Due to political sensitivity of the area, Eastern Ladakh was closed to outsiders for almost 40 years. The programme, ‘Ladakh, The Forbidden Wilderness’ to be aired on Discovery Channel, is a portrayal of the unique life which exists around Lake Tso Morari. Lying at an altitude of 4,500 meters, this 23-kilometre long lake is the second largest in the region and is the only known breeding ground for the bar-headed Goose in India.

On its north-western edge is a small village of Karzok, reminiscent of an age-old civilisation, the foundations of which are laid on the pillars of the Red Sect, the oldest religious order of Tibetan Buddhism. The people who live here are all Ladakhi Buddhists, piously devoted to the head of the Karzok monastery, Langala Rimpoche. The young Rimpoche is believed to be the ninth reincarnation of the highly learned Lama and is the inspiration behind people’s harmony with other inhabitants.

This sacred Buddhist faith has lead to an unusual relationship between man and animal. The film captures the whole breeding biology of bar-head Goose — their arrival coinciding with the melting of the lake, fierce fights for nesting places, predation of eggs and raising their brood with other migrant visitors.
The film portrays the villager’s life while they camp in rock shelters. Their cattle live under attack by  the Snow Leopard and Lynx.

Ladakh, The Forbidden Wilderness will be aired on Discovery Channel on December 29 at 8 pm.