Ladakh: Leh, the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso

1. Day 1: Fly to Leh and rest

   Delhi to Leh by air, then your hotel in Leh

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Lunch and welcome dinner
   • Stay in Leh
   Day 1 details

   Meet your See Sight Tours guide at Delhi airport for the morning flight to Leh, about an hour and a quarter over the Himalaya. Flights into Leh run mainly in the morning, before the afternoon winds, so most guests spend the night before in Delhi; it is not in the price, but we can book a hotel near the airport and quote it with your trip. Leh sits at about 3,500 m, and today is for doing very little. A driver takes us the few minutes from Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport to the hotel, where you drink tea, unpack and sleep if you want. Lunch is at the hotel. Your guide checks in with everyone during the afternoon, explains what altitude feels like and when to tell us, and shows the pulse oximeter we use each morning. In the early evening the group meets for a short briefing on the week, then a welcome dinner at the hotel, with Ladakhi and Tibetan dishes such as thukpa noodle soup and steamed momos. No alcohol tonight.

   Included

   • Economy flight from Delhi to Leh with your guide
   • Pick-up at Leh airport (IXL)
   • Lunch at the hotel
   • Welcome briefing and dinner

   Optional experiences

   • A hotel night in Delhi before the flight, booked by us and quoted at booking

   Free time: Afternoon free to rest at the hotel

   Activity: Rest is the plan today, even if you feel fine. Photography is restricted at Leh airport, which is also a military airfield.

2. Day 2: Leh old town and Shanti Stupa

   Leh old town, Leh Palace and the Central Asian Museum, then Shanti Stupa

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Leh
   Day 2 details

   A slow start and a gentle day, because the second day at altitude is when most people feel it. Mid-morning we drive in under one of the painted Buddhist gateways on the edge of town and walk into the old town, a knot of mud-brick houses, prayer wheels and narrow lanes below Leh Palace. The palace was built in the 17th century for King Sengge Namgyal, nine storeys high, its tapering walls echoing the Potala in Lhasa; we go up slowly and look out from its roof over the town and the Indus valley. Below it, the Central Asian Museum, built like a Ladakhi fort tower, tells how Leh lived from caravans of salt, wool and tea between Tibet, Kashmir and Central Asia. Lunch is in the bazaar, followed by a free afternoon to rest. In the late afternoon our vehicle drives up to Shanti Stupa, the white Buddhist stupa built in 1991 on the ridge above Changspa, for sunset over the town, the palace and the Stok range across the valley.

   Included

   • Leh old town walk with your guide
   • Leh Palace
   • Central Asian Museum
   • Lunch in Leh
   • Shanti Stupa at sunset

   Easier option: Skip the palace stairs and wait in the museum garden, then rejoin for lunch.

   Free time: Afternoon free; dinner on your own in Leh

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot, on uneven lanes and the palace's steep inner stairs. We drive up to Shanti Stupa rather than climb its stairway, to go easy on day 2.

   

3. Day 3: Hemis, Thiksey and Shey

   Leh to Hemis, then Thiksey and Shey along the Indus, and back to Leh

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Leh
   Day 3 details

   We leave after breakfast for the three great monasteries of the Indus valley, starting with the farthest so we reach it before the day-trip vehicles. Hemis, about 45 km up the valley and tucked into a side gorge, is one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh, re-founded in the 17th century; its courtyard is where the masked dances of the Hemis festival are held each summer, and its museum holds thangkas, masks and old copper. Coming back down the valley, Thiksey climbs its hill in tiers of white and red buildings. Inside, a Maitreya Buddha two storeys tall fills its own hall, and from the roof you see the whole green strip of the Indus. A local monastery guide joins us at each. Lunch is near Thiksey. Last comes Shey, the old summer palace of the kings, with its large seated Buddha of gilded copper. We are back in Leh by mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day free.

   Included

   • Hemis Monastery and its museum, with a local guide
   • Thiksey Monastery, with a local guide
   • Shey Palace and its Buddha
   • Lunch near Thiksey

   Easier option: Stay in the courtyard at Thiksey while others climb to the roof; the main prayer hall is on the lower level.

   More active option: Climb to Thiksey's rooftop and walk up to the small temples above Shey Palace.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Leh

   Activity: Plenty of stairs inside each monastery. Shoes off in prayer halls; shoulders and knees covered.

