Srinagar to Leh · 7 Days
Srinagar to Leh — Express
The shortest overland — two nights in Srinagar, the two-day drive across the passes to Ladakh, and Leh with a rest day.
Day by Day
7 Days, In Full
The Srinagar-to-Leh road, done in a week. Two nights on the water in Srinagar for the Dal Lake and the Mughal gardens. Then the drive: over Zoji La to Kargil, and the next day across two more passes and the Lamayuru moonland into Ladakh. Leh gets a rest day for the altitude, then a day of monasteries at Thiksey and Hemis. It skips Nubra and Pangong, which need more days and more acclimatisation. The nine and twelve-day trips add them. The road is open only from about June to October.
Srinagar
Arrive in Srinagar and a First Shikara on Dal Lake
You land at Srinagar and drive to the lake, twenty minutes or so. The afternoon is easy. A shikara ride on Dal Lake is the way to start: a slow paddle past the houseboats, into the lanes of the floating gardens, out to open water for the light on the mountains. Back on shore there is time for tea and a walk along the boulevard. The evening is free. Srinagar sits at about 1,600 metres, so the air is cool even in summer.
Srinagar
Srinagar — the Mughal Gardens and Pari Mahal
A day along the eastern shore of the lake, where the Mughal emperors built their gardens. Nishat Bagh climbs the hillside in twelve terraces, one for each sign of the zodiac. Shalimar Bagh, built by Jahangir for Nur Jahan, runs water down a central channel between chinar trees. Chashme Shahi is small and built around a spring. Above them, Pari Mahal is a terraced ruin with the best view in the city. The afternoon can add the tulip garden in season, or a carpet workshop.
Srinagar → Kargil
Srinagar to Kargil — Over Zoji La
The first day of the overland to Ladakh, and a long one. The road leaves the Kashmir valley at Sonamarg, then climbs the switchbacks of Zoji La, at about three and a half thousand metres the second-highest pass on the route and the one that closes the road all winter. Beyond it the landscape turns bare and brown. Drass, soon after, records some of the lowest temperatures of any inhabited place on earth, and has a memorial to the 1999 conflict on the ridges above. Kargil, the old caravan town on the Suru river, is the night stop. The drive takes most of the day, and an early start matters.
Kargil → Leh
Kargil back to Leh — Mulbekh, Lamayuru & the Sham Valley
The return drive east, retracing the Srinagar road but stopping at whatever you skipped on the way out. The Mulbekh Buddha, if you missed it. Lamayuru again, or Rizong, or the Alchi paintings if there is time. The road climbs back over Fotu La and Namika La and drops into the Sham valley. It is a full day of driving, six to seven hours plus stops, with the altitude rising the whole way. Back in Leh by evening.
Leh
Arrive in Leh — Rest and Acclimatise
You fly into Leh in the early morning, over the main Himalayan range. The airport sits at 3,500 metres, so the first day is a rest day, and this is not optional. Your guide checks you in and asks you to do very little. Drink water, eat lightly, sleep if you can. A short, slow walk to Leh market in the afternoon is as much as you should do. Giving the body a full day here now prevents altitude sickness later.
Leh
The Indus Valley Monasteries — Thiksey and Hemis
A full day among the great monasteries south-east of Leh. Start early at Thiksey, a twelve-storey monastery on a hill, for the dawn prayers if you are up to it. Then Hemis, the largest and richest in Ladakh, hidden in a side gorge. Shey, the old royal palace with its giant seated Buddha, and Stok are on the way back. It is a lot of driving, but the roads are good and the valley is beautiful. Back in Leh by evening.
Leh
Depart Leh
Leh's flights leave early, so this is usually a dawn transfer to the airport. The take-off, back over the Himalayan range, is as good as the flight in. If your flight is later, there is time for a last walk in the market or a visit to the Hall of Fame museum near the airport. Your guide sees you off. Most onward flights connect through Delhi.
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