Nubra Valley Extension

India

Remote villages & jaw-dropping scenery

5 days £995 pp (was £1,195 pp) This is the per person group tour price, based on 2 sharing. The price is subject to change with exchange rate and flight cost fluctuations.
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Intro, Dates & Prices

Intro

Extend your trip from Leh to the enchanting Nubra Valley, a short tour that promises to be a blend of adventure, serenity, and breathtaking natural beauty. Departing Leh, we embark on an exhilarating drive to Khardung La Pass, one of the highest motorable roads in the world. Standing at an impressive altitude of just under 5,500 metres, Khardung La offers panoramic views of the snow-capped peaks and sweeping valleys.

As we descend into the Nubra Valley, you will see its rolling silver sand dunes and the shaggy double-humped camels. We will overnight in the tranquil village of Sumur, renowned for its lush greenery, charming monasteries, and serene ambiance. Here, you can immerse yourself in the local culture and take a closer look at the traditional Ladakhi architecture. We then continue on to Diskit, the largest village in Nubra, home to the iconic Diskit Monastery. Standing tall with its imposing Maitreya Buddha statue, the monastery offers a spectacular vantage point over the valley. The final day will see us head back to Leh where we will overnight before taking the flight back to Delhi.

Note: this extension works with our tour: Himalayan Silk Road with Sophie Ibbotson.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

  • Highest motorable road in the world - the Khardung La Pass
  • Sand dunes and remote monasteries in Nubra Valley
  • Isolated Diskit monastery

Places Visited

Leh - Nubra Valley - Sumur - Diskit

What's Included

Shared group airport transfers
Ground transport with driver
Accommodation
Most meals included
Sightseeing activities with escorted guides
Entrance fees to sites (one-time entry)

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Itinerary
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Day 1 : Leh - Khardung la Pass - Sumur

Early start to the day for your drive to the Nubra Valley via Khardung La Pass. At a breathtaking (literally) 5,500m/18,000ft, it's one of the world's highest motorable roads. Despite its altitude and barren mountains, the landscape here is dotted with lush greenery, the winding River Indus, sporadic wildlife and snow-capped peaks. If you are lucky you might spot pikas, marmots, red foxes, wolves and/or golden eagles. Arrive in the village adjoining Sumur, near the banks of the Nubra river, where your eco-retreat, and your lunch awaits.

Rest of the day at leisure. 

Overnight in Lchang Nang Retreat, Sumur

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

The Nubra Valley is full of spectacular landscape contrasts and silver sand dunes are set below snow peaks, with sublime views of Ladakh’s valleys. Here you can cross the highest motorable road in the world at 17,582 feet (5,359 m) and see how Khardung La Pass is literally on top of the world. It is also the home of the shaggy double-humped camel. Not to be confused with the ubiquitous one-humped dromedary, the Bactrian is a fine animal, and - existing only on the cold central Asian plateau - the rarest camel species on Earth.

Little village with eco lodges in the sweeping Nubra Valley.

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Day 2 : Teggar - Hunder - Diskit - Teggar

After breakfast we drive to Hunder, and its white, rolling dunes, meandering river and snow-capped mountains away in the distance. Hunder's sand dunes present an opportunity not only to hone those photography skills, but also to glimpse the rare, Bactrian double-humped camel.

We follow this up with a visit to Diskit's isolated monastery.

Return to the eco-retreat for lunch, and the remainder of your day at leisure. 

Overnight in Lchang Nang Retreat, Sumur

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

The Diskit Monastery, situated close to Nubra Valley, is not often visited by tourists and enjoys fantastic views of the Ladakhi landscape. The Monastery itself houses a number of shrines and is steeped in Buddhist folklore.

Little village with eco lodges in the sweeping Nubra Valley.

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Day 3 : Sumur - Leh

After breakfast, enjoy the scenic drive back to Leh. Rest of the day is at leisure. After dark, we can look forward to our farewell dinner in our Leh hotel. 

Overnight in Grand Dragon Ladakh, Leh

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

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Day 4 : Leh - Delhi

Morning is free at leisure. Transfer to airport early afternoon for flight to Delhi. On arrival, transfer to hotel close to the airport.

Overnight in Lemon Tree Premier Aerocity, Delhi

Meal plan: Breakfast

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Day 5 : Departure

Transfer to airport for your flight home or extend your stay elsewhere in India.

Meal plan: Breakfast

Accommodation

Accommodation

All accommodation subject to availability. Final accommodation choices will be confirmed after booking.

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Lchang Nang Retreat

Sumur (2 nights)

Lchang Nang is a destination created for travellers in search of peace and tranquility. Combining comfort and simplicity, it pays homage to its local heritage via its links to the local community and the local culture. Our library, still at a budding stage, offers a unique collection of archives on the local fauna, wildlife, Buddhist culture and Silk Route history.

Lchang Nang aims to play a role in reducing Ladakh’s carbon footprint. The retreat is fully solar powered and plastic containers are kept to a minimum. In the coming years we plan to grow and source most of our operational needs locally. Lchang Nang also maintains a vision for a sustainable future through eco-conscious initiatives. For example, the property is primarily powered through solar energy, which is plentiful in sunny Ladakh. We also offer our guests filtered glacial snowmelt for both drinking and bathing purposes, reducing our reliance on single use plastics.

