When AB convinced me to plan a Ladakh trip, I expected 10 days of barren, brown valleys, rugged mountain roads, dust, and gasping for breath at 11,500 ft. To be precise, this wasn’t a trip I was looking forward to. I panicked and jotted down all the information I could find on YouTube.
To my sheer delight, Leh Ladakh changed my perspective about discomfort forever. Oxygen levels in Ladakh are uncomfortably low, but that’s not the only reason why the place leaves you breathless. If you are keen to experience the same spots that altered my brain chemistry forever, follow this itinerary like a roadmap:
Table of contents
- Day 1: Flight to Leh and Arrival
- Day 2: Acclimatise and Explore Leh Market
- Day 3: Shanti Stupa, the Sangam Valley and Thiksey Monastery
- Day 4: Leh to Hanle – Via Chumathang and Mahe
- Day 5: Hanle to Tso Moriri
- Day 6: A Slow Day at Korzok
- Day 7: Tso Moriri to Leh, via Puga Valley, Tso Kar, and Tanglang La
- Day 8: Leh to Pangong Tso, via Chang La
- Day 9: Pangong to Leh
- FAQs about Leh Ladakh Trip
Day 1: Flight to Leh and Arrival
After so many years of flying out of Delhi, watching the plains slide away in their near agricultural geometry- wheat and mustard, slightly blurred by the haze that Delhi wears like a shawl – has become ordinary sightseeing. But it is not every day that you get a bird’s-eye view of the Himachal rising in terraces and folding into valleys. AB rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up as the breadth of the Great Himalaya took over every window of our flight. Ridge after ridge of snow-capped peaks, followed by the Zanskar range in its bare mineral browns and violets. This was my first ‘gasping for breath’ moment during this trip (yes, there were quite a few). After an eventful landing into the highest commercial airfield in India, we headed to our accommodation and chose to acclimatise for the day.
Best Staycations in Leh
For a comfortable arrival and a luxury stay, I highly recommend The Grand Dragon, The Indus Valley – Downtown Leh, or The Dolkhar Resort, all situated 2.1 km from the Leh Main Market. If you’d like to opt for a farm-to-table experience, you can book Nimmu House.
Flying Tip
Take a window seat on the A side for the flight up to Leh, and on the F side for the flight back to Delhi. Avoid the rows over the wing. Sit near the front or the back, keep the shutter open from takeoff, and pray that it’s not clouded the whole time.
Day 2: Acclimatise and Explore Leh Market
Why Acclimatise?
We had a whole plan for Day 2, but a mild headache and fatigue pinned AB down. “You must take another day to acclimatise. The altitude demands it here.” Our homestay owner said, and was kind enough to postpone our car booking requirements for the day without any hesitation. We consulted our family physician and purchased Acetazolamide – Diamox immediately to combat the symptoms. (Check with your doctor before you purchase).
If you chose to take a flight instead of biking or driving up the road from Manali or Srinagar, you never gave your body the chance to acclimatise to the higher altitude. This is exactly why our body needed at least two days to acclimatise. Additionally, the dry mountain air can dehydrate faster.
Exploring the Leh Market
I wish I had the sense to rest and rejuvenate on Day 2, but the heart wants what it wants, and mine craved a culinary whirlwind. The same afternoon, as AB took his time to heal from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), I headed out to explore the Leh Market.
I walked into a broad pedestrianised street situated below the Leh Palace. Ladakhi women sat at one edge of the street with precise heaps of turnips, greens, peas and apricots of the season. I wandered into the side lanes looking for souvenirs steeped in Leh Ladakh’s legacy. Everything caught my eye, from the shawls, the hand-painted mugs, the turquoise and the corals, to the singing bowls that were high on my list. Suddenly, the neighbouring shopkeeper’s “pashmina only” call-out piqued my interest. I walked into his store and was disappointed with an array of cheap scarves marketed as pashmina.
A packet full of fridge magnets and a singing bowl heavier than I had accounted for dangled in my left hand, as I picked up a few bottles of apricot jam, apricot oil, and sea buckthorn juice. Local, seasonal, and difficult to counterfeit made them my favorite kind of souvenir. Answering my heart’s call, I walked right into a local cafe and devoured a plate of chicken momos and butter tea. I packed two apricot cakes to go and headed back to the hotel.
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Day 3: Shanti Stupa, the Sangam Valley and Thiksey Monastery
The next morning we had an early breakfast and headed out to visit the Shanti Stupa first. AB and I chose to climb over 500 steps to reach the Stupa, instead of driving to it. It felt right at the time, but I’d only recommend it to young travellers and couples who have regular fitness regimes and don’t struggle with breathing issues. The steps are not always the problem, but the altitude is!
