Nyoma

Nyoma is a small village located in the south of the Union Territory of Ladakh in India. It is located 150 km from Leh on the bank of the Indus River at an elevation of 4,180m (13710 ft). Since 2010, domestic tourists with Inner-Line-Permits and foreigners with Protected-area-permit are permitted to visit Nyoma village and the monastery.

The village of Nyoma is breathtakingly beautiful as it offers a panoramic view of the hills and valleys with majestic mountains in the background. The beauty of the desert landscape is irresistibly splendid, and you can sink in naturistic sights while taking a long walk around the village. You will get a chance to trek along the rocky trails of Ladakh, or you can have an exciting conversation with the locals of the village. The picturesque location of the village and the serenity of the atmosphere will leave you mesmerized. You can also visit the town on your way to Chumathang from Leh.

At the back of the village, a small Buddhist monastery known as Nyoma Gompa is located on the top of the village hill. The monastery is wonderfully adorned, and you can get a fantastic sight of the entire village from the top of the monastery. Whether the landscape is sun-drenched or soaked in rain and dazzling colors of the rainbow, you will get an opportunity to enjoy the mind-blowing scenery and click awesome pictures The village also has an advanced landing ground for the Indian Air Force, which remains operational even during cold weather conditions. It was reactivated when AN32 landed on this airfield in the year 2009.

If you are looking forward to a vacation, you should visit this incredible village, or you will miss the great aura of this unexplored gem. You can choose to plan your Nyoma trip from Ladakh Tour Packages here.

Location

The Nyoma village lies on the Leh-Loma-Hanle road, 41 km southeast of Chumathang and 87 km south of Chushul. The Indus river flows through a wide gorge in a southwestern direction after entering Ladakh. The higher plains of the Chushul valley block the Indus river, and it takes a 90-degree bend at Dungti. Nyoma is situated 33 km west of this 90-degree bend on the right bank of the Indus river, and it is joined with the closeby village of Mood. Some major villages located nearby Nyoma are Loma and Mahe. Hanle, the largest town in southern Ladakh, is situated 80 km to the southeast of Nyoma village. The Nyoma tehsil and subdivision includes the Indus valley of Skakjung, the Rupshu plains, and the Hanle valley covering the entire southern Ladakh.

Best time to visit Nyoma

The best time to visit Nyoma is from May to September. During these months, the climate is pleasant, and tourists worldwide visit the major attractions and offbeat villages of Ladakh, including Nyoma. You can experience the pristine natural beauty of the snow-capped mountains, stunning landscapes, magnificent lakes, and the desert landscape in the peak season from May to September.

But many tourists also prefer to visit in winter to enjoy the snowfall. You can visit Nyoma during the winter season as well but be ready to experience freezing weather during this time. You can get a detailed guide on the best time to visit Ladakh here.

My tour experience of the Nyoma village

We packed our bags and collected the Inner Line Permits for our friends who visited Ladakh. Since we belonged to Ladakh, we did not make any permits for our visit to Nyoma and nearby places. There was no option to get the permit online, so we had to visit the DC office and get the special stamp on their permit. After getting the permit, we had a light breakfast while waiting for our taxi driver. As soon as he arrived, we started our journey to Nyoma, which is one of the hidden gems of Ladakh.

Thiksey Monastery

On our way to Nyoma, we came across several historic monasteries, and we decided to visit one of them, the monumental Thiksey monastery.

We stopped at Thiksey village to visit the famous Thiksey monastery. It was located on the top of a hill at an elevation of 11,800 ft. The monastery is a 12 story building and is one of the largest monasteries of Ladakh. As we saw the gleaming statue of Buddha, the feeling of immense peace and tranquility stirred inside us. We enjoyed the heavenly views of the surrounding hills and also clicked some photos with the gigantic mountains and the monastery in the background.

Our drive on the High mountain passes

The roads were pretty smooth even at such a high altitude and harsh weather conditions. While driving on the high mountain passes, we noticed the changing size and color of the splendid mountains, giving us a feeling of a magical world altogether. The roads were freshly laid at some places, but we had to drive with caution because there were numerous inverted bumps on the roads that could damage our vehicle. Since we were acclimatized to the high altitude, we did not feel any sickness, but the lack of oxygen made our friends feel a bit uncomfortable because they were not used to it.

We wanted to enjoy the lovely nature and the scenic vistas of the grand Himalayas throughout our entire journey so, accordingly, we had already planned our trip extremely carefully so that no one among us encountered acute mountain sickness symptoms. We rested at a riverbank and walked in the fresh air, rejuvenating us for our remaining trip.

Karu

After a while, we got into our car and drove and once again continued our journey towards Nyoma. We reached Karu, which is the central hub and last petrol station between Manali and Leh. After crossing the military area of Karu, we passed over the super smooth and straight roads leading to Upshi village. At Upshi, the road divided into two, of which the right went towards Manali and the left lead to Nyoma. We took the left turn for Nyoma and followed the sparkling Indus river that gushed on our right side.

Kiari

We had completed more than half of our journey, so we decided to halt at Kiari to have some tea and a light meal. While crossing the Kiari village, we came across the most mesmerizing scenes of the towering mountain peaks half-covered with snow, the enchanting Indus river and, beautiful deep valleys. After driving continuously for 2 hours from Kiari, we finally reached Nyoma in the evening.

As we entered the village, we saw a small cluster of shops where we met some locals and had a brief conversation with them. It was almost 7 pm, and we were utterly exhausted, so we decided to stay overnight in a homestay at Nyoma. Our homestay was quite an old one and was built in the traditional Ladakhi style. The rooms of the house were tiny but cozy. The family members talked with us about their diverse culture, custom, and tradition while serving us hot meals in the kitchen. We were overly relieved with the friendly and helpful nature of the Ladakhi locals who hosted in the village. Our homestay was a perfect place to rest and relax after such a long journey.

Nyoma Monastery

The following day we woke up early after having a comfortable night’s sleep. We had our breakfast and headed towards the Nyoma monastery. The personal aesthetics of the monastery with the surrounding natural beauty added to the charm of the place. We clicked some fantastic pictures of the surrounding valleys, mountain terrains, and villages. The rooms of the monastery were beautifully decorated and offered scenic views that define the place.

Rezang La War Memorial

After a while, we set forth for the Rezang La War Memorial. The memorial was built in remembrance of the brave Indian soldiers during the Indo-China Conflict of 1962.

Indian Astronomical Observatory

In the afternoon, we drove towards Hanle, where we visited the Indian Astronomical Observatory. The observatory is situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters (14,764 ft) and is one of the highest sites for infrared, optical, and gamma-ray telescopes. Later, we returned to our homestay and strolled around the village to witness the spectacular view of the semi-frozen Indus river. As we sat along the river, we recollected all the great memories and fascinating sights we came across during our entire journey.

In the evening, we packed our bags and prepared to retrace our steps for Leh. Our journey to Nyoma was exceptionally adventurous, and we wished to spend some more time exploring the beautiful village.

Have you ever visited Nyoma? Is there anything that you have missed during your visit? If you have any travel questions or you want us to cover that we have not yet covered, please let us know. We would love to answer your travel questions and talk about other unexplored regions of Ladakh.

How to reach Nyoma?

The easiest way to get to Nyoma is to fly to Leh and then hire a taxi from Leh to Nyoma. Most tourists reach Leh and then rest a night in Leh to acclimatize and then plan a road trip to Nyoma.

Reach Leh by air or road
Obtain an inner line permit from the DC office, Leh.
Rest a night in Leh to acclimatize
Hire a Taxi from Leh to Nyoma

By Air

There is no direct flight to Nyoma; you have to arrive at Kushok Bakula Rimpoche airport in Leh, which is around 180 km from Nyoma. And then travel from Leh to Nyoma by road.
Connecting flights are available to Leh from all the airports in India. However, direct flights are available from Delhi, Jammu, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Srinagar.
To acclimatize, rest for at least a night in Leh town.
Apply for the inner line permit at the DC office Leh. If you face any difficulty, you can contact us to assist you with the permit.
Hire a taxi/tempo for Nyoma.

By train

Nyoma is not connected with railway lines. However, you can travel by train up to Jammu Tawi.
Jammu Tawi railway station is around 880 km far from Nyoma.
On reaching Jammu on a train, you can travel up to Leh on a bus or taxi.
From Leh, you can hire another Taxi to Nyoma.

By road

Use one of the two given routes to reach Nyoma by road:

Jammu – Srinagar – Kargil – Leh – Nyoma
Manali – Keylong – Jispa – Leh – Nyoma

Leh to Nyoma

Read this post to know how to reach Leh. Once you reach Leh by air or by road, use the following route to reach Nyoma.

From	To	Distance	Time
Leh	Thiksey	20 km	30 min
Thiksey	Karu	15 km	20 min
Karu	Stakna	12 km	10 min
Stakna	Ikpadok	45 km	1 hr
Ikpadok	Gaik	32 km	40 min
Gaik	Kiari	10 km	15 min
Kiari	Mahe	54 km	1.5 hrs
Mahe	Nyoma	20 km	30 min

Google Map

It is the most common route to travel to Nyoma by road and tourists prefer this route while traveling from Leh. A road trip to Nyoma via this route will also allow you to visit some known tourist attractions on the way. Some known places include Keylong, Jispa, Pang, Leh, Thicksey, Mahe, Chumathang, etc.

From Leh, you can make your first stop in Thiksey and visit the magnificent Thiksay Monastery.
On reaching Karu, take the road towards Upshi.
From Upshi, take a left towards Kumdok.
From Kumdok, keep driving for an hour to reach Chumathang.
It would take around 30 min to reach Mahe check-post from Chumathang.
After passing the Mahe check-post, you have to keep driving for half an hour to reach Nyoma.

Insider tips for travelers

Taxis from Manali or Srinagar would not be allowed to travel up to Nyoma. So, you have to change the taxi in Leh and hire another taxi for Nyoma, which comes under the Leh Taxi union.
Nyoma is at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet high. So, proper acclimatization in Leh is important for the travelers who arrived at Leh by air.
Rent an oxygen cylinder from Leh town to carry it in your vehicle or the hired Taxi.
You would need a permit to visit Nyoma. Apply for the permit in the DC office in Leh a day before your trip to Nyoma.
During the months of July, August, and September, Sunrays in Nyoma are of exceptionally high intensity. So, wear sunglasses and carry sun protection cream with you to use when required.
The change in weather might affect your road trip to Nyoma, especially when you are on a bike. So, don’t forget to check the weather prediction report before visiting Nyoma.
June, July, and August are the best three tourists’ preferred months for a bike trip to Nyoma.
It would take around 4 to 5 hours to reach Nyoma from Leh, so start your trip early.
If you are traveling on a bike, make sure the bike has a windshield and is in good condition.
Nyoma is situated in a remote area where cell phone signals are weak. BSNL SIMs receive better signals than other SIMs, so subscribe for a postpaid BSNL SIM before visiting Nyoma.
Download google offline map if you are traveling in your own car or bike.