[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by g_shyam

Has anyone been through Srinagar-Leh or Manali-Leh highway in the past two days?

The recent cloudburst and floods in Ramban and Kullu has got us worried. Are the roads open/ safe to travel?

Did Debring - Manali route two days back and Sringar - Leh route a week before that.

Both are open, though one can expect the usual closures due to some smaller issues in between for few hours.

Road wise, Srinagar - Leh is in good condition. No concerns inspite of the pounding it took due to rains couple of weeks back.

However, Sarchu - Jispa has few bad sections, if in a low GC vehicle, you will get bad hits for sure.

Originally Posted by Ragul

Is it adulterated? Does it cause engine performance problems instantaneously?

Fuel quality of the Nubra IOC and Diskit HP bunks were fine. No issues noticed, though the Leh Mahindra RM mentioned that its risky for BS6 vehicles.

You can get fuel in black from Hanle too, as others mentioned its mostly coming from Army. That too, quality wise its fine.

Originally Posted by Ragul

Why is the dirt track a popular option (I see all Youtube videos taking a dirt track)? I see a white line for the road going via Punguk - why is that not an option? Hanle-Demchok-Hanle should be do-able inside 6hrs?

Since Photi La is closed now for repairs + there is a checkpost which used to randomly block vehicles.

For question 2 - Two vehicles from our group did the same, yes. one side through dirt track will take just below 3 hours.

[Naetik30]

Hi All. Reposting my question. I am planning to family trip (myself, wife and 11 year old son) to Leh starting September 25 for 6 days. I will be flying down to Leh. Plan is to stay in Leh and Nubra valley. Pangong tso will be a day trip.

My questions - <B> Is last week of september a good time to visit Leh? Google aunty is giving mixed answers. Some say it is a good time with less crowd. And some say it will be terribly cold and snowed out. I am OK with some snow, as long as most roads will stay open. What should I expect </B>.

In Nubra valley, I am planning on Nubra eco lodge for 1 night. Other option is Stonehedge. Any feedback on these hotels. Anything to watch out for in Nubra?

Also, in Leh I am planning to stay at Ladakh Paradise hotel (or) Bodhi tree in Leh. Any feedback on this is also welcome.

[neofromcapone]

I did last week of Sept and First week of October.
Yes it will be cold, especially after midnight.
Your hotel should have good insulation and that should keep you warm.
For the nights, try and keep a hot water bag (for each individual) handy, Your hotel might provide it, our homestay did.

Roads were open, we were lucky as Khardungla was snowed out a day or two before we went there. So we got all access to Nubra and Pangong tso.
So really all dependent of weather on that day. So reach Leh, acclimatize for a day or two, spend time in the markets, stock up some dry fruits to carry to Nubra and Pangong tso.
Hotels, I went back in 2017, so can't really comment, I stayed in a homestay in Leh and it was basic.
Heard good things about the newly opened Chopsa Hotel.
Sorry can't help you on the Nubra hotels.

Have a great trip.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Hi All. Reposting my question. I am planning to family trip (myself, wife and 11 year old son) to Leh starting September 25 for 6 days. I will be flying down to Leh. Plan is to stay in Leh and Nubra valley. Pangong tso will be a day trip.

My questions - <B> Is last week of september a good time to visit Leh? Google aunty is giving mixed answers. Some say it is a good time with less crowd. And some say it will be terribly cold and snowed out. I am OK with some snow, as long as most roads will stay open. What should I expect </B>.

In Nubra valley, I am planning on Nubra eco lodge for 1 night. Other option is Stonehedge. Any feedback on these hotels. Anything to watch out for in Nubra?

Also, in Leh I am planning to stay at Ladakh Paradise hotel (or) Bodhi tree in Leh. Any feedback on this is also welcome.

I was there last week of Sep last year, you can read my travelogue about the trip here :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...da-kodiaq.html (Almost a two-year wait for Ladakh | 16 day & 5740 km road-trip in a Skoda Kodiaq)

I think new rules to acclimitize have come in so you might have to spend 48 hours after flying in to Leh so do confirm that.

