[touring_spirit]

Originally Posted by Ketan

Thank you.
I understand you did Leh - Nubra - Shyok - Merak - Hanle - Jispa. Were you carrying fuel with you during this longer stretch on your motorcycle or you got the fuel (black) from villages en route?
How good/bad this fuel we get in the villages? I have heard that they do mix it with kerosene sometimes and may damage car/bike injectors!

I seem to have around 650-600kms range with full tank on my vehicle is what I have observed in the plains so far. This may reduce by few in the hills and I'd be driving Leh - Pangong - Kaksang La - Hanle - Tso moriri - (Karu or Tandi, depending on fuel condition).
So I'm trying to figure out whether carry fuel from Leh for this stretch or rely on fuel (black) sold at some villages en route.
Thanks.

There are three petrol pumps in Nubra valley of which two are in Diskit(I marked one on Gmaps since it was not showing up).

To answer your question I had carried a 10 l jerry can (only filled till 8L)which I used up after doing Nubra-Hanle. At Hanle I bought fuel(10L for safety ) from a group who had bought extra fuel which I used up in Jispa.

The cab drivers said that you get good fuel in the villages . The cab driver I was following to Hanle personally filled up diesel at Chusul village and so did a tempo traveller which came after him. They filled up using a thin cotton cloth in order to avoid dirt and mud that might be there in the fuel.

The thing with fuel range that I had kept in mind after going through suggestions in this forum and others is that it would reduce by 30 %. But my experience was different,point being I was driving carefully and only kept speeds of 40-60 kmph and hence I got a mileage of more than what I usually get.


So I would suggest you prepare for the 30% drop in mileage and keep at least a 20L jerry can in the car. The last petrol pumps in the Leh-manali highway being at Shey near Leh and Keylong near Manali. Buying from locals I heard would vary form 3-20 rs/l more than the bunk price.

Cheers
Vishnu

[touring_spirit]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

At the moment no, you do not need any RTPCR reports. Just carry your adult vaccination certificates, if asked for.

When you enter Ladakh from Kargil side ,they asked for Vaccination certificate at the kargil district border.

Cheers
Vishnu

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by touring_spirit

When you enter Ladakh from Kargil side ,they asked for Vaccination certificate at the kargil district border.

Cheers
Vishnu

Okay. Nothing so far on the Manali side inwards.

[Amrik Singh]

I am planning a flight to Leh mid July (Two Couples). Do we have names of Budget Hotels and dependable Taxi operators for Local Tour ? If names and contacts can be shared, I would appreciate. I am counting 5-7 days for the Trip.

[AnishRanjan]

Originally Posted by Ketan

Hello Folks,

We are planning 'Zen'skar+Ladakh drive starting Jun 11 from Bangalore. The high-level route we are taking is as follows from the hills.

Kullu - Gemur - Shinku La - Purne - Padum - Rangdum - Padum - Zang La - Lingshed - Singe La - Photoskar - Sirsir La - Khalsi - Leh/Stok - Pangong - Merak - Hanle - Tso Moriri - Jispa
.....

Doing the exact same route starting tomorrow from bangalore

[SJM1214]

New rates for bike rental in Ladakh.

[BunnyPunia]

Update on Jispa - Hanle. Did this few days back

Jispa - ZZ bar (base of Baralach la) : some minor bad patches, mini streams

ZZ bar - remains bad, about 500 meter stretch

Uphill to Baralacha la : mainly good with some bad stretches

Baralacha la to Sachu - the downhill towards Sarchu is narrow at places. Bad roads, broken patches, slush paths. However better than 2021.

From the base onwards to Sarchu - mostly good. Lot of road work done.

Sarchu border to Pang : More road work done. Good till base of Gaata loops. Loops are okay. However once you are above (end of loops) till pang, its slow and irritating. Lot of dry rough patches. Road narrow at places remains.

Pang - Debring - fly, quick. Some dips / minor 10-20 mtr rough remains (they are patching up the road)

Debring - take right - lot of work done as compared to 2021. Good till tso kar village.

However Tso kar onwards no road. they are making it winder. sandy at places. This continues till Puga village (from where right goes to Moriri). from here till Mahe bridge, its 50-50 mix of no road and new road.

From Mahe bridge, right to hanle. initial part is bad (road work started however few days back..) and soon you are on amazing black top to hanle.

This time went on glamour 125. My 2nd Umling la trip in 2022

Pic attached - wearing loads and loads of layers

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by touring_spirit

When you enter Ladakh from Kargil side ,they asked for Vaccination certificate at the kargil district border.

Cheers
Vishnu

Interesting. I just got back from my Leh drive and I entered Leh through Kargil. Apart from getting vehicle and passenger details, no other questions were asked in any of the check posts through out my drive.

[TheVaas]

Originally Posted by BunnyPunia

From Mahe bridge, right to hanle. initial part is bad (road work started however few days back..) and soon you are on amazing black top to hanle.

