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Ok guys did my lifetime dream trip from chandigarh-leh and back in my car maruti suzuki sx4 zxi dec 2009 model in 8 days and yes it was adventurous and awesome. Wished we could spend a few more days to relax and sight seeing but my friends commitments had me plan an 8 day trip only. I think a 12+ day trip wud be fine. Respect and hats off to Indian Army and Indian Border Road Organization (BRO) who have made and maintained roads in such an inhospitable, landslide prone and harsh weather conditions.
Sharing details:
13th June 1:40 AM - Left from Chandigarh for Srinagar. Reached around 7.30 pm. Got caught in 2 traffic jams one between Patnitop and Srinagar and the other at outskirts of Srinagar. In between, at Jammu enjoyed the famous roadside Halwa before having breakfast and yes it was yummy.
Time spent in jams - 3 hrs.
Distance covered - 634 km
Duration 18 hours
(Hence start early and keep unexpected events like jams in mind. Plains can be covered at night and you can save time but avoid mountain stretches at night, hairpin bends, blind turns, high beams of incoming traffic, no curve markings or safety beams at curves - makes it too risky at night, instead start early morning).
14th June Srinagar to Kargil - Left at 9:30 am (too tired and exhausted to start early), reached Kargil at 8:30 pm. Stopped for sightseeing at Srinagar Gurudwara at Shri Maqbool Sahib, picnic spot before Sonmarg at the banks of river Sindh, zero point picnic spot after Sonmarg, Kargil war memorial. Total time in sightseeing - 2.5 to 3 hours. Again got stuck in 2 jams one before Sonmarg and another at Zozilla pass.
Time in jam - 1.5 hours
Distance covered - 259 km
Travel time 11 hours
(Drass to Kargil hill road is just awesome, looks like newly carpeted, well-marked, curve reflectors makes you forget the tiredness of trip and respect for Indian Army and BRO who maintain it).
If you have a hatch back or sedan your undercarriage is bound to touch in zozilla pass, but it’s doable, be slow, avoid stopping your car at inclines because then stop to go could become a challenge, if unvoidable due to jam then better stop at a level surface prior to an incline. If stuck at an incline and your car is not moving forward then place a stone behind your rear wheel, it would give you the necessary grip for a short distance. You might have to do this repeatedly 2-3 times unless car reaches a leveled surface. Also before going on a long journey do go through your so called boring car manual completely. It is useful. It mentions how your vehicle should be correctly towed, how to drive on descent and what to do if your vehicle gets stuck in mud. Knowing your car better technically will make you a more confident driver on this challenging terrain. One tip that came in handy for me was to use lower gears during descent for breaking instead of excessive break paddle use, this not only gives your brake pads a longer life but also helps maintain a constant speed and control instead of frequent acceleration and deceleration during descent.
15th June Kargil to Leh. Started at 9 am. Spent time sightseeing and clicking photographs at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, Moonland rocks, Magnetic hill and Indian Army Hall of Fame at Leh. All these sights are on the way only and you dont have to divert from route.
Distance travelled 228 KM
Duration 9 hours
Sightseeing 3 hours
(The sudden change in terrain into a beautiful dessert plateau with endless straight roads at few sights is bound to make you stop repeatedly for clicking photographs. So dress well for Kargil -Leh route if you want to show your pictures to others.)
First leg - Chandigarh to Leh via Srinagar Complete distance 1069 km
16th June - Leh to Pangong Lake and Return
Started at 7 am
One way distance 153 km
Indian citizens are required to fill a form (which should be available within Leh at shops or shops before the check post with yours, co passengers and vehicle details) and submit the same at the checkpost with last 5 digits of your license. In case you forget the form they do accept on request these details on a plain paper. Only private vehicles and local J&K taxis are allowed beyond this point. Other state taxis or self-driven rented cars from other states are not allowed.
