Leh Ladakh- all-inclusive 9 days Itinerary by road

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On the foots of mighty mountain ranges, deep blue skies, a hint of green here and there, high motorable passes, vintage monasteries, crystal clear lakes, marshmallow-y snow capped peaks, and breath-taking landscapes, Leh Ladakh is the mother of all road trips.ย If you are planning Leh Ladakh, then here is the most common Leh Ladakh itinerary you should be considering for an ideal 9 day road trip from Srinagar.

Technically a major part of Ladakh is not accessible for either civilians or are inaccessible by any mode of transport cause of its remoteness. And that is why itโ€™s so pure. However recent trend shows people turning up from all over the world to experience theย beauty of the valley that is raw and untouched.

Quick Summary

Ladakh โ€“ From Siachen Glacier in the north to Himalayas in the south, Ladakh is the mother of all valleys. In other words, Beautiful, remote and overwhelming.

Once a part of the Indian state of Kashmir, It has recently been given the status of Union Territory by the Government of India. Because of its shared borders with Pakistan & China, the Indian government has a high military presence in the area. The four main districts of the Ladakh region are Leh, Kargil, Nubra & Zanskar. The Capital city – Leh is the getaway to Ladakh.

Leh โ€“ Capital City of the newly formed Union Territory of Ladakh, India. The administrative capital of the entire region also historically, the capital city of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh. Located at an average altitude of 3500 mts, Leh is the most equipped city in the Ladakh region with all basic amenities available. Therefore a perfect base to explore Ladakh.

How to reach Leh?

There are three ways to reach Leh Ladakhย 

  1. Manali โ€“ Leh

One of the most sought-after road trip destination in India. The road from Manali to Leh via the Manali-Leh highway is considered one of the most beautiful as well difficult roads. The highway opens only for few months usually between June โ€“ October and remains closed rest of the year due to extreme weather conditions.

Every year hundreds of bikers take this road trip of a lifetime to experience beauty & thrill. The highway runs through the famous Rohtang pass, Keylong, Sarchu, Baralacha pass, Lachulung pass and Tangalang pass (at a whooping 5300mts) to reach Leh. Public busses and travellers also ply on the route that leave as early as 4/5 in the morning and reach Leh by evening or sometimes the next morning depending upon the weather and road closure.

  1. Srinagar โ€“ Leh

Srinagar to Leh is a road trip in itself. You can fly down to Srinagar and then take any public busses, or a shared traveller to Leh.

  1. Delhi โ€“ Leh

The easiest way to reach Leh is to take a flight from Delhi. This might not be a budget deal then. However, the view of the Himalayas from above may make up for the extra expenses.

Kashmir airport
Srinagar Airport
  • We wanted to experience Srinagar and Leh and hence decided to do the epic Srinagar โ€“ Leh Road trip. We flew from Delhi to Srinagar, got into the already booked car and went on the most beautiful Journey of our lives.
  • We had pre-booked a Toyota Innova for the entire leg of the journey. Please note that, due to its difficult terrain, only SUVs or 4*4 are recommended for road tripping Leh Ladakh.
  • For the ease of reading, we will be listing out the entire itinerary day wise and mention all the details thereby.ย 

Road tripping Leh Ladakh

Lets get directly to the point, below is the detailed Itinerary we followed for us. Note that we planned this itinerary based on our requirements, Although you can always tweak it as per yours. However, this is the most common itinerary people take when travelling from Srinagar to Leh.

A 9 days, 8 nights Itinerary for Srinagar โ€“ Leh-Ladakh road trip

Day One: Arrival @ Srinagar and local sightseeing.

Day Two: Srinagar – Kargil

Day Three: Kargil – Leh

Day Four: Acclimatization Day @ Leh & Local Leh sightseeing

Day Five: Leh – Nubra Valley

Day Six: Discovering Nubra

Day Seven: Nubra Valley – Pangong Tso

Day Eight: Pangong Tso – Leh

Day Nine: Fly out from Leh

9 days of ultimate thrill, adventure, nature at its best began with us arriving at Leh. Read on for all the details.

