Every person who has discern Leh visually in photos and videos, gets enthralled by its charm and desires to visit this extra beautiful and alluring high-desert city in the lap of Himalayas. But when this craving reaches its threshold, a lot of questions arise in the mind of soon-to-be-travelling individual ( You, at this time) like “how many days and work leaves are required for this trip“, ” Road trip Or is it better to directly fly to Leh“, “How to cop up with the less-oxygen atmosphere there“, “Which mobile networks work in Leh“, et-cetrea.

I have traveled to Leh two times : By Road in 2013 and By Air in 2019. So i consider myself enough qualified to answer your major questions and clarify your doubts about leh and help plan your trip to this cold desert of India in a better way.

Leh ‘By Road ‘

If you want to visit leh by road, i would suggest you to make a circuit route and start dreaming of it right away :

Delhi > Manali > Keylong > Sarchu > Leh > Kargil > Srinagar > Jammu > Amritsar >Delhi.

You always have an option to return via Manali in case of any limitations. But with the above mentioned mountainous lap, the journey looks so splendid. Isn’t it ?

If you are not a Biking enthusiast OR Do not want to spend much on a private taxi from Delhi to Leh OR Do not want to travel in public transport BUT yearn for a mandate Road trip to Leh, you still have no reasons to worry. A plenty of travel groups are discovered now who offer great deals and packages for your Leh travel (Delhi to Delhi). They will make your travel so plain sailing that you don’t have to make any efforts in regards to your itinerary. You can contact me or google about it, in case, you want to inquire abut a few reliable travel groups.

Leh ‘By Air’

You can book a direct flight from Delhi to Leh. GoAir, Vistara and Spicejet Airlines are currently operating from Delhi to Leh and Return. You won’t find any flights from Delhi to Leh or Leh to Delhi post 12 PM. Prices depends as per the touristic season which extends from June till September.

In this article i am going to advise and counsel you about NOT-TO-MISS places while in Leh and you can yourself handpick your itinerary as per the number of days you have in hand, accordingly.
Day 1 : Arrival in Leh : {Rest} {Shanti Stupa} {Leh Palace} {Local Market}

As i quoted earlier, “You won’t find any flights from Delhi to Leh post 12 PM.” , that implies you will arrive your place of stay in Leh maximum by 2-3 pm. In order to avoid/minimize the high altitude sickness, it is recommendable to acclimatize for a day when you arrive in Leh. But this does not entails and require you to stay in a hotel for rest of the day. Rest and sleep for 3-4 hours. Fresh and gleaming by the evening you can visit Leh Palace first, which is the former royal palace and then proceed to “Shanti Stupa” which is a exquisitely designed magnificent Buddhist stupa located on a hill top, to get a top view of Leh and its surroundings. You can walk (30-40 mins) or hire a taxi (8-10 mins) to visit Shanti Stupa.

To know more about : Which is the best location and option to stay in leh with cheapest tariff and finest amenities, Read here.

To know more about : Which network provider provides best mobile and internet connectivity in Leh-Ladakh, Read here.

P.S. Carry a tablet of ‘diamox’ with you when you visit leh. Take one tablet one night prior to reaching leh. You can take more whenever required or going to more altitude areas.

Post that you can check out the local market : The Mall road , The Fort Road the Old market located in the city center of Leh. You will find many good eateries and very alluring cafes to chill in these markets.

Day 2 : Drive to Lamayuru on Leh-Srinagar Highway : {Hall of Fame} {Gurdwara Pathar Sahib} {Magnetic Hill} {Indus-Zanskar Confluence} {Lamayuru}

Kick Start your day at around 8:30-9 AM. Bike ride or a Car – upto you. You have to drive on Leh-Srinagar highway and reach lamayuru which is around 115 kms / 3 hours from Leh. On your way you will find some aesthetic views and other places of interest which i am enumerating and summarizing below. It is totally your choice to relish these places while going to LamaYuru Or while coming back. You can also stopover at some of these places while going and rest of the places while coming back. For others, who do not want to travel much, they can skip Lamayuru and instead visit these places only in the vicinity of Leh, and the journey can be concluded in overall 2-3 hours.

