[raider9990]

As the saying goes, unplanned trips are the best trips. Leh had been on my list for a quite a time, but the plan never took off. This time it was different, this time it was not planned for months but just four days.

Planning- I had just four days to get things done for this trip. First and foremost, I got my RTPCR test done. To enter Leh your RTPCR report must be less than 96 hours. The next important thing was to get the car inspected. We were a group of 9, we distributed duties among ourselves. We collected following things for the road trip-
1. Water bottles
2. Medicines
3. Instant noodles
4. A small cooking top
5. Utensils for cooking
6. Portable air compressor
7. Recovery rope
8. Jerry can (not used)
9. Hydraulic trolley jack

Route- The route was decided as – Chandigarh to Srinagar, Srinagar to Leh, Leh to Nubra valley, Nubra valley to Pangong Tso, Pangong Tso to Pang, Pang to Manali, Manali to Chandigarh.

Vehicles – Isuzu Vcross and Mahindra Thar (previous generation).



Day 1 (24th June)– We left Chandigarh around 7:30 am. Our initial plan was to reach Srinagar. The road towards Jammu was in good condition. The RTPCR report was checked at Lakhanpur Border. The road condition was good till you reach Ramban. The road is narrow, unpaved, dusty and full of trucks.



The condition of road will improve once you cross Ramban, but the trucks are going to test your patience. Our initial plan was to reach Srinagar, but we decided to stay in Banihal. We reached Banihal around 9:30 pm.

Day 2 (25th June)- We left Banihal around 6:30 in the morning. As we were approaching Srinagar the roads were getting better and better.



We reached Srinagar around 10:30 am. After having breakfast, we hopped on Shikara to get around the Dal Lake.





We left Srinagar around 2:00 pm for Sonamarg. The road condition was excellent, and the road is very scenic.



Once you reach Sonamarg you will be mesmerized by this little beautiful town. We checked into a hotel and the hotel owner itself was an auto enthusiast and own a Vcross. He suggested a trail going towards the riverbank behind the hotel. The trail was definitely for 4wd vehicles. We cooked instant noodles and enjoyed the natural beauty while listening to the flowing river.





Day 3 (26th June)- We left Sonamarg around 7:00 am. Next thing that we encountered was Zojila pass. The initial road conditions were okay but as you start climbing towards Zojila the roads conditions start to deteriorate. Combination of bad road and trucks are going to test your patience at Zojila. After crossing Zojila we reached Zero point or base of Zojila.



We had our breakfast at Zero point. After that road is excellent and cars were munching the miles effortlessly. Before entering Kargil, at Meena Marg the RTPCR report was checked and in case you want to stay in Kargil you have to get mandatory Rapid Antigen Test. After Kargil the scenery changes form lush green to barren mountains. We had to go through mandatory Rapid antigen test at Khalsi Border before entering Leh.



The road till Leh is jaw dropping. On the same route we encountered the famous Magnetic hill. Around 20-25 km before Leh there is Historical Pathar Sahib Gurudwara that is maintained wholly by Indian Army. We reached Leh around 8:00 pm and checked into a hotel.

Day 4 (27th June)- We decided to rest for a day and visit some local attractions. In the morning we went to DC office, Leh to enquire about inner line permit for Nubra valley and Pangong Tso lake. As it was Sunday and DC office was closed, we were told to apply inner line permit online. We were not able to make payment online due to our prepaid Punjab sim (I will explain later) so someone advised to go to an internet café nearby that will apply inner line permit on your behalf. We got our permits around 2:00 pm. After getting our permits we went to explore the main market. We had our lunch at a small Tibetan restaurant.



After lunch we visited Leh City Palace.After City Palace we went to Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a war memorial, it’s a nice informative place about Ladakh culture, Kargil war, the gear army uses in winter to survive etc.





After Hall of Fame, we talked to some local auto enthusiasts, and they suggested some trails along the river. We spent whole evening covering those trails and exploring the area.



We had to rescue a Fortuner that was stuck on trail due to lack of 4wd. We skipped Sanchi Stupa this time.

Day 5 (28th June)- After having breakfast at hotel we left for Nubra valley. On the way to Nubra valley we encountered The Khardungla Pass. The road to Khardungla is good but steep at some points. The car struggled to tackle the steep ascent. The Khardungla pass is the highest motor able road in the world at 18380 feet.






Another Isuzu Vcross at The Khardungla Top.

The car felt underpowered, so I decided to check on air filter and found it clogged due to dirt, air filter was almost brand new when I started this journey. Cleaned the air filter at Khardungla top. I felt little dizzy at top due to lack of oxygen, so we decided to descend towards Nubra valley. We reached Nubra valley around 2:30 pm. At Nubra valley there are sand dunes, and we were lusting to open the throttle and climb the dunes, but off-roading is prohibited on sand dunes.Other than sand dunes Nubra is famous for double humped camels. After witnessing the beautiful creatures, we decided to skip the night stay at Nubra as we had plenty of time. We decided to move towards Tangste Village. The road Towards Tangste was a mixture of water crossing and plain excellent roads.



We reached Tangste around 9:00 pm and went to bed after dinner as we had to wake up early.

Day 6 (29th June)- We left Tangste around 6:30 am in the morning. The Pangong is hardly 1 hour drive from tangste. The road Pangong lake is excellent and very scenic.



We encountered some wildlife on this road.



We reached Pangong lake around 8:00 am and had our breakfast at Lake. After spending some time at lake, we picked some trails and decided to explore the area.Our initial plan was to go back to Leh and spend a night at Leh, but we were ahead of our schedule, so we decided to drive towards Karu and from Karu to Sarchu. We left lake around 11:00 am. On the way to Karu we encountered The Chang La pass (17688 feet). The journey on The Chang La was most difficult, it was the test of man and machine.



After crossing Chang La we reached Karu around 3:40 pm and after having lunch we started driving towards Sarchu. On the way to Sarchu comes Tanglang La Pass (17582 feet).





The road is good in initial phase but as we move up the road it becomes worse. After crossing Tanglang La we encountered The More plains, the road on plateau was excellent and scenic. At the end of More plains, the plateau ends and there is a deep gorge, it was quite fascinating and frightening at same time. After More plains comes the Pang village.





We decided to stay at the Pang as other travelers who were coming from Sarchu told us about the nightmare that lies ahead. We left Pang around 7:00 am for Sarchu. At the beginning road was good but it started to become worse as we were moving towards Sarchu. We encountered the Gata loops on the way to Sarchu. The Gata loops are 21 hairpin bends. On the way to Sarchu after Gata loops we were stopped by a solo traveler from Maharashtra who was camping at the riverbank. His Ford Endeavour was stuck at the riverbank, the engine refused to crank due to cold weather and soon the battery was dead. He was at least 1km off the highway and was asking for help from last 3 hours before we stopped to help him out. We waited for temperature to rise and after few minutes the car finally rose from dead. We again left for Sarchu and on the way we saw what was creating fear in the minds of travelers coming from Sarchu, basically there was no road only a piece of land full of loose dust.



For 4wd vehicles it was not a difficult task but for 2wd vehicles and bikers it was quite difficult. The visibility was absolutely zero and till we reached Sarchu the air filter was again clogged. At Sarchu we had our lunch and cleaned the air filter and started our journey towards Manali.



The road towards Manali was good except the road going through Baralachla Pass. This was the second most difficult pass. The Atal tunnel saves a lot of time. We reached Manali around 7:00 pm. We checked into a hotel and went to old Manali road to enjoy the cafes.

Day 7 (30th June)- The last day was just drive from Manali to Chandigarh.

My observation and experiences-
1. Carry a postpaid sim as the prepaid sim do not work in J&K and Leh.
2. The road from Srinagar to Leh is a safe and better option rather than from Manali to Leh.
3. If you are coming from Manali to Leh, come prepared because I have seen people at Pang with high difficulty in breathing. The change in elevation on Manali to Leh highways is quite high. My suggestion is to enter Leh through Srinagar Highway and exit through Manali Highway.
4. If possible, carry portable camping gear.
5. There is no need of jerry can if you get your tank filled to the top at regular intervals on the way.
6. I had BMC air filter in Isuzu, and it was not easy to clean it on the way, I suggest using stock air filter for this journey as it can be easily cleaned.
7. The journey is very much doable in 2wd vehicle, but sedans and hatchbacks are going to take massive underbody hits. In case of 2wd vehicle, try to stick to highway and don’t attempt trails or shortcuts. I have seen a XUV 500 and Brezza Getting stuck on the trail.
8. On the Manali – Leh highway you will encounter the most water crossings.
9. In terms of difficulty, I have ranked the passes as following-
1.Chang La Pass
2.Baralachla Pass
3.Tanglang La pass
4.Zojila Pass
5.Khardungla Pass

[sportymonk]

That's the clearest picture of the situation at Leh post lockdown that I was waiting for. Great that you guys managed the trip without any major hiccups and finished it within schedule.

