Travel guide to Nubra valley and Pangong Tso in Ladakh

Serene Nubra valley – a sub-district of Ladakh, is a high altitude cold desert of India. And Pangong Tso is a salt water lake flowing in the Himalayas. When visiting Ladakh for the first time, these destinations are a must visit.

Suggested Read : TRAVEL GUIDE FOR 5 DAYS TRIP TO LADAKH

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Booking taxi for a trip to Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso

Shared taxi can be booked through travel agency (there are a plenty of them around Leh Market). Private taxis are easily available but are expensive (up to INR 20,000 per taxi). You can go for this option if travelling in a group of 4 to 6 people. To economize, opt for a shared one. The travel agency can also arrange your permits which are required to visit Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake.

For this 3 days 2 nights trip in Ladakh, we booked the taxi from Leh a day before our trip. We were charged INR 3600/person for the taxi and INR 600/person for the permits.

Suggested Read : SHAM VALLEY BIKE TOUR LADAKH

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Permit for visiting Ladakh

No permit is required for visiting Leh and its local places including Sham Valley Tour.

Indian tourists require Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Foreign tourists need Ladakh Protected Area permit to visit inner places of Ladakh like Khardungla Pass, Pangong Tso, Nubra Valley, Tso Moriri, Turtuk, Dah, Hanu Village, Man, Merak, Nyoma, Loma Bend, Tyakshi, Hanle, Digger La and Tangyar (for trekking only).

To apply for permits, visit www.lahdclehpermit.in . Fill the details, pay the amount and get your permit @ INR 400 per person + INR 20 per person.

The taxi picked us up around 9:00 in the morning and our co-travelers were two foreign nationals and one Indian.

Meeting Manik (70) and Bard (64) for the first time, we were wondering whether we would be able to travel together as our energy levels didn’t seem to match considering their age. And yes of course, they didn’t. We were novice when compared to these voracious travelers. Both of them have traveled more than 100 countries and were always sharing the adventures they had during their travels. They were highly energetic through out the day and always up for any kind of adventure. We did some of the funniest things together. Though we were complete strangers in the beginning of this trip, yet by the end we became such good friends that we ended up inviting one other to our homes.

Truly, travel makes life time memories and a traveler never gets old when it comes to traveling.

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Khardungla Pass

It isn’t every day that you pass through one of the highest motorable roads of the world. Khardung la is a mountain pass and gateway to Nubra Valley.

Existing since 1970s, this motor road over Khardung-La, at an altitude of 5,359 meters (17,582 feet) was opened for public in 1988.

Located around 40 km from Leh, it offers view of snow capped mountains along the Karakoram range to the North.

I got a little disappointed by the view of plastic waste and wrappers scattered all around. Considering the fact that it snows heavily quite often, it is difficult to maintain the place so its our responsibility as a traveler to avoid disposing our trash at such locations.

Note :- It took us around 2 hours to reach Khardungla from Leh.

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Diskit Monastery

This very famous and oldest Buddhist Monastery of Nubra valley, constructed in 14th century, houses the statue of Cho Rinpoche (Crowned Buddha) and this is a part of the prayer hall. From the top of the Monastery, one gets to see panoramic views of Nubra Valley.

Note:- It was around 2:00 when we reached Diskit Monastry.

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Hunder Sand Dunes

Silver sand dunes in the backdrop of snow-clad mountains, patches of greenery lying at the bottom of barren mountains, a river stream flowing nearby, double humped camels of ancient times and golden rays of sun spreading over these silver dunes – nature never stops surprising us.

Located at an altitude of 4000 meters, this place is called “A Desert in the Sky”.

Once you reach here, spend some time and soak yourself in the beauty of this place. Bacterian camel (Double humped camel) ride is also available here.

Note:- We reached here around 4:00 PM.

Our Accommodation in Nubra Valley

We stayed here at Galaxy Guest House. We didn’t pre-book it. Our taxi driver took us to this place and we loved it especially for its cordial staff and clean and spacious rooms.

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When water from melting glaciers blocked our way in Ladakh

We had often heard about water logging on the roads in Leh Ladakh. And this time we experienced it.

We were suggested by almost everyone to leave early from Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso, as usually the way gets clogged due to the water of melting glaciers. We left around 8:30 from our hotel in Nubra Valley and after having driven for about an hour, our cab stopped. When we stepped out and started walking, we found this –

Generally people in this situation blame while sitting in their vehicles but here we saw something very different. People there came out of their cars and started making way for the sideways flow of water, helped bikers cross the points where there were rocks and water. And all this was quite touching. Such a delightful sight it was.

The journey from Nubra Valley to Pangong Lake

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Pangong Tso

Blue water changing its shades and mountains in stark contrast to the water in the far away barren lands of Ladakh, is a beauty to behold – such a scenic wonder it is.

This 134 km long lake at an altitude of 4350 m extending from India to China acts as a breeding ground for a large variety of migratory birds. The lake freezes completely in winters.

We got stuck for 2 hours due to water logging and reached lake around 4 PM. This place makes you feel like standing and watching the serene views for hours.

Our accommodation in Pangong

We opted for a homestay (@ INR 1000 including dinner and breakfast) which was just half km from the lake.

Rooms were cleaned with attached washrooms and the lady of the house was such a kind-heart and ever smiling.

Without wasting any further time, we kept our luggage in the rooms and headed straight to the lake to spend a peaceful evening there.

Pangong Tso is at a very high altitude, you may feel the lack of oxygen soon after reaching there. Try to stay hydrated. Shu could not sleep well at night owing to the lack of oxygen, so we came out of our rooms around 2:00 in the night to get some fresh air and were struck when we saw this:-

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Back to Leh and Hemis Monastry

Changla Pass

This second highest motorable road in the world at an elevation of 5360 m is maintained by Indian Army.

Hemis Monastry – Naropa Festival Preparations

Located on a mountain along the western bank of Indus River, this monastery is 45 km from Leh. Established in 1590, it is the largest, wealthiest, and the most famous monastery in Ladakh. Inside are the statues of Lord Buddha and Guru Rimpoche.

In the months of June/July, a festival called Hemis Gompa in which the main attraction is mystic masked dance, is celebrated in the courtyard of the Monastery.

This festival is in the form of a mystery play featuring the triumph of good over evil. It is a series of dances and enactments performed over two days. The performers wear a wide variety of garments and ferocious masks, representing the deities of Tibetan Buddhist mythology.

We visited this Monastery when the preparation was going on for the festival which was scheduled to start from next day.

It was good watching the monks (children as well) performing to the beats of drums and other musical instruments. There is also a museum in the premises of the monastery, where several ancient religious and historical paintings (Thangkas), weapons, carriers, and even a stuffed vulture pup are exhibited.