It was snowing at Changla pass at 17600 ft, BRO bulldozers were deployed to clear the way, temperature was at -3 degree Celsius and had to wait for 3 hours for the road to get cleared, at one point seeing the weather had decided to return back midway fearing that snow would have frozen into ice on road making it slippery and dangerous to drive back. But coming so far and not seeing the lake kept us moving ahead. Reached Pangong lake at 3:40 pm after 8.5 hours. And voila, what a view it was, crystal clear still water to as far as you can see, 3-4 shades of water with a beautiful backdrop of mountains. It was worth the risk. Due to paucity of time to return started return journey at 4.25 pm. Talked to few other drivers who were planning a return journey and moved with them in a convoy for support. Luckily, it had stopped snowing in the afternoon and route was in much better condition than in morning. Came back by 9:30 pm i.e. in 5 hours. However, would recommend to spend a night at Pangong to witness the lakes full glory, tented accommodations are available. Was too exhausted to plan a long trip next day.
Changla pass is treacherous and you might feel lack of oxygen at that height, if possible travel in a convoy. Though would recommend to spend night in Pangong but lot of cabbies and individual do same day return and recommend to leave by 3:30 pm to avoid night driving in mountains. They are too many one way, inclines, declines, sharp curves, rocky, potholes, surfaces and puddles on this route. The road between Tangze to Pangong is relatively straight and urges you to speed up but then there are numerous cemented dry riverbed crossing depressions without any road sign warnings on the stretch which at high speeds can damage your car hence be on lookout for those.
Distance covered - 306 km
Duration - 13.5 hours
17th June - around Leh within 50 km range. Visited Stoke Palace, Thiksey Monastry, Hemis Monastry. Left at 12 noon came back by 8 pm i.e 8 hours. Distance covered 119 km
Ladakh has a rich Buddhist and dynasty culture and hence places of historical and religious importance must be visited; they are beautiful. Monasteries are closed for public visit by 6 pm hence ensure you exit them before 6 pm. In one of the monasteries, the light of museum were turned off sharp at 6 pm while were inside it and had to leave immediately).
18th June
Leh to Khardungla pass 45 km
Started at 7.20 am
At Punnu checkpost south you have to again submit a form as mentioned earlier. Only private vehicles and local J&K taxis are allowed. Self-driven rented cars or other state taxis are not allowed beyond this point. Reached the highest motorable road at 18300 ft at 10 am. The road is full of potholes, sharp stones and puddles. It’s worse than Pangong route but the satisfaction of driving at the highest motorable road compensates for that. Somehow got the confidence to drive further to Nubra valley some 105 odd km more as it’s the same route with same day return. Came across Punnu checkpost north by 11:30 am where the policeman said that he will allow return by 4 pm only as beyond that time temperature falls drastically low at Khardungla top and along with low light, it’s too dangerous to be there. Hence calculated beyond this checkpost by 1.30 pm, wherever we are we have to start our return journey to reach this check post by 3:30 pm with buffer time for unplanned events.
By 12:40 pm 8 km before Dikhsit realized 30 odd km to Nubra were still left and will not be able to make the return journey in time if we pushed further. Hence decided to relax there, took a U-turn and started the return journey, but 2:30 pm had crossed Ghe Punnu north checkpost but at around 3:30 pm half a km before Khardungla top, got stuck in in a jam, snow had frozen into ice and created deep pot holes at one part of the road where even trucks were getting stuck and were being towed by each other. Was worried whether my sedan would make it. After waiting for 2 hours along with other waiting drivers, decided to do something about the situation. Using a rod, a shovel, a tarpal, rocks and bare hands of 10-15 odd co drivers cars(including mine), MUVs were guided and manually pushed out of that worse stretch after 2.5 hours. Reached Leh around 7:30 pm and did some shopping at local main bazaar.
