[Sheel]

Bengal's contribution for Leh, great going Samba & team [One photolog by a member is still missing, I am still waiting Sir]

If any year, I decide to go, will join you guys & Kanpur.

Samba, did you notice how the Scorpio guys in your team cleaned their air-filter? In the new gen Scorpio, the air-filter is a gel based one, something which you can't clean. The earlier iteration of the Scorpio's air-filter could be cleaned easily.

Thanks for sharing

[BlackPearl]

Exceptional, stunning, mesmerizing pictures Samba. Need to look up the dictionary to find more adjectives. These have to be among the best pictures on Ladakh that I have seen on team-bhp. Thanks for the detailed day-by-day log as well. Rated a well-deserved 5 stars.
One question, did you get any river crossing with bonnet high water level?

[predatorwheelz]

Fantastic travelogue. Took me about 2 hours to completely read through, so mesmerized was I with the pictures. The to-the-point narration kept things interesting. And the summary at the last post was really the icing on the cake. Almost kicking myself that I couldn't accompany you guys on this epic trip.

Rated 5 stars.

[me_sid]

Pure unadulterated awesomeness. Enjoyed every wee bit of it. Would be rather happy to see the other team members like Arav, Avrendu, Arghya all SLR totting souls, to fill up this wonderful travelogue with lots of stunning pictures. Great job guys, and congrats once again.

[DieselFan]

good show Kolkota team. way to go. Sometimes we are just amazed how we and our cars can take the most challenging environmental conditions and come out with flying colours. Quodos to you all. Great pictures. What I didn't like was the plastic bottle cans kept on roadside to please some Ghost. We are just spoiling our environment by such indulgence. Other than that excellent report.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

One question, did you get any river crossing with bonnet high water level?

Thankfully not BlackPearl !! There were very shallow water crossings as the snow had majorly melted in most of the zones.

Originally Posted by me_sid

Would be rather happy to see the other team members like Arav, Avrendu, Arghya all SLR totting souls, to fill up this wonderful travelogue with lots of stunning pictures

Sid .... shall chip in soon Bro !! Still sorting the umpteen number of photographs

[SouraC]

Thanks a Lot Samba, for again doing the hardest part of our Trip (Writing the Travelogues).

Now the problem is, who will see all the pictures we have taken after going through the exceptional pictures you have already shared.

Still I will try to give a wider view on our trip by sharing some Panorama.


The First View of Kashmir Valley




The Kargil War Memorial at Drass




The Kargil Valley




A random Landscape of Sreenagar Leh Highway




Another random Landscape of Sreenagar Leh Highway




The Leh Valley



We would like more and more people should try and explore Ladakh.
To encourage others we will share as much Pictures and Video we can.

As Samba already said you can do this trip in hatches and sedans, provided you choose your time wisely and keep your cool.

[cr4nkshaft]

If I was eloquent with words, I would have put in 10-15 synonyms of the word "awesome" and left it at that.

Super TL!

[himadrimondal]

I have no idea what to say, write or comment. The photographs are just out of the world kind of stuff, specially those with the car at different angles as POV's (point of view). What is shocking to me is the kind of energy you have maintained throughout the trip, to stop and take such frames. Six cars is a big group, a clap to all the members for such excellent coordination. This truly is a trip of a lifetime. Rated 5 stars.

[gearhead_mait]

Samba and Team - Hat's off to you all! Excellent trip accompanied by mesmerizing pictures. While reading the TLOG, it seemed that I was traveling with you. Rated 5*.

[shomshree]

There are probably a multitude of travelogues that have been written on Leh, and posted on this forum. But yours is strikingly different. The photographs taken by you bring out the natural colors of the hills vividly. The onslaught of the sand storm is more than evident on the faces of both Ranada & Avrenduda.

Last but not the least, the trout in Manali are absolutely delicious.

Rated 5 star.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Samba

[b]Few small bits-

6)Any car can do the Ladakh circuit till its driven carefully. If you do not own an SUV it doesn't matter. Roads are wide in most of the places except few, so if driven with a cool head one can find a path for his car through the boulders. Never drive hastily in this region, one bad underbelly hit can make your car stranded. There is very little room for error in this terrain.

Excellent summary Samba, however I would like to disagree a bit with the above point. More than disagreement I would like to put forward my viewpoint. Timing of the trip is of paramount importance. Had this trip been done in June/July when the ice melts and the streams are overflowing, I think it will be difficult for the low GC vehicles. Another point is the areas that can be visited in low GC vehicles need to be mentioned. There is much more to Ladakh than regular tourist spots. You might say that I am putting all these points because I have two 4X4s in my garage and they would feel redundant if every vehicle can do Ladakh circuit, but I think that is not the case

[swsumit]

Hii

congrats on the trip , excellent set of pics and lovely TL . It is a great feeling i am sure to do this circuit .

Regards

sumit

[AJ-got-BHP]

While I am still suffering from the hangover of getting LEH'ed, a big vote of thanks and appreciation for friend and fellow BHPian Samba for taking out the time and commendable efforts of putting up the travelogue on the Forum in such a short span of time with some mesmerizing pictures !! Hats Off to you mate and thanks to the Moderators for bringing it on air sooner than expected !!

Inspired by BHPian lovecars21's Travelogue on Ladakh (Link:http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...hatchback.html who had Driven to Ladakh from Kolkata in May-June 2015, I gathered the courage and the motivation of doing the Ladakh Circuit in my Ford Figo ZXi (Diesel) by being a part of this wonderful team.

I would like to pass on some valuable information pertaining to the Ladakh Trip done by us which I think might help the community for planning their Travel to Ladakh in the times to come.

List of the Medicines to be carried :
Attachment 1415433

List of Car Documents & Essentials to be carried :
Attachment 1415434

List of Food Carried in case we got held up anywhere and some for the road :
Attachment 1415435

Self Declaration Form required for Nubra Valley & Pangong Tso :
Attachment 1415436

Copy of the Permit required for Hanle/Tsomoriri Sector :
Attachment 1415437

Some Pics of the Essentials Carried :
Tool Kit :



A Combination Plier :


A LED Flashlight Torch having a Telescopic Magnetic Pick Up :


All our Hotel Booking were done through Central Hotel Desk with the grace of Sir H.V. Kumar. However, sharing the Toll and Hotel info and the requisite Links :

DAY 1 - 19-08-2015 - Kolkata to Kanpur
Toll Paid : Rs.950/=
Stay at Kanpur : Hotel Samridhi Palace, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Revi...r_Pradesh.html

DAY 2 - 20-08-2015 - Kanpur to New Delhi G.T. Karnal
Toll Paid : Rs.700/=
Stay at New Delhi : Tivoli Grand Resort (G.T. Karnal), Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe..._of_Delhi.html

DAY 3 - 21-08-2015 - New Delhi to Jammu
Toll Paid : Rs.540/=
Stay At Jammu : Hotel Vivek, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...d_Kashmir.html

DAY 4 - 22-08-2015 - Jammu to Srinagar
Toll Paid : Rs.205/=
Stay At Srinagar : Hotel Malick Palace, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...d_Kashmir.html

DAY 5 - 23-08-2015 - Srinagar to Sonmarg
Toll Paid : Rs.100/=
Stay At Sonmarg : Hotel Sonmarg Palace, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...d_Kashmir.html
Note : There are numerous Corporation Guys who will be standing on the road asking for a Rs.50/= Toll from you. Pay the first one and you will be sorted for the rest to come. Just show that slip and move on and you will do just fine !

