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Nubra Valley
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Photographs
Places worth going
All places →Diskit MonasteryDon't missLandmarksThe big monastery of the valley, stacked up its cliff with the whole of Nubra and the braided Shyok below it. The view from the road is the photograph; go up for the chapels and the giant Maitreya Buddha on the ridge opposite if you have the legs for the steps.NubraDon't missTownsYou come over Khardung La out of bare rock and grey scree, drop for an hour, and Nubra is suddenly green - poplars, running water, birds in the trees, and a dragonfly sitting on a wire while you stand there adjusting. Then you look up and there is a stony desert valley a couple of kilometres wide with snow on the Karakoram closing off the end of it. Both things at once is what makes it. The drive is the attraction as much as anything at the far end, so do not treat it as transit - stop, and give it two nights rather than one so you are not turning round the moment you arrive. Take a day to acclimatise in Leh first.Sumoor Sand Dunes and Wet LandDon't missOutdoorsSand dunes at 3,000 metres with snow peaks behind them, which makes no sense until you're standing on them. Go at the end of the day: the sand goes gold, the Karakoram goes pink, and I had dinner laid out on a table in the middle of it with nobody else in sight.The Kyagar, NubraDon't missStaysTwo nights in Nubra, and the best place I stayed on the trip. A garden with the Karakoram across the valley, a fire pit that got lit both nights, a calf that had the run of the car park, and birds in the trees all afternoon. Book it for the view from the lawn as much as anything.