Sunrise: Peer Ki Gali drive

    AM: Nomadic camps

    PM: Nomadic camps

    Sunset: Back to Dal lake

    Sleep: Srinagar houseboat

  • Nomadic herders in tent, Sonamarg, Kashmir, India.

    Day 5

    Sunrise: Free time

    AM: Drive to Sonamarg valley

    PM: Village walk

    Sunset: Valley vantage point

    Sleep: Sonamarg boutique hotel

  • Nomadic goat herder on the road in Kashmir, India.

    Day 6

    Sunrise: Nomadic camps

    AM: Naranag temple ruins

    PM: Village walk

    Sunset: On the road

    Sleep: Sonamarg boutique hotel

  • Road to Kargil, Kashmir, India.

    Day 7

    Sunrise: Free time

    AM: Drive through Zojila pass

    PM: Free time

    Sunset: Kargil bazaar

    Sleep: Kargil boutique hotel

  • Shepherds' delight in Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India.

    Day 8

    Sunrise: Free time

    AM: Suru Valley

    PM: Rangdum village and monastery

    Sunset: On the road

    Sleep: Padum boutique hotel

  • Road and river in Zanskar valley

    Day 9

    Sunrise: Sani monastery

    AM: Padum bazaar

    PM: Karsha monastery

    Sunset: Valley vantage point

    Sleep: Padum boutique hotel

  • Phuktal monastery, Zanskar, India

    Day 10

    Sunrise: Free time

    AM: Drive to Purne

    PM: Puktal monastery and village walk

    Sunset: Free time

    Sleep: Padum boutique hotel

  • Sirsirla-high-altitude-pass-road-Ladakh-India

    Day 11

    Sunrise: Drive to Leh

    AM: Stongdey monastery

    PM: Opportunistic landscape shots

    Sunset: Free time

    Sleep: Leh boutique hotel

  • Flat breads on baker street in Leh, Ladakh, India

    Day 12

    Sunrise: Rest

    AM: Bread bakers

    PM: Leh town walk and bazaar

    Sunset: Tsemo gompa

    Sleep: Leh boutique hotel

  • Taj Mahal framed by Lady Diana Bench Agra India

    Day 13

    Sunrise: Free time

    AM: Flight to Delhi and transfer to international airport terminal for flight departure

    We know you will have had a fabulous time!

    Bon Voyage

Make the dream a reality.

Tuition.

On any of our tours, our primary objective is for you to go home with a collection of images that anyone would be proud of. In fact, many of our past participants have gone on to win awards and competitions with photographs taken on our tours.

Nathan’s teaching approach is very hands-on, as he believes in learning by doing. He will guide you through technical challenges, provide artistic inspiration, and lead by example in approaching locals for great portraits. You'll be amazed at the striking and authentic images you'll be able to capture.

We also offer Lightroom workshops during our tours, where we cover workflow management and picture processing. We'll show you the tools to take your travel photography to the next level and provide tips on saving your pictures for various outputs like social media, e-books, and printing.

If this is your first tour with us, you can also join Nathan’s pre-tour workshop, designed to equip you with essential skills for travel photography. Covering technical competence, creative observation, and ethical responsibility with a focus on people and culture, this workshop is perfect if you’re new to travel photography or need a refresher. The workshop runs on the first day of the tour from around 1-5pm. Enhance your photography skills and capture breathtaking moments to treasure forever. Apply via our tour request form and prepare to take your photography skills to the next level.

Where We Stay.

  • House boat on Dal Lake Kashmir

    Boutique hotels

    Accommodation is a key element of any tour and we have gone to great lengths to secure the best hotels we can find to enhance your sense of being in Kashmir and Ladakh. In Kashmir it would be remise of us not to let you stay on a house boat on Dal Lake. We insure the best quality boats with comfortable private rooms and private bathrooms.

  • Large hotel in central Leh, Ladakh.

    Charming rooms

    Unlike many other tours, we assume you will want a private room to yourself, all rooms will have some form of temperature control and private bathrooms. We do not charge a single-person supplement but we do offer a discount if you choose to share a room if you are travelling with a partner or friend. We are very competitively priced, but we don’t cut corners on accommodation; on the contrary, others can charge more for less, and we have no hidden costs.

  • comfortable garden furniture around fire in Sonamarg, Kashmir

    Fabulous locations

    Although you deserve a rest, many of our hotels and restaurants also have photography in mind. Often you will find yourself over looking lakes, rivers or mountains. On this tour our restaurant choices are often associated with the hotels but usually have an exciting menu, and we consider your good health a primary concern.

TripAdvisor.

Ken Z - April 2023

I recently had the pleasure of going on another Nathan Horton Photography tour (my 7th). Nathan is a superb travel/street/people photographer - not just technically, but in the ways that he interacts with people from many different cultures. He is great at technical advice about camera settings, composition, and post-processing, but I also appreciate his energetic, interactive, and compassionate ways of approaching, communicating with and photographing people in their everyday activities. Most importantly for the photographers on his tours, he serves as an example to make us better photographers and participants in the cultural experiences to which he brings us. It is impossible to complete a Nathan Horton Photography Tour without becoming a better travel/street/portrait photographer, but most importantly, a human being with a much better understanding of people from very different cultural and social situations.

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