Ladakh's 'Yak Churpi' cheese: Unique story of winning gold medal in Brazil

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of cheese?... Cubes, slices, or melted cheese on pizza...these are what we usually think of. But apart from all this, local cheese has been an important part of the food in a particular area. We are talking about Yak Churpi of Ladakh. This thing won a gold medal in an international competition held in Brazil a few months ago. During our trip to Ladakh, we found out about this special thing and the process of making it.

Yak Churpi Cheese from Ladakh won the Gold Medal in the Mundial do Quejo do Brazil 2026 Competition held in Brazil. Since then this thing has become a topic of discussion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only praised it on social media, but also mentioned it in 'Mann Ki Baat'. This thing was first made by Thinley Nurbu. Born in a nomadic family in Ladakh, Thinley keeps yaks.

Something called Churpi or Chhura has been made in the homes of the nomadic communities of Ladakh for generations. But till now there was not much information about this thing. The reason for this is that this thing has not yet been exported out of Ladakh. You will not find this thing easily even in the markets of Leh. That's why we started our journey to find out about it.

As we cross Chang-La and start descending the mountain path, we see mountains on both sides of the road. Thinley Nurbu has a 'nomadic farm' in Soltak, Changthang region. Thinley lives here with his parents, relatives and about 100 yaks. The altitude here is 16,500 feet above sea level. There is no settlement here. There is just a house in the middle or a small hotel on the side of the road.

The first task of the day here is milking the yaks. In Ladakhi language, female yak is called Dimo. One Dimo ​​gives about 1 liter milk. Thinley's father tells us, "After morning milking, I don't milk again that day. That's for the children." After milking, all the yaks are left to graze in the valley opposite.

To make cheese, fresh yak milk is heated and some curd is added to it. Then, the next day the process of making cheese from the frozen curd begins. When this curd is put in a churning machine, it produces butter and buttermilk. This butter is sold as 'butter' or ghee is made from it. After extracting the butter, the remaining buttermilk is boiled. After boiling for a few hours, a substance resembling ricotta cheese starts floating on top. Ricotta is an Italian word and means re-cooked. In Ladakhi language it is called Laabu.

To drain the water from the Labu, it is hung in a cloth. The interesting thing is that no material is wasted in this entire process. The water that remains after extracting cheese contains whey protein. This nutritious water is then given to the yaks to drink. Thinley's mother then dries this labu into small pieces. In hot summer, this cheese gets dried and ready in 2-3 days. In Ladakhi cuisine, this cheese is used to make soups and stews.

Thinley says, "I was not good at studies. I had failed in 10th. Here in Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk runs a school for unsuccessful children like me. Her name is Sekmol. My brother took me there. From there, I learned why our traditional profession is important. It is because of Sonam sir that I am where I am today. She inspired me to stay here with my parents and work, do new things."

Thinley has created a new version of the traditional Churpi cheese by slightly changing the recipe and adding sugar. Now his attention is focused on how to make this thing better and increase its production.

The Mundial do Quezon do Brazil 2026 competition was held in Brazil. Cheese producers from all over the world participated in it. Thinley created the thing that met the competition's criteria. But due to not being able to get the yellow fever vaccination on time, he could not travel to Brazil. After this he sent his cheese entry to the officials of National Dairy Board and then his cheese won the gold medal in this competition as 'World's Best Cheese'.

"We have partnered with the National Dairy Development Board. We will create a special process for the production of Churpi cheese and are studying how to brand it and market it as a niche product," says Dr. Stanzin Rabgyas, head of animal husbandry department, Leh.

The impact of climate change is also being felt in Ladakh valley. Thinley's father recalls, "Earlier there used to be complete snow on the mountain in front of us. Now there is no snow like that. Everything has disappeared. The heat has increased a lot. Earlier there used to be greenery for two months, then snow started accumulating. Now there is no snow even every two feet. The weather has completely changed." Thinley also says that there is less snow on the mountains now than before and due to global warming the pastures are being adversely affected.