Leh Ladak

What is the best time to visit Leh Ladakh?

The best time to visit Leh Ladakh is from May end to the middle of July as the roads to Ladakh are open both from Srinagar Leh highway and Leh-Manali highway during this time. Also, there is a good amount of snow, especially on the Leh Manali highway. Another good time to visit Leh Ladakh is from the middle of September to October, when Ladakh is at its most beautiful. It is also possible to get good discounts during this time due to the lesser number of tourists.

It is advisable to avoid visiting Leh Ladakh during the monsoon from July end to August as the region is prone to landslides. Also, the Srinagar Leh highway and Leh Manali highway are full of sludge, making travel very risky.

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How to Reach

Ladakh is called the Hermit Kingdom due to its remoteness and accessibility. Ladakh is connected to the main land through two roads, namely the Leh-Srinagar national highway and the Leh-Manali road. These two roads remain open only during the summer months, and during the winter they remain closed for more than 7 months due to the closure of the passes (Zojila, Rotang Pass, Baralacha, Changla). Leh District is connected to the block headquarters by roads, through a network of roads. The average distance of the block headquarters from Leh is 180 km. Bus services and other means of communication are very poor. The Border Roads Organization maintains most of the highway connecting the block headquarters, and PWD maintains a road length of 1060 km. As some of the roads to the block headquarters pass through the world's highest motorable roads, they are frequently closed due to avalanches and snowfall in the passes. Durbuk Block and Nubra Block remain closed in the winter months due to the closure of Khardongla and the Changla Pass.

The transport service comprises roads, motor vehicles, civil aviation, railways, and water transport. All these constituents form the base of economic infrastructure. The adequate availability of this infrastructure leads to rapid economic development, though railways and water transport do not exist in the district. Road transport is the major and principle mode of mobility for men and materials in the district. Roads are thus considered arteries of our economy, which plays a crucial role in sustaining economic growth and is vital for the development of all segments of society. Due to the difficult terrain of the district, it is very difficult to provide road facilities; however, the Public Works Department has constructed and maintained a substantial road network in the district. Out of the 113 villages in the district, 97 will be connected to the motorable road by March 2009. The Border Road Organization (Project Himank) is also contributing a lot to the economic development of the district by constructing and maintaining a huge chunk of the road network connecting the border areas.

JKSRTC provides services from Srinagar to Leh (434 km), which takes two days, and HRTC provides services from Manali to Leh (474 km), which takes about 20 hours or two days if you halt in between. Private taxis also operate between Leh-Srinagar and Leh-Manali every day.

AIR SERVICES

Then the only route accessible to Ladakh during the winter is by air. Indian Air Lines operates daily flight services from Leh to Delhi and back, besides Jet Airways and AirGo. Moreover, in the winter months, air services are not frequent as there are too many cancellations of flights due to fog in Delhi and snowfalls in Leh. Life in Ladakh comes to a standstill in the winter months and remains cut off from the rest of the world.

There are two airports in the district, namely K.G. Bakula Airport at Leh and the Army Airport at Thoise Nubra. Leh airport connects the national capital of Delhi with the state capitals of Srinagar and Jammu.

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Places to Visit

Tsomoriri Lake

Picturesquely located in the secluded, breathtakingly beautiful Rupshu Valley, the high-altitude Tso Moriri Lake is less than 250 kilometers southeast of Leh. Flanked by lofty mountains, this serene lake is about 4,000 meters above sea level. Tso Moriri is approximately 29 kilometers long and up to 8 kilometers wide. Tso Moriri attracts a range of wildlife, including migratory birds, marmots, and rarely the Tibetan wolf.

This is the general route to Tso Moriri that most people take to visit this ever-beautiful lake in Ladakh. You can reach it in about 6–7 hours, depending on the number of breaks you take in between. The route, along with the distance between the subsequent places, is as follows: Leh-Karu (36 KMs)-Upshi (13 KMs)-Kumdok (19 KMs)-Kere (53 KMs)-Chumathang (34 KMs)-Mahe (22 KMs) Sumdo (10 KM) Korzok or Tso Moriri (53 km) = 240 km

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Lamayuru is on the Leh-Srinagar Highway and can be visited from Leh (if you fly in) or on your way from Srinagar if you drive to Leh.
Lamayuru monastery is situated at a distance of 127 km from Leh at a height of 3,510 meters. Lamayuru can easily be covered in a day-long return trip from Leh. Lamayuru is known for its monastery and for its “lunar” landscape, quaintly promoted as a “Moonscape” for tourists. The landscape is certainly incredible with its spectacularly odd geological formations, though this is not unique to Lamayuru. Lamayuru monastery is ancient, built into the'moonscape'. It has some beautiful frescoes and frightening masks. Visitors can also see the glassed-in meditation cave of the Lama Naropa. Lamayuru is a part of the Dri-Gungpa sector in western Ladakh.

Lamayuru was founded in the 11th century by Mahasiddacarya Naropa. Lamayuru has the appearance of a cave monastery with a moonlike landscape. Lamayuru, consisting of five buildings, is in ruins today.

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In Ladakh, you never know what surprises nature has in store for you. Pangong Lake, situated at a height of almost 4,350m, is the world’s highest saltwater lake. Its water, which seems to be dyed blue, stands in stark contrast to the arid mountains surrounding it. Extending to almost 160km, one-third of the Pangong Lake lies in India and the other two-thirds in China.

Srinagar-Leh National Highway No. 1D from Srinagar Manali-Leh National Highway from Manali Tourists can avail of a taxi from both of these places and reach the lake in a short while.