A Kani-shawl begins with a Changpa goat at 4,500 metres in Hanle, in March when the undercoat loosens and the combing season opens. From there, one pair of hands to the next: carders in Leh, spinners in the high town, then over the Zoji La to Bagh-e-Mehtab, then finally to a single Kanihama weaver who works one foot of cloth per day. Two hundred days for one human to weave what another spent two hundred days learning to spin.
How long does a Kani shawl actually take to make?
200 days total: 60 days combing and carding, 60 days spinning, 40 days dyeing, 40 days weaving. That's before the apprenticeships that took each artisan 8–20 years.
Can I visit the weavers?
Yes. Our Pashmina Trail itinerary brings you to the Changpa herders, carders, spinners, dyers and Kanihama weavers. You meet the hands that made your shawl. 14 nights, pricing on enquiry.
What makes Kanihama weaving different?
Kanihama shawls are woven, not embroidered. The pattern is built into the loom itself, using 30–40 separate coloured threads managed in perfect synchrony. No two shawls are identical.
The Himalayan Guru, custom Himalayan journeys, founded by The Himalayan Guru atelier in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Phone +91 99066 66698, email hello@thehimalayan.guru.