Srinagar to Leh by Road (My Taxi Trip + Best Stops)

If you have the time, go from Srinagar to Leh by road and take two days over it. Flying takes about an hour. The drive takes the best part of 420 km, crosses Zoji La, runs through Drass and Kargil, then slowly changes from green Kashmir into the dry, high-altitude landscape of Ladakh.

It is long, cramped and occasionally a bit chaotic. It is also one of the best journeys I did in India.

I took a shared taxi from Srinagar in 2022, jumped out at Lamayuru for the night, then continued to Leh the next day. The catch is that your seat is paid all the way to Leh, so getting out early means paying for another transfer the following morning.

I still think everyone should do it. That overnight stop turned what could have been 17 hours of quietly losing circulation in the back seat into a proper part of the trip.

My pick is the two-day road trip. A shared taxi is still the realistic choice for a solo traveller, but budget for a second ride from Lamayuru because your original taxi will continue without you. A private taxi makes much more sense if two or three of you can split it – especially if you want to visit the monasteries rather than watch them disappear through the window.

The JKRTC bus is cheapest, although its timetable is not something I would build a tight itinerary around without confirming it directly. Flying is quickest, but you miss the whole point of coming through Kashmir.

Heads up: The Srinagar-Leh road is seasonal, and traffic direction at Zoji La can change with very little notice. Check the official traffic advisory the day before you leave, then check again that morning.

My Shared Taxi From Srinagar

The first taxi was leaving at 8am, so I had breakfast and got to the pickup point early. Shared taxis normally gather around Srinagar’s Tourist Reception Centre and leave when they have enough passengers, rather than because a timetable has made a solemn promise.

I could not think of anything worse than doing the entire journey in one hit. Even with everything running smoothly, you are looking at a very long day in a packed SUV. So I bought the Leh seat, but told the driver I was getting out at Lamayuru.

You still pay the full fare to Leh. Naturally. And because the taxi does not wait overnight, you then need to book and pay for another transfer from Lamayuru.

I got lucky. I met a kind Spanish family at the hotel who were heading to Leh the next day and shared their ride, which kept the extra cost down. I would absolutely stop at Lamayuru again, but go in knowing you are giving up the rest of that first taxi seat and may need your guesthouse to help arrange the next leg.

The drive to Lamayuru took about 11 hours. Our engine overheated going over the pass, we stopped at several checkpoints to fill in passport and visa details, and lunch was at a Punjabi diner in Kargil. That was the only proper meal stop, so take water and snacks rather than trusting the driver to share your personal interest in lunch.

Toilet stops were similarly informal. At one checkpoint I was offered the side of a building. Plan tactically..

The discomfort is real, but so is the road. Sonamarg gives way to the tight approach over Zoji La, Drass and the Kargil valley, then the mountains become drier and increasingly ridiculous as you climb towards Namika La and Fotu La. It does not feel like dead travel time.

Lamayuru Was the Best Stop

Lamayuru sits directly beside the Srinagar-Leh highway, about 125 km before Leh, at roughly 3,510 metres. The village is wrapped around pale, heavily eroded hills that everyone calls the moonscape. For once, the tourism nickname is fairly accurate.

Staying overnight was the best decision I made on this journey. The day visitors disappear, the village goes quiet, and you can walk up through the lanes without having to keep one eye on a waiting driver.

My hotel was cute, simple and very cheap. I cannot remember its name, which is obviously not enormously helpful, but that is also the nice thing about Lamayuru: it still has small family-run guesthouses where a clean room and dinner do not need to become a major financial decision. Current basic rooms tend to sit around INR 1,000-2,500, depending on the season and how organised you are.

The real highlight came the next morning. I went up to Lamayuru Monastery at dawn and sat in on the monks’ morning prayers and meditation. Butter lamps, low chanting, almost no tourists, and the sun slowly finding its way into the valley outside.

It was quiet and genuinely special. The monastery itself dates back roughly a thousand years and belongs to the Drikung Kagyu tradition. Naropa’s meditation cave is preserved inside the complex, which gives the place considerably more weight than the usual old-building-with-a-view stop.

Tip: Do not treat the morning prayers like a scheduled tourist show. Ask at the monastery or your guesthouse, dress respectfully and follow whatever the monks tell you. If you can attend, this is the reason to sleep here rather than ticking Lamayuru off beside the road.

The Three Monasteries I Stopped At

The three were Lamayuru, Alchi and Likir. Together they make a natural monastery trail on the second half of the drive, and they are not three versions of the same thing, either.

Lamayuru Monastery

Lamayuru is the one to stay at. It has the dramatic setting, a living monastic community and enough going on in the surrounding village to reward an evening and morning. Give it a night if you possibly can.

Alchi Monastery

Alchi is about 65 km west of Leh, down a short diversion from the highway beside the Indus. Unlike most Ladakhi monasteries it sits on flat ground, and it is better thought of as an ancient temple complex than a busy working gompa.

