Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. That means if you click and buy something, I may earn a teeny-weeny commission (think chai money, not a private jet) at no extra cost to you. It’s a small way to keep this blog running, the words flowing, and the pages free for you to enjoy. I only recommend things I truly love, use, or secretly wish I invented, because trust matters, and so do good recs. Thanks for supporting the little cozy corner of the internet I call my virtual home.
Staying at Tukchu Homestay in Leh was the highlight of our road trip to Leh Ladakh with the kids. It’s a perfect reflection of home sweet home.
What do you crave after a long journey? I long for the real comfort of my home.
As a traveler, I have realized that as much as we enjoy traveling, there’s nothing like coming back home.
We all ache for home while we are away. There’s a reason why Laura Ingalls Wilder said: “Home is the nicest word there is.”
I’ve been traveling for years now and it largely involved staying at hotels and resorts where you get the services in quite a professional way as long as you’re willing to pay for those services.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy staying at hotels. But the flavor of homestays is sweeter.
Finding a second home in the places you travel to would make you love to travel even more. Isn’t it?
One of the sanest things we did on our trip to Leh-Ladakh was to choose a homestay over a hotel.
Read more
The ultimate India bucket list
India itinerary ideas for spending 1 to 4 weeks
Tukchu Homestay in Leh – First Impressions
The day I chose Tukchu Homestay for our stay at Leh, I was hooked. Staying with the native host gave me an opportunity to experience local life in all its classicism.
The first-hand learning you get about the culture, traditions, and people of the region you are visiting is noteworthy.
Utterly narrow lanes alive with traffic lead to Tukchu Homestay in Leh. Shanti Stupa adds charm to the otherwise featureless entrance.
But as one walks inside, the spacious outdoor patio with a small garden steals the show. The best thing about the place is its positive vibes.
Tukchu Homestay in Leh is run by warm-hearted and kind Mr. Tashi and Mrs. Skarma Gyaltsen. It has an awesome local ambiance.
They’ve changed their 100-year-old home into a masterpiece. Spacious, spotless, and warm rooms with a beautiful view of the apricot mountains of Leh will keep your yearning for home at bay.
Gyaltsen’s beautiful abode and its environment provide a welcome relief from the chaos of a tough journey to Ladakh.
If you love reading like me, the beautiful and cozy reading corner is sure to feed your senses. You have all the freedom to choose any book and sit all day pouring over books with a cup of masala chai or filter coffee.
Indulge yourself as you do at your home. But resist that urge to read all day because obviously, you don’t want to miss out on the beauty of Ladakh (The reason you’re here!)
The dining hall is really the heart of the house with an authentic aura and lovely traditional floor seating arrangement (baithak).
Colossal glass windows in the dining hall showcase the beauty of Ladakh while you relish yummy, traditional food cooked lovingly by your host.
We were floored by the simplicity and humbleness of Mr. Tashi. He took great care of our pet who wasn’t well while we were busy exploring Ladakh and gave us a handmade map of the places worth exploring which guidebooks really don’t stress about.
We skipped some of the attractions that internet sites recommend (as a part of their business) and explored places suggested by our kind host.
It was worth it and why not when no one knows the place better than the local people?
Unclothing the uncharted places and living in an authentic culture is the essence of travel. Staying at Homestays allows you to touch the soul of travel.
Home-like comfort, good food, warmth, long conversations over a cup of “adrak wali chai” and people waiting for you with a welcoming smile when you come back after a tiring expedition…
Would you ask for more!?
All that at a great tariff!
BLISS!
I loved every bit of our stay at Tukchu Homestay in Leh. My daughter and my friend’s daughters gave handwritten thank-you notes to Mr. and Mrs. Tashi which they pinned lovingly on their appreciation board.
Of the many accommodations that I stayed in during my travels, Tukchu Homestay was the hardest to leave.
Even going out to explore the most favored destination like Leh seemed to be difficult. All we wanted was to laze around in serene environs between meals and cups of tea 🙂
We bade goodbye with a promise to come back soon.
You can check the reviews on TripAdvisor.
Getting there
Tukchu Homestay is just below the famous Shanti Stupa in Leh.
Address: Changspa, Just below Shanti Stupa, Leh
Phone: 09622985005
Email: tukchuhomestay@gmail.com
Website: https://tukchu.weebly.com/
Tariff
850 per adult / 500 per kid with an extra bed per night (with breakfast)
This is what we paid. The tariff varies depending on the dates of stay.
The Food at Tukchu Homestay in Leh
150 Rs. per person per meal (lunch/dinner) (at the time of writing this post)
If you want to experience something special and beyond usual; Tukchu Homestay in Leh is a perfect place for you!
P.S. All opinions are my own and anecdotes are straight from my heart. I make or share recommendations genuinely based on my personal experience and to enhance the travel experience for my readers.
Planning an ultimate road trip to Leh, Ladakh? Here’s a list of posts that’ll help you plan a road trip to Leh Ladakh effortlessly:
How to Plan a Road Trip from Delhi to Leh Ladakh
How to Drive and Thrive the Leh Manali Highway
What to do in Manali
What to Expect During a Drive from Manali to Rohtang Pass
How to Plan a Road Trip to Leh Ladakh with Kids
Save Tuckhu Homestay in Leh to Pinterest
This home is so beautiful. I am sure that it was much better than staying at a hotel. I’m glad that you had a wonderful stay.
It’s certainly a lot easier to soak in the local atmosphere with a homestay. Sounds like yours was lovely!
Absolutely! It’s easy and insightful too.
It’s certainly a lot easier to soak in the local atmosphere with a homestay. Sounds like yours was lovely!
