Many a time readers on Discover with Dheeraj ask me for a Srinagar to Leh road map with distances. I could not work out on this road map for some time, but finally, in this article today, I will share with you a detailed tourist map of Srinagar Leh Highway with distances of places in between.
I am sure this Srinagar to Leh Travel Guide and Road Map available on my blog will help you plan your upcoming trip to Leh Ladakh.
Let's quickly dive into the details:
Srinagar Leh Highway Route Map
The 434 KM long Srinagar Leh Highway is like a lifeline in the form of road connectivity between Leh Ladakh and the rest of India via Kashmir Valley. Srinagar – Leh Highway, also known as National Highway – 1D (NH – 1D), is the most reliable and one of the only two roads to reach Ladakh by road, the other one being Manali – Leh Highway
In this article today, let us look at a place by place distances of Srinagar Leh Highway and tourist places falling between Srinagar – Kargil – Leh route. Most people cover this journey over Srinagar Leh road in two days with an overnight halt at Kargil.
It is much better to travel as a two-day journey over Srinagar Leh Highway than rushing through it in a single day. Traveling on Srinagar Leh Highway in a single day may result in AMS issues as you will not be acclimatized to sleep at the high altitude of Leh town.
Details of Tourist Map of Srinagar to Leh Road
Continuing on the series on maps of Ladakh, in the first article I presented the maps of Leh Ladakh covering Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso. Now, in this second article of the series, it is time to present the road map of Srinagar to Leh Road.
We have talked enough on how to plan a trip to Srinagar – Leh Highway in one of my previous articles where you can get a fair idea on the season to travel, modes of travel, how to plan a night stay, accommodations, sightseeing, petrol pumps, etc. on Srinagar – Leh Highway in detail. Hence, quickly skipping the details let’s jump over to see the maps.
Planning to travel Srinagar to Leh by public transport? Well, refer my article on Srinagar to Leh Bus Service.
Does this map cover sightseeing places on Srinagar Leh Highway?
Your suggestions on improvement on this Srinagar to Leh map are highly welcomed, and please keep in mind that this tells you a tentative idea of the route and distances between the different places on Srinagar Leh Highway. It does not depict the entire route as is, so there could be minor twists and turns not outlined in this Srinagar Leh road map.
Again, as in the first Leh Ladakh map, I have tried to put the details including places, distances, important monasteries, mountain passes, lakes, etc. on Srinagar Leh Highway. This time map also has a couple of legends that explain the fuel availability on Srinagar – Leh Highway & road difficulty level along with which type of car you might need to cover a particular stretch and list of ATMs.
Since there isn’t much issue with the fuel availability all throughout Srinagar to Leh Highway, so nothing much to worry about carrying extra fuel on Srinagar Leh Highway. However, these are just my recommendations and should not be taken granted that even for a novice you can take a hatchback or sedan at the routes on Srinagar Leh Highway mentioning “All Cars” …
The man behind the wheel must have some skills and experience with driving in the hills. The roughest patch of Srinagar – Leh Highway is a few KMs on either side of Zoji La Pass, especially from Baltal to the Zoji La Pass. Similarly, for taking up difficult roads, the person must have good experience in traveling or driving/riding to this high altitude terrain of Ladakh & Manali – Leh Highway especially.
Maps of Ladakh – Srinagar Leh Highway
Here is the map of Srinagar – Leh Highway which you can download by right-clicking & then select the option: “Save Image As…”
Please note that all the distances & places indicated are approximate in unit and location. Data has been collated for just a fair idea & is completely based on my notes of Ladakh trips, roads signs & pictures of boards clicked on those trips, Wikimapia, Google Maps, some GPS Trails from Internet or Googling, trails shared by some fellow
Hence, I request that please spare me in case of any mistake you find in there and help or contribute in improving it if you see any kind of a major correction 🙂
Download your FREE high-resolution version pdf copy of this Srinagar to Leh Route Map with distances between the tourist places. If, you liked it and found it helpful, please feel free to share it with your family and friends to help them too.
Srinagar Leh Guide
Let’s look at one of the most comprehensive travel guides on planning a trip to Srinagar Leh Highway.
Download your FREE high-resolution version pdf copy of this Srinagar to Leh route travel infographic. If, you liked it and found it helpful, please feel free to share it with your family and friends to help them too.
Where can I track Srinagar to Leh Road Status?
Well, you can always track the updated status of Srinagar to Leh road 2020 on my blog, Discover with Dheeraj. Every year there is an article to keep track of Srinagar to Leh road and when it closes or opens up for tourists traveling to Leh Ladakh.
You should always carry your water bottle and refill it as many times as you need water. It will not only keep you hydrated always, but you will also help in saving the Himalayas from plastic garbage. Remember, every tiny step counts and your step in this direction can help save the Himalayas too !! 🙂 🙂
Conclusion
Feel free to provide your inputs/suggestions or feedback or any queries you have on maps of Ladakh as either comments or replies to the thread of the community at the link: Rolling Out the DoW Maps of Ladakh.
Have a travel question?? You can subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment to ask your travel questions about traveling to the Himalayas.
If you know your friends or family are planning a trip to Ladakh, do share this article with them to help them make a memorable Ladakh trip.
53 Comments
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Hi Dheeraj Sir,
i am planning an alternative route from Jammu to srinagar via Banihal using the railway travel from Banihal to Srinagar
Do you or any of your contacts or friends have traveled by this route
as far as i know i can nly travel by road from Jammu tawi to Banihal and then from Banihal station to Srinagar by DEMU
Do you knw any idea on cheapest transport mode from Jammu tawi railway station to Banihal railway station
I will be reaching Jammu tawi afternoon by 3
Thanks in Advance
Sorry Jack, I do not know about that route as have not travelled it. Cheaper is always JKSRTC buses.
Oh ok.. np 🙂
I was thinking if in case Jammu-Srinagar highway remains closed due to curfew, i might take this alternative route to Srinagar..
Dear Discover With Dheeraj team,
Thank you so much for your help in planning a trip to Ladakh. Your site is immensely useful!
Thank you Natasha, glad we could help you planning your Ladakh trip.
For those interested in learning more about the region, a well-demonstrated Leh-Ladakh map would be good starting point.
Yes, that is why we have it in this article. I hope it is useful to you.
hi Dheeraj,
we are couples planning a trip to Leh by bike from srinagar on june 1st week we are planiing to spend 4 to 5days in leh. can you please tell me main and attractive place to be visited in leh
You can follow the below plan for 4-5 days in Ladakh
Day 1 | Leh Local Sightseeing + Acclimatization
— To know the about the places to visit check the link: Travel Guide for Local Sightseeing of Leh Town in Ladakh
— Overnight at Leh
Day 2 | Leh – Khardung La – Diskit – Hunder
— Head for Nubra Valley and stay overnight at Hunder / Diskit
— On the way enjoy a cup of soup at Highest Motorable Pass (as claimed) Khardung La
— Diskit has monasteries with tallest lord Buddha statue and Hunder has sand dunes and bacterian camel safari
Day 3 | Hunder / Diskit – Sumur – Panamik – Sumur – Khardung La – Leh
— Sumur has a famous monastery to check out and Panamik has hot water springs
— Overnight at Leh
Day 4 | Leh – Hemis Monastery – Pangong Tso Lake
— Cover either of Hemis, Thicksey and Shey on the go towards Pangong Tso
— Overnight at Pangong Tso (Spangmik or Lukung)
Day 5 | Pangong Tso Lake – Thicksey Monastery – Shey Palace – Leh
— Cover either of Hemis, Thicksey and Shey on return to Leh
— Overnight at Leh
Hello Mate,
Hope you doing great buddy.
What will be your advice on mode of transport and route to reach Srinagar from Mumbai? Will like to transport Royal enfiled from Mumbai to Srinagar as well for further journey to LEH
Vaibhav, you can transport them to Jammu and then ride. If you are sending it by Gati or other private courier directly to Srinagar, then you go ver to go by air
Sir,
Kindly Suggest me regarding my question about ..Can I pick the DSLR with me at Amarnath or if the answer is No then what is option….
Chetan, I have never heard that cameras are not allowed on Amarnath Yatra
Hello Dheeraj Sir,
I am going to Amarnath Yatra this year form Pahalgam and return down via Baltal.
Could you please suggest me that .will I hire a Taxi or bike from Baltal to Kargil -Leh and end to Manali.
Or if is not possible so please suggest me the good plan from Baltal to Leh.
Thanks in Advance
Chetan, I doubt unless you have specifically arranged a pre-booked taxi to come and pick you up.
I want to travel alone from Srinagar to Padum via Kargil and then to Leh again via Kargil. Is it at all feasible. Also, how much would this cost?
Yes completely feasible. The cost depends upon the mode of transport you will take. The cost of taxi will be Srinagar – KArgil, around 7000-8000 and from Kargil – Padum – 14000, Padum – Kargil – 15000
can anyone give my a full detail of journey by means of zoomcar from chandigarh , srinagar, leh, manali, chandigarh. we are 03 friends from andaman island want to explore himalayas. we are planning from july 15 this year.
Ashraf, You can check a very balanced and most common itinerary for Leh – Ladakh followed by many travellers including me at the link here for 13-14 days: Most Common Itinerary for Leh – Ladakh.
Unfortunately, you can only use the self-drive rented cars including Zoomcar (black number plate and yellow number plate) just to enter Leh and exit Leh from Srinagar – Leh Highway or Manali – Leh Highway but you cannot use them for any kind of sightseeing within Leh – Ladakh to places like Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso. For sightseeing within Ladakh you will need to hire a Ladakh based taxi else you will end up in trouble. Please refer the link from the post for the personal experiences: https://discoverwithdheeraj.com/india/himalayan-travel-guides/topic2618-10.html#p22017
Hi All,
we are planning to visit ladakh via srinagar and taking bike from srinagar for the road journey. We have only 5-6 days with us so we were planning for this road trip from srinagar to ladkah and couple of days to visit places near ladakh but not taking the exit route to manali but take a flight back to srinagar.
now i read somewhere that if you take bike from jammu or srinagar and leave at some other place they charge a lot for same and that won’t be economical. Can anyone suggest me if there is any other way to have this road trip on bike and take a flight back from ladakh without making a big hole in our pockets?
Vineet, it takes 2 days to reach Leh from Srinagar and then you taking flight back to Srinagar? and then how you return to Delhi? 5-6 days are too short for a ladakh trip.
Hi Dheeraj,
5-6 days I have mentioned in for the trip by which I meant 5-6 days being on road traveling from srinagar to Leh and back.
Besides that we have 4 days kept aside for traveling to and fro from srinagar and Delhi.
My only blockhead here is, if there is a possibility that I rent a bike from Srinagar and leave in Leh-Ladhaka without having to pay some insane amount of money and if it is possible what would be the possible amount for that.
Thanks in advance for helping with this.
Hello Vineet,
For Srinagar bike rental you can refer the link: https://discoverwithdheeraj.com/india/ladakh-zanskar-travel-guides/outside-rented-bikes-banned-ladakh-t1009-50.html#p12858
Bikes rented outside Leh are not allowed for sightseeing inside Ladakh except Tso Moriri and Tso Kar lakes which can be done while going to Manali from Leh. Private bikes are completely allowed. You can use the outside rented bike to reach Leh but then for going to Pangong Tso, nubra Valley, etc.. you need to hire rented bikes from Leh only.
To know more about this rule and present situation, please refer the link: Bikes Rented Outside Leh Banned in Ladakh
This year as per reports, rule is going to be stricter. Manali rental guys have formalized a deal that for the days Manali bike is parked in Leh and Leh bike is rented, they will charge 50% of the rent of the bike. So, confirm with Manali rental guys first about this signoff.
For renting bikes in Leh – Ladakh along with current Bike Union Prices, you can check the DwD Community thread: Leh – Ladakh Bike Rental Rates 2015 – 16 & Reliable Shops
The one way bike rental is quite costly and leave a big dent in pocket for you, sometimes like 12K for just the pickup from Manali. Be sure if you are ready to make that investment or not or if at all it is worth the money spent. My suggestion is unless you are hard core biker and cannot live up the passion of biking, it is not wise to spend that much money just for the pickup of bike.
Hello sir,
I am planning to go Leh by Srinagar and Leh to Manali. My query is can I go leh in May ending or june starting?? And can I go on 125dts-si bajaj bike to leh??
Yes Deepak, you can make a plan in May end from Srinagar side and by the time you will return from Manali side then Manali – Leh Highway will be open too. Also, 125cc bike will be able to make the trip.
Thanks Sir.. 🙂
Dear Mr. Dheeraj,
Thanks for your quick reply.
Dear Mr. Dheeraj,
Thanks for the very useful information proovided in your different articles, my query is, I am reaching Srinagar onthis Friday 17th July, going for Shri Amarnath Darshan on Saturday 18th July via Baltal route, and my return flight for Mumbai is on Wednesday 22nd July.
I will be having 2 (two) days time to visit the places nearby, will be greatfull if you can guide me for the same.
Thanks.
In just two days, you can have day visit to Pangong Tso or Nubra Valley and one day you can rest in Leh.
Hi Dheeraj,
We will be starting on Srinagar-Leh route by hired car on 29th June 2015, Apart from halting at Kargil for the first night, can we ask the driver to stay at Alchi for the second night before proceeding to Leh the next day? Will it be against their rules? We have “more” acclimatization on our mind 🙂
Yes, you can do so and stay at Alchi which will be very good for you guys. Regarding driver, well you can ask the Ladakhi drive to pick you up from Kargil or Leh to avoid any hassles but even for other drivers some of them agree to stay at Alchi but some of them does not agree. So, get a driver who agrees to stay at Alchi.
HI Dheeraj,
thanks for all the great information.
3 of us are planning a trip from Delhi- Srinagar-Leh/Ladakh – Manali and back to Delhi
So wanted to know :
-if we can rent bikes from srinagar and drop it off at leh
-Can we cover all the major places like nubra valley, pangong tso tso moriri , sham valley etc on bike.
Regards,
JEan
Hello Jean,
1. For Srinagar bike rental you can refer the link: https://discoverwithdheeraj.com/india/ladakh-zanskar-travel-guides/outside-rented-bikes-banned-ladakh-t1009-50.html#p12858
Also, please read the article: 5 Tips to Rent Bike in Leh – Ladakh and Ride with Pillion
2. Yes, you can cover all the major places on rented bikes from Leh. Rest depends upon how many days you have in hand. You can check a very balanced and most common itinerary for Leh – Ladakh followed by many travellers including me at the link here for 13-14 days: Most Common Itinerary for Leh – Ladakh.
Regards
Dheeraj
Hi Dheeraj,
Can you please comment on itinerary below , how do you think about this one ? How long will it take to reach Sonmarg from pahalgam, any idea ?
12th to 13th > Delhi to Pahalgam (Approx 860 Kms)
13th > night stay @ pahalgam
14th > Post noon (1-2 pm) starts from pahalgam to sonmarg (Approx 165Kms ), night stay @ Sonmarg
15th > Sonmarg to mulbekh , night stay@ Mulbekh (Approx 165 Kms)
16th > Mulbekh to Leh , Night stay @ Leh, (Approx 175 Kms)
17th > Leh local sigh seeing , Night stay @ Leh,
18th > Leh – Nubra valley thru ‘Disket-Hunder-Turtuk (night stay @Turtuk) (Approx 210)
19th > Turtuk – Summor-Panamik- Leh (Night stay @ Leh) Approx (220)
20th> Leh – Pangong Tso – Leh , Night stay @ Leh, (Approx 340kms)
21st > Leh – Sarchu (Night stay @ Sarchu) (Approx 260 Kms)
22nd > Sarchu to Manali (Night stay @manali) (Approx 230 Kms)
23rd > Manali to Delhi (Approx 560)
Turtuk with Sumur – Panamik will be tough. Rest looks OK. If you have some issues of AMS avoid sleeping at Sarchu and go over to Jispa.
it is nice and informative site .we are also planning to visit leh from srinagar in group of 10 (5 couples )
will be a great help to enjoy this tour
thanks
keep it up
Thank you Pramod best wishes for the Ladakh trip 🙂
HI Dheeraj Ji,
Congrats for this great website and detailed coverage of all topics related to Himalayan travel. I have been doing a lot of research on the web for my up-comming, Srinagar – Leh tour, i stumbled upon your site and can’t seem to be getting enough of it…..great job your site is like a bible on Himalayan travel 🙂
Would love to have a drink with such a travel enthusiast like yourself.
