Use ls -l -d dir ( -d fará com que pare de listar o conteúdo de um diretório). A partir da documentação :
-d,--directoryList just the names of directories, as with other types of files, rather than listing their contents. Do not follow symbolic links listed on the command line unless the
--dereference-command-line(-H),--dereference(-L), or--dereference-command-line-symlink-to-diroptions are specified.