Spiti Ecosphere

Spiti Ecosphere connects travellers with homestays in high-altitude Spiti villages including Langza, Komik, one of the highest inhabited villages in the world, and Demul, staying in village homes and trekking between them across the Trans-Himalayan desert. Trips take in fossil sites, remote Buddhist monasteries and yak safaris, and the company runs its own base in Kaza with a cafe, restaurant and guesthouse that guests can use before or after village stays.

Revenue from treks, homestays and Ecosphere's own Kaza properties funds conservation and livelihood projects across the valley, including women's self-help groups producing wool crafts sold directly to guests. The organisation was founded in 2006 and has become a multi-award-winning model for high-altitude community tourism. Guests typically leave having stayed in several different homes, each contributing directly to household income in one of India's most remote inhabited regions.