Day One: Arrival @ Srinagar & Local Sightseeing

  • Arrive @ Srinagar in the morning
  • Visit the local attractions like Pari Mahal, Chashma Shahi, Nishat Bagh, Tulip Garden, Hazrat Bal
  • Treat yourself with famous Wazwan and Kashmiri Pulao at Mughal Darbar
  • Enjoy the sunset while taking a Shikara ride in Dal Lake
  • Overnight Stay in a boathouse –ย  New Bombay Heritage Boat House
Pari Mahal
View from Pari Mahal
  • We arrived Srinagar at 11 in the morning. Since we did not have time and were leaving for Kargil the very next day we directly went on for local sightseeing from the airport. We had booked a local sightseeing tour for us, hence loaded all our luggage in the car and started exploring Srinagar. For people visiting with families or people who want rest can go ahead and spend one more day to explore Srinagar at its width. It has a lot to offer.
  • We anyhow wanted to see the sunset from Dal lake hence decided to cover as much as we can in Srinagar before sunset. We hence visited the following places in Srinagar.
  1. Pari Mahal โ€“ Also known as palace of fairies, Pari Mahal is a terrace garden located at Zabarwan mountain range. This beautiful palace gives a spectacular view of the famous Dal Lake.
Pari Mahal
Dal lake from Pari Mahal

2. Chashma Shahi โ€“ A natural spring garden from the Mughal Times. Royal and beautiful.

Chashma shahi
Chashma shahi

3. Nishat Bagh โ€“ A 12 terrace Mughal garden built on the banks of Dal Lake. Beautiful mountain ranges at the backdrop makes it even more special.

Nishat Bagh
Nishat Bagh

4.Tulip Garden โ€“ Spread over 30 acres, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden is the largest Tulip garden in Asia. Built on 7 terraces, the garden is situated on the foothills of the Zabarwan mountain range.

Tulip garden kashmir
Tulip Garden

5. HazratBal โ€“ Situated at the northern banks of Dal Lake, Hazratbal is the holiest mulim shrine in Kashmir. The mosque Is believed to have a relic of Muhammadโ€™s hair

Hazratbal
Hazratbal

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  • After exploring the above attractions in Srinagar, we went to our houseboat in Dal Lake, offloaded our luggage, quickly freshened up and went for a Shikara ride. The evening stroll around the Dal Lake in the shikara, mountains in front, the sun setting afar, the waters of the lake shinning bright, light cold breeze kissing your cheeks, never felt so relaxed.
  • Came back to the houseboat after a good one hour Shikara ride, had dinner and slept off.
Dal lake
Sunset from Dal Lake

#TEE Tip: Make sure to take the shikara ride and stay in Houseboat at least one night when in Kashmir. Ask your houseboat to arrange for the shikara. Also, the famed saffron that is sold in shops at the Lake are often not authentic. Avoid taking saffron from Dal Lake.

Day Two: Srinagar - Kargil

  • Leave for Kargil early morning around 7
  • Halt at sonmarg
  • Cross the mighty Zojila
  • Halt at Drass War memorial
  • Overnight stay @ Kargil โ€“ย Hotel Greenland
  • 8-9 hours of drive depending upon movements at Zojila
  • We woke up quite early and got ready for breakfast. It was a rainy day in Srinagar. Had a hot cup of authentic Kashmiri kahwa and left for Kargil around 7.30 in the morning. The route to Kargil was via the heavenly Sonmarg, freaky Zojila Pass and the famed Kargil war memorial.
  • Sonmarg โ€“ around 80kms from Srinagar, Sonmarg as the name suggests is undoubtedly the meadow of Gold. Towering alpine trees, gushing Indus river and snow-capped peaks at a distance, Sonmarg is a painting straight out of canvas.
Sonmarg
Sonmarg
  • Crossing the Zojilaย  โ€“ A few kms ahead starts the Baltal valley which serves as the base camp for the famous Amarnath Yatra. From the the Baltal valley starts the upward drive towards the Zojila . The road to Zojila is not so good due to the falling stones and continuous rain/snowfall. Hence Khardungla might be mighty in terms of altitude but it was the drive to Zojila that freaked us out. However, the drivers are very professional and expert in driving on such roads & conditions hence it wasnโ€™t much of a problem.
  • Finally, we reached to Zojila Zero point โ€“ on top of the pass where we spent some time snow sledging.
Zojila, Leh Ladakh
Zojila
  • Drass war memorial โ€“ located in the foothills of tololing hill, Kargil war memorial was built by the Indian army in memory of soldiers and army officers who were martyred during the 1999 Kargil war.
Kargil War memorial, Leh Ladakh
Kargil War memorial
  • The entire route from Srinagar to Kargil goes through some breath-taking sceneries. All through the day we were swept away by the beauty of nature. Itโ€™s not every day that we see mountains and rivers and valleys and trees. And this was just the starting, there was more to come in our Leh Ladakh Trip. We finally reached Kargil around 6 in the evening and stayed overnight.