• Hall of Fame : The Pride Place [15 mins from leh]

Hall of Fame is a museum organised by Indian Army. A museum which showcase various kinds of weapons, arms and ammunitions used by the Indian Army soldiers, when they fought gallantly during various wars with Pakistan. It also exhibits the information and war stories about the brave soldiers who laid their lives during the war. I assure you will feel too proud and sorrowful at the same time while experiencing abundance of patriotism in this great Hall of Fame.

• Gurdwara Pathar Sahib : Fascinating history [20 mins from Hall of Fame]

Gurdwara Pathar Sahib is a beautiful Gurdwara constructed in 1517 in the memory of Guru Nanak Dev. This gurdwara is solely managed by a team of Indian Army. Yes, the Army men does all the Kirtans, they prepare the langer (food), they maintain the cleanliness of the Gurdwara. This gurdwara has a very interesting story behind its reason to be formulated and why the name “Pathar Sahib”. Its about a clash between a demon and Guru Nanak. Go read this interesting history stuff here.

• Magnetic Hill : The Magical place [5 mins from Gurdwara Pathar Sahib]

Why do i mention this place as magical ? Because, when you stop your vehicle (turn-off and in neutral) at this place , it will slowly start moving uphill at a speed of almost 20 km/h. Magical enough, right ? Actually it has more logical reason behind it. This place is believed to have a strong magnetic force which pulls the vehicles uphill. Even the airplanes increase their altitude here to avoid any magnetic interference. This place has a small cafe and an ATV track for fun activities for the tourists.

• Indus-Zanskar Confluence : The Sangam of 2 colorful Rivers [15 mins from Magnetic Hill]

Located between gigantic muddy mountains, this place is much more than just a confluence. This place is not a holy spot at all, rather a venue to chill – sip some tea/coffee/kawa, eat some maggi, get some jumping jack photos clicked. The confluence is very evidently visible due to 2 reasons: one river is green in color and another one is muddy brown and one river is full of rapids and another one is comparatively calmer. If you have ever heard of white water rafting in Leh, this is the point where the adventure begins.

• Lamayuru : MoonLand of Ladakh Region [2 hours from Indus-Zanskar Confluence]

Lamayuru, a very moderate and quiet village, located 115 kms from leh and 100 kms from kargil (from the opposite direction), is famous for its “Lunar” landscape and Lamayuru monastery. I barely have any idea about the monastery but it really feels that you are somewhere in that region which looks like a moon. The place is very peaceful and picturesque. After meeting and some chatting with local villagers, i found out that they have super religious beliefs and this monastery takes the top spot in their religious index.

After visiting all these fabulous places, you can directly drive back to leh and this day ends here.

Do check out my Bike Ride (Royal Enfield 350) video from Leh to Lamayuru here –

Day 3 : Nubra Valley OR Pangong Tso Lake : {Leh to Nubra to Pangong}, {Directly Pangong}

You should kickoff this day a little early in the morning (around 7 Am). You will have to get a permit to visit these places which costs around 500-600 INR depending you are visiting one or both the places. Now, you have 2 options/choices here –

• Option 1 : Travel from Leh to Nubra which will take around 5 hours for you to reach. While going to Nubra, you will pass the World’s highest Motorable road know as Khardung la (17,582 feet). Spend 10-15 mins here to click pictures. While in Nubra you can go to Diskit and Hundar, which are only 10 kms apart in distance. Where Hundar offers 2 hump camel rides and Sand dunes, Diskit has huge monasteries and tallest Lord Budha statue. Stay for the Night at Diskit Or Hundar, as per your convenience and ease.

