Nubra Valley

Understand

Nubra Valley lies in the old Silk Route from South to Central Asia. Traders and their caravans used to traverse this route from areas in Ladakh and Kashmir to Central Asian places like Yarkand and Baltistan. Now it is a military area because this region is bordered by Pakistan and China, with whom India does not have very cordial relationship. The valley is relatively warm during summers but temperature goes down to -40 °C during winters. This region is fed by two rivers, one is Shyok and other one is Nubra. When descending from Khardung La pass, one encounters Shyok river and continues on its left bank. The river's entire basin is visible from road. The river is not full of water so, it has many channels. The basin is filled with sand, stones and occasional green patches of trees, shrubs and sometimes cultivated fields. Same is the case with Nubra river which originates at Siachen Glacier. They both meet near a place called Khalsar. Turtuk is the penultimate village open to foreign tourists before Pakistan. Until 1971 Turtuk was a part of Baltistan, shared strong economic and cultural ties with Tibet.

Getting there

There are essentially three routes into Nubra Valley:

directly from Leh via the scenic Khardung La (pass), the most popular route but wrongly claimed to be the highest motorable pass in the world from Kharu via Wari La (pass), and from Pangong Lake via Tangtse. In Nubra Valley the road forks at a place called T-mord, one of which goes towards towns Diskit and Hunder, and further up to Turtuk and the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. The other road goes to towns like Sumur and Panamik, and further up to Sasoma check point and Siachen base camp, but tourists cannot go beyond Panamik.

By bus There are two bus routes that run daily in each direction at 8AM:

Leh–Skuru – private, via Diskit and Hundar Leh–Sasoma – government, via Sumur and Panamik They take about 7 hr for the complete distance and cost ₹250–320, depending on how far you go. (As of 2023, the Leh–Sasoma might not run once a week, but it is unclear on which weekday.) It is a long ride, although the road is well-paved almost all the way from Leh, apart from Khardung La, the ride involves at least two longer stops and some parts of the way are unpaved.

By taxi Some people share a taxi for around ₹2,000 from Leh.

By tour Many people book a tour in Leh for visiting Nubra in 2–3 days. This includes taxi tours and self-riding motorbike tours. Often these tours last up until a week and will include Pangong Lake and Tso Moriri.

By thumb Hitch-hiking in directly from Leh is possible, but the bus might be the most straight forward choice. The Pangong Lake route is least served by anyone, and also few people decide to take the Wari La route.

On foot The only meaningful hiking route into Nubra Valley is from Leh to Hundar, a 64-km trail via Lasimiru La at 5,466 m. The trail actually starts in Phyang, but you can also start from Leh combining two routes—see starting trail and main trail.

Getting around

By bus There is one bus running between Panamik and Diskit, but it will be quite full:

Panamik > Diskit: 9AM Diskit > Panamik: ≈3PM You can also use the Leh buses to get around in the valleys, at these approximate times:

Diskit > Skuru: 1–1:30PM Skuru > Hundar > Diskit > T-mord: Skuru 8AM, Hundar 8:30AM, Diskit 9AM, T-mord 10AM Sumur > Panamik: noon Panamik > Sumur > T-mord: Panamik 9AM, Sumur 10AM, T-mord 10:30AM There have been no bus connection to Turtuk since COVID.

By thumb A lot of local traffic will ply the two roads in either of the Shyok or Nubra Valley. Ladakhis are generally very welcoming and you shouldn't have any issues finding a ride to see all sights. It is best to start before 11AM, just to make sure not to get stuck anywhere. Heading to Turtuk is also better in the morning than in the afternoon. Heading out from Turtuk in the afternoon is possible, because many tourist visit for the day and then return to the more center of Nubra. See India#By thumb for general tips and which vehicles to choose.

By taxi Many taxis will run through the valley, bringing in tourists or carrying them between sights. You can of course always rely on them. Keep looking for vans, minibuses and jeeps (no pickup) with yellow licence plates, but they probably introduce themselves to you early enough. Aim for ₹20/km.

See

1 Diskit Monastery. The oldest and largest Buddhist monastery (gompa) in the Nubra Valley. ₹40. (updated Mar 2021) 2 Tso Luvan (south of Panamik, 1 km from the highway). An important Buddhist holy lake inside a minor mountain, great for a stroll and surreal pictures. There is a tea stall and a parking where the trail to the lake begins. (updated Sep 2023) 3 Samtanling Gompa, Sumur. Samtanling Gompa has a good collection of tangkhas, Buddha idols and frescoes. And it is greatly located on a hill overviewing the Numbra Valley. (updated Mar 2021) 4 Eco Buddha Park. A park in construction as of 2023 with a large Buddha statue on the backdrop of the mountain silhouette. (updated Sep 2023) 5 Siachen Glacier. It is closed to non-military persons. But this might change in the coming years. (updated Sep 2023) 6 Shyok Valley. The area of the Shyok river past Hunder with its mountain scenery, including a few villages of Skuru, Changmar, Bogdan and Turtuk, were only opened to foreign tourists in 2010, so they are still quite new in their contact with tourists and the West, and feel rather unexplored. (updated Sep 2023) Mani-walls. Many of these Buddhist walls can be found in the valleys. (updated Sep 2023)

Do

Roam around the bank of the Nubra river. Trekking to gompas and villages rewards with endless scenic vistas from snow-covered mountains to gorges and deep valleys for the adventure buffs. Saboo to Khalsar and beyond is a good trek option to start with. 1 Panamik Hot Springs. There are a few hot springs and a few pools in this area. The pool at the GPS coordinates of this listing is the most sophisticated and touristic one—they might charge for this one in the future. But there is another simple pool just behind Oasis Restaurant, 150 m south. (updated Sep 2023) 2 Hunder Sand Dunes. Various activities are offered, like quad bike, and camel riding on bactrian camels, who have two humps reminding us of old times when this region was a part of Silk Route to Central Asia. There are some restaurants at the entrance of the "park" and parking of course. You also just walk in from Hundar itself without bothering so much about anything commercial. (updated Sep 2023) 3 Sumur Sand Dunes. Not as commercialised as the Hundar Sand Dunes, so just enjoy the tranquillity. (updated Sep 2023) 4 Hike up Sumur Lungpa. ... to the two mountain lakes at 5,200 altitude with impressive views onto the surrounding mountains and glaciers. There is a trail, see OpenStreetMap. (updated Sep 2023)

Buy

This remote region is barely the place to get anything of importance. You might be able to purchase some stone carvings (of animals) in the tea shop near t