Thinlas Chorol

Thinlas Chorol Biography

Thinlas Chorol is an Indian social entrepreneur, Trekking guide and writer from Ladakh, Kashmir. She is a recipient of the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar, India's national honours conferred on individual women for their exceptional achievement. In her early twenties she gained notability working as a trekking guide in the tourism industry of Ladakh in northern India. She is the founder of Ladakh Women’s Travel Company.

She was born on May 6, 1981 in Takmachik, Ladakh. Chorol’s parents were farmers and during her younger days, she had spent her childhood helping with animals and farming. Her mother died at an early age and father remarried. She grew up with her father, stepmother and seven siblings. She had to spend time in the mountains while going with her father to tend the family's animals in the high pastures. She studied at Takmachik, followed by Domkhar. After completing her 10th class education, she was accepted as a student at the SECMOL Alternative Institute near Ladakh's main city, Leh. When she was at the SECMOL, she had gone on trekking expeditions with some of the foreign volunteers. She also did a corresponding course in graduation at that time.

She worked as a freelancer, and also did various courses in mountaineering and other outdoor activities. In 2014, Chorol became the first president of the "Ladakhi Women's Welfare Network". She started a company the "Ladakhi Women's Travel Company”. She also arranged homestays, a way to help women in the villages generate income for themselves. In 2007, she was awarded the "Sanjoy Ghosse Ladakh Women Writers' Award" by Charkha Development Communication Network and her article "Beyond conventional tourism", about the tourism in Ladakh got published in the magazine Epilogue, followed by "A Trek through Life" about her trekking experiences and how she succeeded in this male dominated field.

Published: September 15, 2018

Updated: September 15, 2018