Nubra Valley-The right choice to have a good ala carte and more ..

Nubra Valley-It all starts with snow rigged Khardungla and ends with a beautiful village Thang near Turtuk. Panamik has hot springs and beautiful Yarab Tso lake whereas,Diskit and Hunder have monastery and sand dunes to offer respectively. Isn’t it an ala-carte package where you get a bit of everything!

5 Reasons why you must visit Nubra Valley:

Siachen-have you heard of that?If not then let me tell you its world’s highest battlefield and temperatures dip below – 40 degrees Celsius.Yes.minus 40 degrees and that too throughout the year temperature is on negative side due to altitude.Siachen glacier becomes reachable when you go ahead of Panamik in Nubra Valley.If you have all the permits and fitness,you might give a shot to reach the base camp which ain’t easy anyway.Base camp you can reach by road as its open for tourism!

Panamik is gifted with a great hot water spring alongwith a calm yet pretty Yarab Tso lake where you can quietly spend your time with nature.A good experience sitting for an hour alone near the lake.
Samstanling Gompa on Panamik side and Diskit Maitreya Buddha (Gompa) on Turtuk side ,give a very good glimpse of Buddhism in Nubra Valley.The places are less crowded and good to spend time in peace.

Samstanling Gompa on Panamik side — Samstanling Gompa close to Panamik

Why forget Hunder?Seen a cold desert anytime in India?If not,be in Hunder and experience walking along a river on white sands all over Hunder region.Camp at night,gaze the stars and the milky way!
Hunder is also known for bactrian two humped camels which are unique to the demographics.Have a ride on them in the desert to make Hunder trip a complete and memorable one.

Location : Nubra Valley falls to the north east of Leh about 200-250 kms away from city centre.The road forks into two near Khalsar,one towards Siachen through Panamik and the other one towards Thang through Diskit,Hunder and Turtuk.

Nubra Valley in Summer — The beautiful Nubra Valley in June

Tourist Attraction on the spot:

Nubra Valley has plenty to offer .If you go towards Panamik side , you get to see Panamik hot springs , Yarab Tso Lake and Stamstanling Gompa.You may visit Siachen Glacier as well if you are permitted by this route! Coming over to Diskit side , you will get to see the unique two humped camels in Hunder sand dunes ( with river flowing by accompanied by beautiful sunset ) along with the beautiful Diskit Monastery.If you proceed further to Turtuk , you get to see the last village of India Thang after which Pakistan administered Kashmir starts.The Turtuk village is very rich historically,culturally and nature wise -You get an overview of Balti Dynasty as well as get to see Karakoram Ranges on a clear sunny day from roof top.

Tourist Attraction in Vicinity:

You can visit Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Hanle and Sham Valley which are in a range of 250 to 400 kms.

On my way to Nubra Valley — En Route to Nubra Valley (Panamik Side)

Distance Charts:(Turtuk | Hunder or Diskit | Panamik)

Snow capped mountains from Khardung La — Views from Khardung La (Pass)

How to Reach Turtuk(Ex Leh):

Road Routes:

Leh-Khardung La- Khalsar-Diskit – Hunder – Thoise – Chalunka – Turtuk – Thang

Zoomed view of samstanling monastery near Panamik — Samstanling monastery near Panamik

How to Reach Panamik(From Leh):

Road Routes:

Leh-Khardung La- Khalsar – Sumur – Panamik – goes to Siachen…

IMPORTANT NOTE FROM MY EXPERIENCE:

1)Don’t miss out the two humped bactrian camels in the cold desert of Hunder. It’s worth camping here for a day or two.

2)Have a leather wind proof jacket for Hunder and Turtuk because temperatures dip sharply at night time even in June/July.

3)Pre fill vehicle oil tanks as petrol pumps are less numbered.

4)Snacks and meals are scant outside leh.So have food and water with you.

5)You can combine shared cabs and buses easily for a 4 day trip and roads are pretty much okayish for 70-80 percent of the trip.So should do for most part!

6)Panamik side has less accommodation and food options than Turtuk side.Hence,visit Panamik in the day from Leh and stay at Diskit or Hunder for the same night.

7)Give a shot at Siachen base camp and some trekking if you are adventure junkie!

Hunder Sand dunes with green meadows ,river and beautiful mountains after sunset — Hunder-A combination od sand dunes,riverside and beautiful meadows amidst mighty Himalayas

RAIL:Railways can be opted only upto either Jammu or Shimla after which be on roads night and day!

AIR:Leh is the closest airport for Nubra Valley.

ROAD:You first need to come to Leh either through Rohtang Pass(June onwards) from Manali side or from Srinagar side via Zozila Pass.Once you reach Leh,you can opt for shared cars or private buses (check for public transport on this website) to reach Nubra Valley.

In case you want to reach from Delhi or Chandigarh,the Shimla-Manali-Leh corridor shall be a better choice in terms of scenery and safety , which will take 3 days with a one day halt at Keylong to acclimatize.Even from Jammu side,it will take 3 days but acclimatize option can be left out pretty easily.

Map:

Nubra Valley Map-Leh Khardungla Panamik Siachen Hunder Turtuk route

Time to Visit:

Mid June to Mid October(There’s no rains in june through September here).

Bactrian two humped camels at Hunder Sand Dunes

Spend Time With:

Family,Friends,Solo,Couple,Groups

Food and Lodging:

When we talk of Nubra Valley,you will get decent hotels at around INR 600-700 anywhere across the valley.They are easily available and cheap and good as well.You may make advance bookings on sites like Goibibo or Makemytrip or Yatra .Talking of food,it will be available at major points like Khardung La ,Diskit, Panamik, Turtuk but otherwise it’s all desert kinda with no shops far and wide.Have some snacks and water as safe side.

Expense:

This was a 4 day trip by shared car for Nubra Valley. There was 1 night stays at Leh .

Food:INR 200/person/day(3 times a day)X4
Transport:INR 300 for Panamik and Diskit from Leh on same day;INR 250 by Pvt bus to Turtuk from Diskit and INR 500 from Turtuk to Diskit to Leh.
Lodging:INR 700/day X1 @ Leh,X1 @ Diskit, X2@Turtuk
Entry Fees includes various places (varies):Select entry fees in Turtuk(INR 100 misc)

Yarab Tso Lake in afternoon near Pamanik,Nubra Valley

Total: 5650 INR

Nearby Attractions(Turtuk | Hunder or Diskit | Panamik)

Leh (205 | 125 | 140 km)
Diskit or Hunder (90 | 0 | 55 km)
Khardungla(Pass)(165 | 90 | 100 km)
Turtuk(0 | 65 | 145 km)
Pangong Tso Lake:(320 | 240 | 255 km)
Tso Moriri Lake:(400 | 320 | 335 km)

Nubra Valley-The right choice to have a good ala carte-Hunder, Diskit, Turtuk and more …