[deetjohn]

Amazing road trip! We need a lot more pics.

I love your 800. After the SS80, I think this one looks the best.

[ptaneja]

Amazing!!! Here I am planning, re-planning, and yet more planning to complete it in my SX4 ... :(

Any tire punctures on the way ?

[Ramon]

Great journey and well maintained car. BUT please do put back the Head Restraints in the car.

[Kumar R]

Thanks! After seeing the photos and reading your journey I think I will consider a out-of-town trip with our M800 (1986 make). It's just come back from an extensive bit of bodywork, servicing, painting and refitting and all ready to go!

The alloys on your M800 are nice. Until I saw your photos I never thought alloys would look good on the M800.

[ambarshante]

Originally Posted by kaushal21fb

Amazing effort. Brought back the memories of a the car that taught me and many like me (born in the 80's) driving. This drive can be taken as a tribute to the legend.

It also reminded me of a documentary I saw on Youtube some time back where Mr. Singhania drives to Leh with his equally rich friends in Audi Q*'s, then abuse and break the cars for fun and calls it an adventure of a lifetime. Someone should send them a link to this.

M7700 taught our whole family to drive. Riding on M7700'S back seat as a 8yrs old kid to driving it to Leh has been cherishing experience for me.
I too saw that video. Being rich or driving top end cars does not mean you have the right driving skills

Originally Posted by joshuakeys

Hi,

Congracts to you guys and the mini Beast for spectacular adventure, nobody would even think that a maruti 800 with 2lac plus on its odometer would do such wonders. I am sure this will be a memorable and spectacular trip for you guys. You guys have set a milestone.
Keep it up guys.

Cheers
Josh

Thank you joshuakeys, taking a 2Lac plus M7700 was a great challenge but we were confident enough that it will not give us a problem on the way.A complete overhaul was done before taking it to white mountains.

Originally Posted by anoop_lamba

Congrats to you for the memorable trip.

Reminds me of our last year's trip to Ladakh (from Delhi) on my cousin's Estilo. Just as in your case, everyone told us we were insane and this was a bad idea.

Not only did our Estilo reach Leh via Zozila, it crossed the trecherous Khardungla, spent good time in Nubra valley and brought us safely back in Delhi with no issues whatsoever.

A snap of me and our Estilo on top of the world along with an Avenger rented from Leh (me and my cousin took turns in driving the car and the bike):

Everyone who said we were crazy and insane will now believe its a doable route in small cars. I agree its little risky ,yet its adventurous and a life time remembering experience.

[ambarshante]

Originally Posted by PGA

Great going guys, Till some time back, this car had the best power to weight ratio and could climb any mountain with ease, you still see them in plenty in HP, Uttarakhand and eastern India. Small wheel base coupled with very decent ground clearance, makes negotiating rough tracks easy. I remember taking my car all over the country in late 80's and 90's with my wife and kids on tow. It was non ac and always carried our small camping kit as well. Only place it refused to climb was Bum La, a little beyond Tawang, more due to terrible condition of the track than due to lack of power. I also remember doing Jaiselmer - Bikaner stretch (330km) in 3 hours and 30 mins flat out, driving alone in 1995. Felt bit like Mad Max, it was the amongst one of the last wilderness in the country then. My last big drive in the car was Wellington (TN) - Chandigarh in 1998.
Keep it up and wishing you many more adventures in M7700.

Originally Posted by Samba

Excellent travelogue and hats off to your spirit.

Maruti 800 is one hell of a car. Many people do underestimate the capability of this small hatch. The light weight and the peppy 800cc engine with smaller dimensions and short wheel base backed up by the ultra reliable mechanism makes it one hell of a car for these kind of drives!

Back in 2005 we did a Kinnaur trip in a M800 and i must say i was mightily impressed by the capabilities of this wonder car!

Thank you PGA and Samba. According to me M800 has always been one of the best suited cars suited car for hills. It doesn't have any blind spots and is easily driven without using side mirrors,just the Cabin rear view mirror is sufficient.Engine power has never been a constraint. Through out my Leh trip M7700 did not have single underbelly touch,all thanks to the good ground clearance.

M7700 has after market Ac fitted in it and is working reasonaly fine till date.

A month back i drove M7700 from pune to Hyderabad (580 km) in 10hrs with just one 10 minute break on the way and Last week i drove to Matheran (2,625 feet above sea level), last 5-6 km are very steep but my M7700 crosses everything that comes on her way.




M7700 posing in Hyderabad near Microsoft Building

Originally Posted by low_rider

Nice effort guys! In such a trip, the driver's skills matter a lot, especially when you have a very basic vehicle. I feel that a Leh trip in a Maruti-800 provides a far more sense of achievement than if this would have been in a high end SUV or an offroader.

Some of my SUV crazy friends are of firm belief that Leh trip can be done only in a proper offroader while I have always opined that other cars can also do it. This thread is what I needed to prove my point.

totally true. Driving in a basic vehicle is all together a different experience, its not always easy though.This trip has been a very enriching experience for us.People cheering us throughout the ride was the best part of this trip. Apart from that ,this trip has cleared many myths and doubts about the abilities of M800.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Amazing!!! Here I am planning, re-planning, and yet more planning to complete it in my SX4 ... :(

Any tire punctures on the way ?

