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The white and red buildings of Thiksey Monastery climbing a rocky hill above the Indus Valley in Ladakh

Sample journey · 10–12 days

Ladakh: monasteries above the Indus and the high valleys beyond

Leh, Thiksey, Hemis, Alchi, the Nubra Valley & Pangong Tso

Photo: Satyadev Hirani / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Ladakh is nothing like the India you may know from Rajasthan or Kerala. It is a high-altitude desert between the Himalaya and the Karakoram, where the Indus runs past bare mountains of rust and grey, and every hill seems to carry a monastery: white walls with red window frames, prayer wheels, and flags bleached by the sun. Leh, the old capital of the kingdom, still lives by trade routes and the monastic calendar, and the culture here is closer to Tibet than to the streets of Delhi.

The journey is built around one thing above all: altitude. The first days in Leh are kept deliberately quiet, and the monasteries of the Indus Valley come only once your body has had time to adjust. Then come the temples of Alchi with the oldest murals in Ladakh, the road over the Khardung La into the green Nubra Valley and the long drive to Pangong Tso. Stays are simpler than on the Indian plains: welcoming guesthouses and a few well-run camps with heated tents, chosen around what matters to you.

The route

The journey

  1. Delhi
  2. Leh
  3. Shey & Thiksey
  4. Hemis
  5. Alchi & Likir
  6. Khardung La
  7. Nubra Valley
  8. Pangong Tso
  9. Leh
  1. The old royal palace of Leh built into a rocky mountainside beneath a clear blue sky

    01Days 1–3 · Delhi & Leh

    First, do nothing in a hurry

    After the flight, one night in Delhi, then an early flight of about an hour and a half to Leh. As the plane descends, the Indus Valley opens suddenly: brown mountains, green ribbons of barley along the river and the white walls of monasteries. Leh sits at about 3,500 metres, so the first day here is for rest: tea in a courtyard, a short stroll and an early evening. On the second day, if you feel well, a slow walk through the old town's narrow lanes below the nine-storey royal palace, and an evening at the Shanti Stupa as the sun drops behind the mountains. There are three nights in Leh: not lost time but the foundation of the journey, because everything that follows depends on how well you adjust.

  2. Thiksey Monastery on its hill above trees and fields, with the bare mountains of Ladakh behind

    02Days 3–5 · Shey, Thiksey & Hemis

    Morning prayers above the Indus

    On day three, early in the morning, it's about half an hour to Thiksey, which climbs its hill in tiers like a small town. During morning prayers monks sound long horns from the roof, while chanting fills the hall and butter lamps flicker; visitors may sit quietly at the back. On the way back, Shey Palace with its great seated Buddha and fields where barley is cut in late summer. The next day, Hemis, the largest and wealthiest monastery in Ladakh, tucked into a side valley about an hour away. Its museum holds old thangkas and ritual objects, and in summer the courtyard hosts a festival of masked dances. Afternoons stay free: at altitude, rest is still part of the journey.

  3. The blue-green Indus and the muddier Zanskar meeting between brown mountains near Nimmu

    03Days 5–7 · Alchi & Likir

    Murals that time passed by

    On day five the road heads west along the Indus. Near Nimmu is the confluence where the blue-green Indus meets the muddier Zanskar, and a little further on, Likir Monastery with its great golden Buddha and the ruined fort of Basgo on its clay ridge. Two nights in Alchi, a small village among apricot orchards about two hours from Leh. Alchi's temples don't crown a hill; they sit low in the valley, and inside are some of the oldest Buddhist murals in the Himalaya, painted around a thousand years ago: textile patterns, royal processions and hundreds of tiny Buddhas. Photography isn't allowed inside, which is a reason to stand longer and simply look. For those who'd like it, a long day out to Lamayuru among its 'moonland' hills.

  4. The broad Nubra Valley near Hunder, with braided river channels and snowy mountains in the distance

    04Days 7–10 · Khardung La & the Nubra Valley

    Over the pass into a green valley

    On day seven, back to Leh and one night somewhere familiar. On the eighth morning the road switchbacks up to the Khardung La, one of the highest motorable passes in the world at over 5,000 metres. At the top we stop only briefly among the prayer flags before descending into the Nubra Valley; the whole drive takes about five or six hours. Two nights near Diskit or Hunder. The valley is lower and warmer than Leh: willows and sea buckthorn grow here, and between the river channels lie drifting sand dunes where Bactrian camels graze, descendants of the old caravans. In the morning, Diskit Monastery and the great Buddha statue gazing over the Shyok river; in the afternoon, an unhurried walk along village paths between barley fields.

  5. The blue water of Pangong Tso between brown and grey mountains in Ladakh

    05Days 10–12 · Pangong Tso & Leh

    A lake that changes colour

    On day ten, a long but spectacular drive along the Shyok river to Pangong Tso, usually six or seven hours when the road is open. The lake stretches more than a hundred kilometres towards Tibet, and through the day its water shifts from turquoise to deep blue to grey as the clouds pass. The night is spent in a simple camp or guesthouse on the shore at around 4,300 metres; evenings are very cold, and there are so many stars that the constellations are hard to pick out. The next morning, over the Chang La back to Leh for one more night and a farewell to the old town. On the last day, a morning flight to Delhi and the connection home. Mountain weather sometimes delays flights, so we always leave time in hand in Delhi.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Morning prayers at Thiksey

    Horns from the rooftop, chanting and the glow of butter lamps in the hall, watched quietly from the back.

  2. 02

    The murals of Alchi

    Paintings around a thousand years old, surviving in low temples on the valley floor.

  3. 03

    Over the Khardung La to Nubra

    A pass above 5,000 metres, then a valley of dunes, willows and Bactrian camels.

  4. 04

    A night at Pangong Tso

    Water that changes colour by the hour, a cold evening and a dark, star-filled sky.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • At an even gentler pace

    A fourth night in Leh and a second at Pangong Tso give more time to adjust and soften the longest days on the road.

  • Around a festival

    Monastery festivals of masked dance follow the Tibetan calendar, so dates shift each year; if you'd like to see the Hemis festival or another, we would build the journey around it.

  • More on foot

    A few days walking between villages in the Sham Valley, staying in village homes once you're acclimatised, is a gentle way into everyday Ladakhi life.

  • With Rajasthan or Darjeeling

    Back in Delhi, the journey can continue to the palaces of Rajasthan or the tea hills of the eastern Himalaya: two very different faces of India.

Practical considerations

  • The season for Ladakh is roughly June to September, when the passes are open and the days are warm and sunny. Nights at altitude are cool even in summer, and at Pangong Tso they are cold.
  • Leh sits at about 3,500 metres and the Khardung La at over 5,000 metres, so the route builds in quiet first days and a gradual ascent; any health questions are best discussed with your own doctor before you travel.
  • Special permits are needed for the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso, and the arrangements change, so we check current requirements before you travel and make sure everything is in place.
  • Mountain roads sometimes close for landslides or snow, and flights from Leh depend on the weather, so the route keeps time in hand, especially before the flight home.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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