Local Taxi Service in Ladakh in 2022 – 2023

by Vargis.Khan

Traveling by Taxi is the best way to plan a trip to Ladakh for people who cannot afford to bring their own vehicle for the journey for any reason. It is true that it will cost you a bit much, but you at least get to travel comfortably at your own pace. You can take as many breaks as needed and will not have to depend on the timings of public transport. With that being said, things are a little complicated when it comes to the local taxi service in Ladakh.

There are a few rules that have been self-created and imposed by the locals. You should follow these rules as a tourist for your own safety. What these restrictions are and how does the taxi service in Ladakh looks in the years 2020 and 2021 is what I will be providing details on in this article.

Also Read: How to Plan a Trip to Ladakh – A Complete Travel Guide

This article is actually a third in a series detailing taxi travels in Ladakh. In the first two posts in this series, I talked about the Leh Ladakh Taxi Rental Rates and the Tempo Travelers Rates in Ladakh in the year 2020. In this particular post, I will talk about some quick but important information while renting a taxi either in Ladakh itself or from some other city like Srinagar, Manali, or even Delhi.

If you are looking for information on how much is it going to cost you to rent a taxi or tempo traveler in Ladakh, please take a look at the other two articles I provided a link to.

Local Taxi Service in Ladakh

Non Local Taxis in Ladakh

Let me start with what started the whole issue around taxi and motorcycle rentals in the Ladakh region. There was no such issue about 10 years ago when only a handful of people ever went to Ladakh. But with the boost in tourism, came the opportunity of making money for both the locals and non-local tourist agencies.

Local people of Ladakh invested money in taxis and motorcycles to offer to tourists as rentals. The idea did not work. The majority of the tourists would either come by their own vehicle or by a taxi rented from their hometown itself. Not many opt for renting a taxi from Leh. This started to seem like a huge loss for the local population.

And this is when they came up with the regulation around non-local taxis in Ladakh. As per the rule, any vehicle rented outside Ladakh can only be used to reach Leh City. But for sightseeing in Leh and other areas of Ladakh, a tourist must rent another local taxi or motorcycle from Leh City. The vehicle rented outside of Ladakh then would have to be left parked at the hotel.

Also Read: Lakes of Ladakh – A Travel Guide

Is it serious?

Yes, it is a very serious matter. Local put up barriers at almost every tourist route where they will stop and check papers to ensure that the vehicle is not a rented one.

Is it a government rule?

No, it is not a rule made by the government. The local population came up with it and imposed it by force.

Why do the authorities not do anything about it?

Because the authorities themselves are the locals of Ladakh. If the officials themselves have money invested in taxis and other tourism-related ventures, why would they take action against anything that is helping them make money?

What is the rule exactly around the non-local taxis and motorcycles in Ladakh?

There are basically two rules around it. The first one is any non-Leh registered taxi will not be allowed to be used for sightseeing in either Leh city or any other area in Ladakh like Nubra Valley or Pangong Tso. This rule is applicable to commercial vehicles with Yellow number plates.

If the vehicle is a private one and has a white number plate, then the owner of the vehicle must be the one driving it or sitting inside it. What it means is that you cannot bring a car or motorcycle belonging to a friend or cousin. Either the vehicle must be registered in your name or your parents.

If the vehicle belongs to your brother or sister then you must bring some sort of family document showing that the owner of the vehicle is your immediate sibling. If you say that the car/motorcycle belongs to your friend or cousin, they will send you back to Leh asking you to rent a local taxi or bike.

Why? Because the locals think that people are trying to fool them out of their money by renting white number plate vehicles and getting away with it by saying that the owner is a friend.

Also Read: How to Travel in Ladakh by Public Transport

Is there a way around it?

Unfortunately not. This is a really serious matter and you must stick to this rule. There have been instances when a few people refused to follow it and their vehicles were attacked and vandalized by the locals. When they complained, local authorities took no action at all.