Shanti Stupa
Any lingering reservations I might have had about taking the stairs were obliterated as we reached the top. From up there, the old town heaped beneath the Leh Palace, the willows of Chagspa looked improbably green. In the wee hours, the silence here was so complete that the monastery hymns were the only sound. A great white dome washed in front of our eyes as we climbed up the last few steps. The stupa was built by a Japanese Buddhist order as part of their worldwide peace pagoda project. It was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama himself at the beginning of the nineties.
Sangam Valley
To the west of Leh, a famous confluence awaited our arrival. At Nimmoo, the Zanskar River touches the Indus almost as poetically as Rumi’s quotes. This is the Sangam – the confluence of two rivers: the Zanskar in its cold jade-green color and the Indus in a silted brown-blue were the very first breathtaking view of this trip.
On the way back, we stopped at Magnetic Hill. As we walked to the centre, an optical illusion took over our senses. AB and I gathered our thoughts to quietly observe and acknowledge the magic of the zig-zagging slopes that had played with our minds a few seconds ago.
Thiksey Monastery
“With the time left for the day, you can choose one monastery visit after lunch,” Tenzin, our 25-year-old driver and travel guide for the trip, said. The list comprised the famous three: Shey monastery, Thiksey and Hemis monastery. We chose Thiksey primarily for one sole reason – the Maitreya Buddha. As we drove to the entrance of the building, twelve storeys of white and ochre tiered up a hill above the Indus Valley. Prayer flags flapped in the mountain winds as we took the stairs. Inside, a fifteen-metre-high Maitreya Buddha idol occupied two full storeys of the building. With folded hands, she welcomed us at the lower level; we climbed a level up and reached the gallery to meet her eyes.
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Day 4: Leh to Hanle – Via Chumathang and Mahe
An early morning alarm woke me to the realisation that it was time for the longest day of the trip. Little did I know that today would be etched in my memory for years to come. As advised, we left early and ate beyond our appetite for the 260 kms journey planned. We drove past Shey and Thiksey again. At Upshi, the road met the Manali highway, and even my sleepy eyes could tell when the greenery started to fade away.
Lunch at Chumathang
Between catching up on our sleep and generic conversations about life in Leh, we somehow covered 140 kms of the road and reached Chumathang. “Khaana yahi milega, sir (this is where you will get food), Tenzin said. “Iske baad door tak kuch nahi hai” (You won’t find a lot of restaurants for hours after this), he clarified. We walked into a dhaba and ordered a veg thali. Before heading out, Tenzin took us to the hot springs. The springs steamed faintly into the cold air, staining the rock around them in rust and sulphur yellow.
The Purple Mountain Gateway, Past Chumathang
“Yaha dekhte rehna, ma’am (Keep looking out your window, ma’am), Tenzin now said with a hint of excitement in his voice. As we drove to the Mahe bridge, I felt dwarfed by the landscape’s authority. The road narrowed into the Indus canyon and enormous mountains closed in on us from both sides. As soon as we parked the car, I ran out to get as close to the mountains as possible. They were enormous and somehow, strokes of violet ran through them with maroon and rust and long horizontal seams of grey. Tenzin later explained that this part of the Indus Valley follows the seam where the Indian plate drove into Asia. The purples and maroons are old sea-floor sediments and volcanic rock from a vanished ocean, crushed and hoisted into the air by the impact. Geography aside, this felt like a gateway to heaven.
Mahe to Nyoma to Hanle
After the Mahe bridge, the geography changes character entirely. We reached the Changthang plateau, and the enormous towering mountains suddenly disappeared right in front of my eyes. “Did we just drive through a portal?” AB said as he held my hand in surprise. An unpretentious collection of rounded hills dressed in ochres and rusts and dusty violets took over the windswept valleys of Leh Ladakh. Silence engulfed our car as we all paid unhindered attention to a small herd of Tibetan wild asses drinking from the river.
I was disappointed when Nyoma arrived as an actual settlement. Low and dun-coloured, with a monastery above it and the untidiness of a place where humans have taken over nature. Soon after, we reached a checkpoint, and I scrambled for a phone signal. We had reached the final stretch – Loma.
The sun was about to set, and the light came in almost horizontally, bathing Leh Ladakh at its most visually extreme. I could feel a huge drop of a tear flowing down my cheek as the snow on the far ridges lit up and glittered. This was not an exhibition, and we were not looking at a gallery of paintings, but it felt like that. The Hanle River spread itself out into marsh and braid, and black-necked cranes stalked about in it.
Hanle – A Whole New World in Leh Ladakh
It was as if the setting sun left a few crumbs of its light on purpose to guide our journey to Hanle. We crossed a wobbling bridge, and white domes of the famous Hanle Observatory peeked at us. We finally arrived at our lodging for the night – Padma Homestay.
