Best Time to Visit Ladakh: A Season-by-Season Guide

May to September is the season, when the passes are open and the weather is at its most reliable, with June to September the sweet spot for Nubra, Pangong and the high roads. If you can time it, the Hemis festival in early summer fills the monastery of Hemis with masked cham dances. From November to March Ladakh is bitterly cold, often below minus twenty, and mostly cut off by snow, the preserve of hardy travellers and the frozen-river Chadar trek. One caution: mountain weather is unpredictable, and even in summer a spell of rain can close the Leh road or the airport, so keep a buffer day.

• May–Jun: pleasant weather and snow still on the passes.
• Jul–Aug: warm days, clear roads and perfect views.
• Sep: crisp air and beautiful autumn colours.
• Oct onwards: cold begins, and the high passes start closing.

• The Hemis festival in early summer fills the monastery of Hemis with masked cham dances.
• From November to March Ladakh is bitterly cold, often below minus twenty, and mostly cut off by snow.
• The frozen-river Chadar trek runs in deep winter, for hardy travellers only.
• Mountain weather is unpredictable even in summer — keep a buffer day in case rain closes the Leh road or airport.