[v&v]

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

Just thinking aloud. Will indica dls/ford fiesta be able to make it up the hills? Just thinking. just considering.

There a many Tlogs of Leh done in sedan. Yes it is doable , but the suspension take the toll.

[UniqueMods]

2 car from Mumbai are planning for the leh in may end / june 1st week. not final yet.. route condition is the main factor.

i have some questions,

1. when does it rain in this route - June to Aug end ? correct?
2. what permits are required? in detail please.
3. for a small car to go - santro and esteem, which is the best period?
4. which routes to really avoid being a small car. i don't mind few under body dents and suspension overhaul.. question is which route will i not be able to cross at all in a small car.
5. how many drivers per car are required? 2 per car compulsory or 1 is enough?

I am on for a convey of T-bhpians. i would preffer that actually.

UM

[nanduchitnis]

If you want to see ICE capped roads and mountains enroute from Manali to Leh go no later than 01 June. If you go Sept all glaciers melt and all you see is barren rocks !

[UniqueMods]

Day - 1 Mumbai - Indore 589 km 10hr if we drive Mumbai - Indore - Gwalior - Chandigarh - Manali in one go, we save 2 days Day - 2 Indore - Gwalior 494 km 12.5hr Day - 3 Gwalior - Chandigarh 592 km 12.5hr DAY - 4 DELHI - MANALI 550KMS Chandigarh - Manali 350 km 10hr DAY - 5 Manali rest. DAY - 6 MANALI - SARACHU CAMP 230 KMS 7.5hr @ HVK DAY - 7 SARACHU - TSO MORIRI lake - SARACHU DAY - 8 SARACHU - LEH 255 KMS 8hr @ HVK DAY - 9 LEH - buffer time can't be skipped ------------------ AMS DAY - 10 LEH - NUBRA plateau 126 KMS 5hr crosses kardungla pass, new guest-house at Disket village called Saichen guesthouse if staying DAY - NUBRA - LEH 126 KMS 5hr DAY - 11 LEH - PANGONG TSO LAKE 170 KMS 6.5hr go and come in one day. stop at Changla Pass for 30 min DAY - PANGONG TSO - LEH 170 KMS 6.5hr DAY - 12 LEH - buffer time can't be skipped ------------------AMS DAY - 13 LEH - KARGIL 230 KMS 8hrs DAY - 14 KARGIL - SRINAGAR 200 kms 7.5hrs DAY - 15 SRINAGAR - Amritsar 456 kms SRINAGAR - Chandigarh 590 kms 10.5hrs DAY - 16 AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH Chandigarh - Gwalior 592 km 12.5hrs DAY - 17 DELHI Gwalior - Indore 494 km 12.5hrs day - 18 Indore - Mumbai 589 km 10hrs

[vampire]

Hey everybody

Anyone planning for the trip starting and finishing in MAY?
V&V your trip is starting a little too late.
We plan to come from calcutta to its a 2 day drive to delhi and then onwards.
Anyw one from calcutta planning this year?

[v&v]

Originally Posted by vampire

Hey everybody

Anyone planning for the trip starting and finishing in MAY?
V&V your trip is starting a little too late.
We plan to come from calcutta to its a 2 day drive to delhi and then onwards.
Anyw one from calcutta planning this year?

I think Rohtang will not open before June 1st week if you are planning to do via Manali. Also my kids school closed only by 17th may and i have some commitments 3-4th week of may so for me June is the only month.

May be we all can have a mini meet at Leh

[UniqueMods]

Sorry for my garbage post before.. office proxy browser was the culprit.
Mods please delete those posts.

V&V
2 problem with your plan of doing manali - sarchu - tso moriri - sarchu - leh

Tandi 111km from Manali, is the only village on Manali-Leh highway which has a petrol pump. The next petrol pump is 365 kms away in Leh.
No repair or service stations after Keylong, no petrol pumps either.

Tandi full tank (400km avg) to Bara-lacha la is - 85 km
Bara-lacha la to Sarchu camp is - 45 km
Sarchu camp to Tso moriri and return is - 400 km
Sarchu camp to Leh is - 245 km
-----
Total - 775 km

1. therefore cant visit Tso moriri on way from Manali to Leh. can't carry 35ltr of fuel.
2. also Permit required for Tso moriri is available in Leh.
3. cant go from Manali to Leh direct coz of AMS

UM

[v&v]

Originally Posted by UniqueMods

Sorry for my garbage post before.. office proxy browser was the culprit.
Mods please delete those posts.

V&V
2 problem with your plan of doing manali - sarchu - tso moriri - sarchu - leh

Tandi 111km from Manali, is the only village on Manali-Leh highway which has a petrol pump. The next petrol pump is 365 kms away in Leh.
No repair or service stations after Keylong, no petrol pumps either.

Tandi full tank (400km avg) to Bara-lacha la is - 85 km
Bara-lacha la to Sarchu camp is - 45 km
Sarchu camp to Tso moriri and return is - 400 km
Sarchu camp to Leh is - 245 km
-----
Total - 775 km

1. therefore cant visit Tso moriri on way from Manali to Leh. can't carry 35ltr of fuel.
2. also Permit required for Tso moriri is available in Leh.
3. cant go from Manali to Leh direct coz of AMS

UM

Thank UM. Then i can modify it as

DAY - 1 DELHI - MANALI 550KMS
DAY - 2 MANALI - SARACHU 230 KMS
DAY - 3 SARACHU-LEH - 255
DAY - 4 LEH - NUBRA 126 KMS
DAY - 5 NUBRA - LEH 126 KMS
DAY - 6 LEH - PANGONG LAKE 170 KMS
DAY - 7 PANGONG - LEH 170 KMS
DAY - 8 LEH - Tso Moriri - 210 kms
DAY 9 Tso Moriri - Leh - 210
DAY - 10 LEH - KARGIL 230 KMS
DAY - 12 KARGIL - SRINAGAR 200 kms
DAY - 12 SRINAGAR
DAY - 13 AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH
DAY - 14 DELHI

[UniqueMods]

v&v
when are you planning this?
we are leaving on 15th July from Chandigarh. 2 cars on a similar route as your.

UM

[v&v]

Originally Posted by UniqueMods

v&v
when are you planning this?
we are leaving on 15th July from Chandigarh. 2 cars on a similar route as your.

UM

We plan to leave by 10 or 11 of June. Have to be back before the kids school re-opens.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by v&v

Thank UM. Then i can modify it as

DAY - 1 DELHI - MANALI 550KMS
DAY - 2 MANALI - SARACHU 230 KMS
DAY - 3 SARACHU-LEH - 255
DAY - 4 LEH - NUBRA 126 KMS
DAY - 5 NUBRA - LEH 126 KMS
DAY - 6 LEH - PANGONG LAKE 170 KMS
DAY - 7 PANGONG - LEH 170 KMS
DAY - 8 LEH - Tso Moriri - 210 kms
DAY 9 Tso Moriri - Leh - 210
DAY - 10 LEH - KARGIL 230 KMS
DAY - 12 KARGIL - SRINAGAR 200 kms
DAY - 12 SRINAGAR
DAY - 13 AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH
DAY - 14 DELHI

We did the exact same route in Aug 2010 after the floods. Only difference was we did Manali - Leh in 2 days. I was not the one driving though.
Doing the TL for it now after a long time. Better late then never.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...oundation.html

Do PM me in case you need contact numbers of hotels there.

[v&v]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

We did the exact same route in Aug 2010 after the floods. Only difference was we did Manali - Leh in 2 days. I was not the one driving though.
Doing the TL for it now after a long time. Better late then never.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...oundation.html

Do PM me in case you need contact numbers of hotels there.

WOW, the contacts will be very helpful. Also will follow your TL, which will help a lot to plan my trip.

Thanks in advance
vinod

[Fauji]

I would highly recommend that you do the strectch between Manali and Leh in three days than two days with stays in Keylong, Sarchu. You have good Acco options in Keylong.

Acclimitisation becomes easy and you will be fresh to go around when you land in Leh. Also, this will give you opportunity to explore the region between Manali and Leh with small deviations. Like Tso kar from Moreh Plains ("Tso" in Ladakhi means "Lake")

We did the route in two days when we went on this road last year with stay in Sarchu and had to face acclimitisation issues as you go straight from 3000 feet in Manali to 13000 feet in Sarchu in one day!!!

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by v&v

Thank UM. Then i can modify it as

DAY - 1 DELHI - MANALI 550KMS
DAY - 2 MANALI - SARACHU 230 KMS
DAY - 3 SARACHU-LEH - 255
DAY - 4 LEH - NUBRA 126 KMS
DAY - 5 NUBRA - LEH 126 KMS
DAY - 6 LEH - PANGONG LAKE 170 KMS
DAY - 7 PANGONG - LEH 170 KMS
DAY - 8 LEH - Tso Moriri - 210 kms
DAY 9 Tso Moriri - Leh - 210
DAY - 10 LEH - KARGIL 230 KMS
DAY - 12 KARGIL - SRINAGAR 200 kms
DAY - 12 SRINAGAR
DAY - 13 AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH
DAY - 14 DELHI

v&v, you could get the permits done beforehand and have them couriered/faxed to you. You'll need a travel agent in Leh to do this though. Fax your ID documents to the travel agent and he/she will be able to help you through this. From my experience, the checkposts will only required photocopies of the permits and not the original copy. The Indian permits are valid for a week and if you get them just as you start your trip, you can visit the lake before you reach Leh!

You could do Tso Kar and then Tso Moriri with this route. Tso Kar was a bit of a disappointment though when we were there last year. The roads are bad after the initial good stretch from Moreh plains until Tso Kar. However, this may just save you a day to do Nubra before you hit the Srinagar highway.

If I may suggest, here's what you can try keeping in mind the places you'd want to see in your list:

DAY - 1 DELHI - MANALI 550KMS
DAY - 2 MANALI - SARACHU 230 KMS (I'm assuming you're okay with this)
DAY - 3 SARACHU-Tso moriri (via Moreh plains and Tso Kar)
DAY - 4 Tso Moriri - Leh
DAY - 5 Rest day @ Leh (you'll need it! You can do monasteries around Leh)
DAY - 6 Leh - PANGONG LAKE 170 KMS
DAY - 7 PANGONG - LEH 170 KMS
DAY - 8 Leh - Nubra
DAY - 9 Nubra - Leh
DAY - 10 LEH - KARGIL 230 KMS
DAY - 12 KARGIL - SRINAGAR 200 kms
DAY - 12 SRINAGAR
DAY - 13 AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH
DAY - 14 DELHI

PS. You could even do Pangong to Nubra direct without going to Leh. I'm not sure about the condition of this road though, had heard reports that it was damaged during the last year floods.

Originally Posted by Fauji

I would highly recommend that you do the strectch between Manali and Leh in three days than two days with stays in Keylong, Sarchu. You have good Acco options in Keylong.

Acclimitisation becomes easy and you will be fresh to go around when you land in Leh. Also, this will give you opportunity to explore the region between Manali and Leh with small deviations. Like Tso kar from Moreh Plains ("Tso" in Ladakhi means "Lake")

We did the route in two days when we went on this road last year with stay in Sarchu and had to face acclimitisation issues as you go straight from 3000 feet in Manali to 13000 feet in Sarchu in one day!!!

For first timers, its better to do Leh in three days from Manali since you never know who would get hit by AMS. AMS isnt entirely dependent on your level of physical fitness, I've seen people fitter than me get impacted by the nausea. Don't try to walk/exert too much while you're on your way. People who've been there before can do it in two days easily (Manali-Sarchu-Leh) if there's no history of AMS. You could always rent a small oxygen cylinder for the car which is a quick AMS remedy, just in case!

Keylong is a good place but is more of a town, instead you can stay at Jispa which has a nicer feel to it. Hotel stay options are costlier in Jispa, there are cheaper tent options though. Just my two cents!

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by amolpol

For first timers, its better to do Leh in three days from Manali since you never know who would get hit by AMS. AMS isnt entirely dependent on your level of physical fitness, I've seen people fitter than me get impacted by the nausea. Don't try to walk/exert too much while you're on your way. People who've been there before can do it in two days easily (Manali-Sarchu-Leh) if there's no history of AMS. You could always rent a small oxygen cylinder for the car which is a quick AMS remedy, just in case!

Keylong is a good place but is more of a town, instead you can stay at Jispa which has a nicer feel to it. Hotel stay options are costlier in Jispa, there are cheaper tent options though. Just my two cents!

Thanks Amol. I considered myself fit - being fauji and still execrcising - enough but has to suffer AMS at Sarchu. Nothing serious though but could not sleep the whole night. Same was with my wife as well. Another couple who wre there in the next tent suffered the same. The next day hence was tiring as you will be doing quite a bit of climbing from Sarchu.

I would advise not to be a hero and try not to do too much physical activity in High altitude. Do not exert in first two days. I was talking to my batchmate last week and he was remembering his good old days of his posting in Ladakh and how even after staying there for months he used to gasp while climbing!! Unfortuantely, i wasnt posted there.

I agree that Jispa is a better place with good stay options.