Quote:
Originally Posted by hridayjyoti Hi Tanveer,
Why Drass? Well, that was not in my initial plan. Two of my friends (one of them been to Raid last year) said that it is really scenic. That's why! Now, I am confused. Is it worth going there or I should have leisure day in Leh? In that case, we might try a day trip to Alchi. Please give your opinion (you've already given one though!).
Regrading permits, I am thinking of asking hotel guys to get it for us. Don't want the hassle of administrative office.
Regarding Nubra-Pangong, I got your point. That will be too much drive. In one of your earlier reply you mentioned it Nubra to Pangong is 4hrs drive! If it is 8hrs, then we must have to stay in Pangong for a night. After all, we don't want crack our bones. And that's looks fine for me, a night in Pangong and get back to Leh.
P.S. Please PM me the number of "Hotel thongsal" on Shanti Stupa. |
Sonmarg is scenic, no doubt.. But drass etc., is just run of the mill as compared to manali leh route. I have done srinagar route thrice, and manali leh route once. I would give the manali leh a thumbs up in terms of scenery.
Secondry, if you read my travelogue(2010 travelogue), you will realize the difficulty of the terrain. There is a swift video on that section. As of now, its doable only in a 4x4, and that too with great difficulty.
For Wari La route details, you can look at my 2009 travelogue. the Wari la is done by 2wd taxis regularly, but remember, if the 2 water crossings are running, you will have a very tough time.
So you can go to Pangong from Nubra.
Worst case it will be a 12 hours drive via leh. You can then spend the night in pangong, and start your journey back to leh around 1-2pm.
Lastly on your manali query, can you start your journey the afternoon of previous day?
In that case you can reach somewhere near Anandpur sahib (7-8 hours from gurgaon) and then start for Khoksar early morning.
You will cross manali around early afternoon, and reach khoksar by nightfall. There are a few budget hotels in khoksar.
As for thongsal, gimme a day. I will pm you the number.
If you want pics of sections, here is the complete gallery
2010 Changthang trip : http://tanveer.smugmug.com/Travel/Ladakh-2010/ 2009 trip - This was a very long trip and we did a lot of kashmir(Pahalgam gulmarg etc., too) http://tanveer.smugmug.com/Travel/Ladakh2009
My advice, do not try to fit in everything. if you want to do kashmir, do it later. Situation will stabilize. Last year also July was a mess, but then in september, it was completely peaceful. We made trips to the lal chowk too
The fastest itenary I can think for you
1. Gurgaon - Anandpur Sahib area. Start around 4pm, you will reach somewhere near Swarghat/Bilaspur around 11pm. There is a HPTDC there. Book in advance.
2. Bilaspur - Keylong - Start around 8am from Bilaspur. You will be in Keylong by night
3. Keylong - Leh - A 14 hour drive, but then other option is sarchu, which has only tents, and believe me, it gets awefully uncomfortable at 4000m above sea level. Even after few days at that altitude, we were somewhat uncomfortable at night with mild headache etc., at Hanle, even though we had a good heated room
4. Leh rest day - Get permits yourself. It takes 30 minutes(go at 10am), and you will save money
5. Leh - Nubra (You can see panamik(I think its overrated) and diskit dunes easily
7. Go to Pangong Tso - Ask local taxis for inputs on Wari La and Agam route. Most probably wari la should be doable. Or you can play it safe, start from diskit at 7am, reach leh by 12pm, and then reach pangong around 6-7pm
8. Pangong - Leh
9. you can rest, its optional though
10. Leh Tso moriri - doable, but remember, last 20kms are sandy. you can get stuck.
11. Tso moriri - Tso Kar - Sarchu
12. Sarchu - Start early morning and hit kullu instead of manali
13. Kullu/Manali - Gurgaon
I reckon you have 2 weeks leave, right?