Nubra Valley via Khardung La (255 km)
Leh to Turtuk · one way, about 255 km back to the start
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Why this ride
A one-way ride of 255 km, Leh to Thang - roughly 3 h 28 in the saddle. On the way it passes South Pullu, Khardung La, North Pullu and Diskit. The highest point is about 5,350 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Roadbook
- Leh
start
Leh sits in the high desert of Ladakh at about 3,500 metres, in the broad valley of the Indus, with the Karakoram on one side and the Zanskar range on the other, and it is the end of the Manali-Leh highway, one of the great road journeys in the world. The last stage of that road is the best: you cross the Tanglang La, among the highest passes in the world, then drop to the Indus plain, through villages with whitewashed chortens and prayer flags, and the town appears below a hill crowned by the old Leh Palace, a nine-storey building of mud and wood modelled on the Potala in Lhasa. Behind it, the Namgyal Tsemo monastery and a ruined fort hang on the ridge.
Leh was a major stop on the caravan routes between India, Tibet and Central Asia, where traders brought pashmina, salt, silk and spices over the passes. The Buddhist heritage is strong and visible: the Shanti Stupa, built by Japanese monks, gives a grand view over the town, and monasteries such as Thiksey and Hemis stand within a day's ride, painted with bright murals. The old town below the palace has narrow lanes, and the main bazaar is full of Kashmiri and Tibetan craftwork.
The key to Leh is altitude, and it deserves respect. Spend at least two days there doing nothing before you ride higher, drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol on the first night and take headaches seriously, since acute mountain sickness can become dangerous. The sun is fierce, the air is thin and dry, and the nights are cold even in summer. For riders the roads to Khardung La, to Pangong Lake and to the Nubra Valley all start from here, and some of them need an Inner Line Permit, which can be arranged through a local agency or online. The riding season runs roughly from June to September, when the high roads are open, though landslides and snow can close them at any time.
The town has about thirty-seven thousand people, so fuel, mechanics, tyres and food are all available, but remember that the stations beyond Leh, in the Nubra and Pangong directions, are far apart, so carry a jerrycan for long days. Try thukpa, the noodle soup, momos and butter tea, and the apricots that grow in the valleys. Bakeries sell German-style cakes, a legacy of trekkers, and cafes on the main street have good coffee and views of the palace.
- South Pullu
scenic
South Pullu is a checkpoint rather than a destination, a bend on the long climb out of Leh where the army has set up a post and where the road leaves the last of the valley behind and begins to go seriously uphill. It sits on the Leh side of Khardung La, within a short run of the city, and for many riders it is the first moment of the day when the altitude begins to announce itself. Leh is at about 3,500 metres, and the road from here keeps climbing for another stretch of about twenty-odd kilometres before it reaches the pass.
The riding in this section is the build-up. The road leaves the Indus valley, switches back across barren mountainside, and the surface is a mix of fine tarmac, broken patches, and spots where meltwater has crossed the road and left grit and mud. The landscape is desert, brown and grey rock with no trees, and the light at this height is hard and clear. Weather matters a great deal. The pass itself can be in cloud or snow while Leh is sunny, and in the afternoon the road often turns slushy as snowmelt runs across it.
This is also where you meet the paperwork. Visitors going over the pass towards Nubra need the correct permit, which is arranged in Leh, and the army posts check them. Keep copies handy, and have your riding documents ready. The soldiers here are generally courteous, and a short stop for a form and a chat is a routine part of the trip.
Fuel is a real consideration. Fill the tank in Leh before you set off, as there is nothing on the climb and the thin air takes a toll on engines, particularly carburetted bikes that lose power as the oxygen drops. Carry a spare litre or two if you can, and know that Diskit, on the far side, has fuel but can run short in peak season. Carry water, and eat something before you go, because altitude and an empty stomach make for a miserable mix.
Early starts are the best strategy. Leave Leh soon after dawn, clear the post with the road mostly frozen and firm, and you will cross the pass with the cleaner morning air and less melt on the tarmac.
- Khardung La
scenic · 5359 m
Khardung La stands at 5,359 metres by the figure in the data, though the signs on the pass itself claim a higher number, and the argument over its exact height has become part of its charm. It was opened to the public in the late 1980s, and for years it was marketed as the highest motorable road in the world. Whatever the real statistics, you are riding through air with roughly half the oxygen of sea level, and every motorcyclist who gets here has a story about it.
The road from Leh is a steady climb of about forty kilometres, mostly on tarmac that ranges from good to terrible. The upper section is where things get serious. Snow can lie at the roadside well into summer, meltwater crosses the road in streams, and the surface turns to mud and loose stone in places. The Border Roads Organisation keeps the route open, and its signs, with their dry jokes about speed and safety, are a feature of the whole climb. Be careful on the descent too, because brakes and nerves take a pounding.
At the top there is a cluster of prayer flags, a small cafe and a shrine run by the army, and a sign you will want a photo with. Stay no more than about twenty minutes. The altitude can hit hard and fast, with headaches, nausea and dizziness, and the right response is to descend, not to push on. If you have not acclimatised in Leh for at least two days, you are asking for trouble. Drink water, breathe slowly, and do not be the rider who tries to prove something.
The surrounding mountains are of the Ladakh range, and on a clear day the view across to the Karakoram is huge and quiet. The weather, however, is the real boss. It can be bright and still, then snowing within the hour, and the pass is sometimes closed for hours or days after storms. Winter closures are common, though the army works to clear the road.