Day Three: Kargil - Leh

  • Kargil โ€“ Leh
  • Namkila
  • Fotula
  • Lamayuru
  • Gurudwara Pathar Sahib
  • Magnetic Hill
  • Sangam
  • Stay overnight @ Leh โ€“ย Hotel Gawaling International
  • 9-10 hours drive depending upon the breaks
  • The drive from Kargil to Leh in our opinion was one of the most scenic drives of the entire Leh Ladakh journey. The landscape dramatically changes from green alpine trees to huge rugged mountains. We left Kargil around 9 in the morning after a good breakfast.
  • Namkila La โ€“ One of the two high passes between kargil & leh, Namki la means pillars of the sky. This mountain pass stands high at an elevation of 12,139 ft.
  • Fatu la โ€“ The highest point on the Srinagar leh highway, fatula was super windy. We stopped here to adore the magnificence of nature and were quite literally blown away by the winds.
Namkila, Leh Ladakh
Namkila
Fatula, Leh Ladakh
Fatula
  • Lamayuru Monastery & Moon land โ€“ right after fatu la lies the Lamayuru monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Leh Ladakh. And right after the monastery lies the famous moon land. It took our breath away when we left Lamayuru and drove through moon like landscape nestled between rugged mountains. shades of brown all around, felt totally out of the world.
Lamayuru, Leh Ladakh
Lamayuru
  • Gurudwara Pathar Sahib โ€“ serene and beautiful. Situated on the Kargil โ€“ Leh road, the Gurudwara is maintained by the Indian Army. Do take the langer here as it is simply divine.
  • Magnetic Hill โ€“ The famous cyclops hills located around Leh. The surroundings create and appearance of a hill while it actually is a downhill road. Vehicles left without breaks moves downhill although giving optical vision of it moving uphill.
Magnetic Hill, Leh Ladakh
Magnetic Hill
  • Sangam โ€“ Confluence of Indus & Zanskar just before you enter the city of Leh, lies the confluence of the rivers Zanskar and Indus. The two rivers meet, and the confluence is evident due to the difference in colours. From a view point on the Kargil โ€“ leh road one can see this beautiful Sangam. River rafting is also done here during season.
Sangam, Leh Ladakh
Sangam - The confluence of Indus & Zanskar
  • We reached Leh around 6 in the evening, tired but still in a trans. Just couldnโ€™t get over the beauty that we saw.

Day Four: Acclimatizing at Leh & Leh sightseeing

Getting used to the high altitude during your Leh Ladakh trip is an important point. People flying to Leh directly are advised to keep an extra day to acclimatize to the high altitude. While travelling from Srinagar to Leh, it comparatively becomes easier to acclimatize as we gain altitude gradually. A night halt in Kargil makes the process much easier. However, it is still advisable to stay one night at Leh before going further to Nubra Valley via Khardungla.ย 

Read how to handle AMS in your Leh Ladakh trip

Day four was therefor all about exploring Leh for us.

  • Leh palace
  • Thiksay Monastery
  • Shey Palace
  • Shanti Stupa
  • Leh Market
  1. Leh Palace โ€“ The house of royal kingdom ofย  Leh Ladakh. This is a beautiful 9 story palace located on a hilltop looking over the city. The palace houses few artefacts of the royal kingdom and offers some great viewpoints that gives a panoramic view of the entire city.
  2. Thiksay Monastery โ€“ a 12 story monastery, Thiksay Gompa dates back to the 15th century, making it one of the oldest in the region. A resemblance of the Potala palace in Lhasa, Tibet Thiksay houses many Buddhist artefacts.
Thikshay,Leh Ladakh
Thikshay Monastery

3. Shey Palace โ€“ Now in ruins, the shey palace was once the summer abode of the king of Ladakh. Around 15kms of Leh, the palace houses the shakyamuni Buddha.

