Help needed to plan Leh trip in July.

[hemanthisgreat]

Hey guys I will be most probably (Do not flame me if somehow the trip gets canceled and I do not go ) going to Leh this july either on 10th July or 17th July for 10 days.

We are 5 people who are going and taking bikes and own car is ruled out.

Here are the options I am considering.

OPTION 1: Take a flight directly to Srinagar from Bangalore and start from there and do the trip in a taxi from Srinagar - Leh - Manali, then take a Volvo from Manali to Delhi and the flight back to Bangalore.

OPTION 2: Take a flight to Delhi and then a Volvo to Manali which is at 8:30 in the night and start the trip the next morning in a taxi from Manali- Leh - Srinagar. Finally take a flight back from Srinagar to Bangalore.

Here are a few questions I have.

1) Do taxis do the whole trip ie Sringar- Leh - Manali or Manali - Leh - Srinagar, and how much will they charge.

I had heard that taxis do only either Manali- Leh or Srinagar - Leh and then we need to find a new taxi for Leh- Srinagar or Leh - Manali. If this is true, how much would the individual taxis charge inclusive of all the trips we do on the way.

2)Do the routes have any other advantage over each other, besides easier acclimatization on the Srinagar-Leh-manali route.

3) Do I need to take any medicines a few days before the trip starts for acclimatization.

4) Is a sleeping bag necessary, I have one, but the others don't.

Now about the itinerary:

Srinagar - Leh - Manali route:

Day 1: flight from Bangalore - Srinagar and overnight stay.

Day 2- Leave for Leh early in the morning.

Day 3 ........................

Day 4 ..........................

Day 5 ..........................

Day 6 ............................

Day 7 ...........................

Day 8 ............................

Day 9.Reach Manali and leave Manali to Delhi in a bus at 4 P.M

Day 10: Leave Delhi to Bangalore.

I need help to fill up those blanks regarding where to halt and which places to visit.

Now if I do it the other way round ie

Manali - Leh- Srinagar

The itinerary is going to be like this.

Day 1: Leave by flight to Delhi and catch the 8:30 P.M volvo to Manali.

Day 2: Either leave by 12 P.M to Leh / Stay at Manali to acclimatize.

Day 3 : either leave Manali early Morning or would have already left the previous day, so plan for this day.

Day 4....................

Day 5......................

Day 6 ......................

Day 7 ....................

Day 8 ...................

Day 9: Reach Srinagar and stay the night.

Day 10: Leave to Bangalore by flight from Srinagar.

Guys please help me decide and plan this. Thanks to you all in advance.

[hemanthisgreat]

Guys bumping this thread before we switch off tomorrow.

[gd1418]

My answers in bold. (twenty charecters)

Originally Posted by hemanthisgreat

1) Do taxis do the whole trip ie Sringar- Leh - Manali or Manali - Leh - Srinagar, and how much will they charge.

I had heard that taxis do only either Manali- Leh or Srinagar - Leh and then we need to find a new taxi for Leh- Srinagar or Leh - Manali. If this is true, how much would the individual taxis charge inclusive of all the trips we do on the way.

I've heard taxis doing Manali - Leh & vice-versa. They charge Rs.1500/- per person

2)Do the routes have any other advantage over each other, besides easier acclimatization on the Srinagar-Leh-manali route.

Technically Srinagar-Leh-Manali road route will acclimatise you better. But if you take a flight and land in Leh from Delhi, then you need to spend 2 days to let the body adjust.

3) Do I need to take any medicines a few days before the trip starts for acclimatization.

Carry Diamox, Anti-Nausea, Anti Vomitting and Oxygen canisters

4) Is a sleeping bag necessary, I have one, but the others don't.

If all have one, it won't harm..

Now about the itinerary:

Srinagar - Leh - Manali route:

Day 1: flight from Bangalore - Srinagar and overnight stay.

Day 2- Leave for Leh early in the morning & reach by evening

Day 3 Rest & apply for permits at the DC's office

Day 4 Go to Pangong Tso and come back in the evening

Day 5 Go to Nubra Valley, Hunder, Diskit, Pragmik and return

Day 6 Go to Tso Moriri, stay overnight

Day 7 Leave early for Tso Karr, and head towards Manali. Break journey at Jispa or Keylong

Day 8 Leave Jispa & reach Manali by 4 pm. Rest, get a body massage.

Day 9.Reach Manali and leave Manali to Delhi in a bus at 4 P.M

Day 10: Leave Delhi to Bangalore.

I need help to fill up those blanks regarding where to halt and which places to visit.

Now if I do it the other way round ie

Manali - Leh- Srinagar

The itinerary is going to be like this.

Day 1: Leave by flight to Delhi and catch the 8:30 P.M volvo to Manali.

Day 2: Either leave by 12 P.M to Leh / Stay at Manali to acclimatize.

Day 3 : either leave Manali early Morning or would have already left the previous day, so plan for this day.

Day 4....................

Day 5......................

Day 6 ......................

Day 7 ....................

Day 8 ...................

Day 9: Reach Srinagar and stay the night.

Day 10: Leave to Bangalore by flight from Srinagar.

Guys please help me decide and plan this. Thanks to you all in advance.

[hemanthisgreat]

Thanks Gd sir. That was really helpful. So is there no need to stop at kargil overnight on the second day. Would Sringar to Leh be possible in a single day.

[gd1418]

Although Srinagar Leh is 435 kms and doable theoritically, it is very stressful. Suggest break journey at Kargill or Drass.