Does it apply to Manali and Srinagar rented vehicles too?

Yes, it does. Actually, it applies more to Manali registered taxis and motorcycles. Each year, the rental associations of both these places get into disputes over this matter. Let me explain how this works. There are basically 4 rental associations here; Manali, Leh, Kargil, and Srinagar.

So for example, if you rented a taxi from Manali or Srinagar, you cannot use it anywhere in Ladakh except to reach Leh. Same way, a Leh registered taxi can only drop you till Manali or Srinagar but cannot show you around in Manali or Kashmir.

If you way rented a vehicle from Leh, Manali, or Srinagar, you cannot use it to go towards Zanskar. For that, you will have to rent a Kargil registered vehicle. Sham Valley, fortunately, is not a part of this dispute yet and any taxi can take you sightseeing there.

Is this justified?

I really do not want to get into the whole argument around whether it is right or wrong because it wouldn’t matter. The fact is that this is the way it is and a tourist has to follow the rule. Locals have their own reasons to justify this action; and as a tourist for a week or 10 days, there is nothing you can do to change it. This is how the local taxi service in Ladakh operates and you will have to accept it.

Self Drive Car in Ladakh

There are no self-drive rentals available in Ladakh. You will have to hire a taxi with the driver. If you are interested in driving in Ladakh, you can request the driver to allow you to handle the vehicle for some time. Or you can rent a self-drive car from either Delhi or Chandigarh but can only drive it till Leh City. After that, you will have to leave it parked at the hotel and rent a local taxi again.

Zoomcar in Leh Ladakh

The same rule that I described above applies to Zoom Car as well. If you rented a self-drive rental from Zoom Car, you can only bring it to Leh; but will then have to leave it parked at the hotel. Actually, the whole attacking and vandalizing of the vehicles happened with Zoom Car taxis only.

Also Read: Festivals of Ladakh

Shared Taxi in Ladakh

I agree that the cost of renting a private tourist taxi in Ladakh is a bit much and not everyone will be able to afford it. This is where the whole idea of shared taxis comes into the picture.

There are two types of shared taxis available in Ladakh. One is that you can board on the spot and the other is the pre-planned ones.  For an on-the-spot deal, just reach Leh Bus stand in the morning and you will find plenty of taxis headed towards Nubra, Pangong Lake, Tso Moriri, or other tourist places. It is much like a Bus actually. Your search for a cab, find one, board it, pay for the ticket, and reach your destination.

Second is the shared tours organized by tour agents. They merge a few people together in the form of a group and the taxi rental gets divided among them all. For this, you can contact any tour agency in Ladakh and will easily get a deal. You will also notice a lot of flyers put up by people at restaurants, cafes, and travel agencies wanting to share the taxis for different trips within Ladakh.

Local Taxi Service in Ladakh – Conclusion

I hope the information above on the local taxi service in Ladakh was of help. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below and I will be happy to answer. You can also follow me on Instagram and chat with me live there or subscribe to my YouTube channel and ask a question there.

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17 comments

Debashish Mookherjee June 6, 2022 - 4:58 am

Thank you Mr Vargis for this website help for tourists.
kindly help me on:-
Is mid-July suitable for Ladakh Trip?
Help to list out few reliable local taxi service to go around in Ladakh
Will the driver have or arrange all necessary permits for loacal trip
Thank you

Reply
Vineet Singh August 21, 2021 - 8:06 am

Thank you so much for recommending Abass Ali for our Ladakh trip. We had the most amazing trip. Really a humble and a kind hearted human being.
Very skilled and experienced driver with a comfortable and well maintained Innova.

Contact him @ +919622971759 or +919469271786

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Anurag Sachdev March 7, 2021 - 4:21 pm

Thank you Mr. Khan for providing this valuable and important information. Sometimes it is difficult to get hold of such guidance. It is a great service on your part and hope you can continue to enlightening the tourist.