[Ragul]

I am unable to contact any homestay at Hanle or Tso Moriri/kar that is pet friendly with private room (not dormitory for biker groups) for my upcoming trip in Sept. The one I enquired by name Naga something said "pet friendly" then said my dog has to sleep outside in the corridor in freezing temps!

Anyone has contacts DM me please!

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by AnandB

I was there last week of Sep last year, you can read my travelogue about the trip here :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...da-kodiaq.html (Almost a two-year wait for Ladakh | 16 day & 5740 km road-trip in a Skoda Kodiaq)

I think new rules to acclimitize have come in so you might have to spend 48 hours after flying in to Leh so do confirm that.

Thanks a lot @AnandB. Your travelogue was one that inspired me to take the trip. Though my initial plan was to drive from BLR to Leh, I wasnt sure if my wife would enjoy the drive for 20+ days.

One question - for the milky way pics you got - can you provide location co-ordinates of where you got them? Also, at what time did you go there for the pics? It looks pretty dark was it well into the night? Any other pointers on getting the milky way pics is highly appreciated.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Thanks a lot @AnandB. Your travelogue was one that inspired me to take the trip. Though my initial plan was to drive from BLR to Leh, I wasnt sure if my wife would enjoy the drive for 20+ days.

One question - for the milky way pics you got - can you provide location co-ordinates of where you got them? Also, at what time did you go there for the pics? It looks pretty dark was it well into the night? Any other pointers on getting the milky way pics is highly appreciated.

The week from 22 - 28 Sep is the perfect time to shoot the sky as its new-moon on 26th early morning (25th night). Milky-way arch is always visible in the sky but we aim for the core and its only visible for few hours and not all year round. I have checked photopills app and during that time the core will be visible over the horizon around 7.30pm till 10 -10.30pm before it goes under the horizon. You don't have to worry about moonlight as its new-moon week.

Location doesn't really matter you just need to get away from city lights. You won't get great results in places like Leh or Diskit/Hunder because of too much lights where all settlements are. All you need to do is drive away from there so it doesn't effect as much. For example in Hanle i just drove half a km from Padma homestay. For Karzok since the core comes behind the town and lake i drove all the way around to opposite side and chose a spot i could take pics safely from.

Ladakh/Spiti are best places to see the sky and its just another experience looking at the thousands of stars, even milky-way arch/core can be figured out with the naked eye (but not as you see in pics). I did Spiti this May too for the same and what an amazing experience.

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by AnandB

The week from 22 - 28 Sep is the perfect time to shoot the sky as its new-moon on 26th early morning (25th night). Milky-way arch is always visible in the sky but we aim for the core and its only visible for few hours and not all year round. I have checked photopills app and during that time the core will be visible over the horizon around 7.30pm till 10 -10.30pm before it goes under the horizon. You don't have to worry about moonlight as its new-moon week.


.

Thanks a lot for the tips. I have booked Leh/Nubra/pangong tso for the week of Sep 25 to Sep 30. So I guess that works out well.

Will try to get some pics of the Milky way (that would be my first time).

[amitlal169]

I along with 2 other riders are travelling to Zanskar during September. Plan is to Start from Cuttack, Odisha. We have 1 space in a 2021 Thar to fill up. If anyone interested please let me know.

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Did Debring - Manali route two days back and Sringar - Leh route a week before that. .

Hi, I would like to know where were you stopped for Covid checks? Can a non vaccinated person make it through?
Thanks.

[karanddd]

I'm flying to Leh on 25th September and leaving on 4th October. I plan to rent a bike there and explore. I'm going solo so if anyone is going to be in Ladakh at the same time, please connect with me. It would be nice to have some company, even if only for a day or two.

Originally Posted by amitlal169

I along with 2 other riders are travelling to Zanskar during September. Plan is to Start from Cuttack, Odisha. We have 1 space in a 2021 Thar to fill up. If anyone interested please let me know.

What dates are you planning on being there? If there is any overlap, please send me a DM. I tried to send you one but it seems blocked.

[Mik]

Adding info for anyone planning to ride - only the more off-beat destinations.

This is based on my ride from 3rd to 14th August in the circuit.

