Leh and Ladakh - Trip Planning - All queries go here

[vnabhi]

You can contact Ravveendra on route conditions. He is plannig to do this trip next week on his Laura.

I don't advise you to take an infant to Leh. High altitudes can play havoc with health of adultt visitors. let alone small kids.

I did not avail of a flight to Leh (under LTC scheme for public sectors) only becuase I heard from my colleague that it takes 2 days to acclimatise to high altitude in Leh. I believe he was mostly bed-ridden for the first 2 days owing to lack of Oxygen, and indigestion.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Zappo

...that is what I am planning to do in a Manza.
Tentative plans are for December...

Manza or Hummer, you can't do this roadtrip in December - flying in and out is the only way you can do it then. But then, Leh in December is a different world altogether. Leave the Manza at home then, and fly in to Leh for the experience!

* is it doable?

In September or 1st week October by road, yes. Utilize the Durga Puja break if you have one!

* what is the best route to take for this journey?

In through Srinagar and out through Manali makes more sense. Climbing down Rohtang southern slope is easier than climbing up.

* is it sensible to avoid Delhi?

Us Delhi guys would take offence if you did.

* what should be the minimum duration required? Consider that I am generally averse to traveling by night

3 weeks for Hyderabad to Hyderabad if you are really taking it easy, not less than 2 weeks even if you are not taking time out at any particular place.

* I will have a 2 year old traveling with me.

Other than the need to carry enough food & medicines for the child as a backup measure, no issues. Children cope with high altitudes better and don't suffer as much from AMS as adults do. And carry a portable oxygen cylinder too - never know who might need it.

* is it doable in a Manza?

You wouldn't know unless you tried!

* what are the pitfalls/routes best avoided?

To the home-bound armchair traveller, the whole process of driving to Ladakh is best avoided. But then, this forum is NOT populated by such people!

[Ravveendrra]

Yes a Manza can do it (I hope so for your sake).

The only time you can do it is from 1st June to 30 September.

You need at least 6 days to get there from Hyd with all adults in the car. Travelling with children will be slower so add another day. That makes it two weeks to and fro. Put in another week in the highlands and you have yourself a 3 week plan.

As the good Colonel in Arunachal Pradesh informed us - Children never have problems with AMS. But, are you sure you want to do it with a 2 year old child? The kid will neither enjoy the trip nor remember anything of it. 2 year olds are special and have special needs. I do not know what diet your child is on but typically one needs freshly cooked food - this is going to be difficult on such a long trip. If you are going to cook each of the child's meal on the way - please factor in the time required for cooking and feeding. 2 year olds have to eat frequently and need more potty breaks :-). They also need to sleep more - typically upto 12 hours a day. I am not even going anywhere near unexplained tummyaches, ear-aches, bawling in the night etc. I suggest that you wait till the child is at least 6 years old before you embark on a journey like this. Around that age they are able to communicate, look after themselves a bit and are closer to adult food & sleep habits. They will also enjoy the trip and be able to contribute.

Road conditions and weather change in the mountains from day to day. There is no point in knowing last month's road conditions or weather. Keep tracking things as your date of departure gets closer.

As of now - I am planning on taking the Hyderabad - Solapur - Indapur - Baramati - Sasvad - Thane - Ghodbunder - Ahmedabad - Himmatnagar - Udaipur - Kishangarh - Ratangarh - Amritsar - Pathankot - Udhampur - Srinagar - Sonmarg - Drass - Kargil - Leh route and return Leh - Kyelong - Manali - Gurgaon - Behror - Udaipur - Ghodbunder - Hyderabad. The outward route is fixed but the return can change depending on the feedback and info I get along the way.

Is Delhi avoidable? That is largely a matter of personal choice and depends on whether you have a girl-friend in Delhi. I always try to avoid all large cities like I would avoid the plague. Just crossing one major city like Mumbai / Delhi can take you up to half a day and time is not a luxury we have on long trips. If you must go into a major city - try to pass it or enter it and leave it late at night or extremely early in the morning.

Cheers,





Cheers,

[Zappo]

Hmmm... The way I see it, the plan crash landed even before it took off! I can't even try arguing, boasting (My kids capabilities, the cars ruggedness etc) or even otherwise just say with some false bravado, "to hell with it, we will see". If the roads are closed in December then that ends there itself.

Also, as some of you suggested, with that kind of distance I will probably need a 3 week break and 2 will just not make sense. Let me chew on this cud for a while. Will pop-in with some more questions if I need to ask.


As a back-up plan, I am thinking, may be I can drive down (or is it up) to Himachal. Currently, with my office schedules etc, the December break is the only one that I can think of, unfortunately...

[tsk1979]

Do what a lot of people do
Fly to leh, hire cab for local travel, take cab to manali and then volvo to Delhi and fly back to Hydrabad.

