Ladakh: Monasteries and High Passes
Overview
- Duration: 10 days / 9 nights
- Departures: Private, any date
- Group size: Private, from 2 travellers
- Accommodation: Comfortable hotels and guesthouses in Delhi and Leh, simple camps or guesthouses in the Nubra Valley and at Pangong Tso
- Country: India
Fly from Delhi into Ladakh for Buddhist monasteries above the Indus, a crossing of the Khardung La into the Nubra Valley and a night beside Pangong Tso, with two easy days in Leh first.
This ten-day Ladakh tour suits curious travellers who want mountain landscapes and living Buddhist culture without trekking. You need reasonable health and a willingness to take the altitude seriously, but the walking is gentle: monastery steps, village lanes and short strolls by the lake. It also works well as a second trip to India after the cities of the plains.
The route is simple. After a night in Delhi, you fly to Leh and spend two easy days there while your body adjusts. You then visit the great monasteries of the Indus Valley, such as Thiksey and Hemis, before heading north over the Khardung La to two nights in the Nubra Valley. After a rest day back in Leh, you drive to Pangong Tso for a night beside the lake and return to Leh before flying out.
The pace is unhurried by design. Every higher outing follows a rest day, and you sleep at the lake only once you have spent almost a week at altitude. A few honest notes:
- Altitude: Leh is at around 3,500 metres. Headaches and poor sleep are common at first, and rest is the best cure.
- Long drives: the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso are each about five hours from Leh on mountain roads over high passes.
- Simple stays: nights in the Nubra Valley and at Pangong Tso are in camps or guesthouses, comfortable but basic, and cold at night.
- Weather: flights to Leh and the road season both depend on the weather, so we keep some flexibility in the plan.
We can add a day trip west to the old temples at Alchi, extend your time in Nubra, or arrive overland in summer for a more gradual climb. Read our Ladakh guide for more ideas, then tell us how you like to travel.
Day-by-day itinerary
Welcome to India. Your driver meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel in Delhi. After a long flight, the rest of the day is yours to rest. If you arrive early and feel up to it, a short drive past India Gate and the government buildings of New Delhi gives you a first look at the capital. Get an early night, as tomorrow starts early.
Overnight: Delhi
Your driver takes you to the airport for the morning flight to Leh, about an hour and a half over the main Himalayan range. Leh sits at around 3,500 metres, so the most important thing today is to do very little. Rest at your hotel, drink plenty of water and avoid exertion. If you feel well in the late afternoon, take a slow stroll nearby.
Overnight: Leh · Meals: Breakfast
A second easy day helps your body adjust. With your guide, walk gently through the old town lanes below Leh Palace, a former royal residence that recalls the Potala in Lhasa, and visit the palace if you feel comfortable with the steps. Rest in the afternoon, then drive up to the white Shanti Stupa for sunset over the valley and the Stok range.
Overnight: Leh · Meals: Breakfast
Drive south-east along the Indus Valley, starting early at Thiksey Monastery, which climbs a hillside in white tiers, to watch morning prayers if timing allows. Stop at the old palace and temple at Shey, then continue into a side valley to Hemis, one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh. Return to Leh in the afternoon, with time to rest before dinner in town.
Overnight: Leh · Meals: Breakfast
Today you cross the Khardung La, one of the high road passes north of Leh, strung with prayer flags. Stop only briefly at the top, as the air is very thin. The road then drops into the Nubra Valley, about five hours from Leh, where the Shyok and Nubra rivers meet. In the late afternoon, visit Diskit Monastery and the large Maitreya Buddha statue above the valley.
Overnight: Nubra Valley · Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Nubra is lower than Leh, and many people sleep better here. Spend a relaxed day exploring the valley: walk among the sand dunes near Hunder, where you can see, and if you like ride, double-humped Bactrian camels. Visit a village where barley fields and apricot trees grow along the water channels, and enjoy a quiet evening under a clear night sky.
Overnight: Nubra Valley · Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast, drive back over the Khardung La to Leh, about five hours with stops for photographs. The afternoon is free to rest, browse the shops and cafés of the main bazaar or sit in a garden. Your guide checks the road conditions for tomorrow and confirms the plan. Rest days like this one keep the trip comfortable at altitude.
Overnight: Leh · Meals: Breakfast
Set out for Pangong Tso, about five hours from Leh over another high pass. The long, narrow lake lies at around 4,200 metres, ringed by bare mountains, and its colour shifts from deep blue to turquoise as the light changes. Settle into your simple camp or guesthouse by the shore, walk gently along the water and watch the sunset. Nights here are cold, even in summer.
Overnight: Pangong Tso · Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Wake early to see the first light on the lake and the mountains, when the water is often at its calmest. After breakfast, drive back to Leh, about five hours, crossing the pass again. Your last evening in Ladakh is free: perhaps a final walk in the old town or a farewell dinner of thukpa and momos with your guide.
Overnight: Leh · Meals: Breakfast
Your driver takes you to Leh airport for the flight back to Delhi. Mountain flights depend on the weather, so we plan a comfortable gap before your international connection, or a night in Delhi if your onward flight leaves the next day. In Delhi, your driver meets you and takes you to the international terminal or your hotel. End of your trip.
Overnight: — · Meals: Breakfast
What’s included
- Accommodation with breakfast, and dinner at the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso stays
- Private airport and hotel transfers
- Private car and driver throughout Ladakh
- Local English-speaking guide for sightseeing in Ladakh
- Domestic flights between Delhi and Leh, as in the itinerary
- Protected-area permits for the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso (we arrange them)
- Entrance fees to the monasteries and sights in the itinerary
- 24/7 support during your trip
Not included
- International flights
- Visas
- Travel insurance (it should cover travel at high altitude)
- Meals not listed
- Tips
- Personal expenses
- Optional activities, such as camel rides
Good to know
Sample itinerary: we adapt the route, hotels and dates to you and confirm everything in your written quote. Best June–September, when the high passes are usually open.
You fly between Delhi and Leh, a flight of about an hour and a half. Mountain flights can be delayed or cancelled by weather, so we leave a buffer before your international flight. In Ladakh you travel by private car with your own driver. Drives to the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso take about five hours each way on mountain roads over high passes, and road conditions and closures depend on the weather and season.
Frequently asked questions
Leh is at around 3,500 metres and Pangong Tso at around 4,200 metres, so altitude is the main thing to plan for. That is why the trip begins with two easy days in Leh and goes higher only gradually. Anyone with heart, lung or other health concerns should speak to a doctor before booking.
Yes, parts of the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso are protected areas that need a permit for visitors. The rules differ for Indian and foreign nationals and change from time to time, so we arrange the permits and confirm the current requirements when we book.
The usual season is June to September, when the high passes are generally open and days are sunny. May and early October are possible but colder, and road openings depend on snow. See our Ladakh guide for more on the seasons.
Flights in and out of Leh depend on mountain weather, and delays happen. We build in time between your Leh flight and your international flight, and our team adjusts transfers and hotels if plans change.