Sach pass top - Killar :: Primarily broken roads but fun. Rain might play havoc.
Darcha - Shinku La :: 90% is black-top.
Shinku La - Kurgiakh :: The downhill has the BRO doing its thing at some places. Mostly a mix of gravel and mud. Beyond the Dhaba - along the gompo ronjon section its a mix of little water crossings and dirt tracks. Just before the gompo ronjon camping grounds - the water crossings in evening become a bit challenging.

Kurgiakh - Purne :: Decent dirt tracks/stony paths.

Purne - Padum :: The initial climb is dirt track and one sandy section which requires gunning the throttle Rest is ok. One just needs to stay on the right side of the river below. Sign boards aren't expressly available, but google offline maps work well. If you are in a car, expect a bit of delays due to BRO blasting. The last 20km is a beautiful black top.

Padum - Lingshed - Lamayuru :: After initial 15/20km of beautiful blacktop you will be dealing with a single lane stony/gravelly section blasted out of the mountains. While it is dodgy - one can just be grateful to the BRO bravehearts who built this.
Post crossing the bridge - things get better. The stony path is mostly replaced by a gravelly/mud section all the way through the three major passes.
Note: Your photo gear won't do justice to what you experiences there
The last 20 odd kms are again black tops.

Key La :: (Yes its not kela pass. Its Key La Pass. We have made the amends on google) Now this one is fairly challenging if you are not having a moderately powerful bike with good traction. Our xpulses struggled a bit at some sections. The downhill was a nightmare with loose mud/sand and stones. A big rock also blocked the downhill till Key La Tso. Car wallahs might want to check.
The road along the river till tangste is beautiful mix of gravel/dirt tracks and black top at the end.

Chushul - Kak sangla - Hor La - Mahe Bridge:: Mostly black tops. The initial shortcuts should be taken easily. Infact, take every shortcut you get for added fun! The last gentle downhill is red gravel dirt track fun.

Note: Mahe - Loma -Nyoma - Hanle is passe. There are two alternatives.

Alternative 1: Take the bridge just before nyoma fauji settlement, take a left from there and follow the dirt track. Your objective is to stay close to Indus river. Eventually, with some villager directions and bit of navigation you will end up at Rhongo village and then take the road to Hanle.

Alternative 2: Ryul Tso - Chilling Tso section. Now this is serious fun! We took it on our return from Hanle.
Hanle till Ryul Tso is a bit of BRO fun, dirt tracks, loose sand and teeny weeny bit of slush. Totally worth the view.
Ryul Tso - Chilling Tso - get off the dirt track and if your vehicle allows it - climb the hill to see both the lakes together (we were able to)
There is a detour you can take to Sir Sir La too (its fun)
Chilling Tso had a freak water crossing for us as it rained heavily. Otherwise, the road from Chilling Tso till Nyoma settlement bridge (referred in alternative 1) is a mix of gravel, sand, slush and lots of Kiangs, rocky water crossings et al. Should be a cakewalk in the right weather and tires.

Hanle - Umling La

Alternative 1: The well known Nurburla section. Initially beautiful dirt tracks and upto nurburla top. Instead of going towards umlingla preferably first go to nurburla pass (take a right when you see the black top road) Its a beautiful place. The rest of the road to umling la is pleasant. All you need is the right hardware. Any Fi vehicle will make it. One Carburetted xpulse in our group struggled big time. So do take that into consideration.

Alternative 2:
Photi La is a mix of black tops/dirt tracks and mud and bedded bajri (proper tyre slipper) I would personally advise taking this road only while coming back from umling la as climbing up for a 2 wheeler over the bedded bajri can be challenging. BRO is at work there so get to it ASAP. In a few months it will be a boring pristine black top.

Umling la - Demchok:: Simple black top. We just flipped the bird to the chinese there. Will not talk about other obscene gestures.

Mahe - Tso Moriri : Was a pleasure in 2014. Is a pleasure now in the right kind of bike. Dirt road paradise. We hit 80 in some sections.

Tso Moriri - Tso Kar :: Dirt road fun mostly. You actually get a choice of taking entirely different routes. A mud road and a gravel track. Take your pick.

Tso Kar - Debring :: All good.

Hope this helps.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by unoczar

Hi, I would like to know where were you stopped for Covid checks?
Thanks.

None.

