Ladakh Two-Week In-Depth Itinerary

Route: Delhi airport to hotel

Your driver meets you at arrivals and takes you to the hotel. Nothing is planned for the evening.

The flight to Leh leaves early tomorrow. Every flight to Leh leaves in the morning, because winds pick up later in the day at an airport about 3,250 m high. Tonight is for sleep.

Experience of the Day

–  Private airport pickup and transfer to the hotel.

–  A free evening to rest before tomorrow's early flight to Leh.

Food

Dinner at the hotel; nothing else is planned today.

Activities to Do

• None scheduled. An easy evening to recover from the international flight.

Route: Delhi – Leh (flight)

The flight crosses the Himalaya into the Indus valley. Your guide and driver meet you at Leh airport, and you go straight to the hotel.

Leh is at 3,500 m. The Ladakh tourism advisory asks new arrivals to rest on the first day. Today is for rest. Drink plenty of water and skip alcohol tonight.

Experience of the Day

–  A flight over the Himalaya into the Indus valley.

–  Met at Leh airport by your guide and driver.

–  A full rest day at 3,500 m, as the Ladakh tourism advisory asks of new arrivals.

Food

Breakfast before the flight; lunch and dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

• Light rest only today. No sightseeing is planned on arrival day.

Route: Leh – Old Town – Leh Palace – Stok (15 km) – Leh

The morning starts with a walk through Leh's Old Town with LAMO, the Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation. It takes two to three hours through narrow lanes, past craft workshops and wood-fired bakeries. In 2008 the Old Town was placed on the World Monuments Watch list as an endangered site.

Leh Palace was built around 1600 by Sengge Namgyal. It has nine storeys and follows the style of the Potala Palace. When Dogra forces took Ladakh in the mid-19th century, the royal family moved out and the palace was left to decay. From the roof you can see all of Leh.

Lunch is a home-cooked Ladakhi meal. In the afternoon, drive to Stok Palace Museum.

Experience of the Day

–  A two-to-three-hour LAMO heritage walk through Leh's Old Town.

–  Leh Palace, built around 1600 by Sengge Namgyal.

–  Stok Palace Museum, home of the Namgyal royal family since the Dogra takeover.

Food

A home-cooked Ladakhi lunch; breakfast and dinner at the hotel.

Activities to Do

• Walking Leh's Old Town lanes and craft workshops; climbing Leh Palace's stairs to the roof for the view over town.

Shopping

Leh's Old Town has small workshops selling Ladakhi crafts and woodwork, visited as part of the LAMO walk.

The Human Story: The Royal Family at Stok

After the Dogra takeover, the Namgyal family moved from Leh Palace to Stok Palace, built in 1820. The museum holds old coins, royal seals, textiles, jewellery and thangkas around 400 years old.

Route: Leh – Thiksey (19 km) – Shey (15 km) – Hemis (45 km) – Leh

Thiksey monastery stands at about 3,600 m and has twelve storeys. It was founded in the mid-15th century by Palden Zangpo and belongs to the Gelug order. Its 15 m Maitreya statue is the largest in Ladakh. Morning prayers begin around 7 am.

Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh. The present palace and monastery were built in 1655 by Deldan Namgyal in memory of his father, Sengge Namgyal. Inside is a 12 m copper Buddha, gilded with about 5 kg of gold.

Hemis was re-established in 1672 by King Sengge Namgyal and follows the Drukpa lineage. Its courtyard shows paintings of the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas from the 17th century, made with ground mineral pigments.

Experience of the Day

–  Morning prayers at Thiksey monastery, around 7 am.

–  Shey Palace and its 12 m gilded copper Buddha.

–  Hemis monastery's courtyard and its 17th-century Mahasiddha paintings.

Food

An early breakfast before departure; lunch and dinner at the hotel.

Activities to Do

• Sitting in on the Thiksey prayer session; a walk through Hemis's painted courtyard.

Route: Leh – Mulbekh (about 170 km) – Kargil (about 45 km more)

The road runs west through Nimmu, Saspol and Khaltse, climbs Fotu La, and drops to Lamayuru, one of Ladakh's oldest monasteries, set above pale, wind-cut ground known as the Moonland. A short stop here is worth the detour.

At Mulbekh, a Maitreya Buddha about nine metres tall is carved into the rock beside the road, usually dated to about the 8th century. Two old gompas, one Drukpa and one Gelug, stand above the village.

Kargil, at about 2,680 m, sits lower than Leh. The drop in height is useful rest before the climb to Rangdum tomorrow. The town has its own bazaar and a Dard-Shina and Balti character quite different from Leh's.

Experience of the Day

–  Fotu La, the day's high point at about 4,100 m.

–  Lamayuru monastery above the Moonland.

–  The 9 m rock-carved Maitreya Buddha at Mulbekh.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; lunch en route; dinner at Kargil.

Activities to Do

• Short stops at Lamayuru and Mulbekh; otherwise a driving day with no other activity planned.

