[mangespat]

Originally Posted by Maibaa

Just returned from my Ladakh Trip on Monday. Was stranded in Pang on the way to Sarchu last week for 4 days due to heavy snow and road closure on both sides (towards Manali and Leh).

The road to Leh via Tanglang la pass opened after 4 days and I headed back via Leh Srinagar route. Good I did not wait for Manali route to be clear.

I did mention that the weather in and around leh had gotten worse this year way earlier than it normally does. I skipped my Manali return and opted for Srinagar. That was in mid September when it had started raining. The road onwards to Pangong was completely different while on my return leg due to the rain but then I was in a small Hatch (Grand i10) so you would have not noticed a difference coz you were in a bigger car. Glad you are back . Hope the 4 days didn't dampen your spirits to take another driving trip to the most beautiful place on earth.

[Maibaa]

Originally Posted by mangespat

I did mention that the weather in and around leh had gotten worse this year way earlier than it normally does. I skipped my Manali return and opted for Srinagar. That was in mid September when it had started raining. The road onwards to Pangong was completely different while on my return leg due to the rain but then I was in a small Hatch (Grand i10) so you would have not noticed a difference coz you were in a bigger car. Glad you are back clap

Weather was super fine until I was in Pangong on the 21st of September and the next day it got cloudy when we decided to drive our way back to Manali. I did the Chusul-Nyoma-Mahe -Sumdo -Tso Kar route when it had already started snowing and the Innova did a fabulous job in getting us through river crossings, snow and bad roads to no roads. This route has many hot water springs while crossing the Polokongka La pass (4970m) on the way to Tso Kar lake after which we get on to the Leh-Manali Highway. During our stay at Pang for the night, the snow got heavy and we were stuck there for 4 days due to road closures.

Originally Posted by mangespat

Hope the 4 days didn't dampen your spirits to take another driving trip to the most beautiful place on earth.

Definitely this is one of the most beautiful places on earth and just like many others I intend to visit this place again. That is the only reason i skipped Hanle and Tso Moriri even though I had taken permits for these places. I want to keep something for the next time.

[SJM1214]

Fresh snowfall blocks Manali-Leh highway.

Oct 12, 2018, 06:26 IST
With the accumulation of 15-30cm sheet of snow, another spell of snowfall on Thursday morning has again blocked the Manali-Leh highway for vehicular traffic.

The entire Lahaul valley has also been covered with the white blanket, plunging the temperature below freezing point. Lahaul-Spiti district headquarters Keylong received 6cm of fresh snow. Koksar, just below Rohtang, received nearly 15cm of snow. Rohtang Pass, too, has received more than 15cm of snow. Darcha, Jispa and Baralacha Pass also received more snow. While road till Keylong is expected to be open on Friday, the remaining stretch of Keylong-Leh highway may take few more days to open. However, tourists will not be allowed to go beyond Rohtang Pass.

News Source.

[SJM1214]

At 5,360 meters above sea level, Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line to be world’s highest

The proposed Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line will have many firsts to its credit. At 5,360 meters above the sea level, it will be the world’s highest railway line. The 465-km line, to be built at a cost of Rs 83,360 crore, will include India’s first underground railway station in Keylong. The proposed alignment passes through the Shivaliks, Himalayas and the Zanskar range and four mountain passes - Rohtang La, Barlacha La, Lachung La and Tangla La.

The project will include 74 tunnels, 124 major bridges and 396 minor bridges, according to the first phase of the survey done for the project. The only project comparable to the railway line is the Qinghai-Tibet line in China, which is at a height of around 2,000 metres above sea level.

News Source.

[SJM1214]

BRO converts Darcha-Padum trail into motorable road.

A trekking foot trail that connected Darcha in Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh to Padum in Zanskar valley of Jammu and Kashmir across the 16,600 feet Shinku La pass has been widened and converted into a motorable road by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

Darcha lies 32 kms ahead of Keylong on the Manali-Leh highway. The distance from Darcha to Padum is 148 kms. Padum is already connected to Kargil with a single-lane blacktop road maintained by the state government and it takes about six to eight hours to cover the 230-km distance

“Connectivity between Padum and Darcha was achieved in September when dozers from both sides met at Lakpan village, about 12 kms ahead of the Shinku La, marking a significant milestone,” Col AK Awasthi, Commander, 38 Border Roads Task Force, who is overseeing the works, said.

