In reply to David Rose: On the Shingo La -as of last season the road reaches the top but its still very rough This may be useful re road situation ( although its from 2017)
https://project-himalaya.com/2017-zanskar-roads-cycling-trekking.htmlNubra last year was heaving with motorbikes and Indian tourists (and for some reason Thai tour groups ) doing the Hankar Sand Dunes- Pangong Lake trip. Away from the villages it was ok but the resurfacing work and subsequent even longer delays than usual to cross the Khardung La made it feel to me like it had lost all its magic. (Maybe I was just being grumpy ?)
The Markha Trek, Chilling to Nimaling will be busy in July (approx 200 people in Nimaling camp one wet night last July) but from there you could go pretty wild by going Kang Yatze Base Camp / Konka Nongpo La 5080m/ Zalung Karpo La ~5200m/ Dat where you could have a jeep organised to get you back to Leh.
Motup and Yangdu at Rimo are, as everyone says, great. Really helpful and they understand British trekkers needs. For a slightly cheaper agent you could try contacting Nima at Mountain Trails in Leh who are also really efficient. Or, as you're going with your wife you could use http://www.ladakhiwomenstravel.com/ I used them when my wife came over a couple of years ago and they were really great. A very different insight into Ladakh from the usual tourist one but as they only do homestays I suspect wherever you go in July you would find it crowded and busy.
I spoke to Motup at Rimo about Kishtwar last year and he suggested we give it a miss due to security issues. Lahul and Spiti are, as Damo said, worth a look but there is less tourist infrastructure outside of Manali A jeep from Manali and on to trek from Kibber to Korzok over the Parang La and then jeep out to Leh might just about be doable in your timescale ?
Or just jeep down to Padum from Leh and do trips to explore the side valleys of Zanskar
Or go Padum over the Phitse La to Sarchu ( which mostly avoids the road), and jeep out to Manali then onward to Delhi (allow extra days in case the roads washed out by early monsoon)
Hope that helps a bit (or at least adds to the confusion.
Post edited at 10:36