Route: Kargil – Sankoo – Panikhar – Parkachik – Rangdum

The Suru River valley is green where Ladakh is usually dry, fed by glacier melt from Nun and Kun, two peaks over 7,000 m that stand on the skyline from Panikhar onward. Nun, at 7,135 m, is the higher of the two, and Kun, at 7,077 m, sits just north of it across a snowfield.

Parkachik village sits below the Parkachik Glacier, which comes almost to the roadside. The villages along this stretch, Sankoo, Panikhar, Parkachik, are Muslim, part of Kargil district's Dard and Balti population, a different community from Buddhist Leh and Zanskar.

Rangdum sits at 4,031 m, on a hill at the head of the Suru valley. Although it is physically in Suru, the monastery here follows Zanskar's own customs. It was built in the late 18th century under King Tsewang Namgyal II and belongs to the Gelug order.

Experience of the Day

–  The green Suru River valley, with Nun and Kun on the skyline from Panikhar onward.

–  Parkachik village below the Parkachik Glacier.

–  An evening walk up to Rangdum monastery.

Food

Breakfast at Kargil; lunch en route in the Suru valley; dinner at the Rangdum camp.

Activities to Do

• The walk up to Rangdum gompa before dinner, light permitting.

The Human Story: A Monastery Between Two Valleys

Rangdum has no road of its own supply. Everything comes up the Suru valley from Kargil, or over Pensi La from Zanskar, and the monks here live between the two worlds without quite belonging to either. Walk up to the gompa before dinner, while the light is still good on the hills.

Route: Rangdum – Pensi La (4,400 m) – Padum

Pensi La, at about 4,400 m, is the only real pass between Suru and Zanskar, and it is a gentle one compared to Khardung La or Chang La. The Drang-Drung Glacier lies close to the road on the Zanskar side, a 23 km tongue of ice, among the largest in Ladakh after the Siachen Glacier. It is the source of the Stod River, which becomes the Zanskar River further down the valley.

The road follows the Stod River down into Zanskar proper. Padum, the valley's small capital, sits at about 3,660 m, a little higher than Leh. It has a bazaar, a handful of guesthouses, and Zanskar's only hotel of any real standard.

If time and energy allow, visit Karsha monastery this evening. It is Zanskar's largest, home to about 100 monks, with wall paintings from the time of the translator Rinchen Zangpo, 11th century work, in its Avalokiteshvara temple.

Experience of the Day

–  Pensi La, the only pass between Suru and Zanskar.

–  The Drang-Drung Glacier beside the road.

–  An evening visit to Karsha monastery, Zanskar's largest.

Food

Breakfast at Rangdum; lunch en route; dinner at Padum.

Activities to Do

• Karsha monastery in the evening, if time and energy allow after the drive.

Route: Padum – Sani (6 km) – Zangla (32 km) – Stongdey (18 km) – Padum

Sani monastery, about 6 km from Padum, is thought to be the oldest religious site in Zanskar. At its centre stands the Kanika Chorten, a stupa said to date from the era of the Kushan king Kanishka, making it close to 1,900 years old. Beside it is a small cell linked to the Indian yogi Naropa, who is said to have meditated here in the 11th century.

Zangla sits about 32 km from Padum. Its ruined hilltop fort, Zangla Khar, is believed to date from the 11th century. In 1824 the Hungarian scholar Alexander Csoma de Koros spent about four months here, from June to October, studying Tibetan under a local lama, Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs. The dictionary and grammar he later published in Calcutta made him the founder of the field now called Tibetology. A Buddhist nunnery stands in the village today.

Stongdey, Zanskar's second-largest monastery, was founded in 1052 by Marpa Lotsawa, the translator who later taught the yogi Milarepa. It holds seven temples and about 60 monks, on a hillside above the valley floor.

Experience of the Day

–  Sani monastery and the Kanika Chorten, close to 1,900 years old.

–  Zangla's ruined fort, where Alexander Csoma de Koros lived in 1824.

–  Stongdey monastery, founded in 1052 by Marpa Lotsawa.

Food

Breakfast and dinner at the Padum hotel; a packed or local lunch on the loop.

Activities to Do

• The full Sani–Zangla–Stongdey loop, paced to the light and the group.

The Human Story: A Scholar's Winter

Csoma de Koros came to Zangla already fluent in several languages, looking for the origins of the Hungarian people in Central Asia. He found Tibetan instead, and stayed through the short Zanskar summer and into autumn, reading Buddhist texts with his teacher until the cold forced him to leave for Kullu in late November. The Tibetan-English dictionary that followed, in 1834, was the first of its kind.

Route: Padum – Pensi La – Rangdum – Suru Valley – Kargil

The return runs the same road in one push rather than two, since the group is now acclimatised and the road is familiar. Stops are shorter today: a last look at Pensi La and the glacier, a tea break at Rangdum, and photo stops through the Suru valley as the light changes through the afternoon.