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Shey Palace, Leh Ladakh
Gompa at Shey Palace

4. Shanti Stupa โ€“ A white domed chorten built on a hilltop, shanti stupa is one of the major attractions in leh not just cause of its religious significance but also cause of the panoramic view of the city that it gives.

Shanti Stupa, Leh Ladakh
Shanti Stupa

5. Leh Market โ€“ The best way to explore a culture is through its people. A walk down the main market, takes you close to the city of leh. Shops all around, people selling souvenirs, authentic food and all of this at the backdrop of beautiful mountains.

Leh main market
Leh main market
Inside Leh market
Inside Leh market

Day Five: Leh โ€“ Nubra

  • Leh โ€“ Nubra via Khardungla
  • Crossing Khardungla
  • ATV ride at Khalsar, Nubra
  • Overnight @ Nubra Valley โ€“ Olgoak Guesthouse
  • A 6 โ€“ 7 hours drive depending upon the breaks and traffic at Khardungla top
  • One of the highlights of any Leh Ladakh trip is crossing the mighty Khardungla. And the day was finally here. We left around 9 in the morning from leh for Nubra valley via Khardungla.
  • Khardunglaย  โ€“ At an insane elevation of 17,500ft Khardungla pass is the gateway to Nubra valley. What excited us more was the fact that within just 40kms, distance between leh to Khardungla, we gain altitude from 11,500 in Leh to 17,500 in Khardungla. Crazzyy right!! As you drive uphill, the landscape changes to a white wilderness. We stopped on the top for a while, had hot Maggie and tea and came back awestruck. (read our blog โ€“ snow to sand for a detailed account of our Journey from Leh โ€“ Nubra)
Khardungla
On the way to Khardungla
Khardungla
Khardungla Top
Khardungla Top
Khardungla Top
  • ATV ride โ€“ As soon as you come down from Khardungla, the landscape dramatically changes from white wilderness to brown desert. Thatโ€™s when you know you are entering Nubra! Nubra is a high-altitude cold desert. Few kms ahead of the main village, we stopped at a place called Khalsar, where we did the ATV ride in the sand dunes of Nubra.
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  • We reached our stay around 5 in the morning and decided to rest for the day as all of us were tired, probably cause of the high-altitude travel.
Nubra Valley, Leh Ladakh
ATV riding at Nubra Valley

#TEE Tip: electricity is a luxury in Nubra. The valley gets electricity for only few hours in the day/night. Make sure to manage your stay accordingly

Day Six: Discovering Nubra Valley, Ladakh

  • Balti heritage museum
  • Turtuk & Thang
  • Diskit Monastery
  • Camel safari at hunder sand dunes
  • Overnight stay at Nubra โ€“ย Olgoak Guest house

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  • Balti heritage museum – On the way to Turtuk, lies a 150 years old heritage house now converted to a museum. There lives the last heir of the royal kingdom of Balti, who now shares the unique anecdotes passed on to him from his forefathers about Balti history
  • Turtuk & Thang โ€“ Turtuk was the last village of India until the Indian army opened Thang โ€“ a village 10kms ahead of Turtuk for civilians. The village is right under the nose of actual line of control and the adjoining peaks are Pakistan occupied peaks. The army briefs the civilians about the strategical locations of the Indian and Pakistani bunkers in the peaks. One of the reasons why Leh Ladakh serves as a military base as well.
Thang, Leh Ladakh
Thang, Leh Ladakh
Thang - Northern most village
  • Diskit Monastery – One of the oldest monasteries of the Leh Ladakh region, Diskit monastery is located on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful Nubra Valley
Diskit, Leh Ladakh
Diskit Monastery
  • Camel Safari – Camel safari is done in Hunder village which is surrounded with massive sand dunes. A 15-minute safari, the guide takes you to the interiors of the dunes where you can enjoy the uninterrupted desert landscape.
Double humped camel, Leh Ladakh
Camel Safari

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  • The highlight of the day was visiting Thang and witnessing up close the might of the Indian Army. Felt so proud and grateful cause they are reason why we sleep with peace at night.

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  • Read our Nubra blog for detail account of Things to see around Nubra Valley

Day Seven: Nubra Valley โ€“ Pangong Tso

  • Nubra โ€“ Pangong
  • Himalayan Marmots
  • Camping at Pangong –ย Auspicious Camp
  • A 6/7-hour drive depending upon the breaks
  • We left Nubra around 10 in the morning as we had no stop in between today and the next destination was directly Pangong Tso.