First of all what a magical place to be having a holiday! We love stay aswell. The price is lower for a better experience! One get to have a little insight of how the local are leaving and we help the local people by staying with them!❤️
First of all what a magical place to be having a holiday! We love stay aswell. The price is lower for a better experience! One get to have a little insight of how the local are leaving and we help the local people by staying with them!❤️
I love it, Most wonderful pictures, and you really caught the light from the right angle. red tables are my favorite thing
I love it, Most wonderful pictures, and you really caught the light from the right angle. red tables are my favorite thing
It looks like you found jackpot on where you have stayed. Accommodation is an important factor too of travelling.
It was quite like a jackpot 🙂
It looks like you found jackpot on where you have stayed. Accommodation is an important factor too of travelling.
Your experience sounds lively. I started travelling when my sone was 9mths old and habe never thought about a homestay. What a great idea. Thanx for sharing
You should definitely try homestay next time, Stephanie. Homestays are the best if you really want to get into the skin of the place you are visiting 🙂 I’m sure, you’ll love it.
Your experience sounds lively. I started travelling when my sone was 9mths old and habe never thought about a homestay. What a great idea. Thanx for sharing
Tukchu Homestay looks like a great place to visit. I will give it a try and add on my Bucket list!!!
Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Such a beautiful post left me speechless in the end. Place looks fantabulous
A truly gorgeous place to travel. I really enjoyed the pictures.
Wow beautiful. Traveling too much can be lonely. You often miss the comforts of your own home and family.
True! Staying in a homestay can soften the homesickness.
Wow beautiful. Traveling too much can be lonely. You often miss the comforts of your own home and family.
Great post, this sounds like the best way to travel!
Great post, this sounds like the best way to travel!
Wow that dining area is stunning! It is so full of character and so inviting, the whole house looks like I could just move in tomorrow and feel at home.
Wow that dining area is stunning! It is so full of character and so inviting, the whole house looks like I could just move in tomorrow and feel at home.
Leh is must visit place. I certainly have to do a nice home stay. Very well written blog. These words are really amazing “Unclothing the uncharted place” .
Leh is must visit place. I certainly have to do a nice home stay. Very well written blog. These words are really amazing “Unclothing the uncharted place” .
Such a beautiful homestay. And wonderful hosts. I have heard a lot about the hospitality and warmth of people in Leh. When I travel there, I will definitely prefer staying in a homestay
Thanks, Neha! I’m sure you’ll love homestay experience!
Such a beautiful homestay. And wonderful hosts. I have heard a lot about the hospitality and warmth of people in Leh. When I travel there, I will definitely prefer staying in a homestay
It makes such a difference staying in somewhere which feels more like a home as you feel more comfortable x
It makes such a difference staying in somewhere which feels more like a home as you feel more comfortable x
Why have I not been to Let yet 🙁 All your posts and pictures are self-inviting me to Let. 😀 You definitely had a lovely stay there, I’d love to have a dining area like that in my house.
I hope you get to visit Leh soon, Aditi 🙂 You know, when I first saw that dining area, I had the same thoughts! I too want to have this kinda dining area in my home 🙂
Why have I not been to Let yet 🙁 All your posts and pictures are self-inviting me to Let. 😀 You definitely had a lovely stay there, I’d love to have a dining area like that in my house.
I hope you get to visit Leh soon, Aditi 🙂 You know, when I first saw that dining area, I had the same thoughts! I too want to have this kinda dining area in my home 🙂
Your Tukchu homestay looks cozy and authentic. Those colorful dining area is really stunning and I would like to have dinner in this type of dinning area. You are lucky to have home cooked Ladhakhi food.
Your Tukchu homestay looks cozy and authentic. Those colorful dining area is really stunning and I would like to have dinner in this type of dinning area. You are lucky to have home cooked Ladhakhi food.
Homestays are wonderful. I really like that AirBnB has made it much easier to find one while traveling.
Homestays are wonderful. I really like that AirBnB has made it much easier to find one while traveling.
Places like Leh need no intro. It should be everyone’s bucket list, especially if you are a biker!
Places like Leh need no intro. It should be everyone’s bucket list, especially if you are a biker!
This looks like such a lovely place to stay. A home from home. So cozy! The weather looks lovely too.
Ami xxx
This looks like such a lovely place to stay. A home from home. So cozy! The weather looks lovely too.
Ami xxx
Symple and nice . It’s good idea to find a place to stay away from home but feel like home . This place look amazing with outdoor interior. I like the relaxing chairs and treble who set under the threes
Symple and nice . It’s good idea to find a place to stay away from home but feel like home . This place look amazing with outdoor interior. I like the relaxing chairs and treble who set under the threes
That place looks so beautiful. A perfect place to stay away from home.
A true heart account of the homestay, ably supported by some really well shot pics. I have earmarked this to be checked out on my next trip to Leh!
Thanks, Shalini! You should definitely check out Tukchu homestay on your trip to Leh. I’m sure it’ll be an authentic learning experience for you!
I have to agree, the best way to get to know a culture is to stay with the people. That dining area is amazing! I love the colors ?
What a wonderful place to visit! Everything about it seems so welcoming. Especially that they took care of your pet so you could venture out. I always think how someone treats animals is a true test of their character. The the kind of people you want to do business with over and over again! x
Thanks, Alison! Yeah, absolutely. I mean we were also awed by the way they took care of our pet!
Thanks for stopping by, Nawal! I appreciate it.
Thanks, Shalini! You should definitely check out Tukchu homestay on your trip to Leh. I’m sure it’ll be an authentic learning experience for you!
Thanks, Alison! Yeah, absolutely. I mean we were also awed by the way they took care of our pet!
Thank you
Thank you