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Dr Chaithra Harish September 1, 2022 - 6:30 am

Can u pls let me know about local travel agents in Leh

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Sreenath March 5, 2021 - 3:00 pm

Very well written, wealth of useful, practical information. Good work, Vargis Khan!

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Janaki Nandan March 13, 2021 - 8:22 am

I am not interested in package tour.I will reach ladakh airport and interested in hiring local taxi for 5 to 6 days.Can you provide an estimate.we r 4 members

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Dibyajyoti dutta December 7, 2020 - 7:07 pm

Vargis Bhai I want to explore Srinagar Vai leh ladhak and I want to see every sight seeing to Manali how many days it will take and give the best tour operator and what will be the best time

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arunava nag January 6, 2020 - 8:38 am

Hello Vargis.
Wanted to know whether it is possible to rent just one vehicle(Class A/B/C) for 6 adults+1Kid for the entire trip Leh to Leh.

If yes then payments are based on Km or day or both ? Wanted to deal directly with the driver instead of going through a third party arbitrator.

Itinerary based out of Leh –
Day 1 round trip local sightseeing gompas and acclimatization
Day 2 round trip for Lamayuru and Sangam sightseeing
Day 3 move to panamik and night stay
Day 4 move to Hunder and night stay
Day 5 move out early to Pangong with night stay
Day 6 move to Moriri with night stay
Day 7 return to leh via tso kar and hemis gompa route sight seeing.

For such a route we would be clocking in excess of 1200Kms.

Also would the driver be able to arrange via his own references for homestays or hotels or tents to put up for the nights ?? the reliability would be much better since the driver must have visited the stay locations during some point in his life.

has the prices fluctuated post abrogation of 370 ?

Planning to visit as late as possible in Sep2020.

Thanks !!

Reply
Vargis.Khan January 12, 2020 - 2:41 pm

Hi Arunava – The rates are set for routes in Ladakh and number of days, not based on kilometers. Yes, the driver can help with accommodation as well and no, there is no change in taxi rates for this year so far. Please talk to Nasir @ 9906229203 in Leh for the best rates that you can get.

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Insta @Tantan_au_ladakh guide from Leh March 10, 2021 - 3:02 am

Hello sir m from Leh LADAKH so I will you to make wonderful trip to Leh

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Sagarika gupta July 8, 2019 - 2:16 pm

Hi
You blogs are helpful. we r in leh from 23 to 29 morning. We r travelling with. 9 yr old

1.Let me know which places we can visit considering 9 yr old
2. Do we need to pre book taxis? Can we do it online?
3. Any specific spots you wud recommend for birding?
Thnx

Reply
Vargis.Khan July 8, 2019 - 6:16 pm

1. Almost all the places, nubra, pangong, tso mroriri
2. Pre-booking will be better but no online option to do so. Talk to Nasir in Leh @ 9906229203. Very reliable guy and driver.
3. You can see some birds early in the morning at Pangong but that will mostly be it.

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Rajesh Teraiya July 2, 2019 - 11:20 am

hi Vargis, so if I carry authority letter from the person who owns the bike (Gujarat number plate), then also we face the issue? Obviously no one will rent their bike from Gujarat to Leh 🙂

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Vargis.Khan July 2, 2019 - 2:06 pm

Hi Rajesh – No even that will not work. They will still send you back and force you to rent a bike from Leh.

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Aman Dhanuka July 1, 2019 - 8:14 pm

Sir please help me with best group tour agent for round leh ladakh tour of 12 days from delhi with suv car. I want to explore Pangong, tso moriri, Hanle, Nubra Vally, leh, kargil, manali. Plz help me with the best agent with best price

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vishwas sarode 9833989246 July 1, 2019 - 7:55 am

Thanks a lot Dear .The info & cautions are really useful.You are doing very good job. Pl. Keep it up.

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Vargis.Khan July 1, 2019 - 3:36 pm

Thank you Mr. Sarode

Reply

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