The Land of ENDLESS Discoveries: LADAKH

Leh Town(view from Shanti Sputa)

How to reach Leh:

There are 2 ways to reach Leh:

By Air: Leh Airport(IXL) is 6KM from the center of the city and there are regular flights in summer from Delhi and Srinagar.

By Road: There are regular State Government buses from Srinagar and Manali. From Srinagar to Leh(416 KM) route these buses will halt for night at Kargil town(Altitude: 2704 Mtrs.) and from Manali to Leh(474 KM) it will halt at Sarchu(Altitude: 4290 Mtrs.) The running time of these buses are around 22 hours plus a night stay. The other option is you can hire a cab as your convenience.

Approximate cost by road as on July 2013:

Bus ticket from Srinagar to Leh: Approximate Rs. 800/- (Bus will not halt at any place).
Bus ticket from Manali to Leh: Approximate Rs. 2000/- (Bus will halt at Sarchu for night stay).

Innova or Xylo: From Srinagar to Leh it will charge approximately Rs. 6000/- for booking full cab and it will not halt at any place. From Manali to Leh it will charge approximately Rs. 9000/-. This also depends on your bargaining power and situation(strike, curfew) in the region.

 Where to stay in Leh:

Changlo Chan(Mob. 9622084390)

There are a lots of hotels and in wide range to stay at Leh. We stayed at Hotel Changlo Chan(See pic for contact no.) at Old Road, Leh. It was decent and economy hotel. They charged Rs. 800/- for one room for three persons. There are other hotels at this road and you can roam around and find a hotel your choice.

How to visit Leh or surroundings: The best way is to hire motor-bikes. We hired Bullet and it costs us Rs. 800/- per bike per day. You can hire cab. For local site seeing you can go for auto.

Place to visit in Leh Town:
Leh Palace: However there is nothing to see at Leh Palace but it is very famous and the view is awesome from Palace. It is very small and very old Palace(You may wonder why they call it a palace).

View from Leh Palace

View from Leh Palace

Shanti Stupa: It is nice place to visit. It is in the city only and it will be better if you visit this place at night. It remains open till 9:00 PM.

Shanti Sputa

View from Shanti Sputa

Another view from Shanti Sputa with more exposure

 Market: Just walk around market and enjoy local culture. Everything is very costly here but you can buy something as a momento.


Place to visit nearby Leh Town:
 Nubra Valley: It is around 130 KM from Leh and you will pass through Khardung la pass(5602 Mtrs) by worlds highest motorable road. The sceneries are breathtaking on the way. We stayed at a Home-stay at Hundur (Shayok guest house). It was really nice and enough space for 6 people.

Road from Khardung La pass

The places to visit in Nubra Valley are Hundur (130 KM from Leh), Diskit Monastery (7 KM before Hyndur), Panamik (140 KM from Leh) for its Hot water springs.

Sand Dunes at Hundur Village

Enjoy the camel safari at Hundur

View from Diskit Monastery

Diskit Monastery

Pangong Lake: It is approximately 150 KM from Leh. It is located at the altitude of 14,270 ft and 134 KM long out of which 45 KM is in India and rest is in China.

First view of Pangong Lake

Sunset at Pangong Lake

 Just stay there for night and enjoy the morning beauty of Pangong Lake.

Just before Sunrise

Sunrise at Pangong Lake

While leaving Pangong Lake

Desert covered road on the way

Tso Moriri: However we did not visit this beautiful lake because of the lack of time. The lake is at an altitude of 4,595 m (15,075 ft). There are some breathtaking scenery and a Monastery. It is in our list for next trip to Ladakh.

For Bike Riders: Please carry extra fuel(petrol) because you will not find any gas station(petrol pump) on the way and in Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake.