The village of Saboo is only a 10-min drive from the centre of Leh, but to be standing from one of its viewpoints, looking out over the Indus river and the village of Stok on the far side of the valley, you wouldn’t know it, separated as it is from the capital by a jagged, barren range of hills.

In this sense Saboo offers a perfect situation – close to the city’s facilities but away enough to feel a splendid isolation. The village itself, however, is spread out vertically over many kilometres, leading up into the mountains, with no real centre or main street, and hardly any shops.

How to get there:

Catch a taxi here from Leh airport. Or if you’re making you own way by road, Saboo is easily found just outside of Leh. Take the Leh-Manali highway south of the city, and turn left after 2.5km before reaching Choglamsar. The road hugs the hill range.

By air:
Leh’s airport is the nearest. There are no international flights. Domestic flights come from Delhi (1hr 20 mins) or Srinagar (45mins).

By rail:
Not an option.

By road:
There are 2 approaches to Leh: heading east from Srinagar, which takes half a day and is about 420 km, or heading north from Manali, which takes something like a full day and is about 480km. The journey is arduous, don’t expect it to be anything like the Google Maps prediction. Both roads are likely to be closed from October/November through to May.

Distances & travel times:

airport: Leh 10km / 15 mins

railway station: none