A nine storey mud brick palace built into a rocky hillside

Leh Explorer 5N 6D

Fly in, acclimatise properly, then Nubra and Pangong.

Duration

5 Nights · 6 Days

From, per person

₹28,999₹33,999

Rating

4.8

Check dates

The plan

The standard Ladakh loop with the two acclimatisation days that most operators quietly delete. Day one is complete rest at 3,500 m and day two barely leaves Leh.

From there: over Khardung La to Nubra, along the Shyok to Pangong, and back over Chang La.

D01

Fly into Leh

Leh · 3,500 m

You land at 3,500 m and then you do nothing at all. Complete rest at the hotel, fluids, no walking beyond the courtyard. This day is not padding — it is the reason the rest of the trip works.

Meals: Dinner

D02

Leh, gently

Leh · 3,500 m

Still low and slow. Leh Palace and Shanti Stupa in the afternoon, both short. Thiksey at dawn for the morning prayers if you're feeling well — we decide on the morning, not in advance.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner

D03

Over Khardung La to Nubra

Nubra · 3,048 m

Up over Khardung La at 5,359 m — twenty minutes at the top, no longer — then down into the Nubra valley. Bactrian camels on the Hunder dunes in the afternoon. Oxygen is carried in the vehicle.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner

D04

Shyok road to Pangong

Pangong Tso · 4,350 m

The direct road along the Shyok river rather than back through Leh. Overnight in a tented camp on the shore — basic, cold, and worth it for the light on the water at dawn.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner

D05

Pangong to Leh via Chang La

Leh · 3,500 m

Back over Chang La at 5,360 m, with a stop at Thiksey or Hemis on the way down. Afternoon free in Leh market for apricots and pashmina.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner

D06

Depart Leh

Leh · 3,500 m

Leh flights leave early and are the first to be cancelled in bad weather. We build a buffer into every Ladakh itinerary and will not book you a same-day onward connection.

Meals: Breakfast