Spiti Valley

Spiti Valley to Ladakh from Manali – Most Common Itinerary

When you get lost in nature in Ladakh

Sometimes it gets difficult to choose between Leh Ladakh and Spiti Valley. So, nowadays, many people are making a trip to Spiti Valley and Ladakh together. The most common route adventurists plan for this mega-adventure goes through Spiti Valley to Ladakh from Manali side.

However, some people do want to cover the whole circuit covering Hindustan Tibet Highway, Manali Leh Highway, and Srinagar Leh Highway. In between, they prefer to visit local sightseeing places in Leh Ladakh and Spiti Valley.

Today, in this article, I will be sharing the details of how to plan a trip from Spiti Valley to Ladakh from Manali side. I will answer some of the common doubts/questions of travelers who are interested in making such an adventurous yet heavenly road trip to Leh Ladakh in J&K and Spiti Valley in a remote corner of Himachal Pradesh.

Leh Ladakh and Spiti Valley together day by day plan

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What all places do this common itinerary for Leh Ladakh and Spiti covers?

The day by day detailed itinerary of Spiti to Ladakh tour covers Srinagar – Leh Highway as well as Manali – Leh Highway. Hence, it is apt for those looking forward to covering the entire circuit of Ladakh and having enough time to do the Spiti Valley tour as well with it.

In this plan, I have started the trip from Manali – Spiti Valley side because most of the questions from the past ask about making Spiti Valley trip from Manali side and less from the Kinnaur Valley side. I believe this is mostly due to the less number of days in hand.

However, my personal preference will always be to start from the Kinnaur side and go over to Manali – Leh Highway from there to avoid any AMS issues either in Spiti Valley or at Manali – Leh. In the next article, I will also share an itinerary to travel to Spiti Valley and Ladakh together from Kinnaur side as well.

FAQs on Ladakh and Spiti Tour

Let us look at some of the most frequently asked questions on planning a trip from Spiti to Leh Ladakh from Manali or Kinnaur side. These questions will help you plan your road trip to these places appropriately.

Can I make a trip to Spiti and Ladakh together?

Yes, you can make a trip to Spiti and Ladakh together. However, you need to have a sufficient number of days in hand to make some sense of such a trip to both Ladakh and Spiti. Both Spiti Valley, as well as Ladakh, requires a decent number of days to make a memorable road trip. When you make a trip to both Ladakh and Spiti together, it means you need more days at hand.

How to travel to Spiti and Ladakh?

You can travel to Spiti and Ladakh together by various modes as well as many different routes. You can plan to travel to Spiti via Manali and then move towards Ladakh from Manali Leh Highway. Or you can travel to Spiti via Kinnaur side and exit to Ladakh from Manali Leh Highway. Similarly, when in Ladakh, you can come back either from Leh to Manali route or exit via Srinagar Leh Highway. Finally, you can altogether reverse the route visiting Leh Ladakh from Srinagar side and then coming down to Manali – Spiti – Kinnaur – Shimla route.

Which one to choose Spiti Valley vs Leh Ladakh?

When choosing between Spiti or Ladakh, the choice is not easy and depends upon a lot of factors. Both these places have amazing beauty of nature on offer, the down to earth culture and warmth of hospitality. In the end, it becomes a personal preference along with other factors like time of travel, budget at hand, group size, number of days, etc.. It is not an easy question to answer in few words. It requires a dedicated article on when to choose Leh Ladakh over Spiti Valley and when to plan the Spiti Valley tour over Ladakh. Mixing them will surely going to make some fabulous Ladakh Spiti adventures.

Can I travel from Leh to Spiti Valley by bus?

You can take the HRTC bus from Leh to Keylong, Lahaul Valley, and then there is a direct bus from Keylong to Kaza, Spiti Valley that runs daily early morning when the road from Keylong to Kaza is open. The Lahaul – Spiti to Leh distance can be covered in one day and then further from Lahaul (Keylong) to Spiti (Kaza), it will take another day.

16 Day Itinerary for doing Spiti Valley to Ladakh from Manali side

You can find below a 16 Day trip plan for traveling Spiti Valley and Ladakh together. I am sure you should have some questions which I will be happy to answer, but more or less, the whole plan is self-explanatory and will help you make a memorable trip from Spiti Valley to Leh Ladakh. In case you are interested only in Spiti, then you can refer my most common Spiti Valley itinerary.

