Blissful Leh-Ladakh
- Tour Package -
(9 days)

Fly from Delhi to Leh, the capital city of the Union Territory of Ladakh. The flight takes an hour and a half and it offers wonderful views of the Himalayan mountains. Once you reach Leh airport, transfer to your hotel. Leh is situated at 3,500 metres above sea level and this can take your breath away (literally). Therefore, don’t exert yourself on the first day and drink a lot of water to help your body acclimatize to the high altitude. Enjoy your lunch at a Ladakhi restaurant. Here are some local specialities that you must try: thukpa, chowmein, skiu and momos.

After lunch, start with a pleasant walk through the narrow twisting lanes of the old town where you can discover the typical architecture of mud-brick Ladakhi houses. A few hundreds of metres further, you reach the Leh Palace, a tall dun-coloured monument under restoration by the Archaeological Survey of India. Enter the palace and visit the rooms where the royal family used to live. There is also a shrine and a museum that should not be missed. Northeast of here, Namgyal Tsemo gompa is accessed via a steep trail. When reaching the top of the hill, your efforts are rewarded by a breathtaking panorama of Leh and the Indus valley. The Buddhist monastery was built in the 15th century by the King Tashi Namgyal and you should enter the main temple which contains a beautiful golden statue of Maitreya Buddha. Next, head to the Shanti Stupa, a large white chorten that was built in the 1990s by Japanese monks to commemorate 2,500 years of Buddhism. The Shanti Stupa gets quite crowded in the evening as it is the best location to watch the sunset. As you make your way along Changspa Road back towards the Main Bazar, you could take a break and try a cup of Ladakhi butter tea, a salted tea with yak butter. Highlights in this area include the biggest mosque in Ladakh known as Jama Masjid and Gompa Soma, an exquisite Buddhist temple in the heart of Leh.

This morning is the start of the 2-day tour to Lamayuru in the Indus valley. This part of Ladakh is known as “Sham” which means “West” in Ladakhi. After 20 minutes drive from Leh, you reach the Phyang monastery which has a community of about 90 Buddhist monks. A few kilometres further on the Leh-Srinagar road, stop at the mysterious Magnetic Hill where a vehicle with engine turned off and in neutral gear starts rolling uphill against gravity… Magnetic force from the hill or optical illusion? A phenomenon that you must witness by yourself! Drive to the Sangam viewpoint to admire the confluence of the Indus river (green colour) and the Zanskar river (blue or brown colour depending on the season). This is a famous spot for photography. Follow the valley to the mud-brick Basgo Gompa rising above the village. In Alchi village, you can have lunch in one of the garden restaurants. Then, visit the famous Alchi monastery that enshrines some of the best-preserved wall paintings in Ladakh. The monastery was founded in the 11th century by the Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo. A legend says that the poplar tree at the entrance is his walking stick which turned into a living tree. From Alchi, head west to Lamayuru, passing Ulley Tokpo en route. Located 116 km from Leh, Lamayuru is a lovely village with a wonderful medieval gompa overlooking around 100 mud-brick homes. The village is surrounded by a surreal lunar landscape known as “moonland”. In Lamayuru, you can should spend the night in a homestay, a great opportunity to stay with a local family and discover the Ladakhi customs and traditions. Your driver will help you to find a host family.

If you wake up early, you can join the monks for the morning prayer in the Dukhang (assembly hall). The Lamayuru monastery (also known as Yungdrung gompa) was established in the 11th century by Rinchen Zangpo. In the main prayer hall, there is a small cave where the Indian scholar Naropa meditated for several years. From Lamayuru, head back east and stop at the isolated Rizong monastery. Located in an impressive rocky amphitheatre, the gompa is home to 40 monks and known for its strict rules and standards. Nearby, the Chulichan Nunnery school is surrounded by picturesque apricot orchards. Led by the younger brother of the Dalai Lama, the Likir monastery is one of the largest Gelugpa gompas in Ladakh. It is famous for its 22m-high statue of the Maitreya Buddha located just next to the main building. On the way back to Leh, visit Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, a small shrine devoted to Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism and stop at Spituk monastery that has a rich collection of thangkas (scroll painting on cotton) depicting the 21 forms of Tara, the protector of Tibet. You could also ask your driver to stop at the Hall of Fame, a museum commemorating the Indian Army and its role in the region.

