Travel style · Ladakh
Family holidays in Ladakh
Short drives, low altitudes, room to run
Family trips that keep drives short and sleeping altitudes sensible: Kumaon lakes, Shimla and the toy train, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Paro and Thimphu. With notes on what children and grandparents can manage.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsWith children and grandparents, altitude and drive time matter most. We keep most nights below 2,500 m, drives under five hours, and add at least one day without a car.
Ladakh is a high-altitude desert on the Indus, reached by air to Leh (3,500 m) or by road over Zoji La or the Manali highway. Go June to September for open passes. Rest 48 hours in Leh before you climb higher. A saver trip runs ₹2,000–3,500 a day.
Trips
Family holidays trips in Ladakh
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Leh, Nubra and Pangong with a private car
Private Ladakh Taxi Union SUV with driver
2 places
Where to go
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Alchi and the Sham Valley
Kashmiri-style murals and apricot orchards on the lower Indus
Photo: Addy6697 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nubra Valley
The old caravan valley over Khardung La, with dunes and orchards
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Prof Ranga Sai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Alchi's painted temples with a local guide
Visit the Dukhang and Sumtsek at Alchi, whose paintings in a Kashmiri style are among the oldest surviving in Ladakh. W…
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Apricot blossom walk in the Sham valley
In spring, walk between Saspol, Alchi and nearby villages while apricot orchards bloom white and pink against brown cli…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Likir Monastery and Basgo's royal ruins
Two stops on the way between Leh and Alchi: Likir Monastery, which administers Alchi, with its large outdoor Maitreya, …
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Diskit Monastery and its giant Maitreya
The oldest and largest monastery in Nubra, founded in the 14th century on a ridge above the Shyok, and the 32 m Maitrey…
Photo: Christian Ursilva from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hunder dunes and Bactrian camels at dawn
Walk the cold-desert dunes between Hunder and Diskit and take a short ride on a two-humped Bactrian camel, descendants …
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Crossing Khardung La from Leh to Nubra
The road from Leh climbs to 5,359 m at Khardung La before dropping 2,200 m into Nubra. Done after two nights in Leh, it…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Unbiased Contributors · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Nimmu House
A restored early 20th-century manor in Nimmoo village, about 35 km west of Leh near the Indus–Zanskar confluence, …
Photo: Addy6697 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Lchang Nang Retreat, Nubra
A cottage retreat in the poplar and willow groves of Tegar village, near Sumur on the Nubra arm of the valley. Ope…