WAYFARER
Ladakh's high season: how to climb slowly
- Khangchendzonga: Sikkim's sacred mountain
- Spiti: a valley of monasteries and homestays
- Gorilla country: Rwanda's volcano forests
- The Altitude Safety Checklist
Mountains Calling
Mountains have a way of rearranging a traveller's priorities. A schedule that looks sensible at sea level meets a thin-aired reality at 3,500 metres, and the people who are best at planning for it are usually the ones who live there.
That is why so much of this issue is about the quiet, practical things: sleeping low and climbing high, resting on arrival, listening to guides, and buying from the families who run homestays. Four of our People & Places pages are about people who have built livelihoods around guests in the mountains, and they have a good deal to teach those of us who arrive with a camera.
A note on the mountains themselves. Khangchendzonga is sacred in Sikkim, and it is only polite to treat it that way. The same goes for monasteries, prayer walls and the villages below. We have tried to say plainly where rules, permits and road openings are uncertain, because in May, in the Himalaya, they usually are.
Write to us about the highest place you have been. We would like to hear how you got there, and how you felt on the way down.
— Gitanjali Gautam, Editor-in-Chief
This month's theme. May is when the high passes begin to open and the high-altitude calendar starts to turn. This issue climbs slowly: Ladakh's monastery country, Sikkim's sacred peak, the Spiti valley, Nepal's quieter trails, the Dolomites and the volcano forests of Rwanda. Along the way it meets the people who make mountains welcoming, and asks how to arrive without leaving a mark.
Contents
Northeast IndiaNortheast India: Beyond the Familiar
IndiaIndia: Beyond the Usual
AsiaAsia: A Continent of Experiences
Around the WorldAround the World
- The Dolomites in early summer: huts, lifts and patienceItaly's pale mountains are a World Heritage Site and a hiker's dream. May is the shoulder, and June is when it all opens.RESEARCHED · CHECK LIFT AND HUT OPENING DATES
- Gorilla country: Rwanda's volcano forestsA tightly regulated permit system, a conservation success story and a community that has changed its relationship with the forest.RESEARCHED · CHECK THE RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR CURRENT PERMITS
Real stories from the roadPeople & Places
- Three sisters who put women on Nepal's trailsLucky, Dicky and Nicky Chhetri started an all-women trekking company in Pokhara, and a charity that trains women as guides.PROFILE · FROM PUBLISHED REPORTING · NOT INTERVIEWED BY WAYFARER
- The homestay idea that began in RumbakWomen in a village inside Hemis National Park proposed hosting trekkers. The programme that followed has changed how Ladakh lives with snow leopards.PROFILE · FROM PUBLISHED REPORTING · NOT INTERVIEWED BY WAYFARER
- From poachers to guides: Edwin Sabuhoro and the Virunga forestsA former Rwandan park official decided that the war on poaching was unjust, and turned poachers into eco-tourism partners.PROFILE · FROM PUBLISHED REPORTING · NOT INTERVIEWED BY WAYFARER
- Ishita Khanna and the Spiti valley's social enterpriseA social enterprise co-founded in 2002 tries to make conservation pay for the people of a high-altitude desert.PROFILE · FROM PUBLISHED REPORTING · NOT INTERVIEWED BY WAYFARER
Food, heritage and natureTaste, Heritage & Nature
- The Taste of Travel: Himalayan kitchensThukpa, momos and butter tea: what travellers eat in the mountains, and where the dishes come from.RESEARCHED · VERIFY LOCALLY
- Heritage Without Borders: monasteries that are still aliveThiksey, Hemis, Tabo and Key. How to visit working Buddhist monasteries as a guest.RESEARCHED · CHECK OPENING HOURS LOCALLY
- The Natural Calendar: MayWhat to look for, where, and how sure we are.RESEARCHED · SEASONAL, NOT GUARANTEED
- Responsible travel: leave the mountain lighterSix habits that help mountain communities, and the mountain itself.PRACTICAL · EVERGREEN
Practical toolkitTravel Smart
- The Altitude Safety ChecklistA one-page list for anyone heading above 2,500 metres. It is general guidance, not medical advice: talk to your doctor before you travel.PRACTICAL · EVERGREEN · NOT MEDICAL ADVICE
- The 24-Hour Destination: an easy first day in LehOne illustrative day. At 3,500 metres, the first rule is to go slowly.ILLUSTRATIVE ITINERARY · VERIFY LOCALLY
CommunityReaders' Pages
- The Traveller's Lexicon: julleyThe Ladakhi word that means hello, goodbye and thank you.LEXICON
- Travel Quiz — MayFive questions. Answers appear in next month's issue.QUIZ
- Your turn: your highest pointReader engagement idea for the next issue.READER INVITATION
- The Traveller's Bookshelf: three mountain booksThree books we would pack.RECOMMENDED READING
Reader and contributor briefsBe part of Wayfarer
Festivals & events radar
Dates below come from our festival guide and are approximate. Always confirm with the official organiser before you book; lunar-calendar and annually announced events are provisional until confirmed.
