Mumbai-Leh-Mumbai

[Maverick5490]

Hey guys.. am already preparing for a Mumbai-Leh-Mumbai trip startin on the 10th of June.Its a 21 day trip back in Mumbai on 1st july.We are 12 of us.. gonna be travelling by 2 Qualis's one driven by me and my brother.Pretty excited bout this trip.. well i am listing the route we will be taking and the days on which we r expected there.. so all those who are expereinced on this route please let me know if the route is alright.. also my brother and his frinds are big time into photography.. so scenery is gonna be a big issue.. anyways.. here is the route..

• Day 1-Day 3: Mumbai to Jammu nonstop.
• Day 4: Jammu to Srinagar
• Day 5: Srinagar - Baltal - Amarnath
• Day 6: Amarnath
• Day 7: Baltal - Kargil - Lamuyaru
• Day 8: Lamayuru - Leh
• Day 9/10/11: Leh - Pangong
• Day 12: Leh - Khardungla - Upashi
• Day 13: Upashi - Keylong
• Day 14: Keylong - Kunzum - Kaza
• Day 15/16: Kaza - Recong Peo - Kaza
• Day 17: Kalpa
• Day 18: Kalpa - Shimla
• Day 19/20/21: Back to Mumbai.

This is our travel plan.. please let me know if i should make any additions or if someplace is not worth visiting.. also i need more info on the Lamayuru sector.. any one familiar with it?

Any help will be highly appreciated..

Regards,
Maverick

[bhogalrajnish]

Have a look at http://rajnishbhogal.tripod.com I have traveled to Spiti and Leh a couple of times on my Bike.

1-- Not a good time -- delay the trip by 20 days . The rain will slow you up and in case of land slides you can get stuck for days.

2-- Mumbai To Jammu in 1 day -- Are you shore you have a Qualis and not a Mig 21 .

3--Day 15/16: Kaza - Recong Peo - Kaza why do you want to come back to kaza from Rekang Peo ---A. The road is not open B. Malling is closed due to rain most of the rainy season . From Kaza you may be able to make it to Maling but Rekang Peo is a matter of chance. Kinnaur is a difficult and dangerous part so DO NOT TAKE ANY CHANCES.

4 -- Recomendation . Come back from Kaza to Manali and take the Manali Shimla route . Spiti and Kinnaur are impossible in the rains. I wont recomed Kaza - Rekang Peo before Mid August. In case you make it to Rekang Peo spend another day and visit Chitkul around 20 Km from Rekang Peo.

5 -- Do not visit Kaza -- The journey from Mumbai to leh will exaust you enough, do think twice before entering kaza from Khoksar as Spiti and Kinnaur can be as difficult as the complete trip from Jammu To Kaza .

6 -- Prepare well - do keep extra Tyres and Jerry cans For Diesel and make shore you can fix things like fan belts and Radiators. Warm clothes with jackets are a must.

7-- Carry a digital camera and a Video camera. Would love to see your travel log.

Im planing another motorcycle ride to Kaza and Spiti in August so hope to see you in Spiti.


Please refrain from quoting the entire post - Mod Team.

[zenx]

Please refrain from quoting the entire post - Mod Team.

* Leh -Pangong - Leh should not be more than 2 days, but u'll need that one day extra to sack out in Leh, get the permits etc.
* Leh - Khardungla is in a different direction from Upshi. Come back to Leh and make it to maybe Rumtse if u want to cover some distance the same day.
* Keylong-Kaza is the worst road u've never imagined. Fun tho. Couple of terrible khuds to cross.
* Kaza is a dustbowl - stay at kibber instead.
* Kaza - recong peo: Yes Maling is a huge IF. sGo upto Tabo anyway - the monastery there and at Dhankar are worth it even if u have to return and go via Manali.
If u do make it beyond Maling, u don't need to *return* from Recong Peo to Kaza. U can go to Kalpa/Chitkul from there itself, and carry on to Shimla.
* Even if u come back via Manali - drive over the Jalori pass to Shimla.
* Its the toughest terrain in the world in many ways, use a 'schedule' only as a rough guide - and chill if u're stuck someplace.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by bhogalrajnish

1-- Not a good time -- delay the trip by 20 days . The rain will slow you up and in case of land slides you can get stuck for days.