Originally Posted by hemanthisgreat

Thanks Gd sir. That was really helpful. So is there no need to stop at kargil overnight on the second day. Would Sringar to Leh be possible in a single day.

[hemanthisgreat]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Although Srinagar Leh is 435 kms and doable theoritically, it is very stressful. Suggest break journey at Kargill or Drass.

That might be better, but will decide depending on the situation. If I manage to get permits beforehand can any of those places be done on the way.

[gd1418]

No. These places are nearer to Leh and are on well-trodden path

Originally Posted by hemanthisgreat

If I manage to get permits beforehand can any of those places be done on the way.

[santhosh_kumard]

I would add to what gd had already told. The problem with taxi guys is that ( from what I heard ) J&K taxi guys would not allow HP registered vehicles to tour around Leh/Srinagar and they are allowed only to drop off guests from Manali , so your end point would be Leh and same vice-versa. A taxi with J&K would only drop u in Manali and would not take you around in Manali or to ChandraTaal. Some more comments inline in Bold

Originally Posted by hemanthisgreat

Hey guys I will be most probably (Do not flame me if somehow the trip gets canceled and I do not go ) going to Leh this july either on 10th July or 17th July for 10 days.

We are 5 people who are going and taking bikes and own car is ruled out.

Here are the options I am considering.

OPTION 1: Take a flight directly to Srinagar from Bangalore and start from there and do the trip in a taxi from Srinagar - Leh - Manali, then take a Volvo from Manali to Delhi and the flight back to Bangalore.

OPTION 2: Take a flight to Delhi and then a Volvo to Manali which is at 8:30 in the night and start the trip the next morning in a taxi from Manali- Leh - Srinagar. Finally take a flight back from Srinagar to Bangalore.

The advance booking and the start point of bus is from 'Kashmir-Gate' ( hope I am not wrong here). If you can reach by noon the day of departure to Manali, then you can book araam se and roam around Connaught Place after putting the luggage ( inexpensive ones ) in the cloack room there.

Here are a few questions I have.

1) Do taxis do the whole trip ie Sringar- Leh - Manali or Manali - Leh - Srinagar, and how much will they charge.

SAN >> From Srinagar, they might do ( we did not take that option). But from Manali NO-NO

I had heard that taxis do only either Manali- Leh or Srinagar - Leh and then we need to find a new taxi for Leh- Srinagar or Leh - Manali. If this is true, how much would the individual taxis charge inclusive of all the trips we do on the way.

SAN >> year 2006 we haggled the Manali-Leh at 6000 for 5 folks in Sumo and 30K for Leh & Around and back to Manali.

2)Do the routes have any other advantage over each other, besides easier acclimatization on the Srinagar-Leh-manali route.

SAN>> Taking Manali means on the second day you would stop at Sarchu if you are planning to reach Leh in 2 days. Sarchu is harsh since its at higher altitude. I would have preferred Srinagar, I believe Kargil stop would be better in terms of acclimatization.

3) Do I need to take any medicines a few days before the trip starts for acclimatization.

4) Is a sleeping bag necessary, I have one, but the others don't.

SAN>> In 2006, we were able to find comfortable resting places at all the places we went to. Unless you are planning to do trekking in Leh, you can avoid that extra weight.

Now about the itinerary:

Srinagar - Leh - Manali route:

Day 1: flight from Bangalore - Srinagar and overnight stay.

Day 2- Leave for Leh early in the morning.

Day 3 ........................

Day 4 ..........................

Day 5 ..........................

Day 6 ............................

Day 7 ...........................

Day 8 ............................

Day 9.Reach Manali and leave Manali to Delhi in a bus at 4 P.M

Day 10: Leave Delhi to Bangalore.

I need help to fill up those blanks regarding where to halt and which places to visit.

Now if I do it the other way round ie

Manali - Leh- Srinagar

The itinerary is going to be like this.

Day 1: Leave by flight to Delhi and catch the 8:30 P.M volvo to Manali.

Day 2: Either leave by 12 P.M to Leh / Stay at Manali to acclimatize.

SAN>> Stay At Manali

Day 3 : either leave Manali early Morning or would have already left the previous day, so plan for this day.

Day 3.................... Stay at Sarchu/Pang

Day 4......................Reach Leh

Day 5 ......................Around Leh, some monastries. Leh Palace. Shanti Stupa

Day 6 ....................Pangong Tso/ Chang La

Day 7 ................... On way back cover Khardungla Top

Day 8 .................... Towards Srinagar. Stop at Kargil
Day 9: Reach Srinagar and stay the night.

Day 10: Leave to Bangalore by flight from Srinagar.

Guys please help me decide and plan this. Thanks to you all in advance.

[hemanthisgreat]

Thanks santosh for the answers. But 30k to take you around leh. Isn't that too much.

[santhosh_kumard]

Oops.. my bad. I probably should have given what we got for 30K.

Around Leh (2 days)-> All the monastries/Palace/Lamayaru/Shantistupa
To Khardungla Top + Nubra Valley + Diskit(stayed there) (2 days)
To Pangong Tso+Tso Moriri , albeit after pangog, the moriri looked like a puddle.
And then back to Manali.

The driver even arranged all the passes that we needed. So it was worth it :-)

[hemanthisgreat]

Thanks santosh for answering my queries. Would most probably go through srinagar route, so will take the volvo from manali to delhi. The bus is at 4. P.M.