Leh, around thirteen kilometres by straight line and much further by road, is where you fill up, and the next dependable supply is on the far side in the Nubra valley. Carry water, warm gloves and a windproof layer, and start early.
- North Pullu
scenic
North Pullu is the second checkpoint on the Khardung La road, on the Nubra side of the pass, and it marks the point where the descent begins to feel like a reward. After the thin air and the broken surfaces of the summit, the road drops into a different country, and the valley below takes shape as a long, pale stripe of green in the brown mountains. The checkpoint itself is small, a few buildings and an army post, but riders tend to remember it because they are usually glad to be heading downhill.
The descent is long, steep and demanding. The road is a ribbon of tight bends cut into slopes of loose rock, and the surface varies from decent tarmac to patches of gravel and washouts where streams cross. The brakes get a thorough workout, so engine braking in a low gear is the sensible approach, and nobody who has been through here forgets the long sections of switchbacks. Rockfall and landslides happen, especially in warmer months when meltwater loosens the slopes. Expect trucks, army convoys and the occasional herd of animals on the tarmac.
Papers are checked here, as at South Pullu, so keep your permit and documents handy. The soldiers will often ask where you are headed and may offer tea if the weather is cold, an old Himalayan courtesy that has survived the modern checkpoints. As you drop, the temperature climbs noticeably, and layers you needed at the top become a burden a few thousand feet lower. Stop somewhere safe to adjust.
Nubra has its own pumps, with Diskit the main supply point, but availability can be patchy at busy times, so start with a full tank from Leh and treat anything beyond it as a bonus. Tea stalls and small cafes appear as you get lower, and the first villages bring the first real food on the far side.
What you notice most as you descend is the change in scale. The big, bare Ladakh peaks give way to willow, poplar and apricot trees, then the sand and braided streams of the Shyok and Nubra rivers. After the stark top of the world, this feels almost gentle, and the sense of relief is as much a part of the experience as the pass itself.
- Diskit
scenic
Diskit is the main town of the Nubra valley, a spread of low buildings along the Shyok river with a monastery perched above on a rock. The valley sits north of Leh, beyond the great hurdle of Khardung La, and its low altitude, around three thousand metres, makes it feel almost lush after the pass. Willows, poplars, wild rose and sea buckthorn line the river, and in the right season the fields turn bright green against the dry, pale mountains that surround them.
The Diskit Gompa is the oldest and largest Buddhist monastery in the valley, belonging to the Gelugpa school, and its whitewashed buildings climb a spur above the town in a stack of rooms, courtyards and prayer halls. It dates back several centuries and is worth the short climb up. On a nearby hill, a large statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha, looks out over the valley, completed in the early 2010s, and the view from its feet sweeps across the river plain toward the Karakoram foothills.
A few kilometres on, the village of Hunder has sand dunes and a small herd of two-humped Bactrian camels, descendants of animals once used on the caravan routes between Ladakh and Central Asia. Nubra was part of those trade routes, which crossed the Karakoram Pass into what is now Xinjiang. Many riders stop in Diskit or Hunder for the night, and there are guesthouses and camps of all kinds, plus small restaurants serving momos, thukpa and strong, sweet tea.
The riding in the valley is easy compared with the descent from Khardung La. The roads are mostly paved, the gradients gentle, and the scenery is open and big, though the wind can pick up in the afternoons and throw sand across the tarmac. Watch for dogs, cattle and the occasional army truck.
Diskit has a petrol pump, which is the main source of fuel for the valley, but supply can run short in peak season, and some visitors have found it empty. It is wise to fill in Leh before going over the pass and treat Diskit as a backup. Evenings are cool, even in summer, and nights can be cold, so pack a warm layer.
If you are lucky with the weather, the morning light on the monastery and the river is one of the best sights in Ladakh.
- Turtuk
finish
Turtuk is the last village in India before the Line of Control, and it feels like the end of a long road in every sense. It sits in the Shyok valley in the far north of Ladakh, under the Karakoram, at a lower altitude than Leh, which makes it warm enough for apricots, walnuts and barley. Until 1971 it was part of Pakistan, and it was only opened to visitors in 2010. The people are Balti, Muslim, and their language and food are closer to Baltistan than to the Buddhist world of central Ladakh, which gives the place a character all its own. There is little population nearby: the nearest settlement of any size is the hamlet of Thang, about nine kilometres away.
The ride arrives after the long haul over Khardung La and down the Nubra valley, then along the Shyok river. The road is narrow, mostly paved but with sections of broken surface, rockfalls and water crossings, depending on the season. The mountains are enormous and bare, in shades of ochre, grey and red, and the river is milky with glacial silt. The road passes army posts, so keep your permits and ID handy, and do not photograph military installations.
Turtuk is one of the great surprises of the route. After days of cold desert, you arrive among green terraces, stone houses with flat roofs and the sound of running water in channels. Apricots dry on the rooftops in late summer, and there is a small museum about the Balti way of life. Do not expect big infrastructure: fuel is a real concern, as there is nothing reliable in the village, so fill in Diskit or Hunder and carry spare if your bike has a small tank. Homestays serve simple meals of rice, vegetables and butter tea.
The season is short, roughly June to September, as the passes close under snow in winter and landslides can cut the road in summer. Mornings are cold, afternoons warm, and the altitude, though lower than Khardung La at over five thousand metres, still demands care. It is a place where the effort of getting there is part of the story, and the quiet at the end feels earned.