Ladakh is one of the most mesmerizing places you will ever visit. A decade back, only the real hunters of offbeat destinations actually stepped foot in Ladakh. Today, it has become a mass tourism destination and the flip side of it is an information overload. With so many people writing blogs, putting up videos and reels and travel operators offering itineraries, it becomes difficult to cut through the noise to plan a trip to Ladakh.
So we thought of sharing our experience of our first trip to Leh Ladakh. Needless to say, it was a fascinating journey.
Here is the best itinerary for first timers travelling to Ladakh
Day 1
After much debate, we decided to take a fight to Leh instead of driving down. Since we were travelling on budget, we decided to use shared taxis and bus for local commute. We landed at Leh airport around noon and immediately checked into the homestay we had booked and spent the day relaxing.
Since Leh Ladakh is situated at a very high altitude and the atmosphere has less oxygen, its imperative that you give yourself time to acclimatize instead of rushing to sightsee. We spent the day lounging around our homestay chilling with our host. In the evening, we walked to Leh market which is a vibrant place with many souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants.
Day 2
We remained in Leh city mainly to continue acclimatizing. We decided to visit Leh Palace. The palace was built in the 1500s and used to be the residence of the royal family. The upper floors of the palace offer unparalleled views of Leh city and Stok. The palace also houses a museum that hold stunning Tibetian Thangkas, jewelry, ornaments, ceremonial dresses and crowns which are over 450 years old.
We also saw Shanti Stupa which was built to celebrate 2500 years of Buddhism and to encourage global peace. The Stupa contains a relic of Buddha and ended the day shopping for some artifacts in Leh Market and generally soaking in the general hustle and bustle of the town.
Day 3
After 48 hours of acclimatization, we decided to get more adventurous and decided to take a day trip Alchi. We opted for a shared taxi as our trip took us through Magnetic Hill and Gurudwara Pathar Sahib.
We stopped at the Magnetic Hill and actually witnessed this gravity defying craziness and took our pictures. The local people believe that it used to be the road to heaven and only the worthy would be pulled up. Others say that it’s an optical illusion.
We reached Alchi monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh, by lunch time and had a heartwarming meal at the Alchi kitchen which serves homemade Ladakhi cuisine. The monastery is famous for its 1000-year-old murals. These mysterious paintings are not just beautiful but also may be the key to rediscovering a lost civilization that once thrived along the Silk Road. Scholars have been trying to figure out who created them and why don’t they conform to orthodox Tibetan Buddhist conventions?
On the way back, we stopped at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, possibly the northernmost Gurudwara in India. It was constructed in memory of Guru Nanak and according local legend, Guru Nanak (the first Guru of the Sikhs) fought a demon here on his way back to Punjab from Sikkim and Tibet.
Day 4, 5, 6
On day 4, we headed out to Nubra Valley. The three days’ trip was super fun starting with the quintessential photograph at Khardung La which is supposed to be the highest motor able road in India. We saw the Diskit Monastery and the famous Maitreya Buddha before heading to Hunder for a camel safari on the two humped Bactrian Camels and wrapped up the day camping in the plains of Hunder.
On day 5, we decided to visit the Turtuk village. One of the passengers in our shared taxi was planning to go there and after hearing about the place, we were keen to see this northernmost village of India. Turtuk is the last point post which Pakistan controlled territory begins. In fact, Turtuk itself was part of Pakistan till 1971. The village is occupied by the Balti people and their cuisine is quite unique. We walked around the village, chatted with the locals who are very welcoming and took in the scenery. Unlike Hunder, Turtuk is quite green. The locals run restaurants from their homes and we gorged on some warm, flavorful Balti dishes made with local homegrown ingredients. Our friend decided to spend the night here, however, we headed back to Diskit as we had plans for the next day.
We started our final day in the Nubra valley with a trip to Sumur village. The main attraction of the village is the Samstanling Gompa. Next we stopped at Panamik village, known mainly for its hot springs and the sacred Yarab Tso Lake there. The village is a good place to buy Pashmina shawls and dry fruits as they are inexpensive as compared to other places in this region. We also trekked to the 260-year-old Ensa Monastery, which is known for Buddhist murals and headed back to Diskit.
Day 7
We had planned our trip to coincide with the Hemis Festival and although, it was a long 3-hour drive from Diskit to Hemis monastery, the colorful festival was totally worth it. We had great fun watching the various traditional mask dances and listening to the beat of the drums and cymbals. The festival is held in the courtyard of the Hemis Monastery. Although, it’s a 2 days festival, we were here only for Day 1. After a quick tour of Hemis monastery which was decked up with Buddhist Thangkas, we headed back to Leh town.
You can also combine your trip to Hemis Monastery with Pangong lake. Hemis is one of the largest and richest monastery in Ladakh and is definitely a must visit when you are in Ladakh.
Day 8, 9
Thanks to the movie, 3 Idiots, Pangong Lake is on every tourist’s radar including ours. We were super excited to see the crystal blue lake and were not at all disappointed. Pangong Lake has the calmest and most pristine waters. We sat on the white sand banks and soaked in the peace of the surroundings.
Pangong is the world’s highest salt water lake. We spent the night at a camp by the lake. We had a fun evening dancing around a bonfire and had barbecue for dinner. There are a lot of camps around the lake. During the tourist season, its best to book in advance and choose a campsite as close to the lake as possible. The evening and night gets very cold; so make sure you carry thermals, caps and gloves. Also, Pangong is at a higher altitude than Leh and its best to acclimatize properly before coming here.
On the way back to Leh, we stopped at Thiksey Monastery, the largest monastery in Central Ladakh. We saw the famous Maitreya Buddha statue that covers 2 floors of the monastery. Thiksey monastery has 12 floors and is built like a fort with the administrative offices at the ground level and residences on the higher levels. In spite of so many people, the place was amazingly peaceful.
Day 10
We had an afternoon flight. So we spent the morning packing, gorging on local apricot jam and sorting through our pictures. Overall, this was a perfect trip and we were already in love with Ladakh. Since then we have visited a couple of more times, but our first trip has been the most memorable.