• Option 2 : For the people who have time constrains, I would suggest them to visit Pangong Tso Lake directly from leh, which will take 5-6 hours of travel time. The views on the way are so breath-taking that you won’t suffer even a single disquieting minute. On the way to Pangong Tso, you will get to cross through Chang la Pass (17,586 ft), i.e. higher than Khardung la Pass. But still for some unknown speculations, Khardung la is famous as the highest motorable road.

Pangong Tso Lake : Cradled between India and China, this lake is approximately 160 kms in length, out of which, only 1/3rd belongs to India and rest 2/3rd part lies under China’s territory. The water of this highest salt water lake is in its purest and clearest form. The mountains along this lake add four-fold to its elegance. It is believed that this lake changes its color from Blue to Green to Red during a sunny day, as per the location of sun from dawn to dusk. Do not forget to take warm clothes when you visit Pangong as its very windy near this lake.

Stay at Pangong : There are plenty of stay options available near the lake including Camps and Homestays. The stay is not as cheap/low-cost as staying at Leh or Nubra but it is totally worth it when you witness the stars in the night to their full glory and you see hundreds of shooting stars while enjoying the bonfire along the lake.

Day 4: Drive to Hemis Monastery on Leh-Manali Highway : {Rancho School} {Thicksey Monastry} {Shey Palace} {Sindhu Ghat}

All these sightseeing places are situated on the way to Hemis Monastery from Leh. In my recommendation, directly drive to Hemis and while coming back to leh, pay a visit to these places in the order mentioned below.

• Hemis Monastery and Museum : A Monastery with vast territory and enlightening museum [50 mins from Leh]

Hemis Monastery is the most popular monastery in Leh and also one of the most popular tourist attractions. It is situated in the west over a hill at height of about 12000 ft. If you have ever heard of Hemis National Park ( where snow leopards are found in India), this monastery is located at the base of that national park. This monastery incorporates a lot of religious cells/rooms where you can meditate and speak to the monks. Also, this monastery has a very enlightening museum which reveals a lot about the history of monks in Hemis and Leh altogether. There is a fee of 50 INR per person to visit this museum.

• Thiksey Monastery : A Picturesque Gompa [25 mins from Hemis, 25 mins from Leh]

Thiksey is also a very popular and frequently visited monastery located at a height of about 11,700 ft. This monastery has an interesting tale about its location. It is believed that when two Buddhist monks were offering prayers to the Lord at a temple and were about to through a cake (as an offering to God) into the valley, a crow took away the cake and placed it on a hilltop. They assumed this as a divine order and built a monastery at that hill.

• Rancho School : The famous school in 3-idiots movie [3 mins from Thiksey]

Although, there is nothing much to give a special visit to this school (originally known as Druk White Lotus/Padma Karpo school). It is just that, after the shooting of the movie 3-idiots here, this school gained popularity and the infrastructure is now maintained at a better standards than before.

• Shey Palace and Monastery(Shey) : The Old Leh [2 mins from Rancho School]

Many of us do not know that Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh region in the past. At that time, the then King built this Palace for his father. It was a home to many Ladakhi Kings.

• Sindhu ghat : Who doesn’t want to chill along the river side. [7 mins from Shey]

This ghat, built along the bank of Indus river is a religious place only for a few days in a year, during Sindhu darshan festival. Other than that, this place is like a properly built hangout place with very less people around, cool breeze and the river side. What else do you need for a little peaceful time at the end of your day trip.

This can be a possible, achievable and feasible potential itinerary for you if you are in Leh for 4/5/6 days. Other than the places i cited, you can also Visit to Tso-Moriri Lake, in addition to Pangong lake. Reaching Tso-moriri will take around 5-6 hours from leh. There are stay options there, but it is again very windy and cold at nights.

Also, you can visit to Turtuk Village, which is located at the border of India and Pakistan. You can easily notice the pakistan land and mountains from this village. If you want to visit Turtuk, club it with your Nubra Valley visit. It will take you 2.5-3 hours more from Diskit (Nubra) to reach upto Turtuk. You can stay at Turtuk for a night or return back to Nubra.