Three main ways in. Flying to Leh is fastest, about ninety minutes from Delhi, but it drops you straight at 3,500 m, so you must rest on arrival. Driving up from Srinagar is the gentlest and best for acclimatising: two days, a night around Kargil, climbing slowly. Driving from Manali is the most dramatic: higher, harder, and you sleep above Leh's altitude on the way. There are also two remote backdoors (via Zanskar or Spiti) for people with time. Reaching Leh needs no permit for anyone; permits only apply to the restricted areas beyond. The classic move: in gently from Srinagar (or fly with rest days), out over Manali once you are acclimatised.
Most guides treat getting to Ladakh as a booking detail. It is more than that. How you arrive is the first decision of the trip, and it sets how you feel for the first two or three days. Ladakh is high, Leh sits at about 3,500 m, and the difference between landing straight into thin air and climbing to it slowly is the difference between a rough start and an easy one. Here are the ways in, and what each one asks of you.
By air: fast, but straight to altitude
Flying is the quick way, and the hardest on your body.
- Leh is about ninety minutes from Delhi, with direct flights also from Mumbai, Srinagar, Jammu and Chandigarh.
- You land at about 3,500 m with no time to adjust, so the first 24 to 48 hours must be rest, not sightseeing. This is the whole point of How to arrive in Leh and actually feel good.
- Flights go in the morning and are weather-dependent; cancellations happen, so keep the plans either side a little loose.
By road from Srinagar: the gentle way up
If acclimatising well matters to you, this is the way in.
- About 434 km, over two days with a night around Kargil (roughly 2,700 m).
- You climb gradually over three passes, Zoji La, Namika La and Fotu La (the highest at about 13,478 ft, still well below Leh), so your body adjusts as you go.
- The drive is a slow reveal: Sonamarg, Zoji La, Drass, Kargil, the moonland at Lamayuru and the murals at Alchi before Leh.
- It opens earliest in the season and closes latest.
By road from Manali: the dramatic way
The bucket-list drive, but the toughest on the body.
- About 430 to 490 km, two days, with a night at Jispa or Sarchu.
- The Atal Tunnel bypasses Rohtang, then it climbs a chain of high passes: Baralacha La, Nakee La, Lachulung La and Tanglang La (about 17,582 ft), across the Gata Loops and the vast More Plains.
- The catch: you sleep as high as Sarchu (around 14,000 ft), higher than Leh, before your body is ready, which is why it is hard as a way in.
- It opens later and is the first to close.
Other ways in (for those with time)
Beyond the big three, two remote backdoors and, one day, a train.
- The Zanskar axis (Nimmu-Padum-Darcha). A newer, shorter road from Himachal through Padum in Zanskar, crossing a single high pass, Shinkun La. Still being finished, so rough and remote in parts, but it opens up Zanskar. A route for people with time, not a quick way in.
- The Spiti backdoor. Come up through Kinnaur and Spiti, over Kunzum La, and join the Manali road near Gramphu. It is a two-week road trip in itself, not a shortcut.
- By train, not yet. No railway reaches Leh. The nearest railheads are Jammu (for the Srinagar side) and Chandigarh (for the Manali side); a Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line is being built, but it is years away.
Which should you choose?
Altitude is what separates these, not just scenery, so choose for how fast you want to go up.
- Short on time: fly, and protect two rest days at the start.
- Easiest arrival: drive up from Srinagar; the gradual climb does the acclimatising for you.
- The epic drive: take Manali, but ideally as the way out, once you are adjusted, not as your first exposure to altitude.
- Time and appetite for the remote: the Zanskar or Spiti routes, both trips in their own right.
- The classic combination: in gently (Srinagar or fly with rest), out over Manali.
Permits: none to reach Leh, some to go beyond
Reaching Leh needs no permit, by any road or by air, for anyone. Permits only apply to the restricted areas you visit afterwards.
- Indian travellers: no Inner Line Permit anywhere. You pay only the Ladakh environment fee (about 590 rupees, online), and only for restricted areas like Nubra, Pangong, Tso Moriri and Hanle. It is valid about three weeks.
- Foreign nationals: a Protected Area Permit for those same areas, arranged through a registered Leh agency, plus passport registration at checkposts.
- A few nationalities (including Pakistan and China) must clear permits through the Home Ministry in Delhi, which is slow, so the restricted areas are effectively out of reach for them.
Full detail is in Permits for Ladakh, without the headache.
When the roads are open
- Srinagar road: roughly April or May to October or November (opens earliest).
- Manali road: roughly late May or June to October or November (opens latest, closes first).
- Flights: year-round, but winter weather cancels them often.
- Full seasonal picture in When to go.
How we plan this into a trip
Getting you there is part of the plan, not an afterthought. We match the way in to your time and how your body handles altitude: often up gently from Srinagar or a flight with real rest days, and the big Manali road saved for the way out once you are acclimatised. We watch the pass-opening dates and daily road status, arrange the car and driver for the legs you drive, sort the permits for the restricted areas, and keep a buffer where the weather is most likely to interfere. Once you are in, we help you shape your trip.
Not sure how to arrive?
Tell us your dates and how much time you have, and we will pick the way in that suits your body and your trip, and build the rest around it.