Day 1 | Delhi – Manali/Solang Valley

Better stay at Solang Valley and avoid Manali as sleeping at Solang Valley does help in acclimatization
If going by own car, get the permit made in advance to drive on Manali – Rohtang Pass road through by checking: How to get Rohtang Pass Permits Online
Overnight at Manali/Solang Valley
About 13-14 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 2 | Manali / Solang Valley – Rohtang Pass – Kunzum Pass – Kaza

Head early morning to Kaza via Rohtang Pass, headquarters of Spiti Valley
Visit Kunzum Pass and enjoy the moment there
Drive through Batal – Chattru – Gramphu is out of the world
There may be some headache or AMS this night, but enjoy this magical drive over Kunzum Pass to enter the middle land called Spiti Valley. You will enjoy the drive to Kaza greatly.
About 10 – 11 Hrs drive easily if you do not get messed up Rohtang Pass or stuck in water crossing
Overnight at Kaza

Day 3 | Kaza – Pin Valley (Mud Village) – Dhangkar – Dhangkar Lake – Tabo

Traverse the Pin Valley | Kungri – Sagnam – Mud – Tailing
Visit Dhangkar Monastery and Dhangkar Lake and leave after early lunch
Enjoy the magnificent vistas all-day
About 5 – 6 Hrs of drive in the day
Overnight at Tabo

The Barren Beauty coming on the way from Spiti Valley to Ladakh

Day 4 | Tabo to Kaza and then Ki – Kibber – Gette – Tashigang – Kaza

Travel back the 47 KMs to Kaza from Tabo and in the second half of the days do sightseeing
Visit Ki – Kibber – Gette – Tashigang and for more details, you can read: Key – Kibber – Gette – Tashigang – Local Sightseeing in Kaza
About 5 – 6 Hrs of drive in the day
Overnight at Kaza

Day 5 | Kaza – Hikkim – Komik – Langza – Rangrik – Losar – Kunzum Pass – Chandratal / Battal

Today visit the road less traveled or offbeat places near Kaza
Great view of Chau Chau Kang Nelda peak from Langza
Statue of the Buddha near Langza looking down the valley
The Tanggyud monastery at Komik is one of the most important and the highest monastery in the Spiti Valley
You can move to Chandratal if you are short on time else go over to Chandratal next day
About 2 – 3 Hrs of drive in the day and in case you go over to Chandratal, add about 4 more Hrs
Kaza – Losar – Kunzum Pass is the most scenic drive of entire Spiti Valley
Camps are about 2.5 KMs from the lake, either stay there or back to Batal where there is a PWD rest house now though without electricity. But, no point going back a painful ride to Losar over Kunzum Pass unless you want to stay in the guest house with electricity. Better stay at Batal and save time as well as energy for the next day.
Overnight at Batal or Chandratal Camps

Day 6 | Battal / Chandratal – Gramphu – Keylong/Jispa

Head towards Keylong / Jispa in the direction of Leh
About 9-10 Hrs drive easily if you do not get stuck between Batal – Gramphu
Overnight at Keylong/Jispa

Day 7 | Keylong/Jispa – Baralacha La – Leh

Leave Keylong/Jispa early next morning, say by 4/5 AM types, so that you reach Leh in the evening
You will witness the beauty of Manali – Leh Highway, with a couple of small lakes like Suraj Tal, Deepak Tal
You will cross over Baralacha La, Lachuchulung La, Nakee La, Taglang La passes
Overnight at Leh
About 11-12 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 8 | Leh Local Sightseeing + Rest & Inner Line Permits

To know the about the places to visit in/around Leh, check the link: Travel Guide for Local Sightseeing of Leh Town in Ladakh
Get the inner line permits for Leh Ladakh sightseeing
Overnight at Leh

Day 9 | 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
About 5-6 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between and at Khardung La

Day 10 | 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
About 7-9 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Nakee La, coming on the way to Ladakh from Spiti Valley