Its 11th and 12th-century paintings are the reason to stop. The murals carry a strong Kashmiri artistic influence and are among the oldest surviving Buddhist artworks in Ladakh. After all the huge landscapes and hilltop monasteries, Alchi feels smaller, darker and more detailed. Take your time inside; this is not the place to speed-walk around looking for the next viewpoint.

Likir Monastery

Likir is farther east and roughly 5-6 km off the main highway. It is an active Gelugpa monastery, with old assembly halls and a huge gold Maitreya Buddha looking out over the valley.

This was the quieter, more lived-in contrast to Alchi. Alchi is where you look closely at the art; Likir is where the setting and active monastery life do more of the work.

A normal shared taxi will not make both diversions. For this version of the journey you need a private driver, a motorbike, or enough flexibility to piece together local transport and accept that it may take most of the day. That is not a flaw. The slower second day is much better than arriving in Leh exhausted at midnight with 400 photos taken through a dirty window.

Mulbekh is also worth a quick stop before Lamayuru. Its enormous Chamba figure is carved directly into the roadside rock, so it requires almost no detour, but I would treat it as a bonus rather than adding another full monastery section.

Your Transport Options in 2026

Shared Taxi

This is what I used and what I would still choose as a solo traveller on a budget. Current operators quote around INR 5,000 per seat, usually in an Innova, Scorpio or Tavera carrying four to six passengers. Most leave early, once full, and aim to reach Leh in one day.

It is efficient. Comfortable would be pushing it.

Confirm the fare, departure point, luggage and your intended drop-off before handing over money. If you leave at Lamayuru, expect to pay for Leh anyway, then pay again for the final 125 km. Ask your guesthouse about spare seats or other guests heading east – my Spanish-family lift was lucky, but ride-sharing is the easiest way to soften the extra cost.

Private Taxi

A private taxi is the best version of this trip if your budget allows it. Current one-way quotes sit roughly between INR 19,000 and 26,000 depending on vehicle and operator; the 2025/26 Ladakh taxi rate card puts a two-day SUV trip around INR 22,000 from the Leh side.

The important bit is not the extra leg room. You can stop at the Kargil War Memorial, Mulbekh, Lamayuru, Alchi and Likir without negotiating with five strangers every time you see something interesting. Agree on the overnight stop, monastery diversions, driver’s accommodation and any extra charges in writing.

JKRTC Bus

The bus is the cheapest option, generally around INR 1,000-2,000. Services operate between Srinagar and Leh, often with a long journey or an overnight pattern through Kargil, but departure times and road controls move around.

JKRTC does not maintain a wonderfully reassuring live tourist timetable. Call the Srinagar operations office or visit the counter when you arrive, and leave some slack in the next day’s plans.

Motorbike

I spent parts of Ladakh on a Royal Enfield and would love to redo the Srinagar-Leh road that way. A bike gives you the freedom the shared taxi absolutely does not: stop at a pass, pull over for a photo, or spend three hours in Alchi because you feel like it.

Just check the rental rules carefully. A bike rented outside Ladakh can generally be used to reach Leh, but outside rental bikes face restrictions on local sightseeing circuits once you arrive. If Nubra, Pangong or the inner Ladakh routes are next, you may need to swap to a Leh-registered rental.

Flying

The flight from Srinagar to Leh takes around an hour and runs year-round, weather permitting. Choose it if time matters more than the journey. The official Leh district guide confirms that air and the Srinagar road are the two main approaches.

You also go from Srinagar at about 1,600 metres to Leh at roughly 3,500 metres very quickly, so keep the first day quiet. The road rises more gradually, but it still crosses high passes and is not some magical exemption from altitude sickness.

Before You Leave Srinagar

Carry your passport, visa details and several photocopies or digital backups. Check the highway status that morning, bring cash for smaller villages, and pack enough food and water to survive a driver who considers lunch optional.

Even in summer, keep a warm layer accessible rather than buried under six backpacks. Srinagar can be warm while Zoji La is busy reminding everyone that it is a high mountain pass.

And do not make a firm booking or flight immediately after your expected arrival in Leh. Weather, road works, landslides and one-way traffic controls can all turn an optimistic schedule into fiction.

What I Would Do Next Time

I would still take the road. But next time I would find two or three other travellers, split a private taxi, sleep in Lamayuru and give the second day to Alchi and Likir before rolling into Leh in the afternoon.

Then I would stop moving. Leh is high enough that a lazy first evening is a good idea, and the old town is easy to explore on foot once you have dumped your bag.

I have a separate guide to the best hotels in Leh. For a comfortable first night, The Bodhi Tree is my boutique pick. Sort the room before leaving Srinagar; after two days on the road, haggling over a mattress is not the cultural experience you need.