[Zappo]

That will beat the whole purpose of it all Tan. The roadie in me will just not approve that. The final destination is hardly 10% of the whole plan for me... Ok in this case may be 30%. But the rest 70% is all about driving almost cross country to reach the roof of the world.

I am thinking now of doing the Bhutan, Arunachal stretch from Hyderabad during the December breaks.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Manza or Hummer, you can't do this roadtrip in December - flying in and out is the only way you can do it then. But then, Leh in December is a different world altogether. Leave the Manza at home then, and fly in to Leh for the experience!

In September or 1st week October by road, yes. Utilize the Durga Puja break if you have one!

In through Srinagar and out through Manali makes more sense. Climbing down Rohtang southern slope is easier than climbing up.

Us Delhi guys would take offence if you did.

3 weeks for Hyderabad to Hyderabad if you are really taking it easy, not less than 2 weeks even if you are not taking time out at any particular place.

Other than the need to carry enough food & medicines for the child as a backup measure, no issues. Children cope with high altitudes better and don't suffer as much from AMS as adults do. And carry a portable oxygen cylinder too - never know who might need it.

You wouldn't know unless you tried!

To the home-bound armchair traveller, the whole process of driving to Ladakh is best avoided. But then, this forum is NOT populated by such people!

Dada, thanks for the elaborate reply. I guess I will have to plan some other time. The current scenario is such that December is the only timeframe wherein I can realistically expect to take a long break. And as you said, 3 weeks is what it takes to make it a memorable journey. That's pushing it a bit for us naukri-pesha folks even in December (when everything is in a slow-mo due to the US holiday season), leave aside any other time period. May be I will check out the Bhutan/NE option!

[shyamk]

Does anyone have some information about the shimla-kaza route ? I was stranded in Batal last year as the roads were washed away and my motorbike had a flat tyre.

If things do not work out, I plan to roll into Leh on my Bolero, but that is a plan for another day.

Thanks

Shyam

[Sunney]

Originally Posted by Zappo

That will beat the whole purpose of it all Tan. The roadie in me will just not approve that. The final destination is hardly 10% of the whole plan for me... Ok in this case may be 30%. But the rest 70% is all about driving almost cross country to reach the roof of the world.

I respect the 'Drivaholic' in you.
The self-drive and the pleasure it provides is nothing near a point-to point air travel.
Seeing the road and climatic conditions in web, I too confirm the drive to Leh in December is very adventurous, strictly for men of 'come what may' type.
No more a 'family tour'...(unless a family that enjoy the tough travel in 'travel-buddy' spirit. Generally never).
But you can plan one to Almora-Pithoragarh which is very scenic, I am told.

I wish I get you as partner to the journey.

I too planned an Utharkhand travel from Cochin in a Linea, but now season over, waiting till Feb-March.

I am planning a journey to

[Sunney]

I planned a trip from Cochin in my Linea to Leh or Pithoragarh, but now season is out waiting till Feb-March.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by shyamk

Does anyone have some information about the shimla-kaza route ?

HVK's group is travelling on that route. Update from one member on FB a few hours ago reads

...held up at kaza... Kunzum pass is now open. However roads after Gramphu till Keylong are bad and almost closed.. waiting for the roads to be opened.

[suman]

Originally Posted by Zappo

As a back-up plan, I am thinking, may be I can drive down (or is it up) to Himachal. Currently, with my office schedules etc, the December break is the only one that I can think of, unfortunately...

Not a bad idea. If the weather turns out like it did in the last week of December 2010, you may be lucky enough to experience fresh snowfall in Manali itself

But keep a couple of days extra in hand if that happens

[indianrunner]

Hi,

Anyone planning trips to Spiti and/or Ladakh in Sept? What would the climate be like during this period?

Rgds

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by indianrunner

Hi,

Anyone planning trips to Spiti and/or Ladakh in Sept? What would the climate be like during this period?

Rgds

Weather is unpredictable, but normally sept is pretty warm during day(15-20) and nights are cooler (5-10)
Pangong Tso and other high altitude places often see early morning tempertatures drop to 0-3 degrees.
Sometimes, it even snows there so temp is 0-1 degrees.

However, in general sept is a quite month weather wise, last year was a terrible exception.
`

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by indianrunner

Hi,

Anyone planning trips to Spiti and/or Ladakh in Sept? What would the climate be like during this period?

Rgds

Hi,

I was planning a Sept trip to leh, planning to push it to oct now, is it advisable ?
What will be the conditions of the passes / roads.

Also I am planning from Mumbai on my C5 (Mumbai to Chandigarh in Train, riding from there). Anyone interested to join in, let me know.


Cheers,
ac

[J.Ravi]

Originally Posted by ac 427

I was planning a Sept trip to leh, planning to push it to oct now, is it advisable ?

I was informed by a Chief Engineer of BRO that roads leading to and fro Leh would be closed from October for civilian traffic. He advised me to complete my Leh expedition well before the end of September 2011.