DAY 6 - 24-08-2015 - Sonmarg to Leh
Toll Paid : Rs.50/=
Stay At Leh : Hotel Jorchung, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...d_Kashmir.html

DAY 7 - 25-08-2015 - Leh
Stay At Leh : Jorchung Hotel

DAY 8 - 26-08-2015 - Leh to Nubra Valley via Khardungla Pass
Stay At Diskit : Sand Dunes Guest House, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...d_Kashmir.html
Note : You will be required to fill in 2 Copies of the Self Declaration Forms. One will be submitted at North Pullu and the other at South Pullu. No Tolls on this Route !

DAY 9 - 27-08-2015 - Diskit to Leh (had to cross the Khardungla Pass again)
Stay At Leh : Jorchung Hotel
Again No Tolls

DAY 10 - 28-08-2015 - Leh to Pangong Tso via Changlang La Pass
Stay At Tangste : Hotel Pangong Residency, Link : http://pangongresidency.com/#!/
Note : You will be required to fill in 2 Copies of the Self Declaration Forms. One shall be submitted at the Check Post before the Changlang La Pass and the other one after crossing the Pass. Again No Tolls on this Route. Only a Rs.10/= per Car Fee while Entering the road to Pangong Lake

DAY 11 - 29-08-2015 - Tangste to Leh (had to cross the Changlang La Pass again)
Stay At Leh : Jorchung Hotel

DAY 12 - 30-08-2015 - Leh to Hanle
Stay At Hanle : Padma Homestay, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...d_Kashmir.html
Note : We could have done Tangste to Hanle directly also. Firstly, we were unaware of the fact that this could be done and secondly we had to collect our Permits for Hanle from Leh. Cost of the Permit if I clearly remember was Rs.500/= per person. BHPian SouraC can enlighten more on this as he was handling this matter.

This was the sector, in fact the Sector of Leh To Manali that we needed to Carry Fuel Canisters as there is scarce availability of Fuel in this region. Sharing of picture of the Fuel Canisters of the Entire Team :


DAY 13 - 31-08-2015 - Hanle to Tsomoriri
Toll Payable : NIL
Stay At Tsomoriri : Hotel Lake View, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Revi...d_Kashmir.html

DAY 14 - 01-09-2015 - Tsomoriri to Keylong
Toll Payable : NIL
Stay At Keylong : Hotel Valley View. Sorry No Link Available !
Can share a picture of the view from our room though :


DAY 15 - 02-09-2015 - Keylong to Manali
Toll Payable : NIL
Stay At Manali : Manali Lodge, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...l_Pradesh.html

DAY 16 - 03-09-2015 - Manali to Karnal
Toll Payable : NIL
Stay At Karnal : Hotel Jewel Palace, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...l_Haryana.html

DAY 17 - 04-09-2015 - Karnal to Kanpur
Toll Paid : Rs.844/=
Stay At Kanpur : The Attic Hotel, Link : http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserRe...r_Pradesh.html

DAY 18 - 05-09-2015 - Kanpur to Kolkata
Toll Paid : Rs.1,030/=
Stay At : Home Sweet Home

A Summary of the above Facts of the Trip :
Total Number of Days = 18
Total Expenditure per person per night = Rs.1,800/= (approx. which includes accommodation, food and water)
Total Kilometers Traveled = 6500Kms (Approx)
Total Amount of Toll Paid = Rs.4,541/=
Total number of Photographs clicked = Infinite !! Still Sorting

I shall be updating the thread soon with my collection of photographs and some further content that might add value to this wonderful thread having the Ladakh Travelogue started by Samba. However, I have already updated my ownership review of the Ford Figo whereby the latest update after doing the Ladakh Trip has already been shared. Link : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-update-2.html One can understand how the Hatch performed on such vulnerable and versatile terrain of the Ladakh Region.

Signing Off for the time being. Thanks for reading through and following this thread with a Picture of my Figo :

[psurelia]

What a journey and definitely one of a lifetime! Congrats on successfully completing. I feel very sad to have missed the trip. But now I have 6 local experts to help me out when I plan my trip . The pictures are some of the best of Ladakh that I have ever seen and are possibly enough to tell the tale of this epic journey. Could not help rating it 5*!