Durga Travel & Tours - New Delhi

Few places in India are at once so traveller-friendly and yet so enchanting and hassle-free as mountain-framed Leh. Dotted with stupas and crumbling mudbrick houses, the Old Town is dominated by a dagger of steep rocky ridge topped by an imposing Tibetan-style palace and fort. Beneath, the bustling bazaar area is draped in a thick veneer of tour agencies, souvenir shops and tandoori-pizza restaurants, but a web of lanes quickly fans out into a green suburban patchwork of irrigated barley fields. Here, gushing streams and narrow footpaths link traditionally styled Ladakhi homes and hotels that feature flat roofs, sturdy walls and ornate wooden window frames. Leh’s a place that’s all too easy to fall in love with – but take things very easy on arrival as the altitude requires a few days’ acclimatisation before you can safely start enjoying the area’s gamut of adventure activities.

Day 01 – Leh

Arrive at Leh airport by morning flight from Delhi. This flight is one of the most sensational flights in the world. On a clear day from one side of the aircraft can be seen in the distance the peaks of K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum and on the other side of the aircraft, so close that you feel you could reach out and touch it, is the Nun Kun massif. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel. You would take a little time to settle in and acclimatize since you have gone from a relatively low elevation in New Delhi to over 11,000 feet! During the afternoon, you can walk through the old town, beneath the Leh Palace, to allow you to get oriented to this fascinating city. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 02 – Leh

After breakfast full day sightseeing to the massive Tibetan Buddhist Gompas of Shey, Thiksey and Hemis. A few kilometers up the Indus is Shey, the ancient capital, with its palaces, temples, and vibrantly colored murals, cleaned and restored in the mid 1980’s. Later we drive to visit the fortress styled monastery of Thikse. Afterwards, we drive to visit the Hemis monastery. This monastery is known to be the most famous and rich Buddhist temple in the entire region. The Murals and frescoes here date back to 17th century. After we explore the sacred monastery, we drive back to our hotel in Leh. In the evening, we will spend some time roaming around the markets. Overnight at your hotel.

Day 03 – Leh to Nubra

We will drive to Nubra valley in the morning, driving over the highest motored pass in the world. The exciting journey through serpentine roads leads us to the Khardungla Pass at an awesome height of 5550 meters. We stop at the pass to admire and click some photographs of the fantastic view, before driving down into the Nubravalley. The valley is situated on an old caravan route at the confluence of the Shyok and the Nubra rivers. We drive to our fixed camp resort and later drive to visit the charming valley, of Deskit – the tiny capital of Nubra. The capital is marked by a single file of shops that are put up on the main road. We will visit the Deskit Gompa, perched on a rocky spur above the village, with a commanding view of the entire valley. From Deskit we will drive to Hunder past an area of sand dunes and get aquinted with the famous Bactrian camels. This small population of shaggy double-humped animals, which in the old days, were used as pack animals on the Central Asian trade routes are now used as riding animals in the high deserts. In the late afternoon we will drive to the camp. Overnight in camps.

Day 04 – Nubra to Leh

We will drive back to Leh, driving on the same route and crossing the Khardungla pass yet again. We arrive at Leh in the afternoon and settle for the day at our hotel.

Day 05 – Leh to Pangong

After early breakfast drive for a visit of Pangong Lake via Chang La pass. The drive takes you through spectacular, amazing scenery, with breathtaking views of the snow covered Himalayas. The Lake is the highest (4267M) salt-water lake in the world, situated along the India / China border. It is about 130 Km long and 5-6 Km wide. The Chang – chenmo range surrounding it from the north provide a spectacular backdrop to the blue and green expanse of its brackish water. Later drive back to Leh. Overnight Hotel.

Day 06 – Departure

After breakfast drive back to the airport for your flight to any onward destination.