Some places claim to be off the grid – this lodge truly is
by Nina Karnikowski · Australian Financial ReviewNina KarnikowskiTravel writer
Sep 26, 2026 – 5.00am
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, his dark hair twisted into a knot, the Tibetan painter bends over the Buddha taking shape before him. Around him are packed-earth walls, hand-carved beams and a pot-bellied stove. Afternoon light streams in from an attached greenhouse, where two cats doze on a cushioned bench. Were it not for the painter’s white AirPods and mobile phone, we might have stumbled back two centuries.
My husband and I have just arrived at Khampa Nomad Ecolodge, a remote, off-grid retreat high on the Tibetan Plateau in Kham, eastern Tibet. Friends who know the region well told me, for an intimate window into Tibetan life beyond Lhasa and the well-worn circuits of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Kham couldn’t be beat.
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Nina KarnikowskiTravel writerNina Karnikowski is a travel writer focused on sustainability, and the author of two books including Go Lightly: How to Travel Without Hurting the Planet. Connect with Nina on Twitter.
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