This valley of flowers is perhaps the most inexplicably beautiful place you can ever dream of visiting. Once a trading route through the Karakoram ranges from Tibet to Turkistan, it was only recently opened to tourists. The road to the valley, inaccessible for most of the year, is wild and treacherous, and at the same time breathtaking – with its arresting view of the stately Karakoram Mountains.
There is only one road to Nubra valley: the road from Leh, through Khardungla pass, the world’s highest motorable road. At 18,380 feet above sea level, this road is under snow cover all through the year. As you drive at that dizzy height, with a sheer fall on one side, you’ll know what it’s like to be driving through the mountains that are among the world’s highest.
It is only when you cross this terrain that you arrive at the valley itself. Situated on the Nubra and Shyok rivers the landscape of the valley is strangely varied, as is the landscape in most of Ladakh. With monstrous peaks in excess of 6000 metres on either side, the landscape goes from dry, rocky and barren, to desert like sand dunes, to lush greenery near the rivers.
ORIENTATIONSituated about 150 km north of Leh, Nubra is a high altitude valley (about 10,000 feet above sea level) on the Nubra and Shyok Rivers. Along the Nubra River lie the villages of Sumur, Tigher, Tirith and Panamik which are the main villages of the valley. The Shyok River meets Nubra from another direction and forms a valley that separates Ladakh and the Karakorum ranges. Diskit and Hundar are the main villages of this valley.
WEATHERAt that altitude, Nubra Valley is chilled nearly throughout the year. In winter however, it is inaccessible as the whole region lies under thick ice cover in the winter months – roads are snowed in and there is no way to travel to Nubra. Besides winters in Ladakh are biting cold with temperatures dipping to -30 degrees. Those are the months when there is a lull in tourist activity. In fact even locals move to warmer areas.
The best time to visit would be between June and August, when the average temperature is about 13 degrees.
GETTING THERE/ROUTE INFORMATIONDistances:
Leh – 150 km
Manali – 580 km approx
By Road
The only way to get to Nubra valley is by the road from Leh via Khardungla pass. To get there from any other city will require you to get to Leh first. The road is long, and treacherous with several dangerous parts – like a powerful stream of water running through the road and down into the valley, and the road is often strewn with rocks, or snowed in. But don’t let these deter you, for getting to Nubra Valley is a real adventure. Always take a professional driver with a licensed car.
By Air
The nearest airport is at Leh, 150 km away. There are regular flights there to and from Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar. Airlines that fly to and from these cities are Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Deccan (now Kingfisher Red).
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