Cheers,
Edward.
Thank you so very much Edward. Whenever, you are around in Delhi / NCR, shoot a mail or leave a message here and we shall meet up 🙂
Dear Mr. Deeraj,
Please share your mail ID’s.
Regards,
Anand Bhagwane
As I reply to it, you will get the mail Id? Would prefer if something that is personal and cannot be discussed here, then better mail as because there is huge list of unanswered mails and in general preference is given to Blog Queries, then Community Queries, then FB Messages and then mails 🙁
Thanks for Immediate reply.
Nothing personal, Am planning for Leh Ladkha trip in June(Last week) for 08 days. I need your help in plan this trip. 08 days are sufficient for Srinagar to Leh to Manali. Please help me in this.
Anand, 8 days are a bit less where you can cover like below:
Day 1 | Reach Srinagar and rest for the day
Day 2 | Srinagar – Kargil over ZojiLa Pass
Day 3 | Kargil – Lamayuru – Sham Valley – Leh
Day 4 | Leh rest and acclimatization
Day 5 | Day trip to Khardung La
Day 6 | Day trip to Pangong Tso
Day 7 | Leh – Taglang La – Sarchu
Day 8 | Sarchu – Baralacha La – Rohtang Pass – Manali
Thanks lot Mr. Dheeraj,
Any permit rerequired to enter ley or any area of Srinagar to Manali
No, Anand, permits for Indians have been lifted since last year May. There are still some regions where permit is required but that does not fall on conventional routes. You can refer the article for more details: Permits in Ladakh are not required for Indian Tourists from May 2014
Hi Dheeraj,
Thanks for great information. I have a detailed Leh city map with tourist places marked. If you wish I can send it to you & you can post it on this website. It’s in A4 size & people can easily print it & use it. Let me know.
Vinyasa, that will be great. I see you registered in community. Either you can mail me using “Email Me” button on the right side bar here or you can upload the map as attachment in the community in the DoW Maps link here: DoW – Maps of Ladakh
Thanks alot, it will save me alot of time creating one detailed for Leh only.
Dheeraj, I have sent you the map by email. In case you notice any mistake, let me know, I will correct it & send it back to you. The map is extracted from Google maps with high resolution. The places are marked comparing various information available on internet such as Google Earth. In case you need any other map, let me know. I can tell you how to grab high-resolution maps from Google maps ( you may be already knowing). Thanks.
Thanks I got the map, just uploaded in the DoW Maps thread of the community. Now, I am getting more used to drawing them up but it will be great know how to share the knowledge on how to extract that High Resolution maps from Google maps.
Hi Dheeraj, I have been reading a lot of your posts for planning for a trip to Ladakh next year. Quite a lot of very useful information along with comments from other travellers. I was wondering if it is possible to add the height of the places in your map series especially for places above 3000m to give people an idea of where they might get affected by AMS. That would help in planning for acclimatisation.
Hi Rajiv,
Thanks alot for the suggestions. Yes, that is in plan but that will be done a bit differently, using distance vs altitude graphs. We have couple of them available for Manali – Leh Highway and Hindustan – tibet Road at the links below:
Places on Manali – Leh Highway | A Detailed Description
Spiti Valley via Kinnaur | How to Plan Your Journey
Similar graphs will be released for Srinagar – Leh Highway and Kargil – Suru – Zanskar road. For Ladakh we will release one based on the itinerary followed by most people. This way I know it will be two pictures to look at but at least have a clear, easy to read pictures.
Idea is the keep map information intact only for places and distances as they were already cramped in space. Stay tuned, more is coming 🙂
Thanks alot for the suggestion again!!
Regards
Dheeraj
Great Job Dear and Thanx for all the information you provide to people. After reading your posts it looks very easy to go for a ride on one of the most dangerous roads for driving in the world. Thank you dear once again. I am really sorry to miss out the trip with a person like you with so much knowledge-Yadvinder Bharti
Yadvinder ji, thanks alot for such praising words!! No issues at all we will be having more and more DoW Open tours in time to come under our adventure club inorder to promote various causes in various parts of Himalayas …