Srinagar to Leh highway was declared open earlier this week which pretty much marks it as beginning of tourist season in Leh Ladakh. Thousands of people are busy preparing their itineraries and the locals too have started to gear up for the tourist season ahead. One such preparation related to Tourism industry was the announcement of Leh Ladakh Taxi Rates 2018 – 2019 that was made earlier this month. For a more detailed version of this information, you can review the taxi rates directly at Ladakh Taxi Union official website where they have broken these rates down by each and every village in the valley.
Official Website: Ladakh Taxi Union Rate List
However, that website contains several pages of articles which in my opinion is not really relevant to many tourists. In this article, I will summarize the taxi rates to all popular tourist destinations as a quick reference. I will cover places that are mostly visited by tourists and provide taxi rates for drop and return journey; and also break it by the kind of vehicles available.
There are three types of taxi services available in Ladakh.
- A Class – Innova, XUV and Aria
- B Class – Scorpio, Safari, Xylo, Tavera, Qualis
- C Class – Sumo, Eco, Van
Type A of the cabs is the most expensive one followed by B and C class.
Ladakh Taxi Rates 2018 – 19
I will first post a brief summary of the rates which will be more relevant for the tourists. Then I will post a complete rate list for that particular area.
Leh Airport Taxi
A taxi from Leh airport to a hotel in Leh city will cost you between Rs. 500 to Rs. 650; depending on how far your hotel is. If the location of the hotel is within 7 kilometers of the airport, the cost will be Rs. 501; Rs. 550 for Choglamsar Bridge and Rs. 664 for a taxi from the airport to Stok Palace.
Also read: How to Plan a Trip to Ladakh – Complete Travel Guide
The pick below shows the rates you will end up paying for hiring a cab from the airport. Rates for all three types of cabs for airport services however are same but these start to differ when you book them for a longer distance.
Nubra Valley Taxi Fare
As per the rates in 2018, if you want to visit Nubra Valley in one day; then you will have to pay close to Rs. 7000 for a round trip. This will include a cab from Leh to Diskit, Hunder or Panamik; with a difference of a few hundred rupees depending on which cab you chose. If you however want to cover Wari La as well, then the charge will be approximately Rs. 10,000.
If you however want to make it a 2 days journey, then the charge will be close to Rs. 12,000 depending on which cab you chose. In 2 days and this charge however, you can cover the valley all the way until Turtuk.
A private tax for Leh to Khardung La and return will cost about Rs. 2,800.
Leh Pangong Lake Taxi Fare
A two day trip from Leh to Pangong and back will cost you close to Rs. 10,000. If you want to continue further, then a round trip to Chushul will cost Rs. 12,000 for one day and Rs. 14,000 for two days. A private taxi to Hanle will cost about Rs. 15,000 round trip. If you want to complete the Pangong – Chushul – Tso Moriri – Leh circuit then a three day trip on this route will cost you about Rs. 21,000
Leh to Manali Taxi Fare
A 2 days journey from Leh to Manali in a private taxi will cost you Rs. 20,000
Leh to Srinagar Taxi Fare
A one day non-stop journey to Srinagar will cost you Rs. 15,000 whereas the same journey in 2 days will cost you Rs. 18000. A round trip to Srinagar from Leh will be Rs.23,000
Leh to Kargil Taxi Fare
A drop from Leh to Kargil will cost you Rs. 7000 whereas a return journey will be Rs. 10,000. If you however want to cover Batalik on the way, then the same journey will cost you Rs. 11,000 for a drop and Rs. 14,000 for return.
Leh to Jammu Taxi Fare
Leh to Jammu in two days will be Rs. 25,000 for drop and Rs. 33,000 for return journey. The same trip in 3 days will cost you Rs. 28,000 for drop and Rs. 37,000 for round trip.
Taxi Services in Ladakh
Apart from the rental rates above, a few other things that you must keep in mind are,
- Non-local taxis are not allowed for sightseeing either in Leh City or other areas of Ladakh.
- You can only use these cabs to reach Leh but then must rent a local cab here for traveling to nearby places.
- If you are bringing a privately owned vehicle, please make sure that it is either registered in your own name; or your spouse, or your sibling or your parents. In a way, where you can prove that the owner of the car is in your blood relation and you are not renting it.
- If registered to your father or wife, it would be easy to prove the relation. In case of mother, brother or sister, make sure you are carrying sufficient documents that can prove your relationship with owner of the vehicle.
- There are no self drive rentals available in Ladakh.
- The above regulations related to Non-Local taxis apply to self drive rentals as well.
- If you are planning a solo trip to Ladakh and the taxi charges seem a bit out of budget, then you can always look for a travel partner online. Click on the Travel Partners Link in the menu above and post a thread at our Community Forum. Anyone whose travel dates match that of yours will respond and you can travel together and share the cost.
