Report at Manali by 12 Noon. Day is at leisure. Afternoon, we pay obeisance to Hadimba (Hidimba) Devi, the primary Goddess of Manali for a safe trip to the mountains. Visit the Mall Road, the hub of Manali town. Buy some supplies for the trip. Overnight in Hotel*
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We start by crossing the river and the trail is more or less straight till the of Palchan, home to one of the youngest Everest climber, Ms. Dicky Dolma. The terrain is
very pretty as you pass through Gulbarga and climb steadily towards the Rohtang pass. There are beautiful forests laden with Cedar & Fir trees, beautiful creeks, mountain rivers and gorges along the way. The trail gets rough with unending hairpin bends as you cross Kothi and Rahla falls. Then you reach a clearing where there are numerous local eateries 'dhabas' as they are called. This is Marhi. A further a short ascend brings us to the top of the Rohtang pass 3980m/ 13060ft where we take a short photo and chai break. This pass remains closed for roughly six months in a year. As we cross the pass, we leave the 'green belt' and rocky mountains appear with snow-capped peaks in the distant horizon. We descend to Gramphu T-point. Here, we leave the trail heading towards Spiti valley and continue on to the Lahaul valley. Passing
through Koksar, Sissu and few others we reach Tandi Bridge, where the river Chandra and Bhaga meet to form the river Chandra Bhaga, called Chenab as it enters Pakistan at Kishtwar. Continue to reach the town of Keylong, headquarter of the district of Lahaul and Spiti. Keylong is a rich town where people earn a living by exporting peas and apricot to the other parts of the country during summers. From here, it is a short drive to Jispa, a small and beautiful village. Overnight in Hotel.

Today is the most amazing day of our trip. Passing through Darcha, a smalland police check-post, carry on to Patseo (3650m). From here, we ascend gradually to the
spectacular double pass of the Baralacha-La at 5030/16500 ft ('La' is a mountain pass in local language). There is a small lake just before Baralacha La, known as the Suraj Tal (Sun Lake). At Sarchu 4253m/ 14100ft, we enter the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The scenery changes from rocky mountains with green patches to barren, rugged mountains with beautiful hues. The etching caused by the soil erosion is simply beautiful, creating infinite patterns on the rocks in all hues of blue, green, red, yellow and other colours. Keep ascending through the Gata Loops, a series of 21 hairpin bends at the highest elevation of 4190m/13750ft. Carry on through a series of high mountains passes of Nakee La pass at 4,739 m/15,547 ft and Lachulung La at 5065 m/ 16616ft. Now we descend through some spectacular mountain scenery to descend down to a bridge, the path then climbs a bit to reach Pang 4600m/15100ft - another tented colony sprouting only in the summers when the road from  Manali to Leh opens. The climb continues to reach the edge of the Morey Plains 4700m/ 15400ft; a stunning plateau of bright green short grass in the middle of the mountains. We are now in the Rupshu area, a waterless high altitude desert of the Tibetan Plateau. This area is all above 4500m and is home to the hardy Changpas, Tibetan nomads who live in yak hair tents and
graze huge flocks of sheep and yaks in this seemingly barren landscape. We carry on 40Kms along the Morey plains and ascend gradually to the second highest motorable pass in the world - the Tanglang-La (also spelled as TakLang- La) (5320 m). After the pass, we will cross the beautiful villages of Rumtse, Gya and Lato. Scientists claim that Lato is the site where the two landmasses of Gondawana land and the Asian continent merged during the great shift. From here, it is a short and beautiful drive to Leh. There is another check post at Upshi before you enter Leh. Overnight in Hotel

Morning is free. Afternoon visit the monasteries of Shey, Thiksey and Hemis. Overnight in Hotel
 

Today we drive through the highest pass in the world, the Khardung-La 5359 m/ 17582 ft (though it is claimed to be 5602m) to enter the Nubra valley, which spreads out in a Y- shape expanse. After a break at Diskit for lunch, carry on to Turtuk. As you leave Hundar, although the houses and fields look similar, you notice the change from Buddhist Ladakhi Culture to the Muslim Balti Culture. Check in to the small hotel upon arrival. Later we walk through the beautiful village and listen to stories of the elders.

Start late for the drive to Hundar. Check in to the hotel. Afternoon visit the Sand dune to look at the double humped Bactrian camels. It is possible to ride these for a small fee. You can also go for a walk through the beautiful village. Overnight in Hotel

Early morning drive to Diskit and visit the monastery. Drive on to the Pangong Lake. Later explore the lake area where you can find rare birds. Overnight in Hotel/ Tented Camp Pangong (4250 m) is 134 km long and extends from India to Tibet. Two thirds of the length of this lake falls in Tibet. It is 5 km wide at its broadest point. Even though it is a salt-water lake, in winter the lake surface freezes completely. The lake acts as an important breeding ground for a variety of birds including a number of migratory birds. During summer, the Bar-headed goose and Brahmini ducks are commonly seen here. The region around the lake supports a number of species of wildlife including the Kiang and the Marmot. This lake has become more popular due to filming of various Bollywood films especially 'the three idiots'..

After a late breakfast, return drive to Leh via the tough Chang-la pass (5360m/ 17590ft), where army sentries and a small teahouse greet visitors. Overnight in Hotel

After breakfast, head for Lamayuru. Along the way, a slight detour takes you to the beautifulof Alchi where we visit the oldest monastery of Ladakh. Carry on to
Lamayuru to look at the amazing mountain landscape similar to that of the Moon - thus Moonland. One can also visit the Lamayuru monastery set spectacularly amongst rugged cliffs and scree slopes. After a photo session at the moonland, we head towards Hanu, the land of the Brokpas (also called Dards or Drokpas). Later we walk through the village and interact with the locals. Overnight in Guesthouse. There are many stories surrounding this unique race. Many call them the 'last Aryans' or Alexander's people. They are nominally Buddhist but also worship their own animist pantheon of gods. They have an Indo-European appearance in contrast to the predominant Tibeto-Mongol inhabitants of most of Ladakh. You can easily recognise them by their elaborate floral headdress that includes the never drying flower called Shoklo (also Monthu Tho). The head-dress also includes rows of coins stitched together for ornamentation, with some dating as far back as 1890, and bright ribbons. The women tie their hair in interlocked long multi-stranded braids similar to knotted dreadlocks. The villages are rustic and construction is of mud and stone. The local deity abhors cows and chicken; hence both are considered taboo. Fraternal polyandry-with brothers sharing a wife-is also prevalent but instances of this phenomenon have gone down considerably now.

After visiting the nearby villages of Dha and Biama, we drive back to Leh. Overnight in Hotel

Day is at leisure to enjoy your last day in Ladakh. Overnight in Hotel

Start early for the long drive to Jispa. You cross all the high passes along the way, the scenery looks different from the first time that you were there. Overnight in Hotel/ Camp.

After breakfast, we drive to Manali crossing the mighty Rohtang once again. The greenery is soothing after spending time in the mountain desert. Overnight in Hotel