[Klub Class]

I'm posting few queries on behalf of my friend who's planning to drive to Ladakh towards the end of this month in his Ertiga Petrol :

1. Can Ertiga petrol with only 130 NM torque,94PS, 1175 Kg kerb weight is capable of climbing Zojila, Khardung La & other passes with full load?

(please note I have removed third row seat in my ertiga )

2. Stock tyres have done 30K kms but have good tread depth, is it necessary to change the tyres?

3. Brake pads have done 10K, is it necessary to change them?

4. I have run my car mostly on highways, very few mountain climbing. Is it necessary to change the clutch plate?

5. Has anybody had done Ladakh in Ertiga Petrol, if yes, what are the difficulties faced?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Klub Class

1. Can Ertiga petrol with only 130 NM torque,94PS, 1175 Kg kerb weight is capable of climbing Zojila, Khardung La & other passes with full load?

Yes, definitely. When my erstwhile 1.4 FIRE petrol Linea with 165 mm ground clearance and less power and torque climbed Zojila, Khardungla and the other passes in 2011 - of course with 50+ underbody scrapings - and returned to Bangalore safely, why not Ertiga with 185 mm ground clearance and more power and torque?

2. Stock tyres have done 30K kms but have good tread depth, is it necessary to change the tyres?

No, IMO.

3. Brake pads have done 10K, is it necessary to change them?

No again, IMO.

4. I have run my car mostly on highways, very few mountain climbing. Is it necessary to change the clutch plate?

No. But, get the car serviced before the Ladakh drive. That's more than sufficient.

[Mafioso]

Originally Posted by navsjab

Hey, Mafioso. I am planning a similar itinerary coming from Kolkata. Since I will be in a Thar, monsoon is not a major concern for me. However, for the 15th I have heard of issues too. Was suggested to hold at Udhampur and proceed on 16th from there.

Any suggestions you gathered at your end?

There is more unrest in Srinagar right now and no two consecutive days have a similar situation. Based on information from various people, most of them are suggesting skip Srinagar and go up to Sonamarg from Jammu. Mostly we are planning the same. However no guarantee of it either, because of the current curfew situations, we are guessing it will be even more during the 15th Aug!

[dinesh6481]

Thank you tsk1979 for such an exhaustive travelogue. though i have read it when it was first published but couldn't thank you then, as i was not the member. just got approved for membership and take this opportunity to thank you. nice work and very detailed. I think it deserves a travel book in itself and believe me its not a far fetched idea.

[dsnaveen21]

Hi Guys,

I have booked Mumbai Srinagar Mumbai flight for September 2016, first week. Going with family(me, wife, kid for 10 years) for first time.

I haven't booked any hotels yet, you think I should wait till next month to check the condition of Srinagar or you think I should go to Ladakh trip.

Any suggestions would be of great help.

Thanks,
Naveen

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Hi Guys,

I have booked Mumbai Srinagar Mumbai flight for September 2016, first week. Going with family(me, wife, kid for 10 years) for first time.

I haven't booked any hotels yet, you think I should wait till next month to check the condition of Srinagar or you think I should go to Ladakh trip.

Any suggestions would be of great help.

Thanks,
Naveen

Once the Yatra ends, things will be back to normal. As for hotels, no need to book anything in September. If you are still apprehensive, try your flight to Leh one way, and then Chandigarh Mumbai and do Leh-chd via taxi.
This way you do not miss out the awesome Manali Leh highway.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Spend two nights in Keylong, start early, and reach Leh the same day. While coming back you can stay in Sarchu, not while going

Keylong to Leh in one day seems too much. Is the following advisable:
Night stop 1 Manali
Night stop 2 Keylong
Night stop 3 Sarchu
Night stop 4 Leh

Time is not an issue. I will be leaving Jalandhar 24th August around 11pm for Manali and plan to Return by 6th September.

[manasmadaan]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Keylong to Leh in one day seems too much. Is the following advisable:
Night stop 1 Manali
Night stop 2 Keylong
Night stop 3 Sarchu
Night stop 4 Leh

Time is not an issue. I will be leaving Jalandhar 24th August around 11pm for Manali and plan to Return by 6th September.

We did amritsar to leh in 2014.

Amritsar to manali
manali to sarchu
sarch to leh.

However we were very uncomfortable at Sarchu because of AMS. So better do Jalandhar to manali
manali to jispa
jispa to leh.

Even manali to leh is doable in a day. During return journey we did leh to manali in a day. We started early at 6 AM from leh and reached manali at 8.30 PM
However more advisable is staying at jispa and reaching leh the second day from manali.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Keylong to Leh in one day seems too much. Is the following advisable:
Night stop 1 Manali
Night stop 2 Keylong
Night stop 3 Sarchu
Night stop 4 Leh

Time is not an issue. I will be leaving Jalandhar 24th August around 11pm for Manali and plan to Return by 6th September.

