One of the things we like about trekking in places like the Himalayas is that it brings cultures together. We of the West get to experience not just the beauty of climbing mountains like Nepal’s Island Peak but also meet the people who live there and experience a few moments of their culture. Likewise, we get to tell them about our lives back home.

The arts do a great job of this, as well, and that’s why we’re excited about the just-announced Ladakh International Film Festival. According to this story from an Asian film magazine, the festival will be held in June 2012 and is calling itself “the highest altitude film festival in the world.”

In fact — and here are some things we can learn from Himalayan culture — they have built in a day of rest for visitors to adjust to the elevation of more than 13,000 feet, and the pro-ecology agenda includes time for guests to do some fish-planting . The mascot (and the biggest award of the show) is the Snow Leopard.

Films will be divided into four sections: Indian, International, Ladakh & Competition. You can keep up with developments on the festival’s Facebook page.

Their mission statement is “We endeavor to delight the people around the world to come and get exposed to the best of the world cinema in the magical Land of Ladakh.” And we at Embark say, that sounds like one more great reason to go enjoy Ladakh!