   

4. Day 4: Over Khardung La to the Nubra Valley

   Leh over Khardung La to Diskit, then Hunder in the Nubra Valley

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Nubra Valley (Hunder)
   Day 4 details

   We leave Leh at 8 am, rested and acclimatised after three nights, for the road north over Khardung La. The climb takes about two hours past the army post at South Pullu to the pass, at about 5,300 m, one of the highest roads you can drive. We stop for photos at the prayer flags, but for no more than 20 minutes, because the air at this height is thin for everyone. Tea is at North Pullu on the way down, then the road drops into the Nubra Valley, where the Shyok river spreads out between sand, poplars and barley fields. Lunch is in Diskit, and afterwards we climb to Diskit Monastery and the 32 m Maitreya Buddha that faces down the valley. In the late afternoon light we walk on the Hunder dunes, where Bactrian camels graze. The drive is about 125 km and four and a half hours with stops, slightly over our 4-hour cap, because the only road to Nubra crosses Khardung La; the pass stop, tea at North Pullu and lunch in Diskit break it up.

   Included

   • Khardung La, with a short stop at the top
   • Tea at North Pullu
   • Lunch in Diskit
   • Diskit Monastery and the Maitreya Buddha
   • The Hunder sand dunes in late light
   • Dinner at your hotel or camp

   Optional experiences

   • Bactrian camel ride on the Hunder dunes, paid locally

   Easier option: Stay in the warm vehicle at Khardung La, and watch the dunes from the edge rather than walking out.

   More active option: Climb the stairs from the Maitreya statue to the old monastery buildings on the ridge above.

   Activity: Nubra is lower than Leh, at about 3,100 m, so most people sleep better tonight. Warm layers for the pass.

   

5. Day 5: Sumur, Samstanling and Yarab Tso

   Hunder to Sumur and Yarab Tso on the Nubra river side, and back to Hunder

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Nubra Valley (Hunder)
   Day 5 details

   A shorter day in the valley, and a free afternoon. After breakfast we cross the Shyok and drive up the Nubra river side of the valley to Sumur, a village of apricot orchards and stone walls. Above it sits Samstanling Monastery, its prayer halls painted in bright colours, with a quiet courtyard and a view down the valley. A few kilometres on, a short, steep path climbs to Yarab Tso, a small sacred lake hidden among rocks and willows, where the water is still and clear; locals ask visitors not to touch it, and we keep to the path. Lunch is in Sumur, at a family-run place if the season allows. Then we head back to Hunder for the afternoon: rest, walk through the village and its barley fields, or sit by the stream. Today and tomorrow are opposites, so take the rest; tomorrow is our longest drive. Dinner is at the hotel or camp.

   Included

   • Samstanling Monastery in Sumur
   • Walk to Yarab Tso lake
   • Lunch in Sumur
   • Dinner at your hotel or camp

   Optional experiences

   • A day to Turtuk, a Balti village near the end of the road, by separate car in place of the group day (about 5 to 6 hours of driving; on request, paid locally)

   Easier option: Wait at the bottom of the Yarab Tso path; the climb is short but steep.

   More active option: A morning walk through Hunder village and out onto the dunes before breakfast, with your guide.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Hunder

   Activity: The Yarab Tso path is about 20 to 30 minutes up on loose rock.

6. Day 6: The Shyok road to Pangong Tso

   Hunder along the Shyok river via Agham and Durbuk to Pangong Tso

   • Drive about 6.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Pangong Tso
   Day 6 details

   Today is the longest drive, about 165 km and five and a half to seven hours, depending on the slow stretch between Agham and Shyok village, and the reason is simple: the direct road along the Shyok river is the only way from Nubra to Pangong that does not go back over Khardung La and through Leh, which would take longer. We leave at 8 am and follow the river through a narrow, empty gorge of grey rock and braided water, with a tea stop at Agham and a sit-down lunch near Durbuk or Tangtse. The last hour climbs to the lake. Pangong Tso is a long, narrow lake at about 4,250 m, around 130 km long, most of it beyond the border in Tibet. We arrive by mid-afternoon at our camp near Spangmik, when the water is turning from turquoise to deep blue. Walk the shore slowly, wrap up as the wind drops at dusk, and stay outside for the stars. Dinner is at the camp. This is the highest night of the trip.