We had kept 3 spare tires and a puncture kit but fortunately there was not even single puncture on the way.

Originally Posted by Kumar R

Thanks! After seeing the photos and reading your journey I think I will consider a out-of-town trip with our M800 (1986 make). It's just come back from an extensive bit of bodywork, servicing, painting and refitting and all ready to go!

The alloys on your M800 are nice. Until I saw your photos I never thought alloys would look good on the M800.

Very less options are available in 12 inch alloys. I had a hard time finding the right set of Alloys for my M7700. Twice I went to the dealer ,got the alloys fitted ,but i did not like the look and got them removed.

[CapnCook]

Wow ! Amazing. Reminds me of my trip few years back in a Wagon R. Here is my car at the Pangong Tso lake

[dreamliner17]

Just one word to you ambarshante..WOW !
Your car looks in great shape. You had a great drive. Simple and Elegant !

Your trip makes me grab my Spark keys and embark on a Mumbai - Leh trip immediately. How i wish trips were planned only by the heart and not by the head

[srikrishna717]

Amazing Travelogue!
Incredible indeed.. BRAVO to you guys
My respect for Maruti 800 increase exponentially after reading this !

[subhro1988]

Excellent travelogue. Now you are my inspiration for travelling to Leh in my Alto 800

[Judemayne]

Dear Ambarshante,

Your foray to Leh in an 800 gives me the boost to do it in my Ritz this year. Did Bengaluru-Bhutan-Sikkim in 2013 and with your log am confident.

Thank you.

Jude

[Zahoor23]

Driving to Leh - great
Driving to leh in a M800 - RESPECT !!
Such an inspiring travelogue to so many of us who DREAM of driving to Leh.
Brilliant pics. Truly its not the car that matters, its the courage. The tree-lined pic is simply amazing.

[ambarshante]

After crossing the zojila pass we had thought that we had crossed the most difficult part of the journey and took a break to capture the scenery around us.The road till Drass was in very bad shape and it took us 2+ hours to reach Drass. It was getting dark as we approached Drass and we were in for a shock when i noticed that the bridge we were on had some missing steel sheets on it. We were really scared and were on the edge of our seats with our faces sticked to the glass!

On reaching Drass another problem awaited us, were to stay for the night. We wanted to keep things flexible so we had not got any bookings done in advance.The prepaid phones we were having were not working. So we had to resort to a PCO booth to inform our families about our current position and well being. (We felt strang standing in a closed box and talking, we had got so used to a liesure walk while we used our mobile phones, technology can help in some ways in keeping us fit also :P)

We enquired with a lot of hotels within Drass, but sadly all were running full and we were losing our hopes of sleeping on a bed, wheras the odds of sleeping in the car started increasing rapidly in our minds. Luckily we met some bike riders from delhi who were staying in a Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Guest House, they offered to share their accomodation with us in case we couldnt get any. We were a bit relieved at this point. The guest house keeper had initialled denied to provide any avaiable accomodation, but after repeated requests by the fellow bikers, he agreed to give us a VIP room for Rs 500. Finally we had a bed to sleep on and the time and relaxation to strech our bodies a bit after a hectic day long drive.

Next morning we gave the M7700 a quick wash and bid farewell to Drass. Our next stop was the Kargil War Memorial.We paid our tributes to the soldiers who laid their lives to keep us protexted at any cost. We looked around a bit, got some clicks with the jawans at the memorial. Then we went and had some snacks and maggi at army canteen.

All was fine till the time we reached Lamayuru. We had overtaken army convoys. Here M7700 started showing some drop in the pickup and little breathlessness to the engine.we too were feeling uneasy. We came across a parked army truck with sodiers sitting and having their lunch nearby. We too thought about taking a rest and parked nearby and went up to join them. We told them about the uneasiness and dizziness, they told us that its common symptom due to the altitude and suggested that we just keep on sipping water after little intervals.

The bikers from Delhi we had met were kind to let us a refference for an accomodation in leh. We went directly to the guest house without bothering to check any where else.

I told the guy at the reception that i dont want to park M7700 on the road as it might not be safe. At this he replied "Sahib yeh Leh hai. Its very safe here.Nobody even picks gas cyclnder .yeh toh pher car hai."(Sir, this is Leh, It's very safe here. Nobody picks/steals a Gas Cylinder, and you are worrying about a car!)


Swelled up LAYS packet

M7700 at Fatula Top







Rough patches of NH1


M7700 at Gurdwara pathar sahib



Posers and the M7700

Convoys of innovas




First morning Tea in Leh




M7700 at Sanchi Stupa


Sanchi Stupa


View from Sanchi Stupa


View from Sanchi Stupa


Leh market


Long time exposure shot

[ambarshante]

Originally Posted by Zahoor23

Driving to Leh - great
Driving to leh in a M800 - RESPECT !!
Such an inspiring travelogue to so many of us who DREAM of driving to Leh.
Brilliant pics. Truly its not the car that matters, its the courage. The tree-lined pic is simply amazing.

Thank you Zahoor23 Its the adrenaline rush in us that keeps us doing something that others think is not possible.

Originally Posted by c

Dear Ambarshante,

Your foray to Leh in an 800 gives me the boost to do it in my Ritz this year. Did Bengaluru-Bhutan-Sikkim in 2013 and with your log am confident.

Thank you.

Jude

Jude i am confident enough that this route can be done in Ritz without much difficulties. Just make sure that the roads are best condition when you plan for the trip.

Originally Posted by subhro1988

Excellent travelogue. Now you are my inspiration for travelling to Leh in my Alto 800

Subhro looking forward for another travelogue of another 800 getting Leh'ed

Originally Posted by dreamliner17

Just one word to you ambarshante..WOW !
Your car looks in great shape. You had a great drive. Simple and Elegant !

Your trip makes me grab my Spark keys and embark on a Mumbai - Leh trip immediately. How i wish trips were planned only by the heart and not by the head

Thank you dreamliner17 for appreciating. I am glad that i am encouraging others to get leh'ed in hatchbacks. Trips should be planned by heart only, but of course safety must not be compromised. You can surely plan this trip in Spark but you need to little more careful in deciding the best time for it. This year Leh srinagar highway has opened 2 days back but you will need to keep a watch on other people review for the condition incase you plan.

Originally Posted by CapnCook

Wow ! Amazing. Reminds me of my trip few years back in a Wagon R. Here is my car at the Pangong Tso lake

Thanks for sharing the picture. Unfortunately i was not able to make to Pangong lake. The roads were not good at that moment

[ambarshante]

Originally Posted by ambarshante

After crossing the zojila pass we had thought that we had crossed the most difficult part of the journey and took a break to capture the scenery around us.The road till Drass was in very bad shape and it took us 2+ hours to reach Drass. It was getting dark as we approached Drass and we were in for a shock when i noticed that the bridge we were on had some missing steel sheets on it. We were really scared and were on the edge of our seats with our faces sticked to the glass!

On reaching Drass another problem awaited us, were to stay for the night. We wanted to keep things flexible so we had not got any bookings done in advance.The prepaid phones we were having were not working. So we had to resort to a PCO booth to inform our families about our current position and well being. (We felt strang standing in a closed box and talking, we had got so used to a liesure walk while we used our mobile phones, technology can help in some ways in keeping us fit also :P)

We enquired with a lot of hotels within Drass, but sadly all were running full and we were losing our hopes of sleeping on a bed, wheras the odds of sleeping in the car started increasing rapidly in our minds. Luckily we met some bike riders from delhi who were staying in a Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Guest House, they offered to share their accomodation with us in case we couldnt get any. We were a bit relieved at this point. The guest house keeper had initialled denied to provide any avaiable accomodation, but after repeated requests by the fellow bikers, he agreed to give us a VIP room for Rs 500. Finally we had a bed to sleep on and the time and relaxation to strech our bodies a bit after a hectic day long drive.

Next morning we gave the M7700 a quick wash and bid farewell to Drass. Our next stop was the Kargil War Memorial.We paid our tributes to the soldiers who laid their lives to keep us protexted at any cost. We looked around a bit, got some clicks with the jawans at the memorial. Then we went and had some snacks and maggi at army canteen.

All was fine till the time we reached Lamayuru. We had overtaken army convoys. Here M7700 started showing some drop in the pickup and little breathlessness to the engine.we too were feeling uneasy. We came across a parked army truck with sodiers sitting and having their lunch nearby. We too thought about taking a rest and parked nearby and went up to join them. We told them about the uneasiness and dizziness, they told us that its common symptom due to the altitude and suggested that we just keep on sipping water after little intervals.

The bikers from Delhi we had met were kind to let us a refference for an accomodation in leh. We went directly to the guest house without bothering to check any where else.

I told the guy at the reception that i dont want to park M7700 on the road as it might not be safe. At this he replied "Sahib yeh Leh hai. Its very safe here.Nobody even picks gas cyclnder .yeh toh pher car hai."(Sir, this is Leh, It's very safe here. Nobody picks/steals a Gas Cylinder, and you are worrying about a car!)

Attachment 1371043
Swelled up LAYS packet
Attachment 1371044
M7700 at Fatula Top
Attachment 1371060

Attachment 1371051

Attachment 1371052

Attachment 1371056
Rough patches of NH1

Attachment 1371046
M7700 at Gurdwara pathar sahib


Attachment 1371045
Posers and the M7700
Attachment 1371048
Convoys of innovas

Attachment 1371047

Attachment 1371050
First morning Tea in Leh

Attachment 1371058

Attachment 1371057
M7700 at Sanchi Stupa

Attachment 1371055
Sanchi Stupa

Attachment 1371053
View from Sanchi Stupa

Attachment 1371054
View from Sanchi Stupa

Attachment 1371049
Leh market

Attachment 1371059
Long time exposure shot

sorry for the typo mistake of writing Shanti Stupa as Sanchi Stupa. Just realized it now