You reach Kargil by early evening. Dinner and an early night, since tomorrow is also a full drive day.

Experience of the Day

–  A last look at Pensi La and the Drang-Drung Glacier.

–  A tea break at Rangdum.

–  Photo stops through the Suru valley as the afternoon light changes.

Food

Breakfast at Padum; lunch en route; dinner at Kargil.

Activities to Do

None beyond the drive itself. This is the longest driving day of the trip.

Route: Kargil – Mulbekh – Lamayuru – Alchi – Leh

The road retraces Day 5 east, past Mulbekh and Lamayuru again, in the other direction and in different light. If you missed a stop on the way out, your guide can add it here.

Lunch is at Alchi Kitchen, a short detour off the highway. Nilza Wangmo, who grew up in Alchi, opened it in 2016 and trained young women from nearby villages to cook and serve. The menu is Ladakhi: skyu, a wheat-pasta stew; chutagi, bow-tie pasta in a local sauce; and khambir, a fermented bread.

You reach Leh in the afternoon. Rest, since the road to Nubra starts early tomorrow.

Experience of the Day

–  Mulbekh and Lamayuru again, in the opposite direction and different light.

–  Lunch at Alchi Kitchen.

–  Return to Leh by afternoon.

Food

Breakfast at Kargil; lunch at Alchi Kitchen; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

• An easy evening in Leh; laundry or bazaar shopping before the Nubra leg.

Shopping

Leh's main bazaar, for pashmina, Ladakhi jewellery and prayer flags, is a short walk from the hotel.

Route: Leh – Khardung La (40 km) – Khalsar – Diskit – Hunder

The road climbs from Leh through two military check posts, South Pullu and North Pullu. Your guide handles the permit paperwork, and you carry your passport.

Khardung La is 5,359 m by GPS survey. Signs at the top claim about 5,602 m, and the claim to be the world's highest motorable road is out of date, since higher roads now exist in eastern Ladakh. Stay at the top for no more than 15 minutes.

The descent runs through Khardung village to Khalsar, where the road forks for Nubra. Diskit monastery, with its 32 m Maitreya statue looking down the valley, comes first, then the dunes at Hunder, where Bactrian camels have carried visitors since 2003.

Experience of the Day

–  Khardung La at 5,359 m.

–  Diskit monastery's 32 m Maitreya statue.

–  The sand dunes at Hunder.

Food

Breakfast at Leh; lunch en route or at Nubra; dinner at the Nubra hotel.

Activities to Do

• A short stop at the Khardung La summit; a walk at Diskit monastery; an optional camel ride on the Hunder dunes.

Route: Diskit/Hunder – Shyok village – Agham – Durbuk – Pangong Tso

The route runs direct along the Shyok River rather than returning to Leh first. It is a genuine road, used daily by local operators between Nubra and Pangong. It crosses no major pass, so the altitude gain is gentler than the Chang La route, even though the distance is similar.

The stretch between Agham and Shyok village can be rough, and the river occasionally spills onto the road during July and August snowmelt. Your guide knows the current state of the road and will adjust timing if needed.

Pangong Tso sits at about 4,250 m and runs more than 130 km long, most of it inside China. You arrive at Spangmik in time to watch the lake change colour, blue to green to near-black, as the light moves across the water in the evening.

Experience of the Day

–  The Shyok Valley road, direct from Nubra to Pangong.

–  First view of Pangong Tso on arrival.

–  The lake changing colour through the evening at Spangmik.

Food

Breakfast at Nubra; lunch en route; dinner at the Pangong camp.

Activities to Do

• Watching the lake's colour change from blue to green to near-black as the evening light moves across the water.

Route: Pangong Tso – Durbuk – Chang La (5,360 m) – Karu – Leh

The road back to Leh crosses Chang La, at 5,360 m, the third pass of the trip after Fotu La and Khardung La. It is a working pass with a small army post and a roadside shrine, not a tourist stop, so the halt here is brief.

Past Chang La, the road descends through Sakti and Karu to rejoin the Indus valley near Leh. You reach Leh by early evening.

Pack tonight. Tomorrow's flight to Delhi leaves early, and the international flight home is the same evening.

Experience of the Day

–  Chang La, at 5,360 m, the trip's third high pass.

–  The descent through Sakti and Karu to the Indus valley.

–  Return to Leh by early evening.

Food

Breakfast at Pangong; lunch en route; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

• A brief stop at the Chang La shrine; packing for tomorrow's flight.

Route: Leh – Delhi (flight) – Delhi airport

You fly out of Leh early in the morning and reach Delhi before midday. Rooms are available on request for day use, to rest or freshen up before an evening international flight. Your driver takes you to the airport in time for your flight home.

Experience of the Day

–  An early flight out of Leh.

–  A day-use room in Delhi, if needed, before the international flight.

–  Transfer to the international terminal in the evening.

Food

Breakfast before the flight; meals in Delhi as you choose.

Activities to Do

• None scheduled. The day is kept free to rest before the international flight home.