Korzok Village

Korzok Village is a high-altitude Himalayan settlement on the northwestern bank of Tso Moriri Lake in Leh district, Ladakh, at about 4,595 metres elevation. It is known as the centre of the Changpa nomadic community and home to the 300-year-old Korzok Monastery of the Drukpa lineage. The village offers stark Changthang plateau landscapes, traditional yak-hair tents, and access to the Tso Moriri Wetland Conservation Reserve.

Visitors can expect a small, remote Himalayan village set against the Changthang plateau with whitewashed houses, yak-hair rebo tents of Changpa nomads, and the hilltop Korzok Monastery overlooking Tso Moriri Lake. The landscape is high-altitude cold desert with the lake, snow-capped mountains and wide grasslands. Visitors can walk through the village, visit the monastery complex, interact with local families, see yaks, pashmina goats and migratory birds, and experience basic homestay accommodation with limited facilities.

Korzok Village has historically been a seasonal settlement of the Changpa nomads of the Changthang region. The Korzok Monastery, affiliated with the Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, was originally established about 300 years ago and the present structure was rebuilt in the 19th century. It served as a religious and community centre for the nomadic population around Tso Moriri.

The village is the cultural centre of the Changpa community known for rearing pashmina goats and yaks and living in yak-hair tents. Korzok Monastery is an important Buddhist site for the region and hosts the annual Korzok Gustor festival featuring cham dances, music and prayers, attracting devotees and visitors.