India · Popular · Ladakh / India
Ladakh (Leh)
Ladakh / India · Leh at 3,524 m (high-altitude cold desert)
Lunar moonscapes, turquoise lakes at 4,350 m, thousand-year-old gompas and Bactrian camels on sand dunes — Ladakh is the one Indian destination that genuinely stops people mid-sentence.
Ladakh delivers a Tibetan Buddhist world of painted gompas, prayer flags, and wild rivers carved into a stark high-altitude desert that looks more like Mars than India. The combination of extreme landscapes — Pangong's electric blue, Nubra's camel dunes, Khardung La's ice-fields — and a living monastic culture makes it unlike anywhere else on the subcontinent.
Plan it with us
Want Ladakh (Leh) shaped around you?
Tell us your dates — we'll build the trip.
Go in
In season, days sit around 25° and nights near 10°.
What you'll see & do
The sights worth the trip, and how to spend the days around them.
To see
- Pangong Tso (4,350 m) — 134 km lake straddling India-China border
- Nubra Valley — Hunder sand dunes with Bactrian camels
- Thiksey Gompa — 12-storey monastery above the Indus plain
- Shanti Stupa, Leh — hilltop stupa with 360° valley view
To do
- High-altitude lake drives to Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri
- Monastery circuit (Hemis, Thiksey, Shey, Alchi, Diskit)
- White-water rafting on Indus or Zanskar river (Grade III-IV)
- Bactrian camel safari on Hunder dunes in Nubra Valley
Before you go
- AMS is a genuine medical risk: plan two full rest days in Leh (3,524 m) before driving to passes at 4,000–5,300 m, and take Diamox (acetazolamide) 125 mg twice daily starting 24–48 hours before ascent.
- Flash floods and washouts close both highways without warning even in peak July–August; always build a spare day before any onward flight, as Leh has no train service if flights are also disrupted.
- The EDF receipt must be printed before leaving Leh — checkpoints at Khardung La, Durbuk, and Pangong entry turn back anyone without it, and there is no facility to obtain or fix the permit en route.
Days, already shaped
3-day plan
- Day 1: Fly into Leh (3,524 m); rest; evening Shanti Stupa sunset + Leh Palace walk + main bazaar
- Day 2: Thiksey Gompa + Hemis Monastery + Rancho School + Zanskar-Indus confluence at Nimmu
- Day 3: Khardung La (5,359 m) drive → Nubra Valley — Diskit Gompa + Hunder camel safari; fly out next morning
5-day plan
- Day 1: Arrive Leh; full acclimatization rest; Shanti Stupa at dusk
- Day 2: Leh Palace, Namgyal Tsemo Gompa, Hall of Fame war museum, local market
- Day 3: Monastery circuit — Shey, Thiksey, Hemis, Stok Palace
- Day 4: Khardung La → Nubra Valley; Diskit Gompa + Hunder dunes + Bactrian camel ride; overnight tented camp
- Day 5: Nubra → Leh via Khardung La; Indus rafting; depart evening
7-day plan
- Day 1: Fly into Leh; rest; Shanti Stupa walk at sunset
- Day 2: Leh Palace, Hall of Fame, Namgyal Tsemo Gompa, Leh bazaar shopping
- Day 3: Monastery circuit — Shey, Thiksey, Hemis, Rancho School (3 Idiots village)
- Day 4: Khardung La (5,359 m) → Nubra Valley; Diskit Gompa + Hunder dunes + camel safari; overnight camp
- Day 5: Nubra → Pangong Tso via Shyok Valley (ILP required); lakeshore tented camp
- Day 6: Pangong sunrise photography → Chang La Pass → back to Leh; afternoon Indus/Zanskar rafting
- Day 7: Magnetic Hill + Gurudwara Pathar Sahib + Alchi Gompa (11th-century murals); evening departure
Getting there, permits & day trips
By air — Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport (IXL), Leh — 1.5 hr from Delhi, 1 hr from Srinagar; IndiGo/Air India/SpiceJet daily Jun–Sep; book 6–8 weeks out; weather cancellations frequent — build a buffer day
By rail — No rail link to Leh; nearest railheads are Jammu (640 km) or Chandigarh (700 km); connect by bus/shared taxi to Manali (overnight), then take the road to Leh (Day 2)
By road — Manali–Leh NH3: 480 km, 17–20 hr across 4 high passes; typically done in 2 days with overnight at Jispa or Sarchu; open late May–Oct. Srinagar–Leh NH1 (Zoji La): 434 km, 9–10 hr; open Apr–Nov. Both routes are scenic but physically demanding.
On a Driftibo trip we handle the transfers.
Permits & entry — Indian nationals need no visa. Since 2021, the old free paper Inner Line Permit has been abolished and replaced by the Environment and Development Fee (EDF), which costs roughly ₹590 per person for a 7-day trip (₹400 one-time environment fee + ₹20/day wildlife fee + ₹50 Red Cross). The EDF is mandatory for Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Dah-Hanu tribal belt, Khardung La road, and Turtuk, but is not required for Leh city, Thiksey, Hemis, Alchi, or Shanti Stupa. Apply online at lahdclehpermit.in or in person at DC Office Leh Tourist Section (Mon–Sat); both routes are same-day; carry 5–6 printed photocopies per person as checkpoints at South Pullu/Khardung La, Durbuk, and Pangong entry each collect one copy. The Manali–Leh road typically closes mid-to-late November and reopens late April to late May (BRO-dependent; in 2026 it opened May 12); Zoji La historically closes December through March/April, though BRO kept it open through the entire 2025–26 winter for the first time — the 13.15 km Zoji La Tunnel (excavation breakthrough June 2026, public opening targeted February 2028) will eventually eliminate seasonal closures on that route; reconfirm winter status before quoting. Indian nationals with a valid EDF may access Man and Merak villages beyond Spangmik on the Pangong south bank; foreign nationals are barred past Spangmik; all visitors must avoid photographing military infrastructure, bunkers, or forward posts in the eastern Pangong sector, and drone flights anywhere in Ladakh require prior written permission from the District Magistrate.
Day trips nearby
- Pangong Tso — 5 hr each way via Chang La (4,350 m); ILP mandatory; stay overnight for sunrise colours
- Nubra Valley via Khardung La — full day or 2-night; Diskit Gompa + Hunder dunes + Sumur village
- Alchi Monastery + Magnetic Hill + Gurudwara Pathar Sahib — comfortable half-day loop from Leh on NH1
- Tso Moriri (Lake Moriri) — 5 hr south-east; remote Tibetan village, breeding bar-headed geese, flamingos; 2-night minimum
Seasons and access shift — we reconfirm every detail before we quote.