A twelve-storey Gelugpa monastery nineteen kilometres from Leh, stacked up a hillside and home to a fifteen-metre Maitreya Buddha.
3,600 m2 hoursBest: May–Oct
MonasteryHeritage
Ladakh · Leh
Leh
A Himalayan capital at three and a half thousand metres
- Heritage
- High-altitude desert
- Monastery
- Altitude
- 3,500 m
- Ideal stay
- 2–3 days
- From Srinagar
- 418 km
- From Jammu
- 684 km
- Best months
- May–Sep
Overview
About Leh
Leh sits at 3,500 metres in a side valley off the Indus, below a ridge crowned by the 17th-century Leh Palace and the Namgyal Tsemo gompa. It was the capital of the Namgyal kingdom and a major halt on the Silk Route between Yarkand and Kashmir, and the old town below the palace still has the mud-brick lanes and carved wooden balconies to show for it.
Today it is the logistical centre of Ladakh. Every permit, every vehicle, every guide and almost every bed in the region is arranged here, and no itinerary to Pangong, Nubra or Tso Moriri works without two nights in Leh first for acclimatisation. That is not a formality — at 3,500 metres, altitude sickness is a genuine and common risk.
It is also a good place to spend time in its own right: Shanti Stupa above the town, the monasteries at Thiksey, Hemis and Shey within an hour, the Hall of Fame museum, and a main bazaar that still functions as a proper Himalayan trading street.
Also known as: Leh Town
Why people come here
Leh Palace
A nine-storey 17th-century palace above the old town, built in the same style as the Potala in Lhasa.
Shanti Stupa
A white Japanese-built peace pagoda on a ridge above Leh, with the best sunset view in town.
The old town
Mud-brick lanes, carved balconies and the Jama Masjid below the palace, under careful restoration.
Monastery circuit
Thiksey, Hemis, Shey, Stakna and Matho are all within an hour of town.
Things to do in Leh
Do nothing for the first 36 hours
Acclimatisation is not optional. Rest, drink water and skip the high passes until day three.
Climb to Shanti Stupa for sunset
A steep set of steps from Changspa, or a short drive, for the full view over the Indus valley.
Walk the old town restoration trail
The Leh Old Town Initiative has restored several buildings and the route is well worth an hour.
Sort your permits
Inner Line Permits for Nubra, Pangong and Tso Moriri are issued in Leh — we handle this for all clients.
Photographs
Leh across the seasons
Open-licence photography so you can see what the place actually looks like at different times of year — not a retouched brochure.
Spring and summer
June to September. All roads open, all permits issued, every bed booked. Plan well ahead.
Autumn and winter
Road access closes; Leh remains reachable by air. Temperatures fall below -20°C. Chadar trek season.
Season by season
What Leh is like through the year
Including the months when it is genuinely closed — because knowing that in advance saves a wasted trip.
Spring · Mar–May
OpenSeason opening up
May sees flights and the Manali road reopen; high passes may still be clearing.
1°C to 17°C
- Leh Palace
- Shanti Stupa
- Monastery circuit
- Acclimatisation walks
Summer · Jun–Aug
OpenPeak season
June to September. All roads open, all permits issued, every bed booked. Plan well ahead.
10°C to 26°C
- Pangong and Nubra trips
- Monastery festivals
- Rafting on the Zanskar
- Markha Valley trek
Autumn · Sep–Nov
OpenClear, cold and empty
Late September and October — spectacular light, sharply falling temperatures, passes beginning to close.
-3°C to 16°C
- Photography
- Monastery visits
- Short treks
Winter · Dec–Feb
OpenDeep winter, flights only
Road access closes; Leh remains reachable by air. Temperatures fall below -20°C. Chadar trek season.
-16°C to -2°C
- Chadar trek
- Snow leopard expeditions
- Monastery visits
- Winter photography
Getting there
How to reach Leh
By air
Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport (IXL) has direct flights from Delhi, Srinagar, Jammu and Chandigarh.
By rail
Jammu Tawi (684 km) is the nearest railhead — a two-day road journey from there.
By road
Srinagar–Leh highway (418 km, open roughly May to November) or Manali–Leh (474 km, open roughly June to October).
Nearby
Combine Leh with
Places close enough to fold into the same itinerary without adding long drives.
A 17th-century Drukpa monastery hidden in a side gorge of the Indus, famous for the Hemis Tsechu festival and a vast copper-gilt Padmasambhava statue.
3,600 mHalf dayBest: May–Oct
MonasteryHeritage
Ladakh
Khardung La
A 5,359-metre pass on the road from Leh to Nubra, long promoted as one of the highest motorable roads in the world.
5,359 mEn route stopBest: May–Sep
SnowHigh-altitude desert
A stretch of highway thirty kilometres from Leh where a gravity-hill illusion makes a stationary vehicle appear to roll uphill.
3,450 m30 minutesBest: Apr–Oct
OffbeatHigh-altitude desert
How many days do you need to acclimatise in Leh?
A minimum of two full nights at 3,500 m before travelling to Pangong, Nubra or any pass above 5,000 m. Rushing this is the most common cause of a ruined Ladakh trip.
Is Leh accessible in winter?
By air, yes, year-round. Both road routes close under snow from roughly November to May.
Do I need permits in Leh?
Not for Leh itself, but Inner Line Permits are required for Nubra, Pangong, Tso Moriri and Turtuk. They are issued in Leh and we arrange them in advance.
Start planning
Planning a trip to Leh?
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We will put Leh into a full itinerary with the right stops around it, and tell you honestly whether your chosen month works.
A reply within hours
A planner in Srinagar reads your enquiry and responds personally, usually the same working day.
An itinerary, not a brochure
You get a day-by-day plan written for your dates, group and pace — then we refine it together.
One clear quote
Every inclusion listed in writing before you pay anything. No surprise charges on the ground.
Prefer to talk? +91 88991 23434 · Every day, 09:00-21:00