With many parts of the region being still under dispute between India, Pakistan and China, the region maintains a strong military presence and the roads being under the supervision and maintenance of India's Border Road Organization [BRO]
The largest town and the capital is Leh, the most visited place in the region by tourists and is at an altitude of about 11560 feet. It is also a hub for tourists/travelers who wish to reach other places in Ladakh such as Nubra valley, Hemis, Pangong Tso etc.
The most preferred way of reaching Leh by tourists and travelers looking
for adventure is to travel by road. Leh can be reached using one of the
two highways, one from Manali [in the neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh] and the other from Srinagar [Capital
of Jammu and Kashmir]. With each route, one has to cross several high
mountain passes and the travel is considered to be one of the most
trilling, adventurous rides and is very much loved by bike ride
enthusiasts.
Leh can also be reached directly by Air with regular daily flights from Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu to Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Airport with flight operations mostly restricted to the mornings due to the mountain winds. The Airport is very close to Leh (about 3 to 4kms) and is off the Srinagar-Leh Highway.
 |
| More plains, Manali-Leh highway |
 |
| Water stream near Jispa, Manali-Leh highway |
In 2016 August, I traveled from Bengaluru to Ladakh and back with my
friends and the trip was for 10 days with 3 days of road trip from Chandigarh to reach
Leh. Below is the itinerary in brief of what we covered.
Our Itinerary in brief
Our journey started at Bengaluru and below is the route we covered
Bengaluru - Chandigarh - Manali - Rohtang Pass - Jispa - Darcha - Pang - More Plains - Leh - KhardungLa - Nubra Valley - Leh - Chang La - Pangong Tso - Hemis - Leh - New Delhi - Bengaluru
Day 1: Bengaluru to Chandigarh by flight. Road trip to Leh begins here at Chandigarh with travel to Manali by road [approx 300kms, 9hrs]. Stay at Manali
Day 2: Manali to Jispa road journey on the Manali-Leh highway via Rohtang Pass, Koksar and Keylong. Halt at Jispa [Manali to Jispa approx 140kms, approx 7 hrs]
NOTE: With the new Atal Tunnel near Rohtang, the distance and travel time between Manali and Jispa has reduced.
Day 3: Jispa to Leh road journey on the Manali-Leh highway via Darcha, Baralacha Pass, Sarchu, Pang, More Plains and Taglang La. Distance is approx 340 kms roughly taking 12-13 hrs. Stay at Leh.
Day 4: Getting acclimated to the high altitude region. Visit some of the major attractions in Leh such as Shey Palace, Stok Monastery, Leh Palace, Sankar Gompa and Shanti Stupa
Day 5: Leh to Nubra Valley [Hunder] via Khardung La [Khardung La is considered as the World's highest motorable road at an altitude of about 18000 feet.] Visit Diskit Monastery and Maitreya Buddha and enjoy camel ride in the sand dunes of Hunder [on a double hump bactrian camel, found nowhere else in the country]. Stay in Hunder in Swiss cottage camp. Distance approx 120kms roughly 5hrs.
Day 6: Visit Samstanling Gompa/Monastery and Panamik Sulphur springs in Nubra Valley and return to Leh. Evening visit Leh Market. Stay at Leh
Day 7: Road journey to visit the most famous landmark in Ladakh, Pangong Tso [Pangong Lake] via ChangLa [Mountain pass at about 17000 feet]. Stay in a lake side campsite. Distance approx 150kms roughly 6 hrs
Day 8: Pangong Tso to Leh. On the way, visit Hemis and Thiksay monasteries. Hemis is the largest monastery in Ladakh and Thiksay is the most picturesque monastery. Stay at Leh.
Day 9: Heading on the Srinagar-Leh highway, visit the nearby attractions such as Alchi Gompa, Zanskar valley and confluence point of Indus and Zanskar rivers, Magnetic Hill, Zanskar river rafting, Hall of Fame [A museum constructed by Indian Army]. Stay at Leh.
Day 10. Morning flight from Leh to Bengaluru with Layover at New Delhi T3.
[We did want to include the return journey on the Srinagar-Leh highway via Kargil and take a flight back to Bengaluru, but it would add extra two days and since some of us were time crunched, we dropped the idea. Also, sightseeing at Manali was skipped for the same time related concerns.]
