[rrsteer]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I would be really interested in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each car that did the trip. A comparison of Etios with all others would be especially good. And thanks again for the virtual ride!

[Samba]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I would be really interested in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each car that did the trip. A comparison of Etios with all others would be especially good. And thanks again for the virtual ride!

Thanks. I have shared the details of how Etios performed in my ownership thread. You can check out post no 135 for the detailed report on how Etios performed in the Ladakh trip. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...nt-view-9.html

Regarding the suv's the Thar and the Scorpio were definitely the undisputed kings with no underbelly hits.

Regarding the hatch backs each car performed really well. No cars got any kind of underbelly damage or any other issue's.

The only advantage i had with my petrol Etios over the other diesel's was my car didn't suffer any power loss at higher altitudes.

The disadvantage i had compared to the other hatch backs was Etios has a longer wheel base with a rear overhang as its a sedan. So i had to be a bit more careful at places or at the end of the trip Etios suffered 2-3 more underbelly scraps compared to the hatch backs.

But at the end of the trip, no problems or issues cropped up. All were fine. Same applies with the other 5 cars in the group as well.

[adi_sun]

Great review, puts to light that this circuit can be done even in low slung cars ! I am sure there was a share of under belly hits but all in all no major damage so pretty much a wonderful trip.
Did the same circuit in June 14 with XUV and had a tough time in the unexpected heavy snow at Chang-La with HT tires. The ground clearance and power was enough not to bother or even look down but could not thing of doing the same in a sedan/ hatch ! kudos, drive on!

[arun_josie]

So, its again raining Leh-Ladakh travelogues in teambhp!!!

Samba, Superbly captured information complemented with some awesome pics. You really took us with you virtually. And travelogues like this inspire me to plan for one. My main challenge is taking kids along as wife is adamant not to send me alone.

Also, the recent developments regarding the taxi union issues made be uneasy. But your report and few other first hand reports on this issue is really positive.

And for such a long journey, its really tough to find like-minded people, then plan, schedule and execute the same. Hats off to you and others in the convoy for executing it to perfection.

[createrkid]

Oh man! This is the sweet stuff , who doesn't love a ladakh travelogue! The Etios crushed it. Spent my entire morning reading this. Crisp narration and beautiful pictures Samba.

[srinitdas]

Beautiful is the word to say.
The first thing I did after reading the travelogue was open google maps and plan the route timings from Bhubaneswar. Been long since I wanted to go with dad, out on a really long trip. This one serves as a nice benchmark. I expect the Manza to sail through this.

Nice travelogue Samba... Take a bow...

[Burn_out]

Splendid and detailed account of the journey and simply amazing pictures. As always, Samba's frames breathe so much life into the stills. Someone's epic road trip becomes someone's life long ambition. Had to wait for the entire week to read through this behemoth. And boy, was the wait worth it ! A well deserved 5 stars.

[Shivanshu]

Wow amazing travelogue, i went through the complete log and its amazing. Some very crisp pics and beautiful narration. Driving in group to far distances do require a lot of effort, good to see all went well and the enjoyment was a lifetime. Keep it up.

[SouraC]

A big thanks to Arav (AJ-got-BHP) for sharing all the details related to our stay, important things to remember and carry and lastly the summery of our Trip. I hope it will help lots of people in planning a Drive to Ladakh.

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

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.

As we were sceptic about the road condition and also not sure of getting additional fuel at Hanle, we were forced to let go the urge of driving directly from Spamgmik (Pangong) to Hanle via Man – Merak – Chushul – Loma.
This sector of Ladakh still requires Inner Line Permit (Max 7 days) and you have to take it from DM office, Leh. Our hotel helped us out in this regard and the cost was ₹4400 for 10 of us. Detailed charges are given below.
1. Red Cross Fee – ₹100 per head
2. Environmental Fee – ₹200 per head
3. Wildlife fee – ₹20 per day per head

Originally Posted by Samba

As scheduled 4 cars met at Dankuni toll booth at 4am. Etios, Figo, Scorpio and Thar had plans do to Kanpur in day 1 and swift and Punto had some other commitments so they did Kolkata- Delhi in one go and caught up with us the next day at Delhi. Our very own Kolkata Bhpian JKDS had some work in Delhi so for the drive till Delhi he joined us with his wife in his Bolero 4x4.

Now the untold story of Punto and Swift (Team B) till Murthal..

Day 1

Although we had a long fight to prepone the start time but the traffic conditions of Kolkata on 19th evening did not allow us to start the journey before 9pm. As usual we met at Dankuni toll around 8:50pm and after a few last moment planning we started our journey.


The Cars waiting for the Long Run



The first welcome was from the Nature. The PROKLEAR treatment I have done paid off, Wiper less drive in cats and dogs rain.

https://youtu.be/IiuB22LKt3A

Our first stop was at Asansol for dinner and we reached there around 12:10 after picking up another team member (Arghya) from Burdwan.

As we had a plan of travelling till Delhi and wanted to complete it safely on time, we decided to carry all the foods required and cut on unwanted stoppages. Our Dinner was Homemade Parathas and Egg curry prepared by Keya (Rana’s Better Half). We spend almost 40-45 min over there enjoying our Dinner which completed with cup of coffee which came from Arghya’s food store.


The next time we talked properly standing out of our car having another cup of Coffee was after crossing Sasaram toll which we crossed around 5:45am. In between we sailed through Jharkhand in 2 hours flat, bought drink for our not so thirsty travel companions and got terribly frustrated with the bad roads around Dehri specially the Bridge on Sone.


