Day 1: Arrive at Leh on the early morning flight.
Our services begin here. You are greeted at the airport by an Easy Tours Travel Facilitator and ushered to a chauffeur driven vehicle. You are then driven to your beautiful resort in a scenic village next to Leh, where you are assisted with your check-in. The next day’s plans are briefly reviewed and you are presented with your welcome package. Among other things, this package includes a beautiful handcrafted journal for your explorations, travel documents such as your hotel voucher, as well as copies of documents (such as our General Travel Guide) that were sent to you earlier.
You are at leisure for the rest of the day to acclimatize yourself to the altitude. We strongly recommend no strenuous activity for the first few hours. If you feel up to it you can explore the surrounding village and its incredible Himalayan vista’s. The local residents are relatively affluent and, unlike most of India, Ladakh’s villages are sparsely populated. The locals are very friendly and curious about foreign visitors and you may strike up an interesting conversation or two.
Day 2: Leh. Today you will enjoy guided visits to three of the most important religious monuments in the vicinity - Thiksey, Shey and Hemis Gompa.
Thiksey Monastery: 17 kms from Leh enroute to Hemis Gompa, the Thiksey monastery provides a panoramic view of the Indus valley from its vantage point
on top of a hill. There are several temples and wall paintings of the Buddha. The most interesting time to visit is in the very early morning when the monks gather for prayers in the assembly hall known as “Dukhang” in the local language. The prayer ceremony begins between 6:00 & 7:00 am, and you will witness the chanting of sacred texts, accompanied by the rhythmic beating of the traditional drums. After the ceremony you will visit the Monastery followed by a hot breakfast at the Thiksey Monastery Restaurant.
Later, you continue towards
Hemis, stopping en route along the banks of the Indus River, for a magnificent view and photo opportunity to capture the rays of the early morning sun.
Continue on to Hemis Gompa, built in 1630, it is the largest and wealthiest monastery in Ladakh. It is not visible from the road, as it is located in a side valley. Hemis has the largest Thanka in Ladakh, which is ritually unfurled once every 12 years. It celebrates a colorful Hemis festival attended by people from all over the provinces that come to join in the elaborate mask dances.
Returning towards Leh, you stop to visit
Shey Monastery. Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh in days gone by. The palace, mostly in ruins now, was built first in 1655, near Shey village, by the king of Ladakh, Deldan Namgyal, also known as Lhachen Palgyigon. It was used as a summer retreat by the kings of Ladakh. The Shey Monastery was also built within the palace complex in 1655 on the instructions of Deldan Namgyal, in memory of his late father, Singay Namgyal. The monastery is noted for its giant 7.5 meter gilded copper statue of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha is so named since Buddha was the sage (muni) of the Sakya people who resided in the Himalayan foothills, and whose capital was Kapilavastu. It is said to be the second largest such statue in Ladakh.
Day 3: Leh - Pangong Lake. After a leisurely breakfast you will join your guide and chauffeur for the drive to Pangong Lake, which is a large and extraordinary lake situated at an altitude of 4300 meters. It is reached after crossing the Chang la pass (5320 meters) and driving along the dusty track. The lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains mirrored in its crystalline waters, shimmering in an amazing range of blues and greens. En route you may have a chance to meet with the nomads of Changthang with their herds of Yaks & Pashmina sheep, and/or possibly visit one of the Government Schools to meet and interact with the students at Tangtse village.
You then continue to Pangong Lake, where you will have plenty of time to explore, and take as many photographs as you would like.
Overnight at the Pangong resort
Day 4: Pangong Lake - Leh. After breakfast, you re-join you chauffeur and retrace your route back to Leh, again with multiple photo opportunities en route. On arrival in Leh you will be driven to your overnight accommodations.
Day 5: Leh - Departure. You are assisted with your check-out from your hotel and then you are driven to the airport where you are assisted with boarding your early morning flight to Delhi.
Our services end at Leh airport.