Originally Posted by manasmadaan

However we were very uncomfortable at Sarchu because of AMS. .

As mentioned by Manas, Sarchu is not advisable due to high altitude. On return leg you are still fine.

[Krishroy]

Successfully completed the Spiti sector, connecting Delhi - Simla - Kalpa - Tabo - Kaza - Chandra Taal - Manali - Delhi in a Duster (hired from Myles)
Thanks for all the suggestions and advices received from TBHP, without which I couldn't have attempted this trip.

[Maverick79]

Folks,
Reached Amritsar yesterday night.
Plan is as below,

27th July - Amritsar to Sonmarg.
28th July - Sonmarg to Leh or Kargil(Kargil as back up)
29th, 30th and 31st in and around Leh.
1st Aug Leh to Keylong.
2nd Keeling to Shimla
3rd Shimla to Delhi
4th Delhi to Ahmedabad.
5th Ahmedabad to Kolhapur.
6th Kolhapur to Chennai.

We are only two in one car now.
Let us know if anybody want's to join us in the above dates. We can have a convoy.

Also, suggest the situation in Srinagar as on today.
Will be leaving to Sonmarg early tmw morning via Srinagar.
Else, we need to change the plan as mentioned in the thread below.

Thanks and regards,
Maverick79.
98 Four Zero 354 Double Two Seven.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Hi tsk,

thanks for the super informative thread! It's been extremely helpful in planning my trip to Leh next month. It's very kind of you to have documented your trips and shared the information publicly and I am very grateful for it.

We are 3 guys. We are flying into Chandigarh on 9/7 morning. The plan is to collect our Zoomcar Scorpio and start the same afternoon on the Srinagar - Leh route. We plan to return via Manali.

I would appreciate you and others to have a look our tentative plan and help us out. All distances and times INSIDE Kashmir & Ladakh are based on your map on the 1st page of thread. Other distances and times are from Google maps.

1. We plan to leave CG in the afternoon. Is it feasible to reach Jammu (350 km)the same night? Should we stop somewhere closer like Pathankot?
2. Our overnight stop is planned to be at Kargil. That is about 11 hours away. Again, is this feasible or should we plan a stop at Sonamarg instead? It would be about 3 hours closer than Kargil.
3. Regardless of where we stop overnight on the way, we plan to reach Leh towards evening of 11/7.
4. We have to reach CG by 19/7 night. There cannot be any change here as our return flight is on 20/7.
5. So we effectively have 12/7 to 16/7 for trips inside Ladakh.
6. We still aren't sure about being allowed to drive our Zoomcar outside of Leh, so we are thinking of renting bikes for other visits. We prefer the freedom of driving/riding ourselves rather than hiring a taxi.
7. I realise that 5 days isn't much time. Do you think that the plan to visit Nubra and Pangong Tso is feasible without being hectic?
8. We are currently allowing a 1 day buffer to allow for safety.
9. Is it feasible to visit Tso/Kar circuit and proceed towards Sarchu (night stay) instead of returning to Leh?

I would really appreciate all your advice and suggestions to smooth out our plan.

Thanks!

I finally did the trip!

Because of the troubles in Kashmir, we were forced to take the Manali - Leh route.

Our onward itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Chandigarh to Bilaspur (Evening to night)
Day 2: Bilaspur to Manali to Jispa
Day 3: Jispa to Pang
Day 4: Pang to Leh

Our return itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Leh to Pang
Day 2: Pang to Manali
Day 3: Manali to Amritsar

The roads from Rohtang up to Keylong and then again from after Jispa to Sarchu as mostly quite bad and slows down progress. We avoided driving at night because of the terrain and the roads. We had supporting advice from army personnel that it would be safer to avoid night driving because of the risks.

[earthian]

@tsk1979

I have not come across a more detailed guide than this one. It covers mostly everything, except details on how to photograph the Milky way!

We just finished the Ladakh circuit, and am already thirsting for more. After reading your detailed report, and seeing the excellent pictures, one realises how much effort goes in in making such a travelogue.

Well done and thank you.

[sdp1975]

Stone pelting mobs are resorting to extortion from vehicles on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...on-valley.html

[rrsteer]

Have a question regarding my van. So we will be 5 adults and a kid in an Innova travelling to Leh between 25th August & 6th September. Except me, all females and thus lot of luggage too.

It was advised in the instructions to get a sump guard, but then as I read through the thread (I am on thread no. 61 right now) I find not many got a sump guard fitted, so is it a necessity?

Even if its not, how do I get one for Innova?
Can it be made in a workshop?
Can Fortuner's be bolted on to the Innova?