News Source.

Taking the liberty to edit/update tsk1979 sir's map with my limited understanding.

[naren_gs1]

Hi,
I am planning for a road trip with family (me,wife,our teenage daughter) from Srinagar to Ladakh. This will be done most likely in 1st half of May. But I may have to do it in last week of April and 1st week of May (Primarily Based on ICSE class X result dates).


- Plan is to fly in Srinagar, Road to Sonmarg Kargil Leh Hunder Pyongong Hanle and back to Leh . Then fly out from Leh.

I have many many queries. But will start from list below. Please help!
- Will Srinagar Laddakh roads for sure be open by last week of April?
- Is cab availability normal for this road?
- Is self drive car an option for this route? I drive a lot - but done himalaya in cabs so far -
- What is an ideal recommended duration in terms of days. Longest I have stayed on family road trips is 10 days.
- Tourist situation during this period

[sudev]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

- Will Srinagar Laddakh roads for sure be open by last week of April?

No.

Fly to Leh and add a day or so of acclimatisation and do the balance with local taxi.

[naren_gs1]

Originally Posted by sudev

No.

Fly to Leh and add a day or so of acclimatisation and do the balance with local taxi.

Thank you. So looks like I will have to exlcude Srinagar and Sonmarg. And can do Kargil and Ladakh.
How about weather. Will it be bit too cold? We had done Manali Rohtang Udaipur Kaylong once in may 2010 - and we were alright. Will laddakh be colder than HP in May

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

BRO converts Darcha-Padum trail into motorable road...

Anyone done this route yet?

[sudev]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Anyone done this route yet?

Not open yet...another year

[Dry Ice]

Maybe slightly off-topic, but sharing nevertheless. A nice video about the tourism boom in Ladakh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRcMHxz0Hfg

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Anyone done this route yet?

Some of my friends rode/drove to Shinku La. They reported that Darcha to Shinku La road was in bad shape. As per news, two JCBs meet each other from the opposite side. It means the connectivity between HP and Zanskar is established. However, they are yet to construct a tarred surface. IMO, this road will take two more years to become completely motorable for civilians.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Maybe slightly off-topic, but sharing nevertheless. A nice video about the tourism boom in Ladakh

Definitely relevant to this thread, given that a significant chunk of tourists headed to Ladakh refer to it!

The documentary is well prepared and highlights some key challenges being faced by this amazing piece of geography that Ladakh is. The landfill and garbage shots were as heart-wrenching as they were though provoking - what right do we have to ruin such a lovely place! While I agree that most "hill stations" in India share this fate, those of us who have been there would concur that Ladakh is not just any hill station!

Let me stop the rant there. I would strongly recommend each and every bhp-ian planning a trip to Ladakh to watch this video and get inspired to minimize their carbon footprint while out there.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

BRO converts Darcha-Padum trail into motorable road.

This link seems to give more details on the route

Originally Posted by sudev

Not open yet...another year

Any concrete info on this? There's a flurry of articles across all news sites over the last 24 hours; seems like they have hit some landmark moment; although none of the news articles give any further details

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/lada...itions-1954253
https://arunachaltimes.in/index.php/...er-conditions/
https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/...ar/304359.html

Edit: Possibly they just finally connected the bottom section between Darcha and Padum and hence the articles. No clarity if the Zangla - Lamayuru portion is done already.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Any concrete info on this? There's a flurry of articles across all news sites over the last 24 hours;

All of these news articles about an all-weather route to Ladakh are misleading. Manali to Zanskar Via Darcha road passes through mighty Shinku La. This road is not yet completed and these news agencies are talking about an "all-weather route ". Yes! Shinku La tunnel is proposed but as of now its just a proposal.

IMO, An all-weather route to Ladakh is only possible by Srinagar Leh Highway after completion of Zoji La tunnel.