After breakfast, leave Leh for a 3-day excursion to the Nubra valley. Follow the winding road leading to the Khardung La pass, the world’s highest motorable road at an altitude of 5,602 metres. From the pass, there is a breathtaking view of the Karakoram mountain range and Saser Kangri peak (7,672 metres). The Nubra valley which is known as the “valley of flowers” is located at an average elevation of 3,100 metres. It combines desert landscapes with green fields irrigated by the Shayok and Nubra rivers. The largest village in the valley is Diskit. Rising above the village, the Diskit monastery was founded in the 15th century by the Gelugpa order. It is the oldest gompa in the Nubra valley. At the top of a nearby hill, there is huge 32-metre-high statue of Maitreya Buddha which was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in 2010. Located 10 km from Diskit, the small village of Hunder has little bit more than 1,000 inhabitants. Here, you can find hotels, guesthouses and homestays for the night. The area is famous for the windswept Hunder sand dunes where you can hike and enjoy a camel safari. The Bactrian camels living here were brought to Ladakh from the Gobi desert in Mongolia when Hunder was a stopping point for the caravans travelling on the ancient Silk Road.

Embark on a day trip to the remote village of Turtuk, India’s northernmost village located just 12 km from the Line of Control with Pakistan. From Hunder, it is a scenic 80-km drive along the Shayok river to reach Turtuk. The village is inhabited by approximately 3,500 Balti people, an ethnic group of Tibetan origin. The Balti people are Muslim and they have a unique culture. Explore the village composed of traditional stone houses and narrow lanes. Located at an altitude of 2,800 metres, it is warmer than the rest of Ladakh and apricots are grown here. Turtuk was under Pakistan's control until 1971 when it was annexed to India during the Indo-Pakistani war. Turtuk was opened to tourists in 2010. On a clear day, the summit of K2 peak (the second highest mountain on earth) can be seen in the distance. In the afternoon, drive to Sumur, a quiet village overlooking the Nubra river. Here, you can visit the Samstanling monastery.

From Sumur, drive north along the Nubra river for 15 km to reach the starting point of the hike to Yarab Tso lake. Walk for about 15 minutes on a small trail leading to this small hidden lake and enjoy the deep blue colour of its water. Yarab Tso lake is a holy place for Ladakhi people. Next, drive to Panamik, a small village dotted with whitewashed chortens. Visit the Panamik Hot Spring where hot sulphurous water flows out from the mountain. Bathing in this hot spring is ideal to relax and it is believed to have medicinal virtues. Then, head back to Leh via Khardung La pass.

After breakfast, drive east to Chemrey village and visit the Chemrey monastery founded in the mid-17th century by Lama Stagtsang Raspa. Then, cross the Chang La pass, one of the highest motorable roads in the world at an elevation of 5,360m and reach Tangtse village where you can stop for a tea break. From Tangtse, drive another 35 km to the mesmerizing Pangong lake. The brackish lake is 140 km in length and 70% of it lies in Tibet. It is located at an altitude of 4,250m. In recent years, several Bollywood movies have been shot around the lake including the famous movie “3 idiots” released in 2009 starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

Walk along the bank of Pangong lake and admire the unbelievable beauty of the shimmering blue water surrounded by barren mountains in the morning light. Then, head back Leh and stop at Hemis located 43 km from Leh on the left bank of the Indus river. Hemis monastery is the largest and richest monastery in Ladakh. It is one of the main gompas of the Drukpa order. Ceremonies and sacred mask dances (known as chams) are performed by the monks in the main courtyard during 2-day annual monastery festival. From Hemis, follow the Indus river towards Leh and stop at Thiksey monastery. The architecture of this picturesque gompa reminds of the Potala Palace in Tibet. Approximately 80 Buddhist monks of the Gelugpa order (yellow hats) reside in the monastery. The monastery has many temples and prayer halls and it houses an impressive 14-metre-high statue of Maitreya Buddha with a splendid jewelled headdress. Before reaching Leh, visit Shey palace, the former summer palace of the royal family. Inside, there is a temple with a 12-metre-high copper statue of Shakyamuni Buddha gilded with about 5 kilograms of gold.

After breakfast, transfer to Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport and check in for your onward flight. Soar over the Ladakh mountain range with your head full of unforgettable travel memories.