[unoczar]

https://twitter.com/Traffic_hqrs/sta...adTfFqFlw&s=19

J&K traffic police twitter handle had just tweeted that vehicles without HSRP will be seized post 15June.

Requesting all to post in relevant groups/threads.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

I am planning to drive to Leh starting on Jun 2 from Delhi. Have following plan.

J2(3)- Delhi-Jammu (revised date was J3)
J3(4)-Jammu-Srinagar
J4(5)-Srinagar-Kargil (drove upto Leh)
J5-Kargil-Leh (deleted)
J6-Leh
J7-Leh-Diskit/Hunder (actually stayed at Turtuk)
J8-Hunder-Turtuk-Thang-Leh (stayed at Diskit and left directly for Pangong)
J9-Leh-Pangong-Tangtse (returned back Leh)
J10-Tangtse-Leh (left for Manali from Leh)
J11-Leh-Keylong (Manali-Roper)
J12-Keylong-Manali (Roper-Chandigarh city-Delhi)
J13: Manali-Delhi/Chandigarh (spare day not used)

Car: Ford Endeavour

I completed the Leh trip on 12-Jun with some changes to my initial plan as stated above in (...). following are my observation/recommendation for self driven car trip.

1. Any car can do this trip in summer months but need to ensure that tyres are new or have plenty of life left in it. The good tyres are required for bad roads, specially uphill and on upward hairpin turns which usually have bad sections.

2. Jammu-Srinagar-Kargil route is easy but crowded till Srinagar. Much less crowded after Srinagar.

3. Zojila is easier than the passes you will encounter in Ladakh . Yes the road is bad and under repair at few points but its wide enough for crossing two trucks at all the points. The traffic is regulated for road repair. The best time to star from Srinagar or Sonmarg is early morning. At 7 AM, there was no one at Sonmarg check-post. They get active when traffic increases or there is heavy rains, so be prepared for some hold up at Sonmarg depending on weather. Use the time for sightseeing. Things are much easy once you cross Zojila.

4. The Kargil war memorial is actually in Drass. Kargil town is another 50 km away. The Army canteen is non operational since start of Covid but there is plenty of food option in this route.

5. Petrol Pumps- There is one before Kargil war memorial and another (may be more than one inside town) in Kargil. You are more likely to use the former. Always fill in at first instance. you can always top up later but there are cases of diesel running dry.

6. I am not suggesting any sight-seeing as those details are already available but please do stay for 2 nights in Leh before leaving for Nubra Valley. Do not go to Pangyong first. This is to avoid AMS.

7. Nubra valley and nearby needs 2 days. You can stay for 2 days in Diskit or Hunder or even stay for a day at Turtuk and another at Diskit/Hunder.

8. Drive from Hunder to Turtuk is not easy. Roads are narrow and you may need to reverse to give way. Follow hill driving rule and ensure your companion is prepared to get down to guide you if cannot judge the edge. The taxi guy will try to hurry up but you don't loose your calm. The 85 km from Hunder to Turtuk takes almost 3 hours with 1-2 photo stops, add another 30-45 mins if you want to see Siachen Memorial. Unless you are keen on seeing Siachen base camp or Pakistani village, i would suggest to avoid Turtuk, its not worth the drive. Instead spend more time in Nubra.

9. Nubra to Pangong needs good sets of wheels (tyres) Initial 25 km are narrow but good road with very less traffic from opposite side if you start early. Most of the traffic is moving along your direction and that's a big relief. Later the road runs along the river Zylok and width is not the problem but road conditions are but still very safe to drive.

10. The worse road is encountered when you are returning from Pangong. Chang la pass road widening work is in progress and due to melting snow, the roads have turned into continuous sets of speed breakers (former by melting snow "Nala" across the road) Also there is a major diversion which makes you come down the road by almost 200 mts and climb again. The climb was not easy and Brezza in front of me slipped all the way down but no harm.

11. Leh- Manali is good for most of the part except for Pang section which is under construction and you spend good time negotiating these section with heavy truck traffic. The road widening works after Sarchu do not affect you much as remaining portion is good enough. The traffic increases as you approch Jispa/Sissu and all the way upto Manali.

Brief traffic control/stop between Jammu-Srinagar



Not sure where



After Kargil


Chang La pass

[SJM1214]

Lattest advisory from Ladakh authority.

[gargmudit]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Hanle to Umling La one way is 2.30-hour drive/ride. so if you leave at 0500 and come back by Maximum at 1100. Have some rest and start for Tso Moriri. You can reach Tso Moriri by 5.30. You can still enjoy the evening at Tso Moriri Lake.

Btw, we did Umling la on 01/05/2022. We did Merak (Pangong Tso) to Hanle and same day attempted Umling la. It was a bad idea as we had to drive the last two hours in dark.

Thanks for the advice and was able to do it comfortably on 20th June. Started at 6am from hanle and was back by 11 am with 25 min stop at the umlingla top. Started immediately for karzok and reached there before 4pm with one break in between.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by gargmudit

;5341849Started at 6am from hanle and was back by 11 am with 25 min stop at the umlingla top. Started immediately for karzok and reached there before 4pm with one break in between.

We too have something similar planned.
For Hanle - Umlingla, which route did you take ?
1. Via Photila
2. Via Ukdungle
3. The dirt track from Hanle which passes between 1 & 2 and reach highway near Nerbole

If its 3, how easy was it to find the direction enroute?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

We too have something similar planned.
For Hanle - Umlingla, which route did you take ?
1. Via Photila
2. Via Ukdungle
3. The dirt track from Hanle which passes between 1 & 2 and reach highway near Nerbole

If its 3, how easy was it to find the direction enroute?

Ukdungle is the dirt track which goes to Nerbole.

There is a third route which goes via Demchok, which is out of bounds for civvies, because of extreme proximity to China.

Dirt track has been said to be preferred by 4x4/motorcycles. Its just a trail. I suggest reach Hanle, talk to the locals and get an idea before choosing your route for the day, depending on weather conditions etc. There is no need to plan so much ahead.

Photila is a pure road stretch.

Will see if I can post an update on Ukdungle-Umlingla soon.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

We too have something similar planned.
For Hanle - Umlingla, which route did you take ?
1. Via Photila
2. Via Ukdungle
3. The dirt track from Hanle which passes between 1 & 2 and reach highway near Nerbole

If its 3, how easy was it to find the direction enroute?

Please have a look at this pic which I just prepared for my T'lg which is on the Assembly line. It is very tough to find the direction on that route. Yes. You can hire guides from Hanle.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Ukdungle is the dirt track which goes to Nerbole.

Yes, the route via Ukdungle is there. My query was related to a 3rd route. From Hanle - Via boog village. Its basically a dirt track between both Ukdungle and Photila route.
Video below

There is a third route which goes via Demchok, which is out of bounds for civvies, because of extreme proximity to China.

Yes. that we are not looking at, since that again starts from Nyoma side too. So for a Hanle - Umlingla - Hanle plan, it wont work out.

Its just a trail. I suggest reach Hanle, talk to the locals and get an idea before choosing your route for the day, depending on weather conditions etc. There is no need to plan so much ahead.

Yes, planning on doing that. But since the group size is slightly higher, we wanted to plan the finer details ahead. As you mentioned, weather condition is one thing which is bit unknow.

Photila is a pure road stretch.

Yes, but a friend who did last month mentioned on way back, he noticed vehicles being stopped at Photila and turned back saying ITBP request, not sure if it was due to any specific instance then or a regular issue. Hence was bit unsure on taking Photila.

Will see if I can post an update on Ukdungle-Umlingla soon.[/quote]
Would be great.

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Please have a look at this pic which I just prepared for my T'lg which is on the Assembly line. It is very tough to find the direction on that route. Yes. You can hire guides from Hanle.

Thanks, will wait for your travelogue.

I was mentioning about a 3rd route, the one mentioned below -


The third route I was mentioning about. Via Boog village -

Video of Boog village route

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Y

Thanks, will wait for your travelogue.

I was mentioning about a 3rd route, the one mentioned below -


The third route I was mentioning about. Via Boog village -


Attachment 2323649


Video of Boog village route

Well, this route is a shortcut that directly meets Nurbu La. Locals advise us not to take this route due to bad roads and no navigation. This can be considered the fourth route. 1. ****he-Koyul-Demchok, 2. Hanle -Photila- Umling La , 3 Hanle-Ukdungle-Nurbu La-Hanle. and this fourth route can be a bit short which bypass Ukdungle.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Yes, the route via Ukdungle is there. My query was related to a 3rd route. From Hanle - Via boog village. Its basically a dirt track between both Ukdungle and Photila route.
Video below

Suhas, great job on this mate. Route looks interesting and worthy of exploration. Its hardly off-road, just a dirt track like you said. Certainly doable by any vehicle.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Locals advise us not to take this route due to bad roads and no navigation. and this fourth route can be a bit short which bypass Ukdungle.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Route looks interesting and worthy of exploration. Its hardly off-road, just a dirt track like you said.

Thanks.
Yes, in videos it 'looks' doable. But then in the 30 odd kms of dirt track, any one spot which is tricky can cause issues. So will have to discuss the previous day with locals and take a call.

Was checking here to see if anyone here already took that route.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Thanks.
Yes, in videos it 'looks' doable. But then in the 30 odd kms of dirt track, any one spot which is tricky can cause issues. So will have to discuss the previous day with locals and take a call.

Was checking here to see if anyone here already took that route.

When is your trip? I would not recommend this route for larger groups. Better off by not creating a bigger mess here.

[trek]

Words of advice:

[SJM1214]

Jammu-Srinagar National Highway: Massive landslide hits NH 44; JCB machine swept away into the river

Srinagar: A massive landslide occurred on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 44 on Wednesday. The landslide occurred in the Samroli area of the union territory’s Udhampur district. As a result of the landslide, the highway has been blocked and authorities have asked commuters to avoid the stretch.

Meanwhile, in the latest update with regard to the rain and flood situation in Jammu and Kashmir, low-lying areas of Srinagar got inundated today following incessant rainfall. Further, a rise was also noticed in the level of River Jhelum.

Source.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

When is your trip? I would not recommend this route for larger groups. Better off by not creating a bigger mess here.

Yes, if it was couple of vehicles, would have went and checked the route.

Trip is in Aug first half, hope by then some additional information comes. But yes, as of now, unless we get word from those in Hanle that its doable, wont try this.