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Thank you -

Will do Merak and Jispa as per the suggestion.

One more question, my friends car is his cousins and is in cousins name, does he need to carry any NOC/any document apart from all the originals?

That will be tricky.
I noticed that locals(At Shakti, Tangste and Hunder villages) check the document of private car and also check if the owner is present in the car or not. I don't know if they allow a third party's car with NOC. Please check this with the hotel owner, where you booked your rooms in Leh.

Thank you, yes post your response, we had checked with the hotel owner, She said it could be an issue at Nubra and Leh only and not at other locations :Frustrati

Even if he carries a Form 33/ 31 signed (ownership change docs) and a sale receipt won't help?

I know i am asking too many questions - one more -

I have a GT TSI - will it be okay to take the GT?

Regards
Sri

I don't have much idea about this. The basic requirement of Leh taxi unions is the owner of the vehicle should be in the vehicle.

I don't think GT TSI will face any major issues on this circuit. Please take care on Agham-Shyolk, Spangmik-Merak and on some patches on Manali-Leh highway. You may get some underbelly hits. However, you can avoid that by some careful manoeuvres and the right mindset.

Have a look at my travelogue to get some idea of road condition on this circuit.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ne-xuv500.html

Can you please let me know, if Hanle is open for tourist now?

Itinerary looks fine but if I were to be you, I would stay at Jispa and not Sarchu because of the altitude and winds. I did the same route in 2014 and though I was well acclimatized, the night stay at Sarchu gave me a bad head ache and nausea.

I am doing the Spiti valley this year, starting from Bangalore on 13th July and back on 28th July. I am still contemplating if I should drive my Pajero all the way from Bangalore or simply fly down to Chandigarh and hire a self drive car.

Ideally truck the Pager to Chandigarh if possible. All the self drive cars look as if they have gone to Spiti, 5 times over the past month!

My experience with self-drive car is not good in mountains. I did Spiti circuit with Myles in July 2016 and suffered a lot.

Next month I am doing Ladakh from 12-28 July. I am driving from Hyderabad this time

Please share your sufferings that would help me prepare myself or chuck the idea of renting one.

I am traveling on the exact dates albeit from Bangalore.. Pls share your route plan and maybe we can drive together if I decide to take my own car.

1. We came to Delhi from Hyderabad by train and the Myles representative was supposed to deliver the car at Station. He called us to say that he cannot come to the station and will deliver the car at AIIMS. I had to wait in front of AIIMS on the road with my family and all our luggage for 3 hours (8 PM to 11 PM) for the car
2. The one we received is the lowest model of Duster, without ABS, Airbag and basic safety features required for highway
3. When we were about to reach Kaza from Tabo, we noticed some unusual metallic sound on applying brake. We discovered that the brake pads are in a pathetic condition. It is not possible to know the health of the rented car. Hence, I don't think it is safe to take self-driven rented car in such remote location
4. Moreover, there are small administrative hazards while driving rented car. You have to pay Taxes in most of the state borders. During return, when we were entering Delhi, there are supposed to be some check-post who charge some tax from rented cars (I was not aware). There was no visible check-post and nobody stopped us also. Suddenly we find some cars stopped in front of us. They told me that I missed some check-post and I have to pay some fine of Rs. 1,000 (approx, don't remember exactly). After negotiation, it came down to Rs.300/400. If you drive your own car, you will be able to avoid such disturbing elements


1. We are starting 12 July 5 PM from Hyderabad and expecting to reach Jhansi 13 July early afternoon after continuous drive. One of our co-traveler couldn't manage leave on 13th July Friday. She will work from Home (Jhansi Hotel) :p on 13 July.
2. We will start from Jhansi at 11 PM same day and drive to Udhampur directly. We are expecting to reach there next day evening and watch the FIFA World Cup match at the Udhampur Hotel.
3. We are reaching Manali on 26 July, if we don't get permit for Hanle; otherwise, will reach Manali on 27 July. Next two days will be driving back from Manali to Hyderabad

Dear All,

I am contemplating driving to Leh via Spiti from Bangalore in the second half of September. Exact dates and route plan are yet to be finalized. Also choice of vehicle is not decided but I have a couple of options -

1. Borrow a 85PS Duster from a relative. I understand it should manage to take the abuse that the Spiti Roads have to offer and also be comfortable on the highways. The downside is that I may face problems in Leh region with the local Taxi unions. I don't want to be driven around in a taxi.

2. I am also looking at the post 2015 Mahindra Thar as another option - either get a pre-owned one or get a new one. This is keeping in mind that it can easily get me through the Spiti-Leh region and subsequently can be my daily-drive for city driving. I have read reviews about the new Thar that has improved interiors over the previous version. What I am not aware of is whether I can manage the long highway drive from Bangalore till Shimla/Manali and back in the Thar in terms of comfort and speed.

Any comments/suggestions would be welcome.

Having being on that route more than once I can safely say that it is doable in both, however you will be really uncomfortable in the Thar. Leh roads may not be very long but are very time consuming and having a comfortable vehicle is a must. Plus the weather can play spoilsport at any time and you will be much better off in a properly insulated vehicle then getting exposed. I would say take the Duster or perhaps even a good MUV like Honda WRV, Brezza or Mahindra TUV. In fact some folks even did the same route in three sedans very recently, their thread is quite informative as well.

Here is the link for the folks who did the circuit in sedans

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199000

Anyone who has travelled recently please let me know if Jio postpaid or Airtel prepaid works in Leh and Ladhak region?

As far as I know, no out-of-state 'prepaid' plan will work anywhere in J&K. Not sure about the postpaid coverage of Jio.

But over my travels I've found that BSNL is the best bet when it comes to remote corners of the country.