Rare Journeys Expeditions explore places and subjects that enrich both our individual and collective lives, inspiring the mind, delighting the senses, and promoting the ideals of Geotourism – an approach to travel that sustains and enhances a region's geographical character, including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the wellbeing of its residents.

In addition to co-creating educational travel experiences for private groups and institutions, Rare Journeys offers its own signature journeys. Travel with anthropologists, writers, filmmakers, and indigenous wisdom holders to some of the world's most exotic settings, learn new skills, and engage in spirited dialogues on subjects ranging from the evolution of culture to myth, religion, and the nature of reality itself. Highlights for 2009 and 2010 include the following offerings:

This journey follows the ancient tea caravan route between China and Tibet, highlighted by a pilgrimage to Tibet's sacred mountain, Kawakarpo, and the spectacular scenery and culture of eastern Tibet. Beginning in Lijiang in China's Yunnan province, we will travel through Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtse River to the ancient city of Gyalthang- renamed now as "Shangri-La"- and continue westward to Kawakarpo and, from there, across the Mekong-Salween divide to the region of Powo, a once independent kingdom within Tibet. The journey culminates with a visit to the spectacular meditation caves of Terdrom and the colorful markets, palaces, and temples of Tibet's capital city.

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This ultimate journey to Mount Kailash, a mountain in Tibet revered by millions as the meeting place of Earth and Heaven, begins in Nepal where we will follow an ancient pilgrim's trail through a rarely visited region held to be a beyul, or "secret land", prophesized in ancient Tibetan texts. After reaching Kailash, we will circle the sacred mountain and visit its inner sanctuary. We will then drive across the "rooftop of the world", arriving in Lhasa, Tibet's capital city, on the full moon festival of Sagadawa when Tibetans celebrate the Buddha's birth, death, and enlightenment.

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Mongolia is one of the last remaining horse based cultures in the world. Enjoy comfort, elegance, and adventure as we travel on horseback through Mongolia's pristine Hovsgol region and adopt the rhythms of the nomadic tribes who inhabit this realm of crystalline lakes, deep forests, and snow capped mountains on the Siberian frontier. Highlights of this journey include the warm hospitality of the nomadic reindeer-herding Tsaatan tribe as well as encounters with the Darhat shamans who intermediate between the known world and the realm of light and revelation that they call the "Dark Heavens". Leading us on this journey will be guest scholar and award-winning filmmaker, Dr. Hamid Sardar.

For more information, contact info@rarejourneys.com

At the heart of the eastern Himalayas lies a paradisiacal realm known to Tibetans as Beyul Pemako, the Secret Land Arrayed like Lotuses. Following the Brahmaputra River to the frontiers of Tibet, this expedition will explore the Buddhist and indigenous tribal traditions of this remote region that has only recently been opened to foreign visitors. The journey will culminate with an ascent through luxuriant forests to a sacred temple held to emerge from the womb of a Tantric goddess.
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For more information contact info@rarejourneys.com

This journey from Lhasa through the stunning landscapes, temples, and markets of southern and eastern Tibet will culminate in a pilgrimage to the inner sanctum of Kawakarpo, a sacred mountain equal in status to Mount Kailash, but held by many to far surpass its beauty.

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A 8th century queen and a female Buddha who transmitted the heart-essence of the Buddhist Tantras, Yeshe Tsogyal helped define the revealed treasure tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and her current emanations embody her timeless wisdom. This journey through Central Tibet will visit the principal places associated with Yeshe Tsogyal's life and liberation - from ancient palaces to high mountain caves - and introduce her core revelations on the nature of mind and reality through the texts and practices of the Khandro Nyingtik , the "Heart-Essence of the Dakinis".

For more information contact info@rarejourneys.com

Following the development of the Buddhist legend of Shambhala, a paradisiacal kingdom hidden from the outside world by towering mountains, this journey will travel by horse and camel from the Gobi desert into the wilds of Hovsgol where shamans and nomadic reindeer herders live at the frontiers of what they call the "Dark Heavens". Leading us will be guest scholar and award-winning film maker, Dr. Hamid Sardar.

For more information, contact info@rarejourneys.com

This inspirational odyssey through the sacred landscapes and traditions of ancient China and Tibet will be led by the renowned teacher of heart-centered transformation Brugh Joy, MD and further facilitated by Taoist scholar Daniel Reid. Beginning amidst the karst mountains of Guilin and continuing through the ancient kingdoms of Dali and Lijiang to Tibet's "Shangri-La" province and culminating in the temples and palaces of Lhasa, this initiatic journey combines Jungian-based dreamwork with an unprecedented induction into the mystery schools of Taoism and Tibetan Buddhism and their interface in an inclusive spirituality drawing on the heart practices of East and West.

For more information, contact info@rarejourneys.com

A walking tour through the bamboo forests, mountain sanctuaries, and highland tea estates of central Taiwan. Enjoy the world's finest high mountain Oolong teas, renowned for their health benefits and subtle flavors while immersing yourself in ancient Chinese culture and the art of Chi Gong, taught by accompanying guest scholar Daniel Reid, author of The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity.

For more information, contact info@rarejourneys.com