Mentioned above was a quick summary of the fares on routes that are traveled upon the most by tourists. Below however is a complete list of all the places with the fare mentioned.
If you wish to download the entire rate list in PDF format, you can do so from the link below. Or you can also save the images one by one.
Taxi Rates for Sham Valley Route (Towards Lamayuru, Kargil)
Rates for Stot Route (Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Chumathang, Hanle, Chushul route)
Taxi Rates for Visiting Places Around Leh
Nubra Valley Taxi Rates
These are the rates while traveling from Leh to Nubra Valley.
Rates in the pic below are for sightseeing within Nubra Valley. If you are having difficulty reading the image in the post, please right click on it and save to your hard disk.
Leh Srinagar Route Taxi Fare
Leh Manali Route Taxi Fare
Special Note!
If the taxi is used for more than specified days to the destination will be charged for the category as detailed below.
- Innova, Aria, Xuv: Rs. 2816 for full day and Rs. 1408 for half day
- Scorpio, Qualis, Grand, Safari, Xylo: Rs. 2675 for full day and Rs. 1337 for half day
- Sumo, Eco, Van: Rs. 2541 for full Day and Rs. 1270 for Half Day
- Full day mean 8 hours and half day mean 4 hours.
- Waiting charge fir the first hour will be free and remaining hours @ Rs. 250 per hour for all type of vehicles.
- Extra entry into routes from the planned routes is chargeable upto 8 Kms@ Rs. 286.
- The rates has been prepared for the year 2018-19 which applicable from 1st April 2018.
- 50% of the billed amount should be deposited in advance in long routes Like- Manali, Srinagar others routes of Leh district.
- Night haltage charges @ Rs. 350/- for all types of vehicles.
- AC on demands @ Rs 7/- per Km and will be collected by the driver directly.
Conclusion:
I hope the information above was of help. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below; or at our Community Forum; and I will be glad to help.
70 comments
I need to know that these rates includes the taxes like Inner line Permit Tax , Ladakh entry Tax and etc or should we have to bear that cost?
These are just taxi charges. All others will have to be paid in addition to it.
Does the taxi tariff also include permit cost of not how much is the permit cost
See this post for the cost of the permits
https://vargiskhan.com/log/ladakh-permit-updates-procedure/
Hi Vargis. .will it be fine. If I book a taxi from Srinagar for my entire leh trip..covering nubra valley..pangong lake and other places.
Hi Seema – No, you will have to book another cab in Leh for local sightseeing. The one from Srinagar will not be allowed to go beyond Leh.
Ok..thanx..Vargis.
You are welcome !!!
hi vargis, i have bin following ur blog for quite sumtime & ur way of providing information on things to 1st time visitors in ladakh z very helpful & appreciable. i hav a small query, as i am short of time, i choose to follow dis common itinerary after visting Mata Vaishno devi & den way to ladakh
day 1: arrival by flight in late morning & transfer to hotel, tk rest & den evening visit to leh market, memorial, shanti stupa i. e local sight scene.
Day 2: Visit to sham Valley magnetic hill etc
Day 3 & Day 4 i am confused.
option 1 – shud i go to pangong on day 3 & return to leh same day.
Option 2 – or sud i go to nubra valley i. e hundar only on day 4 & return same day.
Option 3 – go to nubra( hundar onli) on day 3, overnight stay & on day 4 go to pangong & back to leh
Day 5 : early morning departure
last query sud i take package or jst book hotel & taxi by myself, i gues taxi cabs for above may charge sumwhere between 15k to 23k. Thank u.
Hi Jon,
Definitely go for option 3, it is better this way. And please book a hotel and taxi on your own, do not go for a package.
thank u ☺️
You are welcome !!!
Sir we want a taxi innova scorpio from Nimu to pangong for 1 days
Bhai please talk to Nasir @ 9906229203
Thank you, Vargis. It was so helpful. Atleast I got a little idea regarding the cab expenses..
You are welcome Jenia
What will be the Cab costing for ???
Day1: Leh To Nubra
Day2: Nubra to Pangong
Day3: Pangong to Leh
We only 3 friends.
Talk to Nasir in Leh @ 9906229203
Very nice blog Vargis thanks very much for having put out so much information.
Thanks Ajith
Hi Vargis, how much can I expect Nasir to charge me ? for a 7-9 day trip? ballpark?
It depends on what places you are covering. Call him. Give my reference and he will quote you the best price possible.
