Getting to Leh
By air year-round or by road in season — pick how you are coming and get the plan, the official fee portal, and the district's two-day acclimatisation advice.
Getting to Leh is a seasonal question. From roughly November to May the two highways are usually shut and the aircraft is the only way in; the rest of the year you can also drive up from Srinagar or Manali. Whichever way you arrive, you land at 3,500 m — and the district's own advice is to do nothing for the first two days.
Fees are paid online before or on arrival
Every way to arrive
How are you travelling?
By air
Year-round — and the only way in from November to May.
The district's own acclimatisation advice
How it works
- Fly into Leh's Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport. The district administration lists flights from Delhi, Jammu, Chandigarh and Srinagar; in deep winter the schedule can thin to a single daily Delhi service.
- Plan nothing for your first two days: you arrive at 3,500 m with no acclimatisation, which is the hardest possible altitude profile.
- Pay the environmental fee, Red Cross Fund and wildlife fee on the official portal (lahdclehpermit.in) if you haven't already.
- Only after acclimatising, plan trips over the passes — Khardung La and Chang La are another 1,800 m higher than town.
- Season
- All year — the winter lifeline
- Departure cities
- Delhi, Jammu, Chandigarh, Srinagar (per the district administration)
By road from Srinagar
434 km over Zoji La — open roughly May to November/December.
How it works
- Check the highway is open before committing: the district's published window is May to November/December, and the real word on any day comes from the district administration.
- The drive is 434 km over Zoji La (3,528 m), usually broken at Kargil.
- Arriving by road from Srinagar gives a gentler altitude profile than flying, but Leh is still 3,500 m — take the first day quietly.
- Pay the fees on the official portal if you haven't already.
- Distance
- 434 km, usually done over two days
- Season
- May to November/December (published window; varies with snow)
By road from Manali
473 km over four high passes — open roughly May/June to September/October.
How it works
- Check the highway is open: the published window is May/June to September/October. In 2025–26 it closed on 20 November and reopened to light vehicles on 14 May.
- The drive is 473 km over passes above 4,900 m, usually broken at Keylong or the tented camps.
- This route spends a night high — sleeping en route at over 3,000 m helps some travellers, but the passes are hard on anyone unacclimatised. Take altitude symptoms seriously mid-route.
- Pay the fees on the official portal if you haven't already.
- Distance
- 473 km, usually done over two days
- Season
- May/June to September/October (published window; varies with snow)