Of course, your final travel plan will depend on several factors, how you were traveling, for how many days and whether there were any budget restrictions. However, even if you have not been able to follow the itinerary below down to the last detail, it will provide at least enough information to form one of your own. If, after reading the post below, you need further clarification on any part of the journey, feel free to comment and ask at the end of this page.

Zanskar Valley Itinerary

When planning a trip to Zanskar only, it makes sense to approach the valley on the side of Srinagar for two main reasons. First of all, it is the shorter of the two routes. From Srinagar, you can reach Zanskar in two days, but if you are from Manali, it will take at least four days to reach Padum. Then there is the fact that, from Manali, you will travel through the city of Leh; which will surpass the goal of just visiting Zanskar and keeping Ladakh out.

Second and more reasons, however, if you have acute illness in the mountains and more applicable to people planning to take a flight. To get to Zanskar, you can board a flight to Leh or Srinagar and reach Padum from there by road. However, if you planned to leave Srinagar, you will first land at a comparatively lower altitude and then proceed to Zanskar. As the altitude gain in this case is somewhat gradual, your chance of suffering from altitude sickness is almost nil. If, on the other hand, you landed in the city of Leh, you are likely to suffer from AMS on at least the first day, because you will be landing at almost the same altitude as that of the Zanskar valley.

If we talk about numbers, Srinagar is at an altitude of 1,585 meters, Kargil at 2,676 meters and Padum 3,669 meters. Thus, you may notice that you are slowly gaining height in 2 to 3 days, depending on your itinerary. Leh, however, is at an altitude of 3,500 meters; therefore, if you landed there directly, it is almost the same as taking a flight directly to Padum, which is likely to trigger symptoms of illness in the mountains.

Zanskar valley route

Therefore, from Srinagar, you will reach Kargil via Sonamarg, Zojila and Drass. From Kargil, you will follow the only road that will take you to Padum and will enter the beautiful Suru Valley first. Unlike the arid landscape of neighbors Ladakh and Zanskar, the Suru valley is all lush green and mostly Muslim in terms of culture. You will travel through the cities of Sankoo, Panikhar, Parkachik and reach Rangdum, where the Suru valley ends. After Rangdum, you will reach the top of Pensi La (also known as Penzi La Pass) and descend the Zanskar valley. You will arrive in Padum and stay there all night.

What to see in Zanskar

A trip to Zanskar is really an uninterrupted subject of tourism. From the moment you arrive in Srinagar, you will begin to scroll through an endless list of tourist attractions. If you have time, spend a day in Srinagar and visit some places in the city. I have provided a detailed list of the must-visit places in Srinagar, in Tourist Attractions in Srinagar and its surroundings, which you can take a look at. After leaving Srinagar, you will be traveling on the beautiful Srinagar Leh road to Kargil. Zojila, Kargil war memorial, Sonamarg, Drass are some of the places you will see on this route. After Kargil, when you start traveling on the Kargil – Padum road; Drang Drung Glacier, Pensi La, Sta Tso, Lang Tso Lakes and Nun-Kun Massif are some of the must-see spots on the way.

Please have a look at the Tourist Attractions in Zanskar Valley for a complete and detailed list of places to visit in Zanskar. I will provide the itinerary below, and then you can refer to this article for places to cover during your trip.

Itinerary Zanskar

Below is an example itinerary for the Zanskar valley. First, I will detail an itinerary that I recommend providing for some other alternative versions. For the purpose of this article, I will assume that you are starting your journey from Delhi. However, if you were coming from a different city, only the trip to and from Srinagar will be different. The rest of the details for the rest of the days will still be applied.

  • Delhi to Jammu – Day 1
  • Jammu to Srinagar – Day 2
  • Srinagar – Day 3
  • Srinagar to Kargil – Day 4
  • Kargil to Padum – Day 5
  • Padum – Day 6
  • Padum – Day 7
  • Padum to Rangdum – Day 8
  • Rangdum to Drass – Day 9
  • Drass to Srinagar – Day 10
  • Srinagar to Jammu – Day 11
  • Jammu to Delhi – Day 12

The journey above is very relaxed, ensuring that you cover and see everything there is to see. Depending on your preference, you can modify it accordingly. For example, if you were entering and leaving Srinagar, the first two and the last two days will be changed to 1 day each. If you have little time, you can also remove the rest days in Srinagar and Padum.

