This journey represents an exploration of the healing, yogic, and meditative practices of Tibet, based at the world’s highest spa in Central Tibet’s sacred Terdrom valley. Beginning in Lhasa and including pilgrimages to monasteries, remote hermitages, caves sanctuaries, and audiences with lamas and contemporary practitioners, this will be a journey into the heart of Tibetan civilization, encompassing rejuvenative mind-body medicine and rare yogic practices. No prior knowledge or experience is required.

The trip will take us from Lhasa to the sacred valley, hot springs, and meditation caves of Terdrom, where Tibet’s tradtion of Tantric Buddhism developed in the 8th century and continues to thrive. Based at the newly opened Shambhala Source Tibetan Medial Spa, we will explore Tibetan yoga and rejuvenation practices while meeting with practitioners in their high-altitude caves. The trip will culminate with a pilgrimage trek through one of Tibet’s most spectacular and culturally rich environments, visiting mountain hermitages along the way.

Trip will be led by Ian Baker and Cristy Elmendorp.

Ian Baker

Ian Baker designed and led study tours in Asia for the National Geographic Society, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution’s Academic Travels Abroad, as well as other educationally oriented travel companies. He served as Academic Director for the School for International Training in India and Nepal and has led numerous research expeditions into the Himalayas. He is a fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society as well as the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.

Ian studied fine arts, literature, comparative religion, and anthropology at Middlebury College, Oxford University, Columbia University, and University College London and is the author of seven books about Himalayan culture, medicine, and Buddhist tradition, including the forthcoming Tibetan Yoga: Secrets from the Source. He collaborated with the Dalai Lama on a book illustrating Buddhist meditation practices and with Robert Thurman and Deepak Chopra on books on the Tibetan healing arts.

Ian’s most recent book, The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet’s Lost Paradise (Penguin Press 2004) has been translated into multiple languages and chronicles his National Geographic sponsored expedition into the world’s deepest gorge and his team’s documentation of a waterfall that had been the source of myth and speculation among geographers for more than a century. Profiled by National Geographic as one of seven “explorers for the millennium”, Ian has contributed articles to National Geographic Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, and Explorers Journal and lectures widely in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Cristy Elmendorp

Cristy Elmendorp, a former script writer and television host born in Java, was educated in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and has traveled  extensively throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. Cristy worked for humanitarian aid organizations in southern Thailand for several years and later co-founded Visual Works, producing multi-media presentations for the Thai travel industry. She also runs an independent marketing and consulting agency.

As director of Rare Journeys Films, Cristy produces educational documentaries that explore far corners of the planet and the interfacing worlds of spirit, nature, and human experience.

This trip is offered in collaboration with Rare Journeys.

Trip price of $ 5,480 includes domestic flights in Asia, meals as listed in the final itinerary, all sightseeing and entrance fees, all transportation in Asia, service of a camping crew and camping equipment. Trip price does not include international airfare into China and accommodations in Beijing or Chengdu.

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Detailed Itinerary Download