Best of Ladakh
Once you land in Ladakh you know that you have to get the best of this beautiful mountain destination.
This Best of Ladakh trip is highly recommended as you get an opportunity to see all prominent locations of this beautiful destination with visit to Lakes, Palaces, High Passes, Monasteries, etc.
You will surely be enthralled with the exotic, scenic and mesmerizing beauty that will over whelm you and rejoice your mood
Highlights
Leh city
Hall of Fame
Shanti Stupa
Nubra Valley
Pangong Lake
Changla Pass
Shey, Thiksey, Hemis Monestries
Khardung-la Pass
If you haave more number of days for the tour, then extention is availalbe with visit to Tsomoriri, Tsokar, Uleytokpo, Kargil, etc.
Photos
Itinerary
- Day 1
Arrival Leh (3505 meters/11567 feet above sea level)
The crisp air of Leh welcomes you to this unpolluted Himalayan destination when you disembark from the airplane. You will be met by our local representative at the airports� arrival hall with a placard in your name. You will be escorted to your vehicle for transfer to Hotel check in.
Set between the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram Range, the Ladakh region spells untouched scenery with blue lakes, snow laden mountains and a clear blue sky. Leh, the hub of the region is among a few destinations that are like no other. Its magnificent towering snow-clad mountains reach up to a clear azure sky. The rhythmic chant of the monks in an ancient monastery takes you on a different plane. The icy cold waters surging down from the glacial heights look stunning as the Sun shines brightly. Their remains no sense of date and time in Ladakh.
Few places in India are at once so traveller friendly and yet so enchanting and hassle-free as mountain-framed Leh. Dotted with stupas and whitewashed houses, the Old Town is dominated by a dagger of steep rocky ridge topped by an imposing Tibetan-style palace and fort. Beneath, the bustling bazaar area is draped in a thick veneer of tour agencies, souvenir shops and tandoori-pizza restaurants, but a web of lanes quickly fans out into a green suburban patchwork of irrigated barley fields. Here, gushing streams and narrow footpaths link traditionally styled Ladakhi garden homes that double as charming, inexpensive guesthouses. Leh�s a place that�s all too easy to fall in love with � but take things very easy on arrival as the altitude requires a day�s acclimatisation before you can safely start enjoying the area's gamut of adventure activities.
Half day at rest for acclimatization ... Later visit Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace & Local market
Shanti Stupa
Dominating Leh from a high, rocky ridge, this gigantic white spired pudding of a stupa was
built between 1983 and 1991 by Japanese monks to promote world peace.
The views over Leh are superb. Ideally, make the breathless 15-minute climb up from Changspa when golden afternoon light still illuminates the city but the steps are already bathed in cooling shadow.
Leh Palace
Bearing a passing similarity to the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet), this nine-storey dun coloured edifice is Leh's dominant structure and architectural icon. It took shape under 17th-century king Singge Namgyal but has been essentially unoccupied since the Ladakhi royals were stripped of power and shuffled off to Stok in 1846. Today the sturdy walls enclose some photo exhibition spaces and a small prayer room, but the most enjoyable part of a visit is venturing to the uppermost rooftops for the view.
Interesting structures ranged around the palace�s base include the prominent Namgyal Stupa, the colourfully muralled Chandazik Gompa and Soma Gompa, once home to the monastic printing press. Also nearby is the 1430 Chamba Lhakhang, with its colourful three-storey Buddha and medieval mural fragments. Don't count on any of these being open though.
Later in the evening a walk around the local market
Dinner & overnight at Hotel in Leh - Day 2
Leh / Visit Sham Valley
After breakfast, day starts with visit to Hall of Fame, which was constructed by the Indian Army to commemorate the sacrifice of soldiers during Indo-Pak wars
Later visit Kali Mata Temple, followed by Spituk Gompa - an 11th century structure.
Next on the list of attractions is the majestic Gurudwara Patthar Sahib - Nestled deep in the Himalayas, it was constructed by the Lamas of Leh in 1517 to honour the visit of Guru Nanak Dev - the founder of the Sikh faith.
Drive another few kms. to witness the magic of Magnetic Hill that defies the law of gravity. It has been noticed that when a vehicle is parked on neutral gear on this metallic road, it seems to slide up
Driving through a picturesque landscape, we reach the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar River.
Proceed back to Hotel via same route.
Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel in Leh - Day 3
Leh to Nubra via Khardungla Pass (125 Kms. / 5-6 hrs.)
After Breakfast, today morning drive to Nubra valley - Driving over the highest motored pass in the world.
This exciting journey through serpentine roads lead you to the Khardungla Pass at an awesome height of 5550 meters. We stop at the pass to admire and click some photographs of the fantastic view.
Later continue drive to Nubra valley which is situated on an old caravan route at the confluence of the Shayok and the Nubra rivers.
