[Raps]

Hi,

Wonderful Travelogue, completed reading in one go.

Reason being, In next 2 days my journey towards Ladakh is starting and have added all your points with my existing one.

Cheers,

[satan]

Just finished reading this and it makes me want to leave immediately for Ladakh . Can you tell me what your exact travel dates were? I am planning on doing this trip starting mid Sep from Mumbai this year and wanted to get a sense of the weather to expect basis your dates last year.

Thanks

[manasmadaan]

Originally Posted by ru153

Wish you a all the very best for your proposed journey.

Hi. A wonderful travelogue with mind blowing pictures
I am also planning a leh trip around 6th sep. it would be very helpful if you could help in finalizing the plan and with useful inputs about it. this would go along way in helping us do the dream run successfully
We are currently 3 persons and i will be taking my XUV on the trip.

[manasmadaan]

Following is our tentative itenary. Your comments will be appreciated

Planned date of start is 6th sep. 3 people as of now in XUV

Day1: Amritsar to Srinagar (12-14 hrs)
Day2: Srinagar to Kargil (7-8 hrs)
Day3: Kargil to leh (7-8 hrs)
Day4,5: Leh
Day6: Leh to Nubra valley (10 hrs)
Day7: nubra to Pangong tso (8 hrs)
Day8: Pangong to Tso moriri (10 hrs)
Day9: Tso Moriri to jispa (12 hrs)
Day10: Jispa to Manali (8hrs)
Day11: Manali to Asr (12-14 hrs)

Please comment on the travel time whether it is correct
Also, can the stay at Leh be cut by a day or are 2 days better?

[vittal]

Good travelogue,

Panamik hot spring to avoid is a good tip. I havent seen this note mentioned before. Doesnt seem to be interesting place based on the photo uploaded by you.
What else is at Panamik or do you suggest to avoid going to Panamik.

[meetbadri]

First of all I would like to say Congratulations on completing this dream drive with all the problems you faced. Hats off. The journey to Leh and Ladhak is worth to take this kind of problems. You have mentioned each and everything in detail which could help everyone including me who is planning to drive to Leh from Bangalore. Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

[Kandisa]

A great trip with some very nice shots. The return leg journey at one shot to such a long distance was bit too much and must appreciate you for pulling that off! Travelling to the Rezang la memorial and further towards Nyoma through a different 'escape' route was a first kind of experience to hear about! Wonder how you managed to get to the route with the instructions of the PWD guy as there are hardly any road 'signs' in those regions.

BTW, when you applied for the permits to the restricted areas, were you also denied the permit for this route (Chushul,Tsaga La route) or did you manage to get it? In any case that 'tourist jeep captured by Chinese' sounds like the usual kind of hoax the ITBP keeps on floating.

[ru153]

Originally Posted by vittal

Good travelogue,

Panamik hot spring to avoid is a good tip. I havent seen this note mentioned before. Doesnt seem to be interesting place based on the photo uploaded by you.
What else is at Panamik or do you suggest to avoid going to Panamik.

Agree with you. Panamik was very disappointing. After reaching there, we were . I would suggest anyone to avoid it.

[ru153]

Originally Posted by satan

Just finished reading this and it makes me want to leave immediately for Ladakh . Can you tell me what your exact travel dates were? I am planning on doing this trip starting mid Sep from Mumbai this year and wanted to get a sense of the weather to expect basis your dates last year.

Thanks

Sorry for the late reply. Was too busy with work.
We left on September 09, 2013 and came back on October 3 or 4th. Dont remember the exact date. Personally I think September is a great time because of the following -
1. It is end of season and less crowded. There can be a flipside to this also, as many camping sites and hotels close down.
2. Weather can work both ways. When we reached Leh, we saw clear weather and while returning we saw it snowing everywhere. So if you get lucky, you could also see both sides of the views this way which I considered awesome.
3. Most of the melting glaciers clear by this time. So water crossings are better and you can drive through more comfortably.

[ru153]

Originally Posted by manasmadaan

Following is our tentative itenary. Your comments will be appreciated

Planned date of start is 6th sep. 3 people as of now in XUV

Day1: Amritsar to Srinagar (12-14 hrs)
Day2: Srinagar to Kargil (7-8 hrs)
Day3: Kargil to leh (7-8 hrs)
Day4,5: Leh
Day6: Leh to Nubra valley (10 hrs)
Day7: nubra to Pangong tso (8 hrs)
Day8: Pangong to Tso moriri (10 hrs)
Day9: Tso Moriri to jispa (12 hrs)
Day10: Jispa to Manali (8hrs)
Day11: Manali to Asr (12-14 hrs)

Please comment on the travel time whether it is correct
Also, can the stay at Leh be cut by a day or are 2 days better?

The itenary looks good. You could cut a day in Leh as there is nothing much to do there really. However while doing this, please ensure that the day 4 (as per your plan) is not a public holiday. Else you wouldnt get your permits that day.

Which route do you plan to take from Nubra to Pangong?

I heard that getting permits to Hanle and Chushul is a little tough now. However if you are okay with extending your trip or skipping Tso Moriri, I would suggest you to visit these places. Worth the effort !

Tso Moriri to Jispa will be a very tiring drive. Also, you would have to leave very early to reach Jispa within reasonable time either to set up your camp or find an accomodation. Please factor this into your itenary.

[ru153]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

A great trip with some very nice shots. The return leg journey at one shot to such a long distance was bit too much and must appreciate you for pulling that off! Travelling to the Rezang la memorial and further towards Nyoma through a different 'escape' route was a first kind of experience to hear about! Wonder how you managed to get to the route with the instructions of the PWD guy as there are hardly any road 'signs' in those regions.

BTW, when you applied for the permits to the restricted areas, were you also denied the permit for this route (Chushul,Tsaga La route) or did you manage to get it? In any case that 'tourist jeep captured by Chinese' sounds like the usual kind of hoax the ITBP keeps on floating.

Road signs? there are no roads itself
All that I did was drive through the valley and keep to the right side mountain hoping not to get lost.

I had the requisite permits for Chushul and Tsaga La. But then due to some security issues the military had blocked the usual route for all civilians.

[manasmadaan]

Originally Posted by ru153

The itenary looks good. You could cut a day in Leh as there is nothing much to do there really. However while doing this, please ensure that the day 4 (as per your plan) is not a public holiday. Else you wouldnt get your permits that day.
We are planning a stay of only one day in leh. the 2nd day is a buffer day just in case.

Which route do you plan to take from Nubra to Pangong?
Nubra---Panamic---Agham---Tangste---Pangong

I heard that getting permits to Hanle and Chushul is a little tough now. However if you are okay with extending your trip or skipping Tso Moriri, I would suggest you to visit these places. Worth the effort !
May be we can utilise the buffer day of Leh here

Tso Moriri to Jispa will be a very tiring drive. Also, you would have to leave very early to reach Jispa within reasonable time either to set up your camp or find an accomodation. Please factor this into your itenary.
What do you suggest? Should we stay instead at sarchu?
How long is the drive to sarchu and further from sarchu to manali?

Thanks for the reply

[sami316]

Hi RU153,
Posting my queries again, would like to know the expense details like the fuel, hotel expenses etc. It would be great if you could share your trip logs if any. Thanks again for this wonderful TL and keep driving. Cheers.

[ru153]

Originally Posted by sami316

Hi RU153,
Posting my queries again, would like to know the expense details like the fuel, hotel expenses etc. It would be great if you could share your trip logs if any. Thanks again for this wonderful TL and keep driving. Cheers.

Hi Sami,

From an expense perspective, my t fort gave me a avg mileage of 12 km pl. The total diesel cost alone was approximating to Rs. 50k. Toll cost if i recollect corretly was in the range of Rs.5k (including the jamuna express toll).

For food (we had carried some ready to eat, chocolates etc) and our cost of food both put to together was around 16k.

Our stay cost was around 20k, as we had not planned any place untill we reached. This risk was mainly on account of the fact, that it was end of season, so getting accomodation in and around Leh circuit upto delhi was not a challenge.

To sum it up, the total cost was Rs 1 lac (approximately).

Hope this answers your query. I will need to hunt it down. Once i get those, from my records, i will share it with you.

[tomraven99]

Originally Posted by ru153

All that I did was drive through the valley and keep to the right side mountain hoping not to get lost.

Did you rely on GPS?
I read about a route bypassing Chushul on BCM touring.Is this the same route which you took?
{Note:Credits to original uploader}