This time went on glamour 125. My 2nd Umling la trip in 2022

Pic attached - wearing loads and loads of layers

How's the Hanle to Umling La route? You went via Photi la? I know most of it is no-road , offroad and sharp ascent turns in sand terrain. But any reccos - dos and donts will be helpful

[Ketan]

FYI:
Mandatory 48 hours acclimatization for tourists arriving in Leh.
All tourists arriving in Leh have to undergo mandatory 48 hours acclimatization before initiating their journey in higher altitude areas of Leh like Khardung La, Pangong Lake, etc. .

https://leh.nic.in/mandatory-48-hour...riving-in-leh/

I hear this is mostly for folks arriving in to Leh by air. They may start looking at the boarding pass/tickets at checkpost. Hotel and taxi union also joining hands with authority to comply for such requirements to avoid people getting severely affected by AMS. It's too be seen how successful the attempt remains.

[88_TANK_88]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

I am planning to drive to Leh starting on Jun 2 from Delhi. Have following plan. let me know your thoughts comments

J2- Delhi-Jammu
J3-Jammu-Srinagar
J4-Srinagar-Kargil
J5-Kargil-Leh
J6-Leh
J7-Leh-Diskit/Hunder
J8-Hunder-Turtuk-Thang-Leh
J9-Leh-Pangong-Tangtse
J10-Tangtse-Leh
J11-Leh-Keylong
J12-Keylong-Manali (want to spend a day in Manali)
J13: Manali-Delhi/Chandigarh

Car: Ford Endeavour
2 people
Anyone travelling in same or near time period?

I will be along the same route on same dates. Earlier plan was to climb from Manali, but an impromptu meeting planned in Jammu means I will be following your itinerary. See you on the road hopefully. Holler at a silver Duster (UK 07) with TBhp stickers on the boot and CHARIOTEERS on sides if we cross paths.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by Ketan

I seem to have around 650-600kms range with full tank on my vehicle is what I have observed in the plains so far. This may reduce by few in the hills and I'd be driving Leh - Pangong - Kaksang La - Hanle - Tso moriri - (Karu or Tandi, depending on fuel condition).
So I'm trying to figure out whether carry fuel from Leh for this stretch or rely on fuel (black) sold at some villages en route.

Originally Posted by touring_spirit

The thing with fuel range that I had kept in mind after going through suggestions in this forum and others is that it would reduce by 30 %. But my experience was different,point being I was driving carefully and only kept speeds of 40-60 kmph and hence I got a mileage of more than what I usually get.


So I would suggest you prepare for the 30% drop in mileage and keep at least a 20L jerry can in the car. The last petrol pumps in the Leh-manali highway being at Shey near Leh and Keylong near Manali. Buying from locals I heard would vary form 3-20 rs/l more than the bunk price.

Cheers
Vishnu

Expecting car average to drop is actually a misnomer in high altitude places like Ladakh region. I was expecting the same too but it turned other way around and was rightly pointed by HVK sir. In high altitude places due to lack of oxygen the engine runs leaner fuel which results in drop of performance. This clubbed with generally slower speeds you will end up with better average. My XUV given 10kmpl in BLR city and ~14kmpl on highways with triple digit speeds. During Leh trip I got about ~13kmpl through out. INfact Leh to Keylong I managed ~15kmpl. Most of the trip all my diesel top ups were less than 25ltr. I managed Leh - Jalandhar (~800km) with 30% diesel left in tank.

Having said that having spare doesnt hurt given that sometimes supply disruptions can occur. When I filled in Diskit before leaving for Pangong, IOC had run out of diesel and luckily HP bunk had it, else I would have been a bit tense going all the way back to Leh without refueling.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by supertinu

Expecting car average to drop is actually a misnomer in high altitude places like Ladakh region.

Keylong to Leh - 360kms in about 9.5 litres of fuel on a 390 Adventure.

[SJM1214]

Several feared dead as taxi-van skids off high-altitude pass in Kashmir

The incident happened at Zojila Pass off the Srinagar-Leh National Highway
Several persons are feared dead as a taxi-van rolled down a deep gorge at Zojila Pass in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Thursday, May 26, 2022.

The vehicle skid off the Srinagar-Leh National Highway and rolled down the gorge late on Wednesday night, they said. The Zojila Pass is at an altitude of about 3,400 metres.

The taxi was going to Srinagar from Kargil.

Police, Army and locals have reached the spot to look for survivors, officials said.

Source : https://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...le65462604.ece

[Ketan]

Originally Posted by touring_spirit

There are three petrol pumps in Nubra valley of which two are in Diskit(I marked one on Gmaps since it was not showing up).

Cheers
Vishnu

Thank you. I'm planning to skip Nubra valley this time. I will see if my parents interested going that direction, we may give it a try. For now, I'm just calculating how much fuel I'd need for Leh>Pangong>Hanle>Tso Moriri and then out. As someone earlier mentioned, I have observed that my XUV500 was returning good economy on hills as well, almost same as plains, there were some exceptions though, due to steep climbs in the hills etc. However, it'd be good to always have spare fuel to avoid emergency.

Originally Posted by AnishRanjan

Doing the exact same route starting tomorrow from bangalore

This is great! Wish you all the best for your trip. It'd be great if I can keep in touch with you and get some updates while you travel. Thank you.