Completely agree here with you.

2-- Mumbai To Jammu in 1 day -- Are you shore you have a Qualis and not a Mig 21.

He said day 1 to day 3. But I still think it'll be hectic.

[Maverick5490]

Thanks a ton guys.. will discuss it with group members.. will keep u updated.

[GTO]

Qualis? Ouch...and I thought Maverick drove to Leh in an M5 / RR Phantom

GTO

[yogesh sarkar]

My 2cents either visit Ladakh or Spiti. If you have to go to both places then make sure you got almost a month.

If your brother and his friends are into photography then it will slow the pace down a bit. Also driving through every thing in rally mode will not be enjoyable and would be quite stressful for both man and machine.

Don’t skip on Nubra Valley, while most “tourists” believe it’s not a place worth visit. For those who are into Riding/Driving themselves it’s should be a must visit place. Smooth roads and landscape which seem to change with every turn! If there was ever a place which had landscape for every ones taste, then this is it!

[naveendhyani]

how much time do u think guys will it take from Delhi-Leh-Delhi via car??? goin via jammu & comin via manali

[yogesh sarkar]

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

how much time do u think guys will it take from Delhi-Leh-Delhi via car??? goin via jammu & comin via manali

Depends on how much you want to explore and the way you plan to explore it. It takes a lot longer when you plan to enjoy the moment, rather then hurry along to reach the next destination.

Any thing above 12days is a good plan to start with and should give you enough time to explore.

[naveendhyani]

places that i want 2 visit are :

Leh
Nubra Valley
Pangong
Khardungla
Keylong

do u think this can b done in 9 days time???

also will aug 1st week b a good time 2 b there?

[sinner]

Hey mav that sounds really exiting bro... just one advice that i have is try taking up a Scorpio or even Inova or lease tevra... Qualis would be tooo uncomfertable to drive for such long distance.

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by GTO

Qualis? Ouch...and I thought Maverick drove to Leh in an M5 / RR Phantom

GTO

Good one there bro.. although if wishes were horses i would rather take a Range rover 4.4i.. much comfy than M5's and X5's!!

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by sinner

Hey mav that sounds really exiting bro... just one advice that i have is try taking up a Scorpio or even Inova or lease tevra... Qualis would be tooo uncomfertable to drive for such long distance.

Well the problem with taking a Scoorpio/innova/tavera is that we dont have one.. one Qualis belongs to my brother and the other to a group member.. and 6 ppl/car is comfy enuff i feel..

[autozealot]

Originally Posted by sinner

Hey mav that sounds really exiting bro... just one advice that i have is try taking up a Scorpio or even Inova or lease tevra... Qualis would be tooo uncomfertable to drive for such long distance.

Hey, why so? Infact Qualis will feel much lighter to drive & reliable too! Any specific areas you would like to highlight for opting for other SUVs?

az

[yogesh sarkar]

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

places that i want 2 visit are :

Leh
Nubra Valley
Pangong
Khardungla
Keylong

do u think this can b done in 9 days time???

also will aug 1st week b a good time 2 b there?

It can be done in 9 days provided you go in through the manali route and come back via the same route. Here is what you itinerary could look like

Day 1: Delhi – Manali

Day 2: Manali – Sarchu

Day 3: Sarchu – Leh

Day 4: Leh (visit the near by monasteries, get the permits etc.)

Day 5: Leh – Khardung La – Nubra Valley – Khardung La – Leh

Day 6: Leh – Chang La – Pangong Tso – Chang La – Leh

Day 7: Leh – Sarchu

Day 8: Sarchu – Manali

Day 9: Manali – Delhi

As you can see you will be running on a tight schedule and there won’t be any room for errors. My 2cents try to get 3-4 more days for the trip and do it in ease.