Delhi to Zanskar Valley

In this post, I will provide information on how you can plan a trip from Delhi to Zanskar Valley. Mostly Zanskar becomes a part or an extension of a Ladakh trip. But if you only want to visit Zanskar Valley and keep Ladakh out entirely, mentioned below is an itinerary that can help you with details like how to travel, where to stay, and places that you must visit.

Your final travel plan will of course depend on several factors like how you were traveling, for how many days, and if there were any budget constraints. However, even if you were not able to follow the itinerary below to the last detail, it will at least give you enough information to form one of your own.

Quick Navigation

While traveling from Delhi to Zanskar Valley, there are two routes that you can choose from. You can either take the Srinagar Kargil route or you can go from the Manali side.

It makes more sense to approach Zanskar from the Srinagar side for two reasons. First and foremost is that it is the shorter of the two routes.

From Srinagar, you can reach Zanskar within two days but if you went from Manali, it will take you at least 4 days before you get to Padum. Then there is also the fact that from Manali, you will travel through Leh City. This will then beat the purpose of visiting Zanskar only and keeping Ladakh out.

I agree that there is another road that you can take from Jispa to reach Padum directly. This will be the shortest route to Padum from Delhi but only when it is completed. As of now, this is a badly broken dirt road that can only be covered in a 4×4 vehicle.

So for now, if you wish to go to Zanskar Valley from Delhi, you will have to take the Srinagar route.

Acute Mountain Sickness

The second reason however is altitude sickness and is more applicable towards people planning to catch a flight. In order to get to Zanskar, you can either board a flight to Leh or Srinagar and then reach Padum from there by road.

If you planned from Srinagar, you will first land at a comparatively lower altitude and then drive up to Zanskar. Since the gain in altitude, in this case, is a bit gradual, your chances of suffering from altitude sickness are almost next to none.

If on the other hand, you landed in Leh city, you are bound to suffer from altitude sickness at least on your first day because you are then landing at almost the same altitude as that of Zanskar Valley.

If we talk numbers, then Srinagar is at an altitude of 1,585 meters, Kargil at 2,676 meters, and Padum 3,669 meters. So you can see that you are actually gaining height slowly in 2 to 3 days depending upon your itinerary.

Leh, however, is at a height of 3,500 meters. So if you landed there directly, it is almost the same thing as catching a flight directly to Padum which is bound to trigger symptoms of mountain sickness.

Zanskar Valley Route

Starting from Srinagar, you will first reach Kargil via Sonamarg, Zojila Pass, and Drass. From Kargil, you will then take the only road that will take you to Padum and first enter the beautiful Suru Valley.

As opposed to the barren landscape of neighboring Ladakh and Zanskar, Suru valley is all lush green. You will travel through the towns of Sankoo, Panikhar, Parkachik and reach Rangdum where Suru valley ends.

After Rangdum, you will then drive up to the top of Pensi La (also known as Penzi La Pass) and drive down into Zanskar valley. You will reach Padum and stay there for the night.

What to See in Zanskar Valley

A trip to Zanskar is truly a non-stop affair of sightseeing. Right from the moment you reach Srinagar, you will start running through an endless list of tourist attractions.

If you have some time on hand, then spend a day in Srinagar and visit some local places in the city. For more details on places to visit in Srinagar and things to do, please take a look at Tourist Attractions in Srinagar.

Once you leave Srinagar, you will be traveling on the beautiful Srinagar Leh highway until Kargil. Zojila Pass, Kargil War memorial, Sonamarg, Drass are some of the places you will see on this route.

After Kargil, as you start traveling on Kargil Padum road. Drang Drung Glacier, Pensi La, Sta Tso, Lang Tso Lakes, and Nun-Kun Massif are some of the must-see places en route.

Please take a look at Tourist Attractions in Zanskar Valley for a complete and detailed list of tourist attractions in Zanskar.

Delhi to Zanskar Valley Itinerary

Below is an example of an itinerary for Zanskar Valley. I will first detail an itinerary that I recommend provide by a few other alternate versions of it.

Delhi to Jammu – Day 1
Jammu to Srinagar – Day 2
Srinagar – Day 3
Srinagar to Kargil – Day 4
Kargil to Padum – Day 5
Rest Day in Padum – Day 6
Sightseeing in Padum – Day 7
Padum to Rangdum – Day 8
Rangdum to Drass – Day 9
Drass to Srinagar – Day 10
Srinagar to Jammu – Day 11
Jammu to Delhi – Day 12

The journey above is in a very relaxed manner while ensuring that you cover and see all there is to see. Depending on your own preference, you can modify it accordingly.

For example, if you were flying in and out of Srinagar then the first two and last two days will get changed to 1 day each. If you were short on time, then you can remove the rest days in Srinagar and Padum as well.

