Ladakh is one of the most beautiful and unique corners of our country. The landscape is magnificent with endless stretches of rugged mountains which rise enormous heights to kiss the clouds above. When you drive across the landscape of Ladakh you would come across vast stretches of barren lands, bordered by humongous mountains with snowy peaks. Little patches of greenery along the rivers would present a beautiful contrast to the stark brown surroundings. It is at these oases that you would find white washed houses with brown windows, buckwheat and vegetable gardens, scattered chortens and beautiful ancient monasteries. Ladakh is every traveller's dream.
If you ask me that how many days are enough to explore this beautiful land, then I would say that even a whole lifetime is not enough! But then time is limited and we have to have a fixed plan for our expeditions. Here is my Itinerary for a seven nights and eight days trip to Ladakh for experiencing a bit of all the bests that Ladakh has to offer.
Day 1 & 2 : Leh
As Ladakh is a high altitude region, the air density and oxygen levels are low. So, people travelling from lower altitude regions may experience symptoms like headache, dizziness, high temperature etc. which is termed as 'Acute Mountain Sickness' or 'AMS'. Hence, every traveller is supposed to stay in Leh on the first two days after arrival to let the body acclimatize to the lower oxygen levels.
On Day 1, you may take an early morning flight from Delhi to Leh and keep the entire day to relax, rest and let your body acclimatise. However, you can explore the Leh market which is itself a very beautiful and unique market with the Leh Palace in the backdrop. At Leh market you can treat yourselves to some mouth watering Tibetan and Ladakhi cuisine and fresh apricot juice and milkshake. You should get yourself a local sim from the market as pre-paid sims from other states wouldn't work here in Ladakh.
You should also utilise this day to explore the bike rental shops in the Leh Market area and the Upper Tukcha Road for you next day. Since, there is a lot of explore in Leh and time is short and also you need to take rest, you may do what we did on our first day in Leh. We hired a bike on the first day for a few hours and drove to the Santhi Stupa to watch the most mesmerising sunset of my life! We ended the day with some dinner at the Leh market and a gentle stroll among the shops selling Ladakhi souvenirs before retiring the day.
On Day 2, you must wake up early if you want to experience something unique- Buddhist morning prayer in an ancient monastery. Here is what we did.
we woke up very early in the morning and drove 20kms in the chilling cold on our bikes to the Thiksey monastery to experience the 7am morning prayer. The experience was so unique , serene and peaceful. The monks in maroon robes chanted prayers in unison and the sound reverberated in surrounding beautiful valley. We sat there for a long time letting the peace percolate our souls. we explored the ancient Thiksey monastery and then returned back to my guest house for a quick breakfast.
On Day 2, after exploring the Thiksey Monastery, you would have the rest of the day to explore all the major tourist attractions in Leh like the War memorial ,Magnetic hill , Gurudwara pathar sahib, sangam point, Leh Palace and Tseno monastery.
Day 3, 4, & 5 : Khardungla Pass , Nubra Valley & Pangong Tso
Day 3: On Day three you may travel to Nubra Valley via the Khardungla pass and unending beautiful landscapes of rugged mountains, green valleys, meadows with horses and yaks grazing and the bright blue sky above.
We enjoyed every bit of this road trip. The natural beauty was so beautiful that we halted every now and then to take in the beauty. There was snow when we were at Khardungla pass and at places there were little waterfalls formed of the melting snow. There were stretches of green meadows with streams flowing across and colourful flowers blooming.
We visited the Panamik hot springs enroute to Nubra Valley. This spring has high sulphur content known to cure skin diseases.
Nubra Valley is known for its white sand dunes and the double humped camel rides. You may fulfill your dreams of sitting on the famed double humped camel or just pose with them for photographs like we did. Beware! If a young one is not in a good mood, it might chase you as well! They are the stars of Nubra after all!
Read more about Nubra Valley by clicking here.
Day 4: On the fourth day of the trip, you would be travelling to the Pangong Tso known for its absolute stunning beauty! The road trip would be a long one but would be one of the most enriching experiences as would be crossing the meadows, humongous mountains, roaring river Shyok and snow-melted streams overflowing the roads. It is on this road trip that you would be able to see herds of Pashmina goats and yaks grazing on the meadows and cute little marmots popping out of their burrows to meet you.
We started our road trip very early so as to avoid road blockage due to the snow melt rivers flooding the roads. First we visited the Maitreya Buddha statue who sits on top overlooking the entire Nubra Valley. We also got a glimpse of the Diskit Monastery from the statue. The morning freshness and stillness of the surrounding was something we felt never before. We drove on that day till Merak, which is a remote village located on the banks of the Pangnong Tso.
Merak is a serene little village on the banks of the Pangong Tso which is very close to the Indo-China Border. The village has only a few white housed house, sparkling streams, green buckwheat fields and an awesome picturesque beauty. We reached Merak by Noon and spent the entire day exploring the village and watched the sun set behind the mountains while being the only humans standing at that corner of the Panging Tso.
When at Nubra and Pangong Tso, do not miss watching the spectacular night sky dotted with a zillion star!!
Read about Merak by Clicking here
Day 5: On Day 5 you would have another road trip. You may choose to visit Tso Moriri. However, we decided to return back to Leh while the Changthang Plateau and Changla Pass. We stopped at the '3 idiots' movie location and posed for the iconic photographs! The road trip was beautiful as usual with breathtaking views. On the way back we explored the Hemis Monastery. You Can also visit the Druk Padma School where a few scenes from the movie '3 idiots' was filmed. However, reach the location before 6pm so that you can enter the school before it shuts down for the day.
Day 6, 7 & 8
Day 6: On the sixth day you have three options: (1) If you are in short of time, you may book your return tickets since you have already covered the most popular locations in Ladakh. (2) You may like to fly towards Srinagar and explore the beautiful Kashmir in two or three days time. (3) You may choose to explore Ladakh further.
I chose the third option as I still had two days time in hand and I had already visited Srinagar and Gulmarg earlier. I took the road trip to Kargil and had very enriching experiences.
Read about my weekend trip to Kashmir by clicking here
We took the road trip to Kargil and explored quite a number of interesting points on the way. We explored Alchi which is known for its apricot orchards and an ancient eleventh century monastery with ancient frescoes covering the walls of the monastery. We also explored Lamayuru Monastery and the unique moon land landscape in Lamayuru. We stopped at the Mulbekh monastery to pay our regards to the centuries old Maitreya Buddha engraved in the mountain.
Day 7: If you have chosen my route on day 6, then on day 7 you may visit the Kargil war memorial and learn about the how our brave army stood strong against the enemies and protected our land. The experience would make you teary with a grief, horror and pride at the same time. After an enriching experience at Kargil, you must proceed to explore Hunderman Village and museum where you can experience life at border during the war of 1971.
Read about Hunderman by Clicking here
After exploring Hunderman, start you journey back to Leh. During the return journey stop at the Shargole Cave Monastery. This would be your last day in Leh and hence you may visit the Leh Market, but some souvenir and enjoy a Ladakhi meal.
Day 8: Board your return flight while promising yourself to visit Ladakh again, very soon.
This was my suggested itinerary for seven nights and eight Day vacation in Ladakh. I Hope you find this useful. Happy Travelling!!
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