India, Sept. 10 -- Ladakh is witnessing a sharp surge in tourist footfall this year. Between January 1 and August 31, 2026, 4,05,085 tourists visited the Union Territory, already higher than the 3,35,872 visitors recorded during the entire calendar year of 2025.

In eight months, arrivals have exceeded last year's full-year total by 20.61 per cent, with four months of the travel season still left.

The rise has been recorded in both domestic and foreign segments. During the first eight months of 2026, Ladakh received 3,71,739 domestic tourists and 33,346 foreign tourists. In the corresponding period of 2025, the figures were 2,44,308 domestic and 25,082 foreign visitors.

Compared with January-August 2025, when 2,69,390 tourists arrived, ...