One week Itinerary for Ladakh

One week Itinerary for Ladakh

Ladakh is part of Kashmir which borders with Tibetan China.It is perhaps the most beautiful mountainous part of India and is only 1.5 hours away from Delhi by air.

Why go to Ladakh?

First of all, go to Ladakh only if you are in good health and not prone to acute mountain sickness or severely asthmatic. This is a trip of a lifetime for most people and no one really asks why go to Ladakh, but here it is:

• Go if you like mountains. Leh is one of the only alpine deserts in the world. Its strikingly beautiful.
• It has camels at 10,000 feet above sea level. Its vegetation is extraordinary. Its valleys are vast and trekkable.
• Its at an average height of 10,000 ft and has the top two highest motorable roads in the world at 17,000ft above sea level. This means you can get to a 3rd of the height of Mount Everest in a car!
• The night sky is amazing. The Buddhist mountain monastaries are beautiful, quiet and their prayer ceremonies are hypnotic.
• You can raft on the Zanskar river. You can camp on Pangong lake, which is on the Indo China border and as remote as it can get.
• One of the most remarkable treks in the world is called the “Chadar trek” where local guides make you trek across the frozen lake in the harsh winter months of January to March.

Leh is the central stop for Ladakh. Roads to Nubra valley, Pangong and Lamayuru radiate in different directions from Leh. So make that your central stop and stay in a nice hotel here. You will need to be able to relax after 6 hour drives on narrow mountainous roads.

Temperatures fall down to -21C/-5F in the winters. Average temperatures can be found on https://www.worldweatheronline.com/lang/en-in/leh-weather-averages/jammu-and-kashmir/in.aspx

How to get an innerline permit to visit Ladakh

Everyone needs to get an innerline permit to see important areas in Leh.

You can apply for a permit online at http://www.lahdclehpermit.in/ and then pay when you get to Leh. Just fill out a simple form with your name, age, passport number, your travel date and areas you wish to visit and you are done.

The Inner line Permit is only required for some areas like Nubra valley, Khardung La, Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Dah, Hanu Villages, Man, Merak, Nyoma, Loma Bend, Turtuk, Tyakshi, Chusul, Hanle, Digger La, Tangyar (for trekking only). These are great places to see so get the Inner Line Permit.

You can also get the Inner Line Permit form from the stationary shop behind the Leh DC office. The office is open from 9AM – 3PM. Once all your documents are approved carry copies of your Inner Line Permits with you as there are chances that you might have to submit them at check posts of the military personnel. Self attested photocopies of valid nationality proof, Photo-IDs are necessary to procure Inner Line Permits. ILP for foreigners are only valid for a week.

One week itineary in Ladakh