Leh / Ladakh: Overview

Ladakh is located in the Western Himalayas of Northern India. It is bordered by Tibet to the east, Himachal Pradesh to the south, Jammu & Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west. It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south. The eastern end of it consists of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains. The elevation of Ladakh ranges from 2550m to 7742m. The longitude and latitude of Ladakh are 34°10′12″N 77°34′48″E.

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Know more about Leh / Ladakh.

In this segment will try to sum up all relevent questions related to best way to reach Ladakh. Once, you go through these questions you will find how you can easily plan for your upcoming Leh / Ladakh Tour.

Know more about Srinagar - Leh Road Status

You can reach Leh Ladakh either by road or by air. Unfortunately, there is no connectivity to Ladakh by train. You can either reach Jammu or Srinagar by train and then reach Leh by road to Leh from either of these places.

There are two ways to reach Ladakh and its capital city Leh: by road via Manali (Himachal Pradesh) or Srinagar (Kashmir) and by air with a flight to Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport located just 4 km from Leh city centre.

Best option to reach Ladakh:

Ladakh by Air: Go to Ladakh by air with a flight from Delhi to Leh and enjoy the most spectacular flight in India with stunning aerial views of the snow-capped peaks as you fly over the Himalayan mountains

Ladakh by Road: Go to Ladakh by road from Manali to Leh and another route Srinagar to Leh.

Ladakh is connected by the two adventurous roads popular by the names of Manali Leh Highway which connects Leh to Manali and the other one is Srinagar Leh Highway that connects Leh with Srinagar.

Know more about Manali to Leh Road Status.

Know more about Srinagar to Leh Road Status.

Leh is connected with Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar airports by direct flights. Delhi to Leh there is a daily direct flight service offered by many airlines.

Ladakh used to be almost completely cut off from the rest of India 6 months per year due to harsh weather conditions in winter keeping the roads blocked with snow for many months. Nowadays, reaching Ladakh has become easier with daily flights to Leh all year round. There are approximately 8 flights per day in each direction between Delhi and Leh. The capital of Ladakh is also directly connected to other major cities such as Mumbai, Chandigarh, Srinagar and Jammu but flights are less frequent. The airlines operating flights to Leh are Air India, GoFirst, Vistara, SpiceJet and IndiGo.

The scenic flight from Delhi to Leh takes one and a half hours. Try to get a window seat so that you can contemplate the wonderful bird’s eye view of the Himalayan snow-clad mountains. Flights are only in the morning because it gets usually windier in the afternoon. Leh airport remains operational for all 12 months of the year though flights are sometimes delayed or cancelled in winter due to bad weather conditions. In summer, flights are very reliable.

The official name of Leh airport is Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport and its IATA code is IXL. It is one of the highest airports in the world at an altitude of 3,500 metres above sea level and you should spend the first day acclimatizing in Leh before heading to higher altitude. Leh airport is a military airport, therefore the security is tight and a printout of your e-ticket can be required when going through the security checks. Just outside the terminal, you can easily find a taxi to drop you at your hotel. Leh city centre is only 4 km away from the airport and a prepaid taxi costs approximately ₹ 600.

Taking a flight is the most comfortable option compared to the bumpy 2-day road trips to Manali and Srinagar. A one-way air ticket between Delhi and Leh costs approximately ₹ 8,000 in average but there can be significant price variations. Airfares tend to skyrocket during the peak tourist season (June to August) and in winter during the Ladakhi Losar (New Year) and the winter school holiday (mid-December to end of February). Websites such as www.makemytrip.com and www.yatra.com are useful to compare the flights and find the cheapest tickets.

Air India:

www.airindia.in
Delhi office: Indira Gandhi Airport, Terminal 3, New Delhi - 110037 | phone: 011-49631097
Leh office: Fort Road, Leh - 194101 | phone: 01982-252076

GoFirst:

www.flygofirst.in
Delhi office: Indira Gandhi Airport, Terminal 2, New Delhi – 110037 | phone: 011-25653521
Leh office: Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh – 194101 | phone: 01982-253940

Vistara:

www.airvistara.com
Delhi office: Jeevan Bharti Tower-1, 10th floor, 124 CP, New Delhi – 110001 | phone: 9289228888

SpiceJet:

www.spicejet.com
Delhi office: 319, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon – 122016 | phone: 9871803333

IndiGo:

www.goindigo.in
Delhi office: Upper Ground Floor, Thapar House, Gate No. 2, Western Wing, 124 Janpath, New Delhi – 110001 | phone: 0124-6173838

While taking a flight to Leh is the fastest and most comfortable option, leaving Ladakh by road is an experience of a lifetime. There is a Ladakhi saying: “the land is so harsh and the passes so high that only the best of friends or the worst of enemies would visit you”. Indeed, the route is amazing but strenuous so it is recommended to fly one way (from Delhi to Leh) and return by jeep (via Manali or Srinagar).

Shared jeeps as well as private jeeps from Leh to Manali and from Leh to Srinagar take 2 days and it is the most comfortable option if you opt to go by road. Another option is to take a HRTC bus or SRTC bus, this is the cheapest option but also the slowest and it is more difficult to stop en route for photos.

There are 473 km from Leh to Manali and it takes 2 gruelling days to cover this distance with one night in Pang, Sarchu or Jispa. Several camps are available in Sarchu while Hotel Ibex is a popular place to stay in Jispa.

The legendary Leh-Manali highway is the most mind-blowing route (compared to the Leh-Srinagar highway). It goes through breathtaking landscapes and crosses several high mountain passes including the famous Taglang La pass (5,328m) which the highest point on this route. On the second day, you will cross Rohtang La pass before reaching the green Manali valley covered with pinewood forests. The Leh-Manali road is normally open to traffic from June to October when the passes are clear of snow. Contact us to know the latest road conditions. A shared jeep costs ₹ 6,800/person for 6 passengers and a driver while a private jeep can be hired for minimum ₹ 34,000 (for the whole car).

With one extra day, you could do a side trip to Tso Moriri lake. This huge lake located at an elevation of 4,530 metres is one of the most mesmerizing attractions in Ladakh. You could spend one night in the small village of Korzok, on the bank of the lake and meet the Changpa nomads before heading towards Manali via Tso Kar lake. Note that an Inner Line Permit is required to access this part of Ladakh.

It also takes 2 days to cover the 422 km from Leh to Srinagar with an overnight stay midway in Kargil. Kargil is the second largest town in Ladakh, it has a population of 11,000 with a majority of Muslims.

The Leh-Srinagar highway is less impressive than the Leh-Manali highway. Most of the attractions are located within the first 60 km from Leh, it includes Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, Magnetic Hill and Sangam (the confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers). On the second day, you will drive via Zoji La pass (3,528m) and Sonamarg before reaching Srinagar. The Leh-Srinagar road is usually open from April to November. A shared jeep costs ₹ 4,900/person and private jeep can be booked for ₹ 25,000 (for the whole taxi).

There a several interesting options which can be selected for your road trip from Leh to Srinagar. For example, on the first day, you could visit some of the main Buddhist monasteries of the Indus valley (Basgo, Likir, Alchi and Lamayuru). Another option is to take the small road via Dha-Hanu and Batalik (a few kilometres from the border with Pakistan known as the Line of Control) to reach Kargil.

Now, I concludes this section on how to reach Leh / Ladakh or what is the best way to reach Ladakh. If you have any query related to this article just put your query in the below comment section, I will try to answer the same.