Leh with Srinagar

After breakfast full day sightseeing to the massive Tibetan Buddhist Gompas of Shey, Thiksey and Hemis. A few kilometers up the Indus is Shey, the ancient capital, with its palaces, temples, and vibrantly colored murals, cleaned and restored in the mid 1980’s. Later we drive to visit the fortress styled monastery of Thikse. Afterwards, we drive to visit the Hemis monastery. This monastery is known to be the most famous and rich Buddhist temple in the entire region. The Murals and frescoes here date back to 17th century. After we explore the sacred monastery, we drive back to our hotel in Leh. In the evening, we will spend some time roaming around the markets. Overnight at your hotel.

After early breakfast drive for a visit of Pangong Lake via Chang La pass. The drive takes you through spectacular, amazing scenery, with breathtaking views of the snow covered Himalayas. The Lake is the highest (4267M) salt-water lake in the world, situated along the India / China border. It is about 130 Km long and 5-6 Km wide. The Chang - chenmo range surrounding it from the north provide a spectacular backdrop to the blue and green expanse of its brackish water. Later drive back to Leh. Overnight Hotel.

We will drive to Nubra valley in the morning, driving over the highest motored pass in the world. The exciting journey through serpentine roads leads us to the Khardungla Pass at an awesome height of 5550 meters. We stop at the pass to admire and click some photographs of the fantastic view, before driving down into the Nubra valley. The valley is situated on an old caravan route at the confluence of the Shyok and the Nubra rivers. We drive to our fixed camp resort and later drive to visit the charming valley, of Deskit – the tiny capital of Nubra. The capital is marked by a single file of shops that are put up on the main road. We will visit the DeskitGompa, perched on a rocky spur above the village, with a commanding view of the entire valley. From Deskit we will drive to Hunder past an area of sand dunes and get aquinted with the famous Bactrian camels. This small population of shaggy double-humped animals, which in the old days, were used as pack animals on the Central Asian trade routes are now used as riding animals in the high deserts. In the late afternoon we will drive to the camp. Overnight in camps.

We will drive back to Leh, driving on the same route and crossing the Khardungla pass yet again. We arrive at Leh in the afternoon and settle for the day at our hotel.

We will drive back to Leh, driving on the same route and crossing the Khardungla pass yet again. We arrive at Leh in the afternoon and settle for the day at our hotel.

After breakfast drive towards Srinagar en-route visit Sonamarg. Theroute towards Sonamarg takes us on a picturesque country side drive where we will come across rolling hills, green forests, clear water streams and blooming rice fields. We will zoom past the town of Kangan which handles all the local needs of this region. From Kangan, we will drive towards Mammar, famous for its trout farm and stopover for a warm cup of tea before we head towards Sonamarg. We will once again alight from our vehicles at the tourist spot of Gagangir. The spot is built in the middle of the river Sindh and looks like an island with snow glaciers covering one or the other spot. In Sonamarg we will take a 3 hour walk or horseback trip to the Thajiwass glacier. Thereafter continue drive towards Srinagar. On arrival in Srinagar, check-in houseboat & relax.

Our trip today will be to a picturesque valley around 97 kiilometers South of Kashmir. Known as Pahalgam (which means The Shepherd’s Village), the valley is renowned the world over for its exotic forests, pretty water streams and imposing snow peaks. In Pahalgam you can visit  Betaab Valley and Chandanwari as well as take a horse riding trip to Baisaran meadows. After sightseeing around the mountain valley for most of the day, we will drive back to Srinagar and transfer to the hotel / houseboat for our overnight stay.

After breakfast in the morning, we will begin our country side day trip towards Gulmarg. The drive past colorful villages and rice fields, gives you an insight of the rich cultural past of Kashmir. We arrive at a small picturesue market town of Tangmarg and drive ahead on a scenic drive of 14 kilometers to Gulmarg. We arrive in Gulmarg early in the afternoon and begin a short tour around the meadow familarising ourselves with the beauty. In Gulmarg we will board the Gondola cable car system, and ascend towards the Afarwatt Mountain range. The 08 minutes of ropeway will take you past colorful shepherd hutments to the lower ridge of the Afarwatt peak. From here you can click lots of photos of the nearby mountain ranges that stand tall like sentinels guarding the rich natural beauty of Kashmir valley. We descend back to Gulmarg base after an hour or so and later do some horse-riding to the strawberry valley.  In the evening we will drive back to Srinagar where we can take a walk along the banks of the Dal Lake or simply rest in the cosy rooms of our hotel / housboat. Dinner and Overnight in hotel / houseboats.

Today we will do some half a day of local sightseeing that includes a visit to the famous Mughal gardens of Nishat and Shalimar. Built in between a period of 14 years the two gardens are a heritage left behind by the erstwhile Mughals, whose taste for laying exquisite gardens was fascinating. With a backdrop of the sprawling Zabarwanmountains, the gardens boast of green turfs, blooming flowers and cascading water fountains. We will explore the gardens and later drive back to the hotel / houseboat for a inner and Overnight stay.

After a late morning breakfast, we will drive to the airport for your flight home. At the airport the driver will assist you with the luggage and will later drop you at the terminal.