I had never properly understood the phrase ‘pitch dark’ until Hanle engulfed us like a blanket. Tenzin had warned us that the village runs on solar energy with limited storage and nights are as dark as it can get. At eleven, we took the stairs to the terrace like it was a ritual. The Milky Way appeared across the width of the terrace. I trembled under the layer of two blankets as the stars glinted in the night sky. AB took his time setting up a tripod, fixing the camera settings, and capturing as many shots as he could with a fast wide lens.
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Day 5: Hanle to Tso Moriri
The next morning, sunlight smeared the curtains of our room in a bright light. It was 8 am, and I could simply bask in the relief of a slow, planless day. We spent the morning walking around the village, interacting with the local kids, and visiting the Hanle monastery. By midday, we said our goodbyes to Padma aunty and her adorable family, and were on our way to Korzok village.
Tenzin took the same road out through Loma, Nyoma, and across the Mahe bridge. The alternative was a route via Chumur, which was supposed to be remote and considerably rougher, without any scenic views. Kiagar Tso appeared on our right – a small blue lake sat in a bowl of pale scree with a white salt line around it like a tide mark. Here, the lake’s blue paired the isolation of the landscape with a sense of comfort.
Somewhere on the way to Tso Moriri, the first sign of AMS caught up with me. My head felt heavier than any part of my body ever felt; I could hardly breathe or feel my lungs. “After all this time? She was fine for four days!” AB asked Tenzin. “Almost 4000 feet ka difference hai Leh se, sir jee,” Tenzin remarked as if this was bound to happen. The rest of the day was a blur for me, but we reached Tso Moriri before sunset, and AB spent a quiet evening at the lake, as I popped a pill and lost my senses to sleep.
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Day 6: A Slow Day at Korzok
We had booked the Wisdom House, Tso Moriri, because it looked like the most comfortable option. A lake view room and access to hot water baths are honestly all that you need here. I woke up around 5:30 in the morning, still heavy-headed but grateful that my lungs had not given up on me. With both our phones gasping for network, I left a small note for AB and headed to the lake. Walking the Tso Moriri shoreline right after sunrise is my second favorite memory of Leh Ladakh. Nineteen kms of pristine beauty – a shallow turquoise at the shoreline that slowly turns jade as it moves to the center, and is swallowed by deep ink water at the epicentre – stretched out in front of my eyes. Black-necked cranes and Brahminy ducks sat like jewels in this Ramsar wetland’s crown.
On the far western shore, I could see the Mentok Kangri peaks rising to over 6000 metres, with snow glistening on the top. As noon approached, we visited the Korzok Monastery, a Drukpa Kagyu establishment above the village.
Travel Tip
Mobile networks do not work at Korzok, so carry a printed booking confirmation. Several travellers have arrived to find no record of a reservation and no way to prove one.
Day 7: Tso Moriri to Leh, via Puga Valley, Tso Kar, and Tanglang La
Puga, a Meadow in the Mountains
The next morning, the turquoise lake slowly disappeared in my rearview mirror as we headed back to Leh. A destination on the way had gone viral on social media a few years ago, so we headed there. I expected a swarm of people, but I found horses instead. It looked as though somebody had cut a piece out of a lush Himachal valley and set it down here at fifteen thousand feet by mistake. Puga valley sits on one of the largest geothermal fields in the country. It’s an austere valley, windswept, improbably lush and crusted by borax. Steam drifts up out of bare earth here, while Changpa horses stand in shallow warm channels, ankle-deep in wet grass.
Tso Kar, the White Lake
From Puga, the road climbs over Polokongka La and drops to Tso Kar, named for the salt that crusts its receding shoreline in a broad pale ring. It is smaller and looks quite abandoned in comparison to Tso Moriri. An aesthetically narcotic view pairs its isolation with a sense of comfort.
You can rejoin the Manali to Leh highway at Debring and drive all the way to Tanglang La – the second-highest pass at 17000 ft. Given my recent brush with severe AMS, we had to skip this route and head back to Leh. We drove through Rumtse and Gya until the valley floors turned green and the poplars and irrigation channels emerged again. Upon reaching Leh, we had an early dinner and dozed off by 8:30; it was as if my body thanked me for the sudden drop in altitude.
Day 8: Leh to Pangong Tso, via Chang La
We had reached the tail end of the trip, but my excitement was at its peak on Day 8. Today was the day I’d experience the famous lake from 3 Idiots’ climax shot. Tenzin drove through Karu and Sakti; the mountains looked stacked one after the other, the valley dropped away beneath us faster than we could comprehend.
