🏔️ Mountain🪂 Adventure🌄 Viewpoint🥾 Trekking

Khardung La

Ladakh, India

4.5 (0)

Overview

One of the world's highest motorable passes at 5,359 m, a bucket-list ride for bikers heading to Nubra Valley.

Why visit: Top-of-the-world views and a legendary ride for motorcyclists and cyclists.

Things to do

›Ride to the pass summit
›Tea at the highest cafe
›Panoramic Himalaya photos

MotorcyclingCyclingPhotography

Location & MapDirections

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Travel Information

Best time

Summer (Apr–Jun)

Weather

Freezing, snow possible year-round

Entry fee

Inner Line Permit required

Hours

Daytime crossing recommended

Est. budget

₹1,000–3,000

Duration

Half day

Nearby attractions

Within

0.2 km

🌄 Viewpoint

4.6

Khardung La Pass

Leh, Ladakh

The legendary gateway to Nubra at ~5,359 m — prayer-flag chaos, chai at the top of the world and the biker's rite of passage.

May–SepEn routeExplore

12.4 km

📍 Monastery

4.4

Namgyal Tsemo Gompa & Tsemo Fort

Leh, Ladakh

The red temple and ruined fort crowning Leh's peak — a three-storey Maitreya and prayer flags snapping over the whole valley.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

12.4 km

📍 Stupa

4.7

Shanti Stupa, Leh

Leh, Ladakh

The white peace pagoda on Changspa hill, built by Japanese Buddhists in 1991 — Leh's favourite sunrise and sunset amphitheatre.

May–Sep; dawn/dusk1–2 hrsExplore

12.7 km

📍 Palace

4.6

Leh Palace

Leh, Ladakh

The nine-storey Lhachen Palkhar of the Namgyal kings (1600s) — a mini-Potala of rammed earth and poplar looming over Leh's old town.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

13 km

📍 Heritage

4.4

Leh Old Town & Main Bazaar

Leh, Ladakh

The mud-brick maze beneath the palace — LAMO heritage houses, the Jama Masjid, apricot sellers and the pedestrianised bazaar's café life.

May–SepHalf dayExplore

14.6 km

💎 Hidden Gem📍 Monastery

4.2

Phyang Monastery & Ice Stupa Site

Phyang, Ladakh

The Drikung gompa above the village where Sonam Wangchuk's ice-stupa 'glacier towers' rise each winter to water spring fields.

May–Sep; ice stupas Jan–Apr2–3 hrsExplore

16.4 km

📍 Museum

4.6

Hall of Fame War Museum

Leh, Ladakh

The Indian Army's moving museum of Ladakh's wars — Siachen gallery, Kargil relics and the evening retreat ceremony.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

18.2 km

📍 Monastery

4.3

Spituk Monastery

Leh, Ladakh

The 11th-century Gelugpa gompa on a knoll over the Indus and Leh's runway — home of the masked Gustor festival and a fierce Kali shrine.

May–Sep; Gustor (Jan)1–2 hrsExplore

19.6 km

📍 Pilgrimage

4.5

Gurudwara Pathar Sahib

Nimmu, Ladakh

The army-tended shrine of the boulder bearing Guru Nanak's imprint — langar tea for every traveller on the Kargil road.

May–Sep1 hrExplore

19.7 km

📍 Riverside

4.0

Sindhu Ghat & Choglamsar

Choglamsar, Ladakh

The ceremonial Indus riverfront of the Sindhu Darshan festival, beside Choglamsar's Tibetan settlement and the Dalai Lama's teaching ground.

May–Sep; Sindhu Darshan (Jun)1 hrExplore

23.1 km

📍 Palace

4.4

Shey Palace & Giant Buddha

Shey, Ladakh

The old summer capital's hill palace holding a 12-m copper-gilt Shakyamuni (1655) — Ladakh's largest metal statue — above fields of stupas.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

23.4 km

📍 Cultural

4.1

Druk Padma Karpo School (Rancho School)

Shey, Ladakh

The award-winning eco-school made famous by '3 Idiots' — earthquake-safe mud architecture and the beloved 'Rancho's wall'.

May–Sep (visiting hours)1 hrExplore