A lone road runs dead straight into a vast amphitheatre of bare Ladakh mountains, the scale of the high desert dwarfing everything on it.

Luxury Accommodation9 NightsLuxuryAdventure

Ladakh Grand Himalayan Journey — Luxury

Route

Leh → Nubra Valley → Pangong Lake

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Chapter Two — Where You'll Stay

3 Real Stays, In Order

Handpicked along your own route — not a hotel chain repeated city to city.

First, 5 nights in Leh

The Grand Dragon Ladakh

Leh · Hotel · Luxury★★★★★

Ladakh's only certified five-star, on the edge of Leh — oxygen-boosted rooms, central heating and Stok range views. The luxury Leh stay.

5 nightsStop 1 of 3

A wooden garden pergola with two lounge chairs among poplars and tall grasses at Lchang Nang Retreat, framed by Nubra Valley peaks

Next, 2 nights in Nubra Valley

Lchang Nang Retreat — The House of Trees

Nubra Valley · Resort · Luxury★★★★★

An SLH member on the Nubra riverbank near Sumur — 17 solar-powered mud-and-poplar cottages in a poplar garden. The luxury Nubra stay.

2 nightsStop 2 of 3

The turquoise shore of Pangong Tso at around 14,000 feet, a lone figure on the pebble beach below bare brown and snow-dusted mountains

Finally, 2 nights in Pangong Lake

Pangong Sarai

Pangong Lake · Resort · Luxury★★★★

The most comfortable stay on Pangong Lake — yurt-style tents with hot showers and electric blankets on the Spangmik shore, at 4,300 metres.

2 nightsStop 3 of 3

Chapter Three — Activities & Sightseeing

The Real Stops Along the Way

8 of your 10days — the full day-by-day plan follows below.

The white dome of Shanti Stupa on its hilltop above Leh, the old town and bare ridges falling away below

Day 2 · Leh

Leh — Old Town, Palace and Shanti Stupa

A gentle first full day, still close to the hotel. The morning is Leh's old town: the bazaar, the mosque, and the nine-storey palace above it. The climb through the palace floors is slow but short. In the afternoon, drive up to Shanti Stupa for the view over the valley. Sankar Monastery, a working gompa a short way from the centre, fills any spare time. An early night before tomorrow's monastery run.

The Sangam confluence in the Sham valley, where the muddy Zanskar meets the turquoise Indus between bare desert mountains.

Day 3 · Leh

The Sham Valley — Confluence, Magnetic Hill and Alchi

A day trip west down the Indus, at lower altitude, which helps. First the Sangam, where the green Indus meets the grey Zanskar and the two run side by side. Then Magnetic Hill, a quick stop where the road plays a trick on the eye. The main sight is Alchi, an eleventh-century monastery with wall paintings found nowhere else in Ladakh. Likir, with its own hilltop gompa and large gold Buddha, rounds out the day. Return to Leh in the late afternoon.

The Thiksey monastery complex tiered up its hill above the Indus valley, Ladakh

Day 4 · 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.

Travellers pause on a snow-covered slope at Khardung La, one of the world's highest motorable passes, on the road from Leh to the Nubra valley.

Day 5 · Leh → Nubra Valley

Over Khardung La to the Nubra Valley

The drive to Nubra crosses Khardung La, at about 5,360 metres one of the highest motorable passes in the world. You stop briefly at the top for photos and tea, but not long, because of the altitude. The road then drops a long way into the Nubra valley, green and wide after the bare passes. You reach your Nubra hotel by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is at rest by the river. The full drive takes five to six hours with stops.

The 32-metre Maitreya Buddha statue of Diskit Monastery seated above the Nubra valley

Day 6 · Nubra Valley

Nubra — Diskit Monastery and the Hunder Dunes

A full day in the Nubra valley. The morning is Diskit Monastery and its 32-metre Maitreya statue, which looks down the valley towards Pakistan. In the afternoon, the white sand dunes at Hunder, with their two-humped Bactrian camels. A short camel ride runs in the last hour of light, when the dunes turn gold. Turtuk, a Balti village near the border that only opened to visitors in 2010, is an option for those with the time. A second night in Nubra.

A wide grey river braids across the floor of the Nubra valley beneath steep, bare mountain walls on the rough road toward Pangong.

Day 7 · Nubra Valley → Pangong Lake

Nubra to Pangong — The Shyok River Road

A long, rough and spectacular drive that avoids going back over Khardung La. The road follows the Shyok river east, through a wide, empty valley of braided river channels and bare rock. Parts of it are unpaved and slow. There are no towns and few people for hours. You reach Pangong from the north in the late afternoon, with the lake opening up ahead. Plan on seven to eight hours on the road. It is worth it.

The vivid blue water of Pangong Tso stretching between bare brown ridges under a clear Ladakh sky.

Day 8 · Pangong Lake

A Day on the Shore of Pangong

A slow day by the lake, which is the point of coming this far. The water changes colour through the day, so it rewards sitting still and watching. A short drive along the shore towards the villages of Man and Merak gets you away from the day-trip crowds at Spangmik. The altitude here is 4,350 metres, so walking is slow and naps are normal. After dark, the sky fills with stars. A second night on the shore.

A high, snow-streaked ridge line of the Ladakh range on the return climb from Pangong toward Leh over Chang La.

Day 9 · Pangong Lake → Leh

Pangong back to Leh — Chang La and the Long Valley

An early start to be over Chang La before the afternoon wind. The pass is at about 5,360 metres and often holds snow even in summer. Below it the road runs down past Hemis and Thiksey, so there is a chance to stop at either if you missed them. You are back in Leh by mid-afternoon, at a lower and easier altitude. The last evening is free for the market and for packing. The drive is five to six hours in all.

Chapter Four — Day by Day

10 Days, In Full

Every day, start to finish — including the transfers the sightseeing chapter above skipped.

The flat rooftops of Leh town stacked up the hillside, the bare Ladakh range rising behind them under a thin high-altitude sky.

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