Ladakh is Himalayan desert at 3,500 metres and up — Tibetan Buddhist monasteries clinging to cliffs, glacial lakes that shift color through the day, and mountain passes among the highest roads on earth. It's remote, seasonal and unlike anywhere else in India; acclimatization is not optional.
Good to know
- Spend at least two full days resting in Leh before any activity above 3,500m — altitude sickness is common and serious.
- Inner Line Permits are required for Pangong Tso and Nubra Valley; arrange them through your hotel or a local agent.
- Roads close completely from December to May; June–September is the only reliable window for the high passes.
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Places the planner can use
Mark places as a must or something to skip. The itinerary is built only from this list; ★ marks the destination’s highlights.
Nine-storey former royal palace modelled on the Potala, with rooftop views over Leh's old town and the Stok Kangri range.
Pashmina shawls, apricots and Tibetan handicrafts along Leh's central bazaar street.
Thukpa, skyu and butter tea in a family-run kitchen — hearty, high-altitude comfort food.
White-domed peace pagoda on a hill above Leh, best at sunset over the Indus valley.
A five-hour drive over Chang La pass to a vast lake that shifts through blues at altitude — permit required, best with an overnight.
Over the world's highest motorable pass to double-humped Bactrian camels on cold-desert sand dunes.
Multi-storey monastery modelled on the Potala Palace, with a two-storey Maitreya Buddha and 5:30am prayer chants.
Ladakh's wealthiest monastery, hosting a masked Cham dance festival each summer.
Optical-illusion stretch of road where a parked car appears to roll uphill on its own.
One of the world's highest motorable passes, with prayer flags snapping in thin, freezing air and views for miles.
An 11th-century monastery complex famous for murals untouched by later restoration, a scenic drive from Leh.
Half-day rapids through a dramatic gorge where the Zanskar meets the Indus.