Explore Ladakh - The Land of High Passes

All Leh flights land in the morning - afternoon mountain winds close the approach - and the airport sits at 3,256 metres, so the day has one job: acclimatise. Check in, drink three to four litres of water, skip alcohol, and limit ambition to an evening stroll in Leh Main Bazaar if you feel fine.

The acclimatisation day that makes the rest of the week safe: Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace and the Hall of Fame museum, nothing higher than 3,600 metres. Trace the German Bakery cafes along Changspa Road, eat thukpa, and let the body finish adjusting - the high passes come only after this.

Over Khardung La to Nubra - about five hours with photo stops at one of the world's highest motorable passes, 5,359 metres by survey even if the summit board claims more. Descend to Diskit Monastery and its giant Maitreya Buddha, then the Hunder dunes, where double-humped Bactrian camels walk the cold desert.

Nubra to Pangong Tso by the Shyok river route: six to seven hours, rough in patches, ending at a lake that shifts through blues you will not believe are natural. At 14,270 feet the evening cold is serious - layer up for sunset on the shore and a camp or homestay night at Spangmik or Merak.

Return to Leh over Chang La, allowing five to six hours, with monastery stops that deserve the pause: Thiksey's tiered hilltop complex and Shey along the Indus. Back in town by evening for a hot meal and a real bed - the circuit's big drives are now behind you.

A gentler closing loop through the Sham Valley: Magnetic Hill's optical trick, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, the Indus-Zanskar confluence at Sangam, and the painted monasteries of Alchi or Likir. Shorter drives, lower altitude, and time for last shopping in the bazaar.

Morning departure - every Leh flight leaves early, and weather can reshuffle schedules, so never chain a tight same-day connection onward. Window seat on the left going out usually earns one last run of ridgelines before the plains return. Breakfast early, reach with margin, and let the mountains handle the farewell - the ridgelines out the window outperform every photograph taken all week.