[drnarenderdutt]

Hello friends
I want to travel to Leh with family. My sons have vacation from mid May to 3rd week of July. I want to take a bus (volvo) from Delhi to Manali. Then a taxi from manali to leh. Will also need taxi for visiting places around leh. After Leh I would like to either fly back home or enjoy a drive to sonmarg where we would stay a day thence to srinagar from where to fly home. We have been to srinagar before and don't want to stay there. I can't keep total duration more than a week. Please suggest me a travel plan.
Thanks

[SDRam]

Originally Posted by manasmadaan

When we did leh to manali, we did it in 2 days with a night stop at sarchu. That proved to be a mistake because of the high altitude of sarchu vs manali.

Where did you stay in Sarchu?. When we did leh /ladakh in October we changed our stay from Sarchu to Jispa.

You are right on the second point. Manali toh is just twice of bangalore's altitude.

Originally Posted by drnarenderdutt

Hello friends
I want to travel to Leh with family. My sons have vacation from mid May to 3rd week of July. I want to take a bus (volvo) from Delhi to Manali. Then a taxi from manali to leh. Will also need taxi for visiting places around leh. After Leh I would like to either fly back home or enjoy a drive to sonmarg where we would stay a day thence to srinagar from where to fly home. We have been to srinagar before and don't want to stay there. I can't keep total duration more than a week. Please suggest me a travel plan.
Thanks

Hi,
You can save time by flying in to Leh.
Then you can drive to SOnamarg and back in 2 days. i.e going 1 day and back next day. Then you will get adjusted to the altitude also.
Day 3 Keep for leh sight seeing
Day 4 go to Pangong lake and back the next day (D5)
Day 6 go to the La, Khardung La- and back same day
that's it

Plan the return yourself -
My suggestion will be to drive down to Manali - Chandigarh route. will take 1 day from leh to manali and another to chandigharh.

The routes are all very picturesque and you people will enjoy the scenery.

[manasmadaan]

Originally Posted by SDRam

Where did you stay in Sarchu?. When we did leh /ladakh in October we changed our stay from Sarchu to Jispa.

You are right on the second point. Manali toh is just twice of bangalore's altitude.

we stayed at golddrop camps... There were good facilities there.
We too had initially thought of staying at jispa. but then decided to continue till sarchu as we reached jispa around 2.30 pm. But it s better to stay at jispa to get acclimatized.

[drnarenderdutt]

Thank you for your suggestions. I was keep these options in mind

[dgr8ctzn]

Hello friends,

I think i am a little too early to ask this but we are planning a trip to Ladakh in August next year.

Basically here is our idea:
Mahindra Xylo E8(2009) - myself and friend
Enfield Bikes - 3 friends

We all live in Bangalore.

Does anyone have good experience in shifting cars and bikes from Bangalore to Delhi(and back!) and any pointers?

Also what care needs to be taken in doing so? The fact that we will have to start driving as soon as we get to Delhi means the vehicles need to be transported safely.

In anycase, having Mahindra and Royal Enfield contacts handy would be handy i guess!

We wish we could drive all the way from Bangalore but looks like its not viable due to professional commitments(same old story there!)...

I will reach out to the team as I begin my planning. But this was the first step, that i wanted to seek your help on.

Any good pointers for route planning/logistics or anything under the sun for this trip from you personal experience, would be invaluable to start my planning.

Regards,
Deepak

[Eagle1]

Hi Ajay,

I am planning a road trip from Mumbai to Dalhousie, since you recently made a trip to HP just wanted to check the road condition from Udaipur to Chandigarh.

[subbaraomr]

Originally Posted by Eagle1

Hi Ajay,



I am planning a road trip from Mumbai to Dalhousie, since you recently made a trip to HP just wanted to check the road condition from Udaipur to Chandigarh.

Hello: I drove udaipur Chandigarh via jaipur- delhi in feb '14. Excellent road udaipur to Jaipur via chittorgarh (avoid NH 9 as it is in poor shape, not Gavin been upgraded to even NH standards). Jaipur-delhi-Chandigarh road is good but for the diversions jaipur- delhi and delhi- jaipur sections which have been under 4-laning for years now. Good advice on teamBHP was to leave Delhi outskirts by six am to avoid Mandi on delhi outskirts

[SafaRoy]

Thanks a ton Tanveer for this extremely useful guide. Did a Pune-Leh-Pune drive recently and this was my reference book.

[onedotsix]

This is a brilliant guide.. Thanks Tanveer.
I am planning a drive to Ladakh this year. Most likely in April. Would be driving my Skoda Rapid(70,000kms on the ODO).
Wanted a few information for the trip. Is it doable in the month of April. What are the circuits that would be open at this time of the year.
The plan would be to drive through Srinagar to Leh. And (if possible) return through Rohtang.
Is it mandatory to have the original RC book while travelling?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

This is a brilliant guide.. Thanks Tanveer.
I am planning a drive to Ladakh this year. Most likely in April. Would be driving my Skoda Rapid(70,000kms on the ODO).
Wanted a few information for the trip. Is it doable in the month of April. What are the circuits that would be open at this time of the year.
The plan would be to drive through Srinagar to Leh. And (if possible) return through Rohtang.
Is it mandatory to have the original RC book while travelling?

Srinagar Leh route usually opens earliest around early may. So not possible. you should carry original RC with you.

[onedotsix]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Srinagar Leh route usually opens earliest around early may. So not possible. you should carry original RC with you.

Oh. Thanks for the update. Will have to plan towards end of may or early June then.
The problem with RC book is that, being a company leased car, I do not have the original with me. Is there a way around this? Are documents checked or asked for, to get any permits?
If not, I'm certainly not sure if the trip could be done in a Chevy Spark

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

Oh. Thanks for the update. Will have to plan towards end of may or early June then.
The problem with RC book is that, being a company leased car, I do not have the original with me. Is there a way around this? Are documents checked or asked for, to get any permits?
If not, I'm certainly not sure if the trip could be done in a Chevy Spark

In that case keep a photocopy or documents. Normally RC book is never checked, but in case it is, cops can try to make money of you.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

If not, I'm certainly not sure if the trip could be done in a Chevy Spark

If you're hitting the road before monsoon, your Chevy Spark should do it comfortably.
Don't load up the car too much in any case.
Wherever you have a doubt about the road surface, get out of the car to check ground clearance and if you can cross carefully.
Tell everybody to get out of the car so that you can cross a rough patch without any big issue.
Remember, you should be prepared to rough it out here and there. It is part of the landscapes anyway.

Tanvir can surely elaborate more on this.

Remember, best time to venture out with your own car there is mid May - till so called monsoon beginning.

For your information, please check with these two places beforehand for support/service and repair (if any).

In Srinagar, J&K -

K C Motors
By Pass Road, Hyderpora, Srinagar 190014
Jammu & Kashmir
Phone: +91-0194-2443188
Fax: +91-0194-2443888
Email: kcmotorssgr@rediffmail.com

In Himachal Pradesh -

Ram Hari Motors
Rotang Road, Vill Vishisht Vihal, P Vashisht Tehsil Manali,
District Manali
Manali 175131 Himachal Pradesh
Phone: +91-9318726077
Email: rhmchevy@rediffmail.com

If I can cull out more information I'll post those here.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

If you're hitting the road before monsoon, your Chevy Spark should do it comfortably.
.
.
..

Actually, before monsoon is a very bad time for cars (June) due to snow on road and snow melt. The entire road is rain shadow, and does not follow our usual monsoon mayhem. Monsoon is mostly active till Rohtang.
The best time is actually end August, when monsoon is almost gone, and the snow has all melted and gone. Streams are low, roads are in good shape too.

June, i.e. before monsoon, is the worst time for smaller cars.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

..roads are in good shape too.

That's not what I saw during my trips there. But of course, you've done that region extensively.

June, i.e. before monsoon, is the worst time for smaller cars.

There were two cars along with our Gypsy. Both did pretty OK. But then again, that's can't be the norm. You're the undisputed boss of that vast region, hence this thread.