Leh & Ladakh Travel Guide

All roads and passes open, 15–30°C by day, cold at night. July and August are busiest and also when the Manali route is most reliable. The only window in which a standard Ladakh itinerary works.

Fewer people, sharper light, and lower rates. Road access depends entirely on snow clearance dates, which shift year to year. Build flexibility into your plans.

Leh is reachable by air but temperatures drop to −20°C and below. Most high roads, Pangong access and Nubra are closed or unreliable. The Chadar trek runs in January and February. Beautiful and genuinely demanding.

By air

Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport (IXL) serves Leh. Check current routes and schedules with the airline; allow for weather disruption and keep the first two days for acclimatization.

By road from Manali

The Manali approach crosses high passes and needs careful staging. Confirm road access and sleeping elevations with a qualified operator before committing to overnight stops. Driving does not itself provide adequate acclimatization; keep the required rest period in Leh before going higher.

By road from Srinagar

About 420km over two days via Kargil, crossing Zoji La. Usually opens earlier than the Manali route — often May — and is the gentler ascent of the two. The best option if you want to arrive overland without a brutal first day.

Getting around

Hired taxis operate under a fixed union rate card — there's no negotiating and no app cabs. Motorcycle rentals are widely available but note that non-Ladakhi-registered private bikes are restricted, so rent locally. Public buses connect Leh to major villages cheaply but infrequently.

Leh main bazaar & Changspa

Changspa Lane is the traveller strip — guesthouses, cafes, agencies, and a walk to Shanti Stupa. Convenient and where you'll spend your acclimatisation days. Book a room with reliable hot water and, in shoulder season, a heater.

Old Town Leh

Below the palace, mudbrick lanes under restoration by the Tibet Heritage Fund. A handful of restored heritage guesthouses. Atmospheric, steep, and much quieter than Changspa.

Sabu & Shey

Villages 8–15km out along the Indus, with homestays among barley fields and poplars. Slightly lower, greener and calmer. Right for a longer stay if you have a vehicle.

Nubra — Hunder & Turtuk

Hunder has the dunes and the camel rides and the camps. Turtuk, further on, is a Balti village only opened to visitors in 2010, and considerably more interesting. Two nights lets you do both.

Pangong — Spangmik & Man

Basic camps and homestays on the lake shore at 4,350m. Cold, minimal facilities, unreliable power — and waking up next to that lake is the reason people come to Ladakh. Sleep here only after you're well acclimatised.

Thukpa and thenthuk

Tibetan noodle soups — thukpa with cut noodles, thenthuk with hand-torn ones. The correct thing to eat at altitude: hot, salty, hydrating and easy on a stomach that isn't behaving. ₹150–250.

Momos

Steamed or fried dumplings, mutton or vegetable, with a fiery tomato chutney. Ubiquitous and usually good. The fried ones are heavier than you want on your first two days.

Skyu and chutagi

Actual Ladakhi home food rather than Tibetan restaurant food — thick wheat-pasta stews with root vegetables, built for cold and calories. Hard to find commercially; homestays are where you'll eat it.

Butter tea and gur gur cha

Churned tea with salt and butter, traditionally served warm. Its salty flavour can be unfamiliar on a first try. Enjoy it as a local drink, not as an altitude remedy.

Apricots and seabuckthorn

Ladakhi apricots are excellent fresh in July and August and sold dried year-round. Seabuckthorn juice is tart, local, and heavily marketed for its vitamin C. Both are better souvenirs than a pashmina of uncertain provenance.

Khambir with apricot jam

A dense local sourdough-style bread, baked in the old town, eaten at breakfast with butter and apricot jam. Look for it early in the bazaar before it sells out.

Fly in, check in and rest. Avoid alcohol and strenuous activity during the initial acclimatization period. Keep activity light and seek medical advice if you feel unwell; rest days do not guarantee protection from altitude illness.

Keep the second day for rest and acclimatization. Do not schedule the Shanti Stupa climb or a higher-altitude excursion to fill the day. Review onward plans only once the full 48 hours have passed and you are feeling well.

Your first proper day out, and deliberately at low altitude. Thiksey at 6:30am for prayers, then Shey, Hemis and Stakna. Back in Leh by evening. Sort permits today if your agent hasn't.

Lamayuru's moonland, Alchi's murals, Basgo, Magnetic Hill and the Indus–Zanskar confluence. Long day in a vehicle but no significant altitude gain, which is what you want before the passes.

Travel to Nubra only after acclimatization and confirmation that the pass is open. Avoid prolonged stops at high passes. Allow two days for Diskit and Hunder rather than adding every village to one drive.

Confirm access and health suitability before travelling to Pangong. Overnight stays there involve sleeping at higher altitude; discuss that choice before booking. Keep a return route and lower-altitude alternative rather than treating the overnight as compulsory.

Depart only if you have returned to Leh in time. This nine-day outline does not include a full spare day: add at least one extra day before your flight for possible road or weather delays, and avoid tight onward connections.