Hello Sir
How to prebook the taxi? Is there any contact available or online site? As we are from south India, we don’t know Hindi and also want to prebook in order to avoid last minute mess up. We need to book from April 13 to April 21. We have following itinerary and is it fine
April 13 – pick up Airport to Hotel
April 14 – Leh Local sightSeeing
April 15 – Leh to Diskit
April 16 – Diskit to Turtuk and back Panamik
April 17 – Leh
April 18 & 19 & 20 – Pangong – Chushul – Tso Moriri – Leh
April 21 – drop at Airport
What is the expected cost for the taxi? Also provide some good hotels in Leh, Diskit, Panamik, Pangong, Tsomoriri
Thanks in advance
Regards
Bala
Hi Bala,
Talk to Nasir in Leh at 9906229203. He run his own taxi there and you can book him. He can also advise about the hotels there at all other places.
hello , i need a taxi from leh to kargil on 30 th august. . Stay in kargil for 1 nites that is 31 st august to visit kumbatham for work. on 1 st drive down to srinagar , stay a nite in srinagar and catch a flite from srinagar to delhi on the 2nd sep
Hi Vargis. A truly helpful and detailed article specially for first time visitors. Thank you
I had just one question. There are so many taxi companies plying in Ladakh . How do we ensure they are genuine and will not run away with our advance money. Is there a sight where they are registered?
Hi Archana – Travel agents are registered but not the taxi drivers. For your peace of mind, you may want to go via a travel agent. For registered list, please see the link below.
http://leh.nic.in/pages/tourism.html
Hi Vargis, this is Sakthi from Chennai. I am planning to visit Leh on 27 Aug. I intended to cover Leh Ladakh for 7 days and I need a cab for people of 3. Is it possible to get a cab which charges on per/kilometre basis.
Is it possible to get a One-way Taxi from Kaza or Keylong to Leh?
If yes, how do i go about booking it in advance.
Your blog is one stop destination for all the planning. Thank you
Yes you can get it from both Kaza or Keylong. No booking system available as such unless you know of a driver who runs a taxi on the route. Otherwise you would reach Kaza or Keylong, get to the taxi or bus stand and negotiate an on the spot deal. Or you can also speak to a tour operator at these places.
Hello Sir,
After going through your blog I prepared my Srinagar Ladakh trip.
From Srinagar to Leh I break it in 5 days.
Srinagar – night stay
Sonmarg – night stay
Kargil – night stay
Uleytokpo – night stay
Then on next day reach Leh
But for local sightseeing at Uleytokpo only local cab would be allowed.
Would you please guide me from where and how should I book The cab so that I can do the sightseeing at Uleytokpo.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Debyani
If you want to go to places like Alchi etc then you would first have to go to Leh and then come back in Leh registered cab. That is the only way. Places like Magnetic hill, Indus Zanskar confluence fall along the highway only so you don’t need to rent a separate cab for those. The one from Srinagar will work just fine.
Hi vargis, thanks for the awesome articles & guidence for leh-ladakh trip.
We are going to Leh trip for 5-6 days covering nubra, pangong & Tso Mori on July this year. Can you suggest some good taxi drivers there?
Thanks in advance
Hi Ishita – You can contact Nasir in Leh @ 9906229203
hi will travel to leh on july. but i want to hire a taxi from leh srinagar but stay 1 night in kargil.
1. do you know where i can hire a taxi in leh?
2. do i need to book it online or i can just walk in?
3. and the price taxi is around that price you mentioned above? there is possible if the taxi driver will charge me more than price that you mentioned above. thanks.
Hello – Please take to Nasir in Leh @ 9906229203. He runs his own taxi there. Give him a call and book him if he is available. If not then he can direct you to someone else who is good. Give my reference and he will quote you a reasonable price and will not charge more.
You want to hire a taxi from Leh to Srinagar? Correct? Or did you mean a taxi from Srinagar to Leh?
I will require a Innova for 4 person
Leh on 26-06-2018
leh to nubra 27-06-2018
nubra to pangong 28-06-2018
pangong to manali 29-06-2018
end on 30-06-2018
please contact Nasir @ 9906229203. He runs his own taxi in Ladakh
Hello Vargis,
Kudos for this awesome article and likewise for the other posts. These helped us a lot in planning our travel to Leh. We are planning to reach Leg on 02nd August for a 7day trip.
Our plan is
02nd August: Reach Leh
03rd: Shey Palace, Thiksey Monastery & Stok Palace Museum, Hall of Fame, Kali Mata , Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, Magnetic Point and Sangam (and river rafting if time permits)
04th : Leh to Nubra Valley(driving across Khardong-la ), sightseeing of Sumoor area and Samstaling Gompa
Stay in Hundar
05th: Nubra Valley – Pangong Lake (Overnight Stay @Pangong)
If you could please suggest of any particular highlights that we can do on the way to Pangong or after reaching
06th : Pangong Tso – Tso Moriri (Overnight Stay @Tso Moriri)
(Need some expert opinion on the route and activities en-route and after reaching)
07th : Tsomoriri-Tsokar-Taglangla-Leh
08th : Departure
I would be great-full if you can suggest some unique things one can do for a lifetime experience.