Visit hotel's site
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Grand Dragon Ladakh

Leh (1 night)

This is one of the first luxury hotels in Ladakh with a host of state of the art amenities in addition to handmade paintings by Gulam Mustafa (First modern Artist of Ladakh) around every corner, and fixtures that are reminiscent of royalty.

Visit hotel's site
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Lemon Tree Premier Aerocity

Delhi (1 night)

Located 4kms away from Indira Gandhi International Airport and 5kms away from the domestic airport, the Lemon Tree Premier hotel has spacious and comfortable rooms, as well as award winning restaurants and an outdoor swimming pool.

Visit hotel's site
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Reviews

Thanks for organising such a great trip to NE India Rahul - everything went seamlessly! We loved the fact that we could book an individual tour but still have flexibility with our itinerary once we were there, enabling us to take in the Si Donyi Festival at Daporijo and also be the first guests to stay overnight in a local village hut with our hosts in Papi, which was fantastic. Our guide was super. He had a wealth of knowledge and a great sense of humour! It’s hard to pick a highlight as the whole trip was both fascinating and at times, humbling. We’ll never forget the amazing people, scenery & culture we experienced whilst there and are glad we had the opportunity to visit such an intriguing part of the world. We would certainly consider travelling with you again in the future.

Hazel Fairall , Tribes of North East India, India

I`m sure I could not have found a better operator for the type of complicated Indian tour I wanted to undertake on a limited budget. India is an intimidating country to visit, and I suspect that some operators look down on the first time visitor, or disparage their requirements. Travel the Unknown, by contrast, helped me all the way, and their local guides were superb.

Andrew Martin , Tailormade North East India

A fantastic trip to Arunachal Pradesh. Very well organised exactly to our requirements. Superb local guide. Would recommend this trip. Hazel and James.

Hazel Frost , Tailormade North East India

This trip was very well put together and ticked all the boxes that we had requested. The accommodation throughout the tour was of a high standard and our experiences in the national parks was wonderful spotting many different animals including tigers, leopards, sloth bears, lions, jungle cat plus countless number of birds. Thank you Rahul for tailoring this trip to our requirements.

Nigel & Margaret Turner , Tailormade India Wildlife & Birding tour

We went on the Spirit of South India Tour and had a great time on our honeymoon. There was a good variety of places visited and the hotels, drivers and guides were all very good. We would definitely recommend this tour.

Rachel , Spirit of South India, India

I would highly recommend Travel the Unknown to anyone visiting India. The service we received both prior to, during and following our travels was always timely and excellent. We were able to customize our trip to our liking and to enjoy a wide variety of activities. The guides in every location were outstanding! Honestly. Having travelled through much of the world I can truly say that we have never been more impressed with the quality of the guides arranged for us in each location, as well as the service we received. Similarly, the hotels were excellent and allowed us to live very comfortably while, at the same time, enjoy an authentic Indian experience. If you haven`t already booked your trip with Travel the Unknown, then either do so now....or at least give them a chance to show you what they can offer.

Tracey & Gary , Tailormade India

This was my first experience of using Travel the Unknown having enjoyed small group adventure holidays for many years. I was attracted to the company because it seeks out the more unusual and lesser known areas of a country and I was not disappointed by my visit to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. There is a clear contrast between the people and the scenery of these two regions and we saw very few western tourists particularly in Arunachal Pradesh. The tour was well organised with plenty to see and do.

Keith Lewis , Monks, Tribes & Rhinos, India

This was a very varied and interesting trip to a forgotten part of India. If you like off the beaten track travel it is definitely worth the effort but go with an open mind and keep a smile on your face.

Richard Williams , Monks, Tribes & Rhinos, India

Thank you for organising our holiday in Kerala. I certainly wouldn`t have had the time or the knowledge to put together such a trip. Munnar was my favourite and the accommodation throughout was excellent.

Vik , Kerala Calling, India

A really well planned trip. We experienced life in Northeast India in just the way we wanted to. We loved the game reserves and saw a rock python which thrilled our guides as it is even rarer than the tiger! We visited villages and were able to interact with local people and loved the busy markets in Delhi and Calcutta. A special highlight was the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland; shown to us by our very own Naga guide Kezo. Kezo accompanied us for 15 days of our trip and ensured that we had many very special experiences - even taking us to the home of one of his Aunts where we spent a couple of hours sitting by the bonfire chatting.

Ann Holgate , Tailormade India

What an excellent service! Rahul adapted, extended and improved our trip so many times without a qualm and we ended up with the trip of a lifetime. The destinations are unusual and interesting but everything has been checked out by the team and works brilliantly. I can`t wait to do another trip.

Penelope Smith , Assam & Nagaland Hornbill Festival, India

The tour was an amazing experience for our first visit to India. The country, its people and its cuisine were friendly,delightful, colourful and exceeded all our expectations. Travel the Unknown have put together a superb unique package that we have no hesitation in recommending to anyone with an interest in food and culture.

Elaine & Neil Smith , Delicacies of North India, India
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