After 6am the local traffic increased a lot but still we managed to reach Varanasi Bypass by 7:45, where we decided to stop for our breakfast. We spend around half an hour having our breakfast and discussing about our progress and the next. We also had a chat with Samba about their status and plan so that we can be in sync.


Our Breakfast stop. Thankfully the Dhaba was not prepared to serve us and we saved a lot of Valuable Time.






We started immediately after we came to know about the road till Handia is a single carriage lane and can make our plan haywire.Time and Luck supported us in this journey and we reached Allahabad Bypass around 10am. We stopped for tea after crossing Allahabad Bypass and then continued till Kanpur.

Our beloved "Kele Punto" enjoying empty stretch of Allahabad Bypass

https://youtu.be/jfhijuDq_UQ

By the time we reached Kanpur bypass, a healthy mouse was running in our stomach searching for Food. But we already knew by then, that the road after the Kanpur elevated bypass will not be that smooth sailing and we will loose a lot of time crossing Etawah, Shikohabad and Firozabad. As we have already crossed 1000km mark and the watch was showing 1pm, we decided to skip Lunch, have some stock food and stretch out our limbs for some time.

Somewhere in the run.



6 Hours of daylight left and we still have 500 odd kilometres to cover. It is a get up and get moving kind of a situation, hence we started driving again after a 15-20min break. Even after facing some slow moving traffic we finally reached Yamuna Express Way around 5pm.

The Welcome.



The Long awaited Yamuna Expressway Drive

https://youtu.be/q1830uCC7mY

Yippee.. Delhi here we come. It was dream come true for us to drive in this super expressway, but who knew it will become this challenging. By the time we touched Yamuna Expressway we were 20hours and 1300km down and with the speed restriction it was becoming a challenge to keep the eyes open. Still we continued till 6:15pm and then decided to take a long break with proper food and to decide our staying options.


Sky can also look good in plains



It was already known that we will not be in a shape to cross Delhi in evening traffic and hence we decided to stay in Greater Noida. We booked the Oyo room at sector 44 while our CholaBatora was under preparation. After having stomach full we again started our onward journey, now with a destination. We reached greater Noida around 8pm after an hour’s drive but due to some added assistance from gmaps it took us another 30min to reach the Stay.


Oh great .. We reached Delhi in 23.5 Hours covering almost 1500Km and the best part of it is we are not more than 40km away from rest of our team. After getting refreshed and having our dinner we retired for the day around 11pm.


Day 2


As planned we got up around 6:30am and started our journey by 7:45am. The Plan was simple, to cross Delhi as early as possible and Have Aloo Paratha at AmrikSukhdev (Murthal). Our timing was perfect for that day and within an hour we crossed Delhi. After contacting Samba we came to know that they will start from Tivoli after Breakfast which they are waiting for.
Without losing any time we continued till Murthal as planned and promptly ordered our food.


The Parathas



After completing the food we met with the other cars in our team and the rest of the story is already known to you..

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Feel bad not taking the opportunity to join the gang. Your photography skills are superb. I feel sad that you won't be giving us company when we make the Ladakh trip next year.

Is something cooking? If you guys can spill some, maybe one can form some plans, maybe...[if wishes were horses]

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

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.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Brilliant post Arav! However the attachments are not opening, please report it to the mods.

Originally Posted by anupams

Mods, please have a look at attachments uploaded by AJ-got-BHP
(unable to open/download).

Thanks for notifying guys !! Some errors with the attachments. Reattaching the same hereunder -

List of the Medicines to be carried :
List - My Medicines for Ladakh.xlsx

List of Car Documents & Essentials to be carried :
List - Car Documents and Essentials.xlsx

List of Food Carried in case we got held up anywhere and some for the road :
List - Food To Carry.xlsx

Self Declaration Form required for Nubra Valley & Pangong Tso :
HVK - Self Declaration for ILP in Leh.pdf

Copy of the Permit required for Hanle/Tsomoriri Sector :
Copy of Permit - For Hanle & Tsomoriri.pdf

Originally Posted by SouraC

A big thanks to Arav (AJ-got-BHP) for sharing all the details related to our stay, important things to remember and carry and lastly the summery of our Trip. I hope it will help lots of people in planning a Drive to Ladakh.

Thanks SouraC !!

Unfolding the unsaid story was something even I was looking forward too. One hell of an achievement SouraC .... Hats Off to you guys who drove from Kolkata to Noida in a day in your 'Hot Revving Hatches'

[behaln]

Awesome is the word to describe your short and precise travelogue. This would give a lot of confidence to the owners of hatch backs and sedans. The group drive also ensured safety of cars and passengers in case of any adverse conditions.

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Is something cooking? If you guys can spill some, maybe one can form some plans, maybe...[if wishes were horses]

Definitely cooking . Plans around June next year. Will keep you updated once the itinerary is confirmed.

[SouraC]

Originally Posted by Samba

You are being too down to earth or modest! The panorama's shared by you are no less than awesome.

Originally Posted by 1100D

Infact your pictures have come out realistically awesome! (No offence to Samba either). Would be curious to see the rest.

Let me try again to put some more pictures for everyone to enjoy and thanks a lot to 1100D and Samba for encouraging me.


The View of Glacier before Sonmarg.




The Hunder. A Desert on 10500ft






No words are required to describe the Pictures Pangong.






Is-int it the 3 idiots Point.




Sorry for taking so much time and putting all these in installments. Next lots will come faster, Hopefully.

[Babuda]

Superlative! is the word that crossed the mind after reading this travelogue - in one go of course. Rating it a well deserved 5 stars.