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Old 15th June 2010, 19:52   #1
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Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Hi,

We are planning a trip to Spiti, Lahaul and Ladakh in end-June 2010. We will be driving in a convoy of 2 cars (Scorpio and an Endeavour). Our rough itinerary is as follows:

26-Jun Sat -------------- Delhi-to-Chail -------------- Chail
27-Jun Sun -------------- Chail-to-Sarahan -------------- Sarahan (via Tatta Pani, Karsog?)
28-Jun Mon -------------- Sarahan-to-Kalpa -------------- Kalpa (via Sangla?)
29-Jun Tue -------------- Kalpa-to-Kaza -------------- Kaza
30-Jun Wed -------------- Kaza Surrounds -------------- Kaza (Gete, Kibber etc)
1-Jul Thur -------------- Kaza-to-Keylong -------------- Keylong
2-Jul Fri -------------- Keylong-to-Pang -------------- Pang
3-Jul Sat -------------- Pang-to-Leh -------------- Leh
4-Jul Sun -------------- Leh Local -------------- Leh
5-Jul Mon -------------- Likir/Alchi-Lamayuru-Leh -------------- Leh (ILP being arranged separately)
6-Jul Tue -------------- Leh-to-Nubra Valley -------------- Diskit
7-Jul Wed -------------- Diskit-to-Pangong (via Wari-La) -------------- Pangong Tso
8-Jul Thur -------------- Pangong-Tso Moriri (Upshi Route) -------------- Tso Moriri
9-Jul Fri -------------- Tso Moriri-to-Sarchu -------------- Sarchu
10-Jul Sat -------------- Sarchu-to-Manali -------------- Manali
11-Jul Sun -------------- Manali Area -------------- Manali (also a reserve day!)
12-Jul Mon -------------- Manali-to-Delhi

Notes/Questions.
1. What kind of accommodation is available in Pang? Are the tents comparable to those of Sarchu (with attached toilet)? Anyone has photos?
2. Is advance booking possible in Sarchu and Pang tent camps?
3. Any accommodation recommendations in Diskit/Nubra (budget is 1000-2500 per double room)
4. Can we book Pangong Tso tents (in front of eco huts) in advance? What is the pricing there?
5. Is Wari-la route fine/open for 4-wheeelers this season - anyone crossed that recently?
6. How are the road conditions in the Simla-Kaza route and in the Kaza-Gramphoo Route (if anyone has travelled there this season)?
7. Any comments on the above itinerary? Any things to look out for / keep in mind?

I know that Sarchu is at a slightly lower elevation than Pang and has better accommodation but I would prefer staying in Pang as it is a better mid-way stop between Keylong and Leh.


I had a couple of questions which are slightly broad but which will help all travelers in planning their itinerary:

1. Can someone give an idea of approximate “pure” driving time between above points? I understand that different people take different sight-seeing photography and food breaks. If we can estimate the driving time, then we can add our own time for breaks and then plan the trip accordingly.

2. Good stops for breakfast and lunch between the above points of travel.

3. Interesting vantage points for sight-seeing/photography along the above routes.


Thank you!
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Old 15th June 2010, 22:33   #2
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Pang has poor quality accommodation, only tea shops with dorms. Not like Sarchu where you get luxury tents, twin-sharing with toilets attached. In Sarchu, you can book in advance. I think it is a bad idea to halt at Pang, better to do it in one go from Keylong to Leh.

Sand Dunes Guest House in Desikit is good, I stayed there last year.

The Pangong tents were very expensive, they were not even prepared to bargain even though all the tents were empty! So we went and stayed in Tangtse.

Wari la is not yet open.

Shimla-Kaza road had some bad sections around Karchcham.

Kaza-Gramphoo route has just opened, and road is as usual bad.

Pure driving times:

Delhi-to-Chail, 7 hrs
Chail-to-Sarahan, via Narkhanda, Rampur, 6 hours
Sarahan-to-Kalpa, via Sangla, 3.30 hrs to Sangla, 2.30 hrs from Sangla to Kalpa
Kalpa-to-Kaza, 8 hours
Kaza-to-Keylong, 9 hours
Keylong-to-Pang, 6 hours
Pang-to-Leh, 6 hours
Lamayuru-Leh, 4 hours
Leh-to-Nubra Valley -------------- Diskit, 4.30 hours
Diskit-to-Pangong (via Wari-La),9 hours
Pangong-Tso Moriri (Upshi Route), 8 hours
Tso Moriri-to-Sarchu, via Tso Kar, 8 hours
Sarchu-to-Manali, 9 hours
Manali-to-Delhi, 9 hours
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Old 16th June 2010, 12:50   #3
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Thanks Kumar! That is lot of useful information. Yes, we will book at Sarchu and avoid Pang. I read the travelogue of your trip with lot of interest - it was very informative! I believe you had made tracklogs of your trips but I could not find them. If you still have them, is it possible to get them (especially for the Wari-la route). Do you know where/how I can book Sarchu tents in advance?
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Old 16th June 2010, 14:08   #4
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Check out the following link for the tracklog, has the Wari la route also:

http://hvkumar.googlegroups.com/web/...Mt0t6nY0uV5FIQ

Please let me know if you have any difficulty accessing the link

Check out teh following links for teh Sarchu tent camps:

http://www.adventureindia.co.in/camp.htm

http://www.nivalink.com/sarchuheights/index.html

http://www.himalayansaga.com/hotels/sarchu.htm

Last edited by hvkumar : 16th June 2010 at 14:13.
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Old 16th June 2010, 15:18   #5
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Thank Kumar again! Got the tracklogs and they loaded perfectly in google earth. Will try to make make Garmin maps out of them for my GPS device.

Looking forward to suggestions for eating stops etc.

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Old 16th June 2010, 15:42   #6
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Stops for food - does one really have any choice of places, given the lack of facilities for most of the route!
Choice of cuisine - Maggi noodles, of course!


Delhi-to-Chail, no shortage of dhaabas in this route, may it be Karnal or Dharampur

Chail-to-Sarahan, Rampur has HPTDC and some restaurants, apart from Narkhanda

Sarahan-to-Kalpa, not seen any

Kalpa-to-Kaza, Nako has some hotels, but otherwise only at Tabo

Kaza-to-Keylong, some good eating places in Losar and solitary tea shops at Chhatru (and also Bada and Chota Dhara).

Keylong-to-Pang, Darcha has some tea shops, also in Sarchu

Pang-to-Leh, nothing that I have seen

Lamayuru-Leh, Lamayuru has lots of eating joints.

Leh-to-Nubra Valley, North Pullu Check Post has restaurants

Diskit-to-Pangong (via Wari-La),no facilities, except 1 tea shop at Sakti on the other side

Pangong-Tso Moriri (Upshi Route), free tea at Chang la, lots of restaurants at Karu, 1 tea shop at Chumathang, 1 eating place at Sumdo

Tso Moriri-to-Sarchu, via Tso Kar, hotels at Tso Kar, Debring & Pang
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Old 16th June 2010, 18:11   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hvkumar View Post
Stops for food - does one really have any choice of places, given the lack of facilities for most of the route!
Exactly the reason I asked this question. This is my first time in this area. I am not sure if and what food facilities are available. Wanted to get some idea so that we can plan the travel accordingly.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
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Old 1st April 2011, 11:47   #8
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Hi all,
I know routes all over Ladakh have been discussed bare to death but have one small query here. Is it possible to drive from Pangong to Tsomorri via Upshi directly? What is the optimum route that is doable in a 2*2 Xylo? Also, pls advise me on the accuracy of the map attached.

Regards,

Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice-jp-map-1.jpg
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Old 1st April 2011, 16:30   #9
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

From Pangong, the normal route is to go back on the Leh road via Tangtse, Chang la till Karu and then go via Upshi to Mahe for Ts Moriri.

The road via Spangimik, Man, Merak, Chushul to Mahe is also another route but not motorable for all but the toughest cars, and for that you must also get a permit to go to these places (since Chushul is on China border).
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Old 1st April 2011, 16:38   #10
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Quote:
Originally Posted by nix1976in View Post
Hi all,
I know routes all over Ladakh have been discussed bare to death but have one small query here. Is it possible to drive from Pangong to Tsomorri via Upshi directly? What is the optimum route that is doable in a 2*2 Xylo? Also, pls advise me on the accuracy of the map attached.

Regards,

Attachment 526108
You can go directly from pangong to tso morriri lake via man, merak and chusul but you need to have back up fuel and 4wd vehicle, there are some sections if you loose concentration in 2wd(High ground clearance vehicle) you may get stuck in loose soil, if 2 or 3 vehicle are together then you can try in 2WD otherwise strictly no.
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Old 1st April 2011, 16:53   #11
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Quote:
Originally Posted by hvkumar View Post
From Pangong, the normal route is to go back on the Leh road via Tangtse, Chang la till Karu and then go via Upshi to Mahe for Ts Moriri.

The road via Spangimik, Man, Merak, Chushul to Mahe is also another route but not motorable for all but the toughest cars, and for that you must also get a permit to go to these places (since Chushul is on China border).
Its very much motorable and doable by any high ground clearance car, or any normal bike. This route does not require any 4WD vehicle except in some secitions. But alternate easier tracks exist. After Tsaga La, this route is a tar road.