Northeast India & India
| Event | Where | When (approx.) | Why go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buddha Purnima | Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Buddhist sites across India | 1 May 2026 in India (some East and Southeast Asian countries observe Vesak on the following full moon, around 31 May) official | The day marking the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha, observed at monasteries across the country.. |
| Moatsu Festival | Ao Naga villages and Mokokchung, Nagaland | 1–3 May 2026 official | The Ao Naga festival that closes the sowing season, with songs, dances and feasting.. |
| Saga Dawa Duchen | Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim, Ladakh and Spiti | 31 May 2026 (full moon of the fourth Tibetan month; the month runs roughly 17 May to 15 June) verify | The holiest day in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar, observed with prayers and circumambulation.. |
| Hemis Festival | Hemis Monastery, near Leh, Ladakh | 24–25 June 2026 (set by the Tibetan lunar calendar) official | Masked cham dances in the best-known monastery festival of Ladakh.. |
| Dree Festival | Ziro Valley and Apatani villages, Arunachal Pradesh | Village rituals 4 July, main celebration 5 July, concluding 7 July 2026 official | The Apatani agricultural festival of thanksgiving and prayer for a good harvest.. |
| Rath Yatra | Puri, Odisha | 16 July 2026 (main chariot procession); return journey on 24 July official | The great chariot festival of Lord Jagannath, drawing pilgrims from across India.. |
Asia
| Event | Where | When (approx.) | Why go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naadam Festival | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | 11–13 July 2026 official | Mongolia's national celebration of wrestling, archery and horse racing.. |
Europe
| Event | Where | When (approx.) | Why go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest | Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria | 12 May and 14 May (semi-finals), 16 May 2026 (final) official | The 70th contest, hosted in Vienna after Austria's win in 2025.. |
| Venice Biennale (Art) | Giardini, Arsenale and Forte Marghera, Venice, Italy | 9 May to 22 November 2026 official | The 61st International Art Exhibition, open for six months.. |
| Midsummer Eve | Sweden (Dalarna is a classic setting) | 19 June 2026 (Midsummer Eve), 20 June (Midsummer Day) official | Maypoles, dancing and long light across Sweden.. |
Africa & the Americas
| Event | Where | When (approx.) | Why go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q'eswachaka bridge renewal | Quehue district, Cusco region, Peru | Second week of June 2026 (exact days set by the communities) verify | Four Quechua communities rebuild the grass-rope bridge by hand over three days.. |
| Inti Raymi | Sacsayhuaman, Cusco, Peru | 24 June 2026 official | The Festival of the Sun, staged each year at the Inca fortress above Cusco.. |
Oceania & international
| Event | Where | When (approx.) | Why go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vivid Sydney | Sydney, Australia | 22 May to 13 June 2026 (23 nights) official | Light installations, music and ideas across the city, with a large free programme.. |
| FIFA World Cup 2026 | United States, Canada and Mexico | 11 June to 19 July 2026 official | The first men's World Cup hosted by three countries; expect heavy travel demand in host cities.. |
Format example
Real developments reported before this issue's date. Each item is labelled announced or implemented, with a source.
- Europe: the EU Entry/Exit System became fully operational at Schengen external borders on 10 April 2026 (implemented; European Commission). https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/smart-borders/entry-exit-system_en
- Uttarakhand: the 2026 Char Dham Yatra began with Yamunotri and Gangotri on 19 April, Kedarnath on 22 April and Badrinath on 23 April (implemented; IANS, 21 April 2026). https://ianslive.in/char-dham-yatra-2026-kedarnath-portals-to-open-on-april-22-helplines-control-rooms-activated-to-assist-pilgrims--20260421093824
- Rwanda: the Rwanda Development Board published promotional 2026 gorilla permit rates for Rwandans, East Africans and other African citizens, valid until 31 December 2026 but not from June to October (announced; KT Press, 5 January 2026). https://www.ktpress.rw/2026/01/rwanda-floats-promotional-gorilla-trekking-rates-into-2026/
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