Travel during April to Mid-May.

An early onset of the season is evident in April with various Hotels, Guest Houses, Restaurants and all tourist activities start budding out. Camp sites, Homestays begin to open up at Pangong Tso & Tsomoriri Tso regions to receive tourists.  Business being seasonal in Leh, many Hoteliers who travel to other regions on the plains like GOA to cover business during the peak winter seasons on the Christmas & the New Year’s Eve are now back.

By this time the High Altitude Frozen Lakes like Pangong Tso & Tsomoriri Tso have also melted unleashing the changing radiant Blue & mesmerizing Green Colors. However, the High Altitude passes like Zojila, Rohtang & Baralacha may remain buried under heavy snow during this period & access would be restricted till the end of May.

Travel during Mid-May to July

Between Mid May to May end, the Zojila Pass opens up & the Srinagar Leh Highway is thrown open to the tourists. This may not be the ideal period to travel since there could be road blockages due to intermittent snow slides, muddy slush, but eventually it settles down. Between June to the Ist week of July before monsoon is the right time to travel & throngs of tourist pour in thousands to Ladakh during this period.

Since Ladakh region falls in the rain shadow region, beyond Zojila Pass from the Srinagar side & Baralacha Pass from the Manali side, there would be no rains OR scanty persistent drizzling throughout. Offlate, due to climatic changes, even these vast regions have seen heavy rainfalls & cloud busts in the recent past.

Its almost a perfect time to drive through the picturesque high flanked snow walls at Rohtang LA & Baralacha LA. With water streams gushing at almost every nook & corner, it can be tricky especially for 2 wheelers & 4 wheelers with low ground clearance. This period witnesses rapid melting snow & it is recommended to start early. During the first half of the day, these water crossings are quite tame. But as the sun soars up & the mercury rises, water crossings can be difficult to negotiate.

This period welcomes throngs of tourist from all over the globe. Tourism business activities like Vehicles on Hire, Bikes on Rent, Hotels, Restaurants offering Indian & International cuisine, Tibetan market jewellery, Ladakhi souveniers etc. are in full swing.

Personally, this season is my choice since one gets to experience the white Himalayan Ladakh region & the aqua blue colours of the Lakes.

Travel during August to Mid September.

With monsoons in full furry, again it’s a tough time for tourist approaching from Chandigarh / Manali & Jammu / Srinagar side. Torrential rains, water streams, slush, uncertain terrains keep hampering tourist moment till Zojila & Baralacha ends of both the approaches.

Indeed, for bikers it is a paradise to test their endurance & maneuvering skills. Braving the backlash of torrential rains, ice cold gushing water & stones at water crossings, it’s a unique experience for bikers negotiating the uncertain stretches & managing their laden luggage mounted on the bikes.

This period sees equally enthusiastic tourists & bikers alike. This period also experiences the maximum tourist traffic, these 3-4 months being the most sensitive time slot for tourism.

Travel during Mid Sept to October.

Post monsoon, this is the most beautiful season. The Valley transforms itself into amazing rustic colors of the landscape blended with the aqua blue lakes in the backdrop of the gigantic barren mountains. Snow may be visible only on mountain tops & on the sides of High Mountain passes. The entire region gets the maximum UV exposure with the greenery changing its colors to yellow, orange & red. The burning beauties of the Autumn colors are seen everywhere from the Srinagar Leh Highway, Pangong Tso, Tsomoriri, Nubra Valley covering the Manali Leh road too. You can see water bodies turning into intense aqua blue colors. Water rivulets are now tame & road conditions are significantly improved facilitating travel by hatchbacks & low ground clearance vehicles. The weather is dry & sometimes becomes chilly with intermittent snowfalls thus making acclimatization more difficult.  As the inflow of tourists reduce, most of the camp sites too wind up their business & shift to the lower plains thus signifying the end of the season. The Manali Leh Highway & the Srinagar Leh highway can get closed anytime after mid-October.

Travel during November

The mercury dips and temperatures at tourist places above 14,000 feet dips below subzero levels. Dhabas, hotels, campsites, homestays, guesthouses & restaurants are now closed & the locals in the Himalayan belt now get ready for hibernation. This region sees very few tourists, mostly non-Indians during this period.  

Although the Srinagar-Leh & the Manali-Leh Highways are not officially closed, it is generally not recommended to travel during this period. Road blockages become very common at high altitude passes & if you are stuck up, shelter OR any help may not be available immediately. During early snowfall, Black Ice adds to the perils of road travel. Although termed as Black Ice, it is actually thin & transparent. It is mostly formed when the road has textures which enables retention of water OR where a thin layer of water has accumulated & the temperature dips to sub-zero levels. Approaching drivers are not able to see the layer of ice & the vehicle tyres could possibly slip. Although, it does not last long, it can be extremely dangerous for unsuspecting speeding drivers.

December – January – February & March.

This period is the coldest of all with January recoding the lowest temperatures in Ladakh. As winter sets in freezing all the High Altitude, Ladakh is cut off from the rest of the world. Emergency services like Airlift Rescue in the eventuality of any medical urgencies are managed by the Military.

Although connectivity to Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso & Tsomoriri Tso are not shut down, snowfall could block the High Altitude Passes. Even if any tourists manage to reach these spots, they could possibly be stuck up there indefinitely.

End of January & February marks the opening of Adventure Treks along the Frozen ZANSKAR River. This trek is called as the CHADHAR TREK. The word “CHADHAR” refers to the frozen ZANSKAR river, which resembles a White Sheet. The trek is a journey on a narrow stretch of the frozen Zanskar river within a gorge surrounded by High Mountain Peaks on either sides extending itself till Padum. This Trek begins at Chilling, a small village which is about 30 kms from NIMMU confluence of INDUS & ZANSKAR rivers and extends till PADUM, ZANSKAR. Although a full trek may take about 18-20 days, many adventure tour operators have shorter packages of 8-10 days. This is not a Luxury trek / tour & enthusiasts are expected to be physically fit with a good level of stamina & endurance. The tour operators make arrangements for the entire period by hiring porters, ponies loading your luggage, food items etc. Halts are either in caves or tents on the banks of ZANSKAR.

High Altitude Lakes & rivers remain frozen from January to end or March / April. Practically, you can walk OR even drive on the thick layer of ice, although not actually recommended to do so.

TO SUMMARIZE

So, it’s a big confusion of when should one travel?? Let me make this simple for you.

1. If you are someone who would like to feel the early onset of the season with White Snow at the high passes, you should be travelling between June to August.
2. If the rustic burning colors of the Valley, Trees & vegetation fascinates you, then you should travel in the month of September (2^nd week onwards).
3. If you are someone looking for some hardcore adventure like taking a dip in the Freezing Zanskar river, Walking over the Ice covered surfaces etc, February is the right month for you.
4. Nevertheless, Leh remains connected by Air throughout the year & you can do local sight seeing during any period like Shanti Stupa, Hemis, Thicksey, Stok, Shey, Hall of Fame etc. However, excursions like Nubra, Pangong Tso, Tsomoriri Tso would be subject to the respective high altitude passes OR any routes being clear of snow.
5. There are  advantages of travelling either too early OR too late….

• There would be very less crowd at the onset of the season. Enjoy the privacy & get a feel of the solitude which you have been longing for. Season period starting from Mid June to Mid Sept sees lots of tourists. There would be crowds everywhere you go.
• During early season OR at the end of the season, tourists are very scarce. Most of the hotels are unoccupied. This gives you good negotiating strength for the hotel stay.
• On an overall basis, when tourists are few, they get better attention when it comes to any kind of services