Also Read: Zanskar Valley Taxi Union Rates: Leh, Kargil & Local

Day 1 – Delhi to Jammu

About 600 kilometers of journey depending on where you were starting from in Delhi
Travel time of 12 to 13 hours
Road Conditions are mostly good all the way till Jammu with a few bad patches in between
Overnight stay at Jammu

Day 2 – Jammu to Srinagar

About 270 kilometers of a total journey
11 to 12 hours of travel time
Even though the distance is not too great, it can still take you about 12 hours to reach Srinagar because of frequent road blocks and traffic jams on the highway.
Overnight stay at Srinagar

Day 3 – Srinagar to Kargil

About 200 kilometers of distance
It Will take 9 to 10 hours to complete depending upon your speed and breaks
See Sonamarg, Zojila Pass, Dras, Kargil War Memorial, and Tiger Hill
Road Conditions are good with a very bad stretch around Zoji La

Day 4 – Kargil to Padum

230 Kilometers of total distance
It Will still take you about 10 to 11 hours
The road is good until Sankoo but after that until Padum, it gets really bad.
Get an early start from Kargil so you also have some time for sightseeing on the way
See Suru Valley, Pensi La, Drang Drung Glacier, Sta Tso, Lang Tso Lakes, Parkachik Glacier, and Nun-Kun Massif on the way
Overnight stay at Padum

Day 5 – Padum

Rest Day at Padum
You can remove this day if you are short on time
You can visit some of the local places near Padum today
For a list of must-visit places, please read Tourist Attractions in Padum
Overnight Stay in Padum

Day 6 – Padum

Another day of local sightseeing in and around Padum
You can remove this day if you were short on time
DZongkhul, Sani, Stongde and Karsha monasteries, Zang La fort are some of the more popular places to see. Karsha Monastery is better for an evening view of Padum while Stongdey monastery provides some great morning views.
Overnight Stay in Padum

Also Read: Mobile Phone Connectivity in Zanskar Valley

Day 7 – Padum to Rangdum

Only about 100 kilometers of travel today
It will take you 4 hours at most so you can also start a bit late in the day
Spend some time at top of Pensi La
See and click pictures of Magnificent Drang Drung Glacier
Trek to nearby Sta Tso, Lang Tso Lakes
Overnight stay at Rangdum
Once you have checked into a hotel, pay a visit to Rangdum Gompa

Rangdum to Dras

Take a different route for the journey back home.
You will travel through the Umba La Pass that only a very few people even know about.
The road towards Umba La bifurcates a little after Sankoo. Ask around the locals to be sure.
Please note though that the road is a bit steep with a lot of hairpin bends.
See Nun-Kun Massif from Purikutchey
See the 7-meter rock carved statue of the Maitreya Buddha in the village of Kartse Khar (also known as Karche Khar or Karshe Khar Karche Khar). The village is near Sankoo.
Will take about 10-11 hours depending upon your speed and breaks and places you visited.

Also Read: Tourist Places in Zanskar Valley and its Vicinity

Dras to Srinagar

Journey back to Srinagar via the same route that you took to arrive at Kargil
About 5-6 hours of journey
Enjoy sunset view in Srinagar from either Dal Lake or Pari Mahal

Srinagar to Jammu

For your journey back to Jammu, you will take a different route this time.
You will travel on the historic Mughal road via Shopian, Peer ki Gali Pass and Rajouri.
It is the more scenic and lesser crowded of the two routes connecting Jammu with Srinagar.
For more details, please read How to Plan a Trip on Mughal Road.

This is it. That is your 12 days trip to Zanskar Valley covering the majority of the must-visit places. You can add or remove days from here depending on the time you have in hand.

The journey can be of course done in multiple other ways so if this one did not fit your plan, let me suggest a few other options as well.

Also Read: Accommodation in Zanskar Valley: Hotels, Guest Houses & Camp Sites

Srinagar to Zanskar Valley Itinerary

In case you were flying in and out of Srinagar, then the journey can be as mentioned below.

Delhi to Srinagar – Day 1
Srinagar – Day 2
Srinagar to Kargil – Day 3
Kargil to Padum – Day 4
Rest Day in Padum – Day 5
Sightseeing in Padum – Day 6
Padum to Rangdum – Day 7
Rangdum to Drass – Day 8
Drass to Srinagar – Day 9
Srinagar to Delhi – Day 10

Or like this

Delhi to Srinagar – Day 1
Srinagar – Day 2
Srinagar to Kargil – Day 3
Kargil to Padum – Day 4
Rest Day in Padum – Day 5
Sightseeing in Padum – Day 6
Padum to Rangdum – Day 7
Rangdum to Drass – Day 8
Drass to Leh – Day 9
Leh to Delhi – Day 10

A third option of the itinerary can be like below.

Delhi to Jammu – Day 1
Jammu to Srinagar – Day 2
Srinagar – Day 3
Srinagar to Kargil – Day 4
Kargil to Padum – Day 5
Rest Day in Padum – Day 6
Sightseeing in Padum – Day 7
Padum to Rangdum – Day 8
Rangdum to Drass – Day 9
Drass to Leh – Day 10
Leh to Sarchu – Day 11
Sarchu to Manali – Day 12
Manali to Delhi – Day 13

Delhi to Zanskar Valley – Conclusion

I hope the information above on traveling from Delhi to Zanskar valley was of help. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below or at our Community Forum, and I will be happy to answer.

Delhi to Zanskar Valley – Itinerary, Travel Guide, Sightseeing