At Khaltse checkpost one has to show the certificates. They asked us if we have the same, but was not checked. They just noted down name/ number etc and let us through.

This was the same for all 10 cars / 26 people in our group, which crossed the checkpost separately in a span of some couple of hours.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Mik

Adding info for anyone planning to ride - only the more off-beat destinations.

This is based on my ride from 3rd to 14th August in the circuit.

Chushul - Kak sangla - Hor La - Mahe Bridge:: Mostly black tops. The initial shortcuts should be taken easily. Infact, take every shortcut you get for added fun! The last gentle downhill is red gravel dirt track fun.

Note: Mahe - Loma -Nyoma - Hanle is passe. There are two alternatives.

Alternative 1: Take the bridge just before nyoma fauji settlement, take a left from there and follow the dirt track. Your objective is to stay close to Indus river. Eventually, with some villager directions and bit of navigation you will end up at Rhongo village and then take the road to Hanle.

Alternative 2: Ryul Tso - Chilling Tso section. Now this is serious fun! We took it on our return from Hanle.
Hanle till Ryul Tso is a bit of BRO fun, dirt tracks, loose sand and teeny weeny bit of slush. Totally worth the view.
Ryul Tso - Chilling Tso - get off the dirt track and if your vehicle allows it - climb the hill to see both the lakes together (we were able to)
There is a detour you can take to Sir Sir La too (its fun)
Chilling Tso had a freak water crossing for us as it rained heavily. Otherwise, the road from Chilling Tso till Nyoma settlement bridge (referred in alternative 1) is a mix of gravel, sand, slush and lots of Kiangs, rocky water crossings et al. Should be a cakewalk in the right weather and tires.

Timely post - I will be reaching there 2nd week of September. The regular route to Hanle recommended by gmap is 2h45min. with nothing left to do the rest of the day after a night stay at Pangong. How much extra time will Alt1 or Alt2 route take?
Would you recommend this as safe for a solo trip in a Gypsy? If you have a kml saved of your route please share with me so I can review on Google Earth or Maps

Originally Posted by Mik

Hanle - Umling La

Alternative 1: The well known Nurburla section. Initially beautiful dirt tracks and upto nurburla top. Instead of going towards umlingla preferably first go to nurburla pass (take a right when you see the black top road) Its a beautiful place. The rest of the road to umling la is pleasant. All you need is the right hardware. Any Fi vehicle will make it. One Carburetted xpulse in our group struggled big time. So do take that into consideration.

So the dirt road shortcut to avoid the Army checkpost merges after of the view-point and we need to backtrack a bit? How many extra km and time for this?

Originally Posted by Mik

Alternative 2:
Photi La is a mix of black tops/dirt tracks and mud and bedded bajri (proper tyre slipper) I would personally advise taking this road only while coming back from umling la as climbing up for a 2 wheeler over the bedded bajri can be challenging. BRO is at work there so get to it ASAP. In a few months it will be a boring pristine black top.

Worth it coming back from Umlinga for a change of scene? Which route is more scenic?

Originally Posted by Mik

Umling la - Demchok:: Simple black top.
Hope this helps.

The road can get endless - how far should one go before turning back? Whats the reason to climb down here? Great views? Or just views of the Chinese side? How far down Umlingla to go to satisfy the urge to reach a stones throw from the Chinese side? (In the interest of time)

How was the weather in August and expected temps in 2nd week of Sept? Minimum and Maximum day temps with wind-chill factor on the plans at 4250m and at the top of the passes - I mean is it mostly tolerable with warm clothing for the most part except the top the passes? Minimum night temps? I am considering taking my pet dog that is not accustomed or built for cold weather (not a Husky or GSD) and plan to stay at 3250m for three nights for both of us to acclimatize before heading 4250m and up in North and South from Leh. But I am contemplating the risk in case he cant handle the weather and altitude. Will decide this week whether I leave him behind or not.

Thanks for the useful tips.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Timely post - I will be reaching there 2nd week of September. The regular route to Hanle recommended by gmap is 2h45min.

Gmaps is wrong and is not the most accurate in Ladakh. After Pangong there is a great spot to visit between Man and Merak villages so leave early and check that out. Regardless of route you will take a minimum of 5-6 hours to reach Hanle from Pangong.