Agreed that this is a short trip and may not able to cover all the places, however i have tried to accommodate some of them
Hi Shri, You have it pretty much all covered. Adding any more will just make the plan more hectic. For direct routes between Nubra – Pangong – Tso Moriri, please see the articles below.
https://vargiskhan.com/log/agham-shyok-road/
https://vargiskhan.com/log/pangong-tso-to-tso-moriri-travel-guide/
Thanks Vargis!
I was reading in some of your other posts that permit for direct travel from Pangong Tso to Tso Moriri is not being given this year, is this so; still? If yes any chances that it would it be allowed in August?
Is there any official website where these details can be checked?
Hi Shri – That was the status earlier this year but the permits are now being issued. You will be able to travel.
Thanks for the confirmation Vargis !
I will bother you with one more query.
In our trip, can you suggest if there is any truly unique things/souvenir, that we can buy?
Yes, I have read about the pashmina shawls, carpets, prayer beads, and Tibetan jewelry :), however now a days these are available in most handloom markets in any part of India, and definitely on Amazon too 🙂
Is there any truly unique items you can suggest?
That is pretty much it Shri. There is only one thing truly unique that you will bring back from there and that is the memories.
Rest all is available everywhere in India 🙂
True that!!
Very well said 🙂
Looking forward to it
Do let me know how your trip went 🙂
Hi Sir, I m leaving for Leh on 18th June 2018 with family staying in Leh. We r 3 adults plus 3 children and staying in Zen Hotel. The hotel person told us to pre-book taxi at the time of taxi booking but i did not coz itinerary was not clear.
Yesterday, when I called him, he said all taxis are booked coz of heavy tourist. Is it really true or possible. I m scared if i dont get one in LEh.
Kindly suggest. I need innova for us.
Hi Gaurav – It is actually true. There is a lot of tourist rush this year and taxis are making a lot of money. Try talking to Nasir in Leh @ 9906229203. He runs his own taxi there. Give my reference and see if he can help in getting a taxi booked.
per vehicle how much people travel..like/inova or traveler…
5-6 people.
Hi, please can you guide me on fare for Manali-Leh in month of August 2018..for Class A type cars, and any contact person if you know
Sorry I do not have any contacts who provides a private taxi from Manali to Leh
I want taxi for
Day1
Leh to Kargil stay
Day2
Kargil to Sonmarg and Gulmarg in night
Day 3Gulmarg to srinagar
Xylo is okay
Please contact Nasir in Leh at 9906229203
Hello.. Although the information you have shared is very precise, but i am still not able to get what it will cost us for : Leh – Pangong Spangmik (1night) – Hanle (2nd night) – return to Leh (3rd day) for Type B taxi.
Request your guidance.
Regards,
Shweta.
Sorry I guess u have already mentioned in the article but still I wanted to confirm that do taxi come with driver? I mean we cannot self drive the taxi to nubra or pangong?
That is correct. No self drives available in Ladakh anywhere, it comes with the driver.
if i add Basko into “Alchi – Likir – Lamayuru”, how much does it cost?
I don’t know how to calculate the cost , in case i want to add more destinations from planned
You mean one day tour towards Lamayuru from Leh or adding these places while you are going to Kargil?
I mean ome-day trip from Leh to Lamayuru.
That I think is around Rs. 6,000 for one day trip.
Talk to Nasir in Leh at 9906229203. He runs his own taxi there and can confirm the exact rates. He is a good reliable guy and if you need a taxi there, I will recommend booking him.
Thank you so much
You are welcome
These rates are ‘per vehicle’ basis? I am confused about it. For example, if I pay Rs 12000 to visit Turtuk, I get the whole cab to myself, correct?
Correct, per vehicle. If you pay 12k, you have the cab all to yourself.
1. Are these rates inclusive of taxes?
2. Can one get better rates if directly negotiate with a private taxi driver?
1. Yes, this is what you will pay in total.
2. Contact Nasir in Leh @ 9906229203. Give my reference and he may offer you discounted rates.
We want a class taxi for four person from 30.04.18 to 04.05.18
30.04.18 local
01.05.18 to nubra valley&stay
02.05.18 to ponggong from nubra valley &stay return 03.05.18 to leh
04.05.18 to zanskar valley& magnetic hill & return to leh
Pl tell or send rate
I do not offer any such services but you can contact Nasir in Leh @ 9906 229203. He runs his taxi service in Ladakh