Budget Home Stays for Your next Ladakh Trip

While in Ladakh, you must have the experience of staying with the locals and eating what they traditionally cook. You can enjoy the lavish hospitality of a hotel in any modern city of the world, but the beauty of Ladakh lies in the Ladakhi homes and culture.

It doesn’t only give you the glimpse of Ladakhi life-style but also lets you travel on a budget. After my comfortable stay at Goji Villa in Leh, I decided to just stay with the locals at their home and also eat what they eat. And thus, on my month-long journey I stayed in many beautiful homes of the locals. Here is the guide of the best budget home stays in Ladakh for you.

home stays in Ladakh

Leh

Abapa Home Stay

This family belonging to Chiktan has a beautiful home stay at Choglamsar near Leh. The room has a mesmerizing view of the Stok Kangri Peak. Completely furnished in wooden frame, thus the house remains very warm during winters too.  I had a great time playing with the kids and sowing some seeds in their small organic field. The owner is a knowledgeable person and a great trek guide too.

home stays in Ladakh
Abapa Home Stay, a quaint home stay away from the bustling city of Leh. Every morning you can wake up here with the sight of the Stok Kangri Peak glowing with crimson sun rays.

If you wish to enjoy some peaceful village life in Ladakh, and still wish to be in the vicinity of the main town of Leh, Choglamsar is the best place for you. It is also near by the base village for
Stok Kangri Trek. Airport is just 20 minutes away while bus-stop is just 10 minutes away from this house.

Provision: A proper room with bed, blankets, an attached modern toilet and continuously running hot water. The mentioned charge also includes dinner, breakfast and tea.

Charges: 250 INR per person

Contact:  9419178747, 9622983350

Towards Pangong and Nubra Valley

Sasoma and Padma Home Stay at Pangong Lake

There are only a few home stays near Pangong Lake and I stayed at Sasoma Home Stay. The lady there knows a little Hindi, but serves you food just like a mother. You can enjoy staying in a village house and the food cooked on Ladakhi stove. The women of Ladakh become entrepreneurs during the tourist seasons when they handle their farms as well as home stays while their children and husbands are away either for studies or for so better work at Leh. They happily welcome the guests and enjoy spending some time with them.

Home stays in Ladakh
The view of the Pangong Lake from a room of Sasoma Home Stay

Pangong Lake area is flooded with a number of camp site boasting of providing you the best experience. I would strongly not recommend any stay at the illegal camps right near the shore. The lake is considered a holy water body by the Buddhists there, and in their ignorance, the tourists are polluting the same holy area.

Provision: A proper room with bed and blankets. A common modern toilet and hot water are also available. Home cooked food is provided with separate minimum charges.

Charges: 300 INR per person

Contact: 9419541739, 8991922108

Padma Home Stay at Hunder

home stays in Ladakh

This was my favourite among all; farms, cows, traditional chulha, running hot water and comfort, it had it all.

This house of a retired army officer is the best place you would ever get to stay anywhere in Hunder. The rooms are built with proper modern facilities along with the best village surroundings. The apple and apricot orchard flourishes right in the courtyard of the home stay. You can also enjoy cooking ‘Khambhir’, the Ladakhi bread in Ladakhi Chulha set in the orchard. The family also owns cattle and provides its guests the tea and butter made up of the fresh cow milk. If you wish, you can also enjoy farming in their field. Fresh apples and apricots can also be yielded if you visit them from July onwards. Observing my keen interest in Ladakhi culture, the lady had also let me wear their traditional attire and the ornaments. It was indeed an awesome experience staying there.  The war-time and the border stories right from the experienced man would certainly be the cherry on the top of all amazing experiences in your trip.

Provision: A proper room with bed, blankets, an attached modern toilet and continuously running hot water. The mentioned charge also includes dinner, breakfast and tea.