Only slighly problematic sections are along the banks of Pangong Tso.
But if your vehicle cannot do this, then it will have trouble also on the road from Kiagar Tso to Tso Moriri.

So if you are driving from Pangong To Tso moriri via Man Merak route, remember, your petrol pump is at Karu.

So lets say Karu you do a tank full

Karu to Pangong Tso = 120kms
Lets say you roam around a bit, with safety we say you do 140kms

From spangmik its approx 110kms to Loma, which is around 20kms from Nyoma.
Nyoma to Mahe is another 40kms, this makes your total till Mahe from Karu as
140+110+20+40 = 310kms

From there to Korzok is another 55kms
Total comes to around 365

From Korzok to Leh its around 220kms, total = 585kms

For safety margin, since you will roam about a bit lets assume 620kms.

Your vehicle will get a worst case average of 8kmpl, So you need approx 80 liters of fuel, and you will be very very safe. So all you need is a 20L Jerrycan in your vehicle.

Regarding driving durations.
From Leh to Pangong is approx 6 hours.
From Pangong(spangmik) to Loma post its around 3.5-4 hours
From Loma Post to Korzok its around 3.5 hours max

so if you are very slow, you will reach Tso moriri in 8 hours from Pangong Tso.

Points to note.
1. When driving along pangong lake, if there are two tracks, take the one away from the lake
2. Do not slow down where track turns a little bit sandy
3. Do not try to get off the track to get closer to lake.
4. you will find lots of tire marks, try and follow those.

That said, your permit application will need to mention the following places
Man Merak Chushul, Tsaga, Loma, Nyoma, Tso Moriri


Last but not the least, the map is 100% accurate. Its made from GPS tracks except for Mitpal Tso route, and that route is not really a road, but a mule track doable by 4x4 vehicles.

When we did the Man Merak route, we saw a few 4x2 scorpios on that route. So do not worry.
Remember, going via upshi will cost you 4 hours approx, and its not as scenic as the Man Merak route.

You can look at this travelogue for details
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...hronicles.html

Check out "Page Number 6"

Last edited by tsk1979 : 1st April 2011 at 17:04.
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Old 5th April 2011, 11:01   #12
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Thanks a ton everyone for the detailed replies, since this is my first foray to Leh and most probably would not be travelling alone with my wife and not in any convoy, I think I should not take any chances.

My draft itinerary for Leh is as below, pls advise if any changes can be done to accomodate some more places.

Day 1 : Srinagar - Kargil.
Day 2 : Kargil - Leh
Day 3 : Leh
Day 4 : Leh - Nubra Valley - Stay at Diskit
Day 5 : Diskit - Leh
Day 6 : Leh - Pangong Tso
Day 7 : Pangong Tso - Upshi
Day 8 : Upshi - Tsomorri
Day 9 : Tso morriri - Sarchu
Day 10 : Sarchu - Manali

Am planning to book accomodation at all destinations in advance to avoid hassles later, I know this may damage my finances a bit but just want to be on the safer side. I would be obliged to hear your views and suggestions.

Thanks and regards,
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Old 6th April 2011, 16:12   #13
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Information required. Please assist.

Sarchu to Tso Moriri via Tso Kar - 200km@8hr
Tso Moriri to Pangong Tso (Upshi Route) - ?km@8hr
Pangong Tso to Diskit (via Wari-La) ?km@9hr

period of travel will be July 3rd week. Is this road condition doable in a Esteem and a Santro?

Tandi(last fuel stop) to Sarchu 126km
Sarchu - Tso Moriri via Tso Kar is 200km
Tso Moriri to Pangong Tso (Upshi Route) --- any fuel stop and how many km distance
Pangong Tso to Diskit (via Wari-La) --- any fuel stop and how many km distance

UM

Last edited by UniqueMods : 6th April 2011 at 16:15.
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Old 6th April 2011, 16:24   #14
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Re: Spiti, Ladakh in June/July - Need accomodation, driving distances advice

Tso Moriri can throw up surprises for small cars due to sand traps. Make sure you are very careful.
Tso Moriri to Pangong Tso has a fuel stop at Karu(this place is near leh, where you turn off towards chang la)
Sarchu to Tso moriri does not have any fuel stop
Pangong to diskit via wari la has no fuel stop either. However, it can take more than 9 hours.
There is a petrol pump at diskit, but its not always operational. Its around 240kms from Pangong Tso(Lukung) to Diskit.

Last edited by tsk1979 : 6th April 2011 at 16:25.
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