Ladakh Trip Guide: Leh, Nubra and Pangong in 7 or 10 Days

Ladakh starts slowly, and it should. You land in Leh at 3,524 m (11,562 ft) and give your body two days to catch up. Those days go on the Old Town's lanes, the royal palace, and a kitchen where you learn to fold momos. Then the road climbs over Khardung La to the sand dunes of Nubra Valley. With ten days, a second road runs east to Pangong Lake. For an Indian traveller this is a domestic trip with no visa, but with a lot of altitude, so the route is built around the climb.

How many days do you need

Five days is the least we'd suggest for a first visit, and two of those go on acclimatising to Leh's altitude. That covers Leh and a short look beyond it. Seven days gives you Leh properly and two nights in Nubra. Ten days adds Pangong Lake, which is another long road day there and back.

Our view: pick ten days. Nubra and Pangong each sit five to six hours from Leh by road, and squeezing both into a week leaves you on the road more than off it.

The two plans below are a starting shape. The team rebuilds them around your dates, your group and the pace you want.

The trip, stop by stop

Leh: the first three days

In the Old Town's main market, the writer Manglien Gangte noticed colourful textiles on display, impeccably dressed locals and the buzz of vendors. That trading noise has old roots. Leh was once a cultural and trade hub linking markets from China and Russia to Eastern Europe, and the Tukcha area in the middle of town, as Suprita Mitter wrote in The Lab Mag, was once alive with the caravans of the Silk Route.

Your first two days stay close to town, which the 48-hour rule allows. Walk the Old Town's lanes up to the 17th-century royal palace, which towers over the centre. If you still have the energy, carry on to the two temples and fort on Namgyal Tsemo, Victory Peak, above it. At this height we'd keep that climb for later in the trip. Greet people with "julley": it means hello, and you can use it to open a conversation.

Day 3 starts early, at Thiksey Monastery. Thiksey is known for the morning prayers it holds every day, and visitors can attend. Founded in 1433, it holds old images, stupas, scroll paintings and wall paintings, and a Maitreya Buddha statue 15 m (48 ft) high. From the hill you look over villages on either side, with the Indus River behind them. Many monasteries hold their annual festivals in winter with masked dances, so a summer visit sees the prayers rather than the dances.

Then the afternoon goes on food. Clients loved the momo workshop and the local food in Leh. Look out for skyu too: wheat flour is made into a dough, pinched into thumb-sized flattened pieces, then cooked in a pot of water with chopped vegetables until it's done. If you grew up on dal dhokli, the idea will feel familiar.

Khardung La and Nubra Valley

On day 4 the road climbs out of Leh. Khardung La, 40 km from town, sits at 5,602 m (18,379 ft), and it is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. At the top, Buddhist prayer flags snap in a cold wind and the summit cafeteria serves something hot. Keep the stop short at that height.

The whole drive to Nubra is about 120 km and takes five to six hours, depending on the road. Nubra is much lower, at 3,100 m (10,171 ft), which is part of why it comes before Pangong in this plan. At Diskit, the Diskit Gonpa stands about 200 m above the village on a rocky spur, with a view over the whole central part of the valley.

The next day belongs to Hunder, at 3,048 m (10,000 ft). Here you can sit out on the sand dunes and take a double-humped camel safari. You go back to Leh the way you came, over Khardung La.

Pangong Lake

The ten-day plan heads east after a quiet day in Leh. The road to Pangong runs about 160 km through Chang La, Durbuk and Tangtse, and takes around five to six hours. The lake sits at about 4,350 m (14,270 ft), higher than anywhere else you sleep on this trip. That is why it comes last, after a week of getting used to the height. You spend one night there, have the next morning by the water, and drive back to Leh.

7 days in Ladakh, day by day

First-timers who want Leh and Nubra without rushing will like this plan: four nights in Leh, two in Nubra. The trade-off is that Pangong is left out.

• Day 1: Leh. Arrive and rest. Fly Delhi to Leh.
• Day 2: Leh. The Old Town and the royal palace.
• Day 3: Leh. Morning prayers at Thiksey Monastery, then the momo workshop.
• Day 4: Nubra. A stop at Khardung La, then Diskit Gonpa. Road from Leh, five to six hours.
• Day 5: Nubra. The Hunder dunes and a camel safari.
• Day 6: Leh. The market in the afternoon. Road from Nubra, five to six hours.
• Day 7: A slow morning in Leh, then the flight to Delhi.

10 days in Ladakh, day by day

If you want both Nubra and Pangong, this is the plan: six nights in Leh, two in Nubra, one at Pangong.

• Day 1: Leh. Arrive and rest. Fly Delhi to Leh.
• Day 2: Leh. The Old Town and the royal palace.
• Day 3: Leh. Morning prayers at Thiksey Monastery, then the momo workshop.
• Day 4: Nubra. A stop at Khardung La, then Diskit Gonpa. Road from Leh, five to six hours.
• Day 5: Nubra. The Hunder dunes and a camel safari.
• Day 6: Leh. The market in the afternoon. Road from Nubra, five to six hours.
• Day 7: Leh. Namgyal Tsemo and a slow day in town, or a full rest day.
• Day 8: Pangong. The lake. Road from Leh, five to six hours.
• Day 9: Leh. A morning at the lake. Road from Pangong, five to six hours.
• Day 10: A slow morning in Leh, then the flight to Delhi.

Getting there and costs

Flying is the simple way in: the District Leh page puts the flight from New Delhi at about an hour. The roads open only seasonally. The Srinagar–Leh highway is open from May to November or December, and the Manali–Leh highway from May or June to September or October.

Both plans assume a morning arrival in Leh. If your flight lands late, Day 2 counts only partly toward the 48 hours, so add a night in Leh before the drive to Nubra.

For Nubra and Pangong, Indian travellers register and pay three fees online at lahdclehpermit.in before visiting: an environment fee of ₹400 per person, a Red Cross fee of ₹100 per person and a wildlife fee of ₹20 per person per day. You can also do it in person at the DC Office in Leh, near the Polo Ground, and the portal gives 10% off the total when a local travel agent handles it.