   Included

   • Drive along the Shyok river with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch on the way
   • Free time on the shore of Pangong Tso
   • Dinner at the camp

   Free time: Late afternoon free by the lake

   Activity: We sleep at about 4,250 m tonight, after five nights at altitude. Your guide checks everyone's oxygen level in the evening and morning, and oxygen is in the vehicles. If the Shyok road is closed, we go back through Leh and over Chang La, and we tell you before we set off.

   

7. Day 7: Pangong at dawn, back to Leh over Chang La

   Pangong Tso over Chang La to Leh

   • Drive about 5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Leh
   Day 7 details

   Get up before sunrise, wrapped in everything you brought. The lake at dawn is the reason we sleep here: the light reaches the far mountains first, then the water turns from grey to blue, and there are almost no other people on the shore. After a hot breakfast at camp we drive back to Leh, about 160 km and five hours. The road runs past Lukung and Tangtse, where you may see Himalayan marmots in the meadows, then climbs to Chang La, another pass over 5,300 m, where we stop briefly, with tea if the army canteen at the top is open. From the top the road drops through Sakti and its fields to Karu and the Indus. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the way down, and we are back at the hotel in Leh by mid-afternoon. A hot shower, then the evening is yours, with dinner on your own in the bazaar. The drive is over our cap because there is no shorter road.

   Included

   • Pangong Tso at dawn
   • Chang La, with a short stop at the top
   • Sit-down lunch on the way to Leh

   Easier option: Watch the dawn from the camp with a hot drink and stay in the warm vehicle at Chang La.

   More active option: A walk along the shore at first light with your guide, about an hour on flat gravel.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Leh; dinner on your own

   Activity: Dawn at Pangong is close to freezing even in July. Bring gloves and a hat.

8. Day 8: Lamayuru and Alchi

   Leh west along the Indus to Lamayuru, then Alchi, and back to Leh

   • Drive about 6.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Leh
   Day 8 details

   Our last day goes west along the Indus, the old trade road to Kashmir. We leave at 8 am, stop briefly at the confluence of the Indus and the Zanskar near Nimmu, and reach Lamayuru, about 125 km and three hours from Leh, before lunch. The monastery sits high on a ridge above the village, and around it the land is cut into pale, eroded hills that people call the moonland. A local guide takes us through the prayer halls; lunch is in the village. On the way back we cross the river to Alchi, where the small Choskor temples hold murals painted around 1200, about 800 years old, painted in a style closer to Kashmir than Tibet. We are back in Leh by early evening for a farewell dinner. The day is about 255 km and six to seven hours of driving, broken into four parts, over our cap because both sites sit on the one road west; if you would rather rest, stay in Leh.

   Included

   • The Indus and Zanskar confluence
   • Lamayuru Monastery and the moonland, with a local guide
   • Lunch in Lamayuru
   • Alchi Choskor temples and their murals
   • Farewell dinner in Leh

   Easier option: Stay in Leh for a free day: a slow morning, the bazaar and the Tibetan market, and a rest before the farewell dinner.

   More active option: Walk up from Lamayuru Monastery to the viewpoint above it, about 20 minutes on a dirt path.

   Activity: Photography is not allowed inside the Alchi temples. The murals are lit dimly, so a small torch helps.

9. Day 9: Fly back to Delhi

   Leh to Delhi by air

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   An early breakfast, a last look at the mountains from the hotel, and a short drive to Leh airport for the morning flight to Delhi, about an hour and a quarter. Your guide flies with the group, helps with bags at Delhi and sees you to your onward connection or a transfer into the city. Flights out of Leh leave in the morning, and weather can delay them, so book onward flights from Delhi that leave after about 4 pm, or stay a night in Delhi; we can book it. If you are carrying on to the Taj Mahal and Rajasthan, our Golden Triangle trip starts in Delhi. After a week at altitude, Delhi's heat and air will feel thick, so drink water and take the afternoon gently. Bring a warm layer in your hand luggage too: the plane out of Leh can be cold. This is the end of the trip.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Leh airport (IXL)
   • Economy flight from Leh to Delhi with your guide

   Activity: Book onward flights from Delhi leaving after about 4 pm.

Wildlife and weather: June to September is the season: sunny days around 20 to 30 °C in Leh with strong sun, and cold nights near freezing by Pangong and on the passes. July and August can bring rain, landslides and short road closures; if a road shuts, we re-route and tell you on the day.

• Leh3 nights
• Nubra Valley (Hunder)2 nights
• Pangong Tso1 night
• Leh2 nights