Bus Service in Leh City

In the last few years, tourism in Ladakh has really taken a boost. Authorities here are also taking steps to make it convenient for people to visit Ladakh and move around for sightseeing. One such addition this year which I am glad will be a piece of welcoming news for both locals and tourists was the introduction of Bus service in Leh City.

This will make the movement to places near Leh town much easier. This until now was completely dependent on shared taxis or rented vehicles. In this article, I will provide information on the schedule and timings of these buses.

Please note though that the information below is specific to bus from the town of Leh to places that are within a short distance. This does not include buses running from Leh to other areas of Ladakh like Nubra Valley or Pangong Tso.

That bus service has been available for a long time already and I have provided that schedule in a different article here, Schedule of Bus Service in Ladakh. However, there have been no regular buses available within Leh town or places within a short distance which has changed this year onward.

Quick Navigation

So far one of the most common ways for moving from one place to another in Leh city was to rent a motorcycle or automatic bikes like Activa or Scooty. While this was convenient, but also a costly affair with a daily rental of about Rs. 800 to Rs. 1000 per day, fuel charges extra. This used to make things difficult for people who were visiting Ladakh on budget.

Due to this, a lot of people used to just walk around in the city. Leh is not really too big and also a tourist spot so walking around while sightseeing worked fine for some people, including myself.

But this was not really an option if you wanted to go a few kilometers towards Sakti, Karu, or other villages nearby. In this case, the only choice left was shared taxis but there really was no schedule of those, and availability was not always guaranteed.

Another problem was a pick and drop from the airport. A private taxi for this purpose was the only choice which was again a costly affair. If you wanted to take a monastery tour covering Spituk, Shey, Thikse, and Hemis monastery, etc then a private taxi or rented motorcycle was the only convenient option.

All this however will now change and become convenient since a local bus service has been brought into effect; the timings of which are as mentioned below.

Timings of Buses in Leh City

All these buses will depart from Leh Gate and terminate at the same place, except for the one going towards Leh airport. This bus will start from Tourist Information Center, Leh at 6.00 AM and arrive at the airport at 6.15 AM.

It will drop the people at the airport, pick new passengers and bring them back to the tourist information center. Then a second bus for the same schedule will start from TIC at 6.30 AM and arrive at Leh airport at 6.45 AM.

Bus Service in Leh City

bus service in leh

Please do note though that this service has just been introduced for the first time. So there is a high chance that the schedule may change later depending on demand. I will update the article as and if the timings change.

Buses from Leh City

Below is the schedule of buses starting from Leh.

Leh to Sakti Bus via Shey and Thiksey
- 8.15 AM Departure from Leh, 9.45 AM Arrival at Sakti
- 1.30 PM Departure, 9.30 PM Arrival
- 2.30 PM Departure, 9.30 PM Arrival
- 3.30 PM Departure, 4.30 PM Arrival
- 4.30 PM Departure, 5.30 PM Arrival
Leh to Phyang Bus
- 9.00 AM Departure from Leh, 9.30 AM Arrival at Phyang
- 2.30 PM Departure, 3.00 PM Arrival
- 4.30 PM Departure, 5.00 PM Arrival
Leh to Martselang via Changa and Hemis: 8.30 AM Departure, 9.30 AM Arrival
Leh to Choghlamsar: The first bus for this route will start from Leh 9.00 arriving at Choghlamsar at 9.20 AM. After this, there will a bus every 10-15 minutes; with the last bus starting from Leh at 8.00 PM
Leh to Shara via Shey and Thiksey: 8.30 AM Departure; 9.45 AM Arrival
Leh to Stakna via Chuchot: 4.30 PM Departure, 5.30 PM Arrival
Leh to Spituk: The first bus on this route will leave Leh at 8.30 AM and arrive at Spituk at 9.00 AM. After this, there will a bus every one hour, the last one at 6.00 PM.
Leh to Agling: The first bus on this route will leave Leh at 9.00 AM and arrive at Agling at 9.30 AM. After this, there will a bus every one hour, the last one at 6.00 PM.
Leh to Skalzangling: The first bus on this route will leave Leh at 8.30 AM and arrive at Skalzangling at 8.45 AM. After this, there will a bus every 15 minutes, the last one at 8.00 PM.
Leh to Gonpa Village: 8.45 AM departure from Leh, 9.15 AM Arrival at Gonpa

Buses to Leh City

Below is the schedule of buses from other places to Leh City.

All the below mentioned buses will start from their respective towns at 8.30 AM and will arrive at Leh at 9.30 AM
- Sakti to Leh via Shey and Thiksey
- Karu to Leh Bus via Shey and Thiksey
- Cemday to Leh Bus via Shey and Thiksey
- Igoo to Leh Bus via Shey and Thiksey
Stakna to Leh Via Chuchot: 8.45 AM Departure, 9.45 AM Arrival
Choghlamasar to Leh: The first bus for this route will start from Choghlamasar at 8.30 AM, arriving at Leh at 8.50 AM. After this, there will be a bus after every 10-15 minutes.
Martsellang to Leh via Changa and Hemis: 4.30 PM Departure, 5.30 PM Arrival
Spituk to Leh: The first bus on this route will depart from Spituk at 9.00 AM and will arrive at Leh at 9.30 AM. After this, there will a bus every one hour; the last one departing from Spituk at 6 PM.
Agling to Leh: The first bus on this route will depart Agling at 9.00 AM and will arrive at Leh at 9.30 AM. After this, there will a bus every one hour; the last one departing from Spituk at 6 PM.
Skalzangling to Leh: The first bus on this route will leave Skalzangling at 8.45 AM and arrive at Leh at 9.00 AM. After this, there will a bus every 15 minutes, the last one at 8.00 PM.
Gonpa Village to Leh: 4.30 PM Departure, 5.00 PM Arrival