7N / 8D · Leh Ladakh
Leh → Shey/Thiksey → Nubra → Turtuk → Pangong → Leh
Replies within 24 hours
Warm greetings on your Leh Ladakh tour. Arrive at Leh airport, meet our local representative and proceed to your hotel. Full day at complete rest for acclimatisation — Leh sits at high altitude and the air is thin, so resting on day one is compulsory.
After breakfast visit the monasteries of Shey, Thiksey and Stok Palace. Shey was the ancient capital of Ladakh, ringed by an enormous number of chortens; Thiksey is one of the largest and most impressive gompas, housing a two-storey statue of the Buddha and exquisite wall paintings.
After breakfast visit the Hall of Fame, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, Magnetic Hill and Sangam view where the Indus and Zanskar rivers meet. Afternoon visit to Shanti Stupa — built by a Japanese Buddhist organisation to commemorate 2,500 years of Buddhism — and the 17th-century, nine-storey Leh Palace of King Singge Namgyal, resembling Lhasa's Potala.
Drive to Nubra Valley via Khardung La (18,350 ft), passing Horzey and Gangles villages. In the valley, visit Diskit — Nubra's headquarters town — and its monastery, then continue to Hunder, where you may spot the double-humped Bactrian camels on the dunes.
Full-day excursion to Turtuk, a picturesque Balti border village 80 km from Hunder on the old Silk Route. Part of the area's dramatic recent history, its five villages came to India after the 1971 war; locals live by farming and supporting the Indian Army with mules and porters.
Drive from Nubra to Pangong via the Shyok route. Pangong — from the Tibetan 'Banggong Co', the long, narrow, enchanted lake — is saline, home to gulls and ducks rather than fish, with a famous ramp of land running into the water that photographers love.
Morning walk on the banks of Pangong Lake — the world's most famous high-altitude salt-water lake, shared between India (25%) and China (75%) — watching its fascinating changing colours. Drive back to Leh.
After breakfast, transfer from Leh to the airport for your onward flight — with sweet holiday memories. Our service terminates.