The deep cut Shyok and Nubra River Valleys offer tremendous yet accessible scenery with green oasis villages surrounded by thrillingly stark scree slopes, boulder fields and harsh arid mountains. There are sand dunes, monasteries, a ruined palace and � at Turtuk � a whole different culture (Balti) to discover
Upon arrival at Nurba, Check in at camp / hotel
Later visit the charming valley of Deskit - the tiny capital of Nubra. We will visit the Deskit Gompa, perched on a rocky spur above the village, with a commanding view of the entire valley.
At Deskit Monastery you will visit 106-feet high, statue of Maitreya Buddha atop on the hill. The monastery has intriguing images of many deities.
From Deskit drive to Hunder past an area of sand dunes and get acquainted with the famous Bactrian camels, small population of shaggy double-humped animals, which in the old days, were used as pack animals on the Central Asian Trade routes are now used as riding animals in the high deserts.
We will ride the double hump camel at hunder [on direct payment basis]
In the evening back to Nubra camp / hotel
Dinner and overnight at Camp / hotel in Nubra - Day 4
Nubra to Pangong Lake via Shayok (165 Kms / 05-06 hrs)
After Breakfast we drive to the next destination - Pangong Lake (situated at 14,500 ft above sea level)
Enroute visit Shayok and Tang Tse. Its a short cut and a beautiful route. The road follows the Shayok river, and climbs up a mountain before finally descending into Shayok village. It takes less than an hour to reach Shayok, and you will be delighted at the sight of the rather big village surrounded by barren mountains, the entire setting being very picturesque.
Afternoon we reach Pangong Lake
Stretching around 150km (with the eastern two-thirds in Tibet), this mesmerising lake plays artist with a surreal palette of vivid colours � from Caribbean-style turquoise to leaden grey, depending on the light � contrasting magically with the surrounding khakhi swirls of arid, snow-brushed mountains. Visitor activities don't stretch much beyond ogling the ever-changing lake and taking bracing lakeshore walks.
A Leh�Pangong jeep or motorbike safari is a scenically impressive adventure, crossing the 5360m Chang La en route, but it's a trip that is now very popular with domestic Indian tourists, so brace yourself for some crowds. It's a long drive, so plan on sleeping at least one night.
Rest of day at leisure to enjoy the fascinating sights of Pangong Lake
Dinner and overnight stay in camp at Pangong Lake. - Day 5
Pangong to Leh via Changla Pass (160 Kms. / 05-06 hrs)
Wake up early morning to witness the mesmerising sunrise at Pangong lake
Enjoy your breakfast and drive back to Leh via Changla Pass 5486 Mtrs.
Arrival Leh and check in at the hotel.
Evening free for shopping or leisure.
Dinner & overnight stay at Leh Hotel. - Day 6
Tour of Shey, Thiksey and Hemis Monastery
After a leisurely breakfast, we drive to visit Hemis Monastery situated 45km west of Leh, Hemis is the largest and the wealthiest monastery in Ladakh.
From Hemis, you are driven back taking the same route to visit Thiksey Monastery, located on a hill-lock with formidable views of the Indus valley. Thiksey is especially noteworthy for its gigantic seated statue of the Maitreya Buddha and is also known for its (Dukhang) assembly hall which houses hundreds of rectangular prayer books, stacked between wooden covers and bound in silk.
After that we continue to drive through series of chortens to visit Shey Palace the former summer palace of the King of Ladakh. Sindhu Darshan and Shanti Stupa visit.
Dinner & overnight stay at Leh Hotel - Day 7
Departure from Leh
After an early breakfast you will be transferred to airport for onward flight .
Notes
Open for visit from May to Oct. ... Extention available to Kashmir covering Kargil, Srinagar, Gulmarg & Pehalgam
Hotels
Tour Inclusions [Best of Ladakh]
- Assistance upon arrival at Leh airport
- 6 Nights Accommodation as per Itinerary (2 Nights Leh,1 Night Nubra, 1 Night Pangong Late, 2 Nights Leh)
- 6 Breakfasts & 6 Dinners
- Return airport and round trip transfers along with all sightseeing tours by Non-Ac Innova / Xylo
- Inner Line permits
- Environmental, Wild life & Red cross Fee
- 01 Small Oxygen cylinder during Nubra & Pangong trip for emergency
Notes on itinerary
All our itineraries are "Just for Ideas" ... We will get to know you and customise an itinerary just for you that matches your requirements ... dates of travel, category of hotels, preferred airline, flexibility in choosing sightseeing, mode of travel between cities, etc.
Many of our clients have us design more relaxing, slower paced holidays with more in-depth experiences whereas some simply want to visit various destinations and cover only the highlights.
Together, we will determine the ideal route, pace of travel, accommodations, levels of pampering, style of touring, sightseeing to be included, dining preferences, adventure levels, options to meet locals, dates of travel & much more ! and based on this arrive at a price.
Do feel free to get in touch with us by a quick call on +91 79 29602961 or a short mail on mail@destinations4india.com ... Looking forward