Distance covered 223 km
Duration 12 hours
Started return journey via Keylong-Manali route
19th June Leh to Keylong
Started at 6:30 am
Upto Sarchu route was fine but was stuck in a jam for 1 hour as BRO was widening the track but Zanzibar pass, Zyrchala pass were the worse stretches of the route. My front mud flap had come on this route and the front inner mudguard has been displaced. Need to get them repaired. The route had just opened 6 days back. At one bridge the level sheets were displaced or bent, and there were huge gaps between them, my co-passenger had to guide me from outside to cross it. Road is almost nonexistent in this stretch. You will have stone or mud potholed tracks with steep inclines and declines. Since it was late afternoon, the snow had melted and so these so called roads had turned into river streams and water in the streams had also risen. One of the bridges were broken and had to cross rocky fast flowing stream with 3 foot of water. With gods grace though the undercarriage was hitting the rockbed but was able to clear the stream. Just before Jispa came across a rocky decline on the road with 2 foot water flowing on the road at high pressure, again the undercarriage was getting hit against the rocks but made it.
Reached keylong by 8 pm
Distance 363 km
Duration 13.5 hours
This was the worse and most dangerous strech of the entire route for me. At this time seeing the road and bridge conditions would not recommend this route for hatchback or sedan drivers. Heard it is advisable to take this route after 3 weeks of official opening as by that time major route repairs and bridges work for the season are completed by bro or the responsible authority hence keep taking updates from drivers before taking this route. Start early morning as possible. Between Leh to Sarchu route is manageable but as the day progresses and snow starts to melts you would find more and more streams of water on road and rising water level at crossing after Sarchu making it difficult. If required stay at Sarchu ,tented accommodation or rented bedding at dhabas is available .
Keylong to Chandigargh final leg
Started at 7.20 am
Crossed Rohtang pass by 9:30 am. Though treacherous but less in comparison to previous day Sarchu-Keylong route. You would find melting snow streams crossing the road, severely potholed paths, undercarriage will hit rocky paths at few occasions. Decided not to stop at Rohtang pass for games as the stretch is famous for jams, crossed it with a 20 minute jam. On the way to Manali did paragliding at a spot. Up till Manali came across multiple small jams which in total consumed 1 hr. Between Manali-Kullu-Mandi your average speed will not be above 40 km due to single lane roads and highway passing from within the cities. The worse stretch is after this - the Bilaspur section where they are cement and other load carrier trucks throughout the route. Unfortunately was crossing this curve hill section in the night with heavy traffic, no road signs, high beam traffic, no street light, single lane, no side girders. You are literally blinded by high beams, limited options of overtaking if a truck is in front of you and some irresponsible passenger vehicle drivers. Under these conditions your average speed would be 20 to 30 km and expect this to be like this for next 2 to 3 hours. Post that you get a 2-3 lane level highway which is a good sigh of relief.
Finally reached Chandigarh at 12.30 am after having dinner on the way.
Distance 426 km
Time 17 hours
Return journey distance 790 km
Conclusion:
Plan at least for 12 days if travelling from Chandigarh or Delhi. Your car undercarriage is bound to get hit by rocks be mentally prepared for it and drive carefully. It’s not a race hence relax and enjoy the locations and spend time there. After the trip you will be financially, mentally and physically so exhausted that you will not plan the same trip again soon.
Before the trip get your car serviced thoroughly. Your tires, brake discs, pads and car fluids should be in excellent condition - no compromises there. While leaving from Srinagar I had reduced my car tire pressure by few points from the recommended 33 psi because as you go further above sea level the air expands further. This along with brand new tires and nitrogen might have helped in giving me a puncture-less journey. 2 of our potato chips packets had exploded during Pangong and Khardungla trip, reiterating the effects of high air pressure. I got an average mileage of 11.5 km/litre which is very good for my car though I have a K&N air filter fitted.
Finally, yes a road journey to Leh is worth it, it is a journey of a life time so go for it.
Last edited by Gannu_1 : 23rd June 2015 at 13:41.
Reason: Post edited for formatting, punctuation, SMS lingo, typos, paragraphs. Thanks for sharing! :)
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14th June 2015, 18:51
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Thanks