At the Highest Motorable Pass
We stopped at Chang La, “around 17,500 ft and higher than Tanglang La,” Tenzin said to compensate for what we had missed the day before. Chang La is one of the highest motorable passes in the world, but in all honesty, it’s just a narrow road between two shoulders of rock, dirty, grey snow banked alongside the road, and a temple. We stepped out of the car and understood the change in altitude immediately. Take a few photos of the milestone, and move on. Ten minutes are more than enough here!
On to Pangong Lake
You might have seen reels and drone videos covering the luminescent Pangong Lake, but everything on the internet undersells this 130 km long lake. “It runs east into Tibet, and only 1/3rd of it is in India”, said Tenzin, explaining the army trucks and checkposts all around. At 13900 ft, this lake is extremely saline and has no waterlife. The absence of fish, silt, plankton, or reeds has left the lake at its most visually extreme – mirroring the unperturbed color of the sky.
Tenzin stopped at Spangmik first, expecting us to pose on the yellow scooter, look at costume rentals and explore the 3 Idiots film location. The slow traveller in me wasn’t too keen. “Can you take us to an edge where it’s not so crowded?” I asked. He drove for another forty-five minutes and took us to Man and Merak. We checked into a homestay, enjoyed a traditional lunch, and came back to the shore as quickly as possible.
Merak is a long uninterrupted stretch, and if you walk the shore, you can bathe your pupils in some rare water. In the evening, a herd of pashmina goats came down the slopes, while bar-headed geese frolicked around the lake.
One practical warning: Merak and Man sit at nearly 14,000 feet, and Chang La is part of the same day. Take the evening slow, drink water, and do not opt for random adventures.
Day 9: Pangong to Leh
We spent a slow morning at the lake, experiencing one of the most memorable sunrises of our lives, and drove back to Leh by noon. We spent the evening resting in the Old Town and reminiscing about our favourite moments of the trip. “This is going to be a memorable one,” AB said, as I scribbled in my diary. “We have to come back for Nubra, and go deeper into the Zanskar range,” we promised each other, as we prepared our bags for a morning flight.
FAQs about Leh Ladakh Trip
Thermals, a fleece, a windproof outer shell, gloves, and a warm hat even in summer, since nights on the Changthang Plateau drop below freezing every month. High-factor sunscreen, sunglasses, and lip balm, because the UV at this altitude is severe. A filter bottle, cash, a printed copy of every booking and permit, and considerably more camera batteries than you think, since cold flattens them without warning.
Ladakh is in the far north of India, a Union Territory since 2019, when it was separated from the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The high-altitude lakes, above all Pangong, draw crowds largely because the climax of 3 Idiots was shot there. The roads, since Ladakh is India’s most significant motorcycling destination, with Khardung La and Chang La as the set pieces. Tibetan Buddhist monastic culture at Thiksey, Hemis, Alchi and Diskit. The cold desert landscape itself, which photographs unlike anywhere else in the country. Trekking and rafting for the adventure travellers. And Turtuk, on the old Balti frontier, which was part of Pakistan until 1971.
By air, in 75 to 90 minutes. All Leh flights depart in the morning because afternoon winds in the Indus Valley make landings unsafe. This is the fastest route and the reason the first two days of any itinerary must be rest days: you go from near sea level to 11,500 feet in under two hours.
By road, in three to four days, either via Manali over Baralacha La and Tanglang La, or via Srinagar over Zoji La and Fotu La. Both are around 1,000 km. The Srinagar route gains height more gradually and is the better choice if altitude is a concern. Roads are open roughly from June to October.
There is no railway to Leh. The nearest railheads are Jammu Tawi and Chandigarh.
June to September is the reliable window when the passes are open, and the Changthang roads are passable. September is the best for this particular route: clear light, thinner crowds, cold nights, harvest colour in the villages. May and early October are possible, but the high roads can close without warning. This is not a winter itinerary.
Indian travellers now largely operate in an online environment and pay the wildlife fee through the LAHDC Leh portal rather than the older Inner Line Permit. Foreign nationals still require a Protected Area Permit arranged through a registered agent in Leh. List every zone you intend to enter on a single application, including Hanle, Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, and Pangong, and carry printed copies. The checkposts have no internet. Confirm current rules close to your travel dates rather than trusting any single source.
Rest for the first 24 to 48 hours in Leh with no sightseeing and no exertion. Drink three to four litres of water daily. Avoid alcohol and sleeping pills for the first two days. Talk to your doctor about Diamox before you travel rather than taking advice at a guesthouse. If symptoms worsen, stop ascending and descend if they persist. Have a fitness regime won’t help because of the altitude here.
If you are travelling with young children or parents over seventy, the gentler version is Leh, Nubra, and Pangong, which keeps you at lower altitudes and shortens the driving days. Consult a doctor first if there is any cardiac or respiratory history.