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  • Just few kms before Pangong, in the Nubra valley itself we stopped as we saw few Himalayan marmots. One of its kind, these marmots are only found in the Himalayan regions are known for going into long hibernation periods. Saw few yaks and sheep as well.
Himalayan Marmots, Leh Ladakh
  • We reached Pangong in late afternoon and directly went to our camps. We actually had planned camping at Pangong and hence had pre-booked camps. After keeping our luggage in the camps, we directly went to the lake shore to enjoy sunset. The 134 km long lake flows only 30% in India and the rest of which flows into China. The crystal-clear waters and the shades of blue โ€“ words can not do justice to what you see here.

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  • After watching the sunset over the Pangong lake, we came back to our camps had hot tea and slept early. The temperature went below 0 degrees during night and we wont lie it was not the most comfortable stays that weโ€™ve had. However, even through a little discomfort, the thought of seeing this surreal beauty sweeps our discomfort away.
Pangong Tso, Leh Ladakh
Pangong Tso
Pangong Tso, Leh Ladakh
Camping at the lakeside

#TEE Tip: There is no network connection in Pangong. Also make sure to either get a hardcopy of your booking here or at least keep a downloaded soft copy in case you decide to camp. The camps do not have Wi-Fi and most often they ask for your copy of booking details

Day Eight: Pangong Tso โ€“ Leh

  • Pangong โ€“ leh
  • Chang La pass
  • Hemis Monastery
  • Overnight at Leh โ€“ย Hotel Gawaling International
  • A 6/7 hours drive depending upon the breaks
  • We had finally arrived almost at the end of our epic Leh Ladakh journey. We left Pangong around 9 in the morning for Leh via Changla pass.
  • After Zojila, if anything tossed us for a while, it was Chang la. A stretch of 10 โ€“ 15kms uphill and immediate downhill is very steep and has no proper roads instead loose dirt. It definitely needs a careful drive. At elevation of 17,500 ft Changla is another high motorable pass in Ladakh. We spent some good 15minutes before starting our drive down.
Changla, Leh Ladakh
Changla
  • Hemis Monastery โ€“ Situated 45kms from Leh, Hemis is a beautiful Buddhist monastery. The monastery houses the iconic copper statue of Lord Buddha along with other Buddhist artefacts.
Hemis Monastery
Hemis Monastery
  • We reached leh around 6 in the evening took some rest and went for an evening stroll just around our hotel. Knowing that this was our last day and our trip has finally come to an end, we made use of every minute that we had.

And the most amazing trip of our lives had come to an end. We flew out of Leh in the morning leaving behind a part of ourselves in the mountains. To sum up, the beauty of Leh Ladakh is beyond any words and one has to visit and see for himself what mother nature has to offer.

One last TEE Tip before we wrap up , if youโ€™re flying out of Leh, make sure to book yourself a window seat preferably at the right side of the plane away from the wings. You might just cry after seeing the mighty Himalayan ranges from above!!!

Himalayas
Himalayan Ranges from the flight

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The Exploring Eyes

To him it is his oxygen, to her it is the way of living. Travelling has helped us evolve so much as a person, giving us an entirely different perspective to see the world!

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[…] Read Our 9 days Leh Ladakh Itinerary by road […]

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[…] is the most common Leh Ladakh itineraryyou should be considering for an ideal 9-day road trip from […]

Littlenomadid
4 years ago

One of my bucket list! Will save this itinerary!

The Exploring Eyes
The Exploring Eyes
4 years ago
Reply to  Littlenomadid

that is awesome, do let us know in case you need any more help in planning

Amruta
Amruta
4 years ago

very useful itinerary for the future travel. Good read in the quarantine ๐Ÿ™‚

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[…] Read our all inclusive 9 -day leh ladakh itinerary to plan a lifetime trip […]

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[…] day had arrived!!! One of the most anticipated drive on our 9 days Ladakh itinerary โ€“ driving from Leh to Nubra valey through supposedly worldโ€™s highest motorable pass โ€“ The […]

Nandhini
10 months ago

Many Indianโ€™s primary wish to travel Ladakh by a road trip on their own bike. Definitely my dream also. Hope I will also achieve it.

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