Charges: 700 INR per person

Contact: 9469449199

Bagdour Home Stay at Turtuk

Bagdour Home Stay is perfect for a group stay of around 8-10 people, for couples and even for solo travelers. Located right near the natural Air-conditioner of Turtuk, this place is quite cozy and comfortable for the travelers. The owner is also a good guide who will take you around the village and will also tell you the interesting facts about this historic village that was once a part of Pakistan.  You can expect to be welcomed by a hot cup of kahwa and a bowlful of sweet apricots. The owner would also come to pick you up from the base to his home up in the hills. The guest house is neat and clean and the owner is friendly and unbiased of your religion.

home stays in Ladakh
A home near the natural AC of Turtuk – Bagdour Home Stay

There are many other cheaper options available, if you wish to look around for more options. But the prices are more or less the same.

Provision: A proper room with bed, blankets, separate (commonly shared) modern toilet and continuously running water. The mentioned charge also includes dinner, breakfast, tea and a complementary serving of apricots.

Charges: 700 INR per person (You can still bargain to get it for less)

Contact:  01980-248147, 9469541085

Towards Sham and Dah Hanu Valley

In the Home of Lamas at Likir

Not many would be aware that some monasteries also have guest rooms to cater to the expenditure of the school. Though the rooms were not in so good condition, staying in a monastery along with the young lamas is a unique experience in itself. But if you are too much fussy about the washrooms then you can opt to stay Old-Likir guest house below the monastery. You can enjoy your dinner and breakfast with the naughty kids and can also stroll around the monastery in the morning. The monastery also welcomes the volunteers who can teach English to the Lamas at least for 3 months.

home stays in Ladakh
So, this was the morning view from the home of the Lamas at Likir Monastary

Likir is also the base for many Sham Valley treks. If you wish to combine your stay with the treks, you can contact Tashi Angchuk (9419178747,9622983350) for the same.

Provision: A proper room with bed and blankets. There are separate (commonly shared) modern toilets with continuously running water. The mentioned charge also includes dinner, breakfast and  tea.

Charges: Pay as you wish. There are no fixed charges if you stay for short duration. Your payment would just be recorded as a donation towards the school.

In the Home of a Ladakhi Writer at Achinathang

As a part of my research for some stories on Aryan Villages and the history of Chiktan, I reached Achinathang in search of Sonam Phuntsog, a famous Ladakhi writer. Achinathang is a small Buddhist village surrounded by apricot orchards.  The writer usually welcomes the tourists, students and the researchers and thus he has converted his house into a cozy and budgeted home stay. He has the best knowledge about the culture and history of Ladakh. It was really an interesting stay discussing about the customs and beliefs of the valley with him.

It is the best budgeted option if you don’t wish to pay more at the costly guest houses in Dah or Garkone.

Apart from this, you can also opt to stay at Hanu Yokma. Though Hanu doesn’t have any proper guest house, the people are friendly enough to provide you a stay at very less cost in their homes. The best place to stay is the house above the PCO of Hanu Yokma. They just charge 400 per person for dinner, breakfast and tea.

Provision: A proper room with bed, blankets, an attached modern toilet / common shared toilet. The mentioned charge also includes dinner, breakfast and tea.

Charges: 600 INR per person

Contact:

Payupa and Betepa Guest House, Stay with a Brokpa Family

The most reputed families of the Garkone village run guest houses in their respective homes. The houses are built with the best facilities. The families here are a great source of information about Brokpa villages and culture.  They also arrange a cultural show on demand of the group.

solo travel Ladakh
My friend Diskit on the extreme right and another Brokpa lady in the middle. This was our little kitty party at Payupa House in Garkone village.

Provision: A proper room with bed, blankets, an attached modern toilet and continuously running hot water. The mentioned charge also includes dinner, breakfast and tea.

Charges: 1000 INR per person (2000 per room)(Bargain for lesser price during off-season)

Contact: 9419885588

Enjoy your stay and thank me later. And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

2 thoughts on “Budget Home Stays for Your next Ladakh Trip

  • June 22, 2017 at 9:45 am
    Permalink

    Hi Purvi, sasoma home stay at Pangong has indian or western type of toilet?

    And the best part of the blog is you have shared their contact numbers. Liked it. Keep up

    Reply
    • June 23, 2017 at 8:50 am
      Permalink

      Hello, Sasoma has one western toilet and another Ladakhi style toilet. You are free to use any of them.

      And thak you for youe appreciation, my aim is to make the travelers independent and thus I make all the possible efforts to provide them with the necessary details. 🙂 Stay Tuned

      Reply

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