Delhi to Jammu

  • About 600 kilometers of journey depending on where you were starting from in Delhi
  • Travel time of 12 to 13 hours
  • Road Conditions are mostly good all the way till Jammu with a few bad patches in between
  • Overnight stay at Jammu

Jammu to Srinagar

  • About 270 kilometers of total journey
  • 11 to 12 hours of travel time
  • Even though the distance is not too great, it can still take you about 12 hours to reach Srinagar because of frequent road-blocks and traffic jams on the highway.
  • Overnight stay at Srinagar

Srinagar to Kargil

  • About 200 kilometers of distance
  • Will take 9 to 10 hours to complete depending upon your speed and breaks
  • See Kargil War Memorial, Tiger Hill and Zoji La en route

Kargil to Padum

  • 230 Kilometers of total distance
  • Will still take you about 10 to 11 hours
  • Road is good until Sankoo but after that until Padum, it gets really bad.
  • Get an early start from Kargil so you also have some time for sightseeing on the way
  • See Suru Valley, Pensi La, Drang Drung Glacier, Sta Tso, Lang Tso Lakes and Nun-Kun Massif on the way
  • Overnight stay at Padum

Padum

  • Rest Day at Padum
  • You can remove this day if you are short on time
  • You can visit some of the local places near Padum today
  • For a list of must visit places, please read Tourist Attractions in Padum
  • Overnight Stay in Padum

Padum

  • Another day of local sightseeing in and around Padum
  • You can remove this day if you were short on time
  • DZongkhul, Sani, Stongde and Karsha monasteries, Zang La fort are some of the more popular places to see. Karsha Monastery is better for an evening view of Padum while Stongdey monastery provides some great morning views.
  • Overnight Stay in Padum

Padum to Rangdum

  • Only about 100 kilometers of travel today
  • It will take you 4 hours at most so you can also start a bit late in the day
  • Spend some time at top of Pensi La
  • See and click pictures of Magnificent Drang Drung Glacier
  • Trek to nearby Sta Tso, Lang Tso Lakes
  • Overnight stay at Rangdum
  • Once you have checked into a hotel, pay a visit to Rangdum Gompa

Rangdum to Drass

  • Take a different route for journey back home.
  • You will travel through the Umba La Pass that only a very few people even know about.
  • The road towards Umba La bifurcates a little after Sankoo. Ask around the locals to be sure.
  • Please note though that the road is a bit steep with a lot of hairpin bends.
  • See Nun-Kun Massif from Purikutchey
  • See 7-meter rock carved statue of the Maitreya Buddhha in the village of Kartse Khar (also Karche Khar or Karshe Khar Karche Khar). The village is near Sankoo.

Will take about 10-11 hours depending upon your speed and breaks and places you visited.

Drass to Srinagar

  • Journey back to Srinagar via the same route that you took to arrive at Kargil
  • About 5-6 hours of journey
  • Enjoy sunset view in Srinagar from either Dal Lake or Pari Mahal

Srinagar to Jammu

  • For your journey back to Jammu, you will take a different route this time.
  • You will travel on the historic Mughal road via Shopian, Peer ki Gali Pass and Rajouri.
  • It is the more scenic and lesser crowded of the two routes connecting Jammu with Srinagar.
  • For more details, please read How to Plan a Trip on Mughal Road

Itinerary for Zanskar Valley

In case you were flying in and out of Srinagar, then the journey can be as mentioned below.

  • Delhi to Srinagar – Day 1
  • Srinagar – Day 2
  • Srinagar to Kargil – Day 3
  • Kargil to Padum – Day 4
  • Padum – Day 5
  • Padum – Day 6
  • Padum to Rangdum – Day 7
  • Rangdum to Drass – Day 8
  • Drass to Srinagar – Day 9
  • Srinagar to Delhi – Day 10

Or like this

  • Delhi to Srinagar – Day 1
  • Srinagar – Day 2
  • Srinagar to Kargil – Day 3
  • Kargil to Padum – Day 4
  • Padum – Day 5
  • Padum – Day 6
  • Padum to Rangdum – Day 7
  • Rangdum to Drass – Day 8
  • Drass to Leh – Day 9
  • Leh to Delhi – Day 10

A third option of the itinerary can be like below.

  • Delhi to Jammu – Day 1
  • Jammu to Srinagar – Day 2
  • Srinagar – Day 3
  • Srinagar to Kargil – Day 4
  • Kargil to Padum – Day 5
  • Padum – Day 6
  • Padum – Day 7
  • Padum to Rangdum – Day 8
  • Rangdum to Drass – Day 9
  • Drass to Leh – Day 10
  • Leh to Sarchu – Day 11
  • Sarchu to Manali – Day 12
  • Manali to Delhi – Day 13