All roads lead to Ladakh this weekend with the work-weary packing for The Confluence. It's a four-day eco-adventure and percussion festival you don't want to miss, in one of the highest and purest environments in the world
All roads lead to Ladakh this weekend with the work-weary packing for The Confluence. It's a four-day eco-adventure and percussion festival you don't want to miss, in one of the highest and purest environments in the worldu00a0
The world is packing for: The Ladakh Confluence '09, the first installment of an annual festival that will get you high, literally. It's set at a height of 11,500 feet at the banks of the Indus river. The festival site is flanked by the Himalayas, with a shaded tree-line on one side and vast desert-land on the other. 
Why Ladakh? Ladakh or "Little Tibet" is fondly known as the "rooftop of the world". Largely undiscovered until about 30 years ago, it has become an extreme playground for adventure enthusiasts, a pilgrimage for motorbike clubs, and a biologically diverse hotspot.
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Meet: Nature conservationists, scientists (archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers, geologists, ethnographers) and explorers, adventure professionals and enthusiasts, Ladakhis, musicians, artists, dance students, photographers, design students, architects, school students from Ladakh and world travellers.
Hear: An impressive line-up of artists with eclectic folk, fusion and world music, clean, dance-worthy acoustic sounds and spontaneous jam sessions. The list includes table magician Talvin Singh, Austrian beatboxing group Bauchklang, Terrakota from Portugal, contemporary santoor maestro Rahul Sharma and a horde of other gems.
Santoor player Rahul Sharma Terrakota from Portugal
Watch: Ladakhi textile weavers weave Pashmina shawls on giant looms, Khanak-ling nomads playing "dum-yung" long-necked guitars, the fine art of Tangkha painting.
Eat: Locally grown and prepared food at various stalls. Chhang-making sessions (Ladakhi barley beer) and a momo-eating contest will get you full.
Learn: Drumming, percussion, mouth-harp (morchang) and mouth-organ at music workshops. There will be Ladakhi looming, natural colour-making, Ladakhi pottery and sculpture, Tangkha art and oral tradition sessions.
Spiritual shoppers can find solace in meditation, Buddhist sand garden, reflexology, pranic healing, prayer bowls, flower therapies at the "peace and healing" tent.
At: Sindhughat in Choglamsar (8 km from Leh, the capital of Ladakh). Festival shuttle buses will ply between Leh and the festival site.
On: August 28 to 31, from 12 noon till 10 pm each day.
Four-day festival tickets available at Rs 5,000 for an adult and Rs 2,000 for a teenager (13-18 years old). Single-day tickets at Rs 1,500. Kids under 13 enter free. You can book tickets online, over the phone and at on-ground locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Manali and Leh.
For details, visit https://www.theconfluence.in/tickets.
Discounted accommodation is available to attendees at https://www.theconfluence.in/accommodation
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