Ladakh, or the ‘Land of Passes’, was for centuries a mid-way point for trade between Punjab and Central Asia. Commercial interest presumably provided spurs for the businessmen who set off accompanied by their pony-loads of tradeable goods—the difficult journey across high, dangerous terrain took about two months. The contemporary traveller can access Ladakh far more easily, and can even choose from several routes and modes of transport to this popular tourist destination.
Flying there: Indian Airlines operates regular flights to Leh from Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar. (Delhi-Leh economy class: Rs 3,215. Note that the service is "subject to clear weather", and that tickets in the ‘season’ need to be booked well in advance.)
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Driving up: Summer in the rest of the country means snow-melt in Ladakh, so roads leading up become motorable. The main overland approach is from the Kashmir Valley via the 434 km Srinagar-Leh road (NH1A) up the 11,500 ft/3,505 m high Zoji-la Pass. The road, now open for the year, is motorable up to November. State transport buses are available from Srinagar to Leh (overnight halt at Kargil), as are taxis.
The second, more rugged, land approach to Ladakh is via the 473 km Manali-Leh road that takes you up through the Rohtang Pass and Taglang-la, at 17,582 ft, the world’s second highest motorable pass. This road is open only from mid to late June to early October. HP Tourism and J&K state transport buses make the 19 hour trip up to Leh from Manali.
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Going on foot: If you have the time and the stamina, try walking part of the way. One trek you can do at this time is from Spiti. The walk up from Kibber to Korzok village (on the northern shore of Tsomoriri Lake) can take a week. At Korzok, you can hitch a lift on a jeep to the main road that leads to Leh (get off near Mahe bridge); or walk right up to the road (but that will add days to your trek). Once on the main road, buses to Leh are easily available.