Day 11 | Leh – Hemis Monastery – Pangong Tso Lake

Cover either of Hemis, Thiksey, and Shey on the go towards Pangong Tso
Overnight at Pangong Tso (Spangmik or Lukung)
About 5-6 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 12 | Pangong Tso Lake – Thicksey Monastery – Shey Palace – Leh

Cover either of Hemis, Thiksey, and Shey on return to Leh
Overnight at Leh
About 5-6 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 13 | Leh – Tso Moriri via Chumathang

Cover Karzok Monastery
Overnight at Karzok or Tso Moriri
About 7-8 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 14 | Tso Moriri – Tso Kar – Debring (Manali – Leh Highway starts) – Moore Plains – Pang / Sarchu

Try to start early in the day so that you reach Sarchu where the accommodation options are better than Pang
Overnight at Sarchu or Pang
About 11-12 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 15 | Pang / Sarchu – Baralacha La – Keylong – Rohtang Pass – Manali

On the way cover Suraj Tal, Deepak Tal which are on the roadsides only
Overnight at Manali
About 11-12 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between and of course the mess at Rohtang Pass

Day 16 | Manali – Delhi

Return Home
About 13-14 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 17 + 18 | Buffer Days

Keep some buffer day in case of road closure due to landslides or snowfall or perhaps you want to enjoy more in these remote corners of the Himalayas.

Additional Points

Instead of coming back to Leh from Nubra Valley, you can head towards Pangong Tso via Wari La route. This will give you an additional day that can be spent in Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso or Leh. If you are riding then you need to carry sufficient fuel for it. However, do read the article: Tips for Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso Direct Route
You can also make a three day trip to Nubra Valley so that you can spend one night a beautiful village Turtuk and remove rest day at 9 or add one day to the above plan to visit Tutruk. I bet, you will not regret it at all.
For cheap and moderate budget accommodation or hotels in Leh – Ladakh you can refer the links cheap hotels in Leh and moderate budget hotels in Ladakh respectively.
Any doubts related to the budget of the trip?? Don’t worry, check: How to calculate cost or budget for Leh – Ladakh trip.

That Aerial view while coming down from Komik Village

Ladakh from Spiti Valley side and come back from Srinagar side

The other option is that you do not come back the same Manali – Leh Highway but go over Srinagar – Leh Highway to return back home from that route and complete the whole circuit. In this case, you can go back to Leh from Tso Moriri on Day 14 and start towards Srinagar – Leh Highway on Day 15 as mentioned below:

Day 14 | Tso Moriri – Tso Kar – Debring (Manali – Leh Highway starts) – Taglang La – Upshi – Leh

Come back via Tso Kar and Manali – Leh Highway to Leh
Overnight at Leh
About 10-11 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 15 | Leh – Sham Valley – Lamayuru – Kargil

Sham Valley include Alchi, Likir, Basgo Palace, Magnetic Hills, Confluence at Nimmu, Gurudwara Pather Sahib
Cover Mulbekh Maitreya, Lamayuru Monastery, Lunar Landscapes
Overnight at Kargil
About 8-9 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 16 | Kargil – Drass – Zozi La – Sonamarg – Srinagar

Enjoy the vistas en route and cross Zojila
Have late lunch meal at Sonamarg, Overnight at Srinagar
About 7-8 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 17 | Srinagar – Patnitop – Jammu

Enjoy the vistas en route
Overnight at Jammu
About 8-9 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 18 | Jammu – Pathankot – Ambala – Delhi

Back Home
About 11-12 Hrs drive, depending upon the breaks you take in between

Day 19 + 20 | Buffer days

Keep some buffer day in case of road closure due to landslides or snowfall or perhaps you want to enjoy more.

Parked alongside Tso Moriri Lake

Conclusion

I hope this itinerary for Spiti Valley & Leh Ladakh together will be useful for travelers planning their journey at least for the first time. I will look forward to any queries or doubts or valuable suggestions and inputs you have and would love to discuss your custom plan as well in the comments section. If you plan to make this trip by public transport like HRTC buses or shared taxis, you should plan for some more buffer days or may need to skip some places.

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If you want any customization or deviation from the above plan, feel free to ask any queries, and in case you know a friend who is interested in such a plan, feel free to share the article with them.

If you know your friends or family are planning a trip from Spiti Valley to Ladakh, do share this article with them to help them make a memorable adventure road trip.