Nubra Valley
Cold sand dunes at ten thousand feet, with double-humped Bactrian camels.
Duration
12 hrs – 24 hrs
Difficulty
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Best time
June to September
Open
May to October
Entry price
To confirm
The Nubra valley lies at the confluence of the Shyok and the Nubra, at three thousand metres, and is reached over the Khardung La pass — long billed as the highest motorable road in the world, which is disputed, though it certainly exceeds five thousand three hundred metres.
There are cold sand dunes at Hunder, remnants of a dried-up lake, and two-humped Bactrian camels. They are not a staged attraction: they descend from the Silk Road caravans that passed this way into Central Asia, and the population stayed after the border closed.
Getting there
A hundred and twenty kilometres north of Leh, five hours by road over the Khardung La. An inner line permit is compulsory.
What the price covers
a compulsory inner line permit; transport and the camel ride are charged
What to bring
- Windbreaker
Rules on site
The permit is applied for in Leh with your passport, and the road crosses five thousand three hundred metres: do not set off before three days of acclimatisation. The road closes for snow from October-November until May.