A complete guide to Leh, Ladakh

Leh is a beautiful mountain city in the Kashmir region in India. The city is used by many travelers as a starting point for hikes, motorcycle trips and other activities. Although leh can be quite dusty at some times of the year, it is a great place to spend a few days wandering around the city, drinking some delicious coffee or chai or hike to some viewpoints to catch a glimp of the beautiful mountainviews and surroundings.

Great cafe to go for a coffee or cake.

BEST restaurant in Leh. It looks very fancy and the meals are a bit more expensive than local Indian food, but it´s definitelt worth it. The waiters are insanely nice and the food is amazing! Do not miss out on this restaurant!

In the same square of this cafe is another restaurant/bakery that´s not on the map, but sells amazing food. It´s open every day at 7am and one of the first cafe´s to open in the morning. This was my go-to breakfast spot.

Best coffee and lunch in town! Don´t go with big groups of people since it´s quiet a small place and fills up quickely.

During my stay in Leh I always went to ´Rainbow Hostelier´. It´s a beautiful hostel in the citycenter of Leh with their own restaurant and lovely employees. Whenever you go on a multiple day trip you can leave your belongings at the hostel for free and they´ll help you out with planning your trip. The rooms are definitely worth mentioning since they´re above average for an Indian hostel. I really enjoyed my time here and couldn´t recommend this hostel enough.

Beautiful monestry with great views over Leh. It´s very close to Leh viewpoint and about a 20 minute walk up from the city.

From the city of Leh it´s only a small hike to this viewpoint. The prayerflags make it a magical place to chill and enjoy the views of the mountains around you.

Former Royal Palace overlooking the city of Leh. The palace is open for visitors.

Beautiful Stupa with nice views on Leh.

Simple cheap fitness center if you want to stay fit. Very nice people here and the gym is open 7 days a week.

If you want internet in and around Leh, this is a must-go. Since the normal Indian SIM cards don´t work in Ladakh you can get a new SIM card at Airtel or BSNL. These are the only providers that work in this region.

For most of the areas around Leh it´s necessary to get the Inner Line Permit (ILP). It´s an official document signed by the Indian authorities. Most of the travel agencies will be able to get you this permit, but to safe money (and time in most cases) it´s easier to visit the permit office yourself. Don´t forget to bring your passport and only go after 10am.

The place where you can get local buses. In high season you can get local buses to almost every village in Ladakh. Safe yourself some money and take the local bus instead of a taxi ;)

Beautiful valley with wide landscapes surroundes by high snowy mountains. Nubrevalley should definitely be on your itinerary if you visit Ladakh. You can go with a tour company by going on a (multiple) day tour or rent a motorcycle (highly recommended!). To reach the valley you need to cross one of the highest roads in the world (Kardung La Pass). Make sure you´ll visit Nubra valley in the right season, otherwise it´s not possible to cross the pass because of the snow.

Probably the most famous town for tourists to stay while visiting Nubra valley. You can find lots of guesthouses and homestays and there´s multiple restaurants.

Hunder is a small village situated a bit further in Nubra valley. If you have a choice I would stay the night in this village since it´s a bit more authentic and you´re in the middle of the sand dunes where you can find the famous camels in Nubra valley. Also lots of choice regarding homestays and guesthouses.

Crossing Khardung La Pass should definitely be on your bucketlist. It´s one of the highest passes you can cross by car/motorcycle in the world and the views are insane! Make sure the pass is open for traffic since the police will close it when there´s too much snow.

Pangong Tso Lake is a must-do when you´re visiting Ladakh. This beautiful lake is situated at an elevation of 4225m above sealevel and is absolutely stunning to see with the snowy mountain ranges in the background.

Beautiful little village next to Pangong Tso Lake. A good place to stay the night. Lots of nice homestays and guesthouses.

Historic village with an astronomical observitory. Only visit this village if you´re driving a motorcycle or car since it´s in a pretty deserted place. Tourists are not allowed to stay the night here.

A good place to stay the night before or after visiting Hanle. There´s a number of homestays and restaurants.

Beautiful little village in the Ladakh region. Mostly known for the monestry.

Small village in the Ladakh region with a beautiful monestry.

Small village famous for it´s buddhist monastery.

Little village with one of the oldest monasteries.

Starting point of the Markha valley trek. You can reach it by taxi or try hitchhiking. There´s not much to do in chilling so i recommend to walk immediately to the next village Skiu.

First little village to stay the night