[gauravdgr8]

No pictures of the Pangong lake. Is the army around the famous scenic sights of the lake?

[raider9990]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

No pictures of the Pangong lake. Is the army around the famous scenic sights of the lake?

There is presence of army around Pangong lake but there were no check points as such.

[Aditya]

Nice travelogue with lovely pictures. I love the Himalayas and have been to Himachal, J&K and Ladakh multiple times. It's been a while now, but you've brought those memories back.

You have done this trip in two of my favourite vehicles too. I am a big fan of the V-Cross and the Thar. Love them for what they offer and their sheer toughness and good off-road capabilities. They just fit into the landscape like no other vehicle can.

Speaking of rescuing stuck cars and cleaning air filters, I don't even remember the number of times I've done that . It's all a part of the adventure.

The dust storm sounds scary. I've seen a dust storm around the More Plains. That was a really long time ago though.

[raider9990]

Some more pictures clicked during journey.

During trails around Indus river in Leh.



Rescuing a Fortuner stuck on Indus river Trails .



A Yalk enjoying in the river , clicked on the way to Khardungla .


At Hundar ( Nubra Valley).



After crossing Sarchu.



Rescuing Endeavour stuck at riverbank .



Crossing Atal tunnel.

[BKB999]

Originally Posted by raider9990

My observation and experiences-
1. Carry a postpaid sim as the prepaid sim do not work in J&K and Leh.
2. The road from Srinagar to Leh is a safe and better option rather than from Manali to Leh.
3. If you are coming from Manali to Leh, come prepared because I have seen people at Pang with high difficulty in breathing. The change in elevation on Manali to Leh highways is quite high. My suggestion is to enter Leh through Srinagar Highway and exit through Manali Highway.
4. If possible, carry portable camping gear.
5. There is no need of jerry can if you get your tank filled to the top at regular intervals on the way.
6. I had BMC air filter in Isuzu, and it was not easy to clean it on the way, I suggest using stock air filter for this journey as it can be easily cleaned.
7. The journey is very much doable in 2wd vehicle, but sedans and hatchbacks are going to take massive underbody hits. In case of 2wd vehicle, try to stick to highway and don’t attempt trails or shortcuts. I have seen a XUV 500 and Brezza Getting stuck on the trail.
8. On the Manali – Leh highway you will encounter the most water crossings.

Thanks for sharing such a beautiful and adventurous experience especially during this unpredictable pandemic season! It is a big dream for me to drive from Chennai to Leh. We are waiting for our kid to be at an age when there won't be any mountain sickness or breathing issues to him. Posts like yours (and many BHPians) inspires me to keep the dream alive. I hope a 2WD (Currently I own a Kia Sonet) can get us through it.

[AnandB]

Great travelogue. Will be helpful as we plan to visit Ladakh in September.

[Raghu M]

Wow, this is by far the shortest yet the most informative travelogue on Leh, Ladakh. Found it very useful and interesting. Thumbs up!

[petrolfumes]

Absolutely beautiful photographs, love the mods on your V-cross!

[warp_10]

Amazing travelogue. Thanks for the post !!! At least from what you have posted, assume that there were no real hiccups or restrictions because of Covid.

Also, since you drove post dusk (towards srinagar and Tangste), no concerns of bandits and looting ?? Assume there was traffic in all those stretches then ?

[raider9990]

Originally Posted by warp_10

Amazing travelogue. Thanks for the post !!! At least from what you have posted, assume that there were no real hiccups or restrictions because of Covid.

Also, since you drove post dusk (towards srinagar and Tangste), no concerns of bandits and looting ?? Assume there was traffic in all those stretches then ?

If you have a valid RTPCR report that hasn’t crossed 96 hrs mark , you will not face any issue . Moreover the officials are happy to help and people are nice , specially in Ladakh . Till Srinagar you will find traffic even after sun has set but in Ladakh region (other than Leh city) you won’t find any traffic after sunset , specially on Nubra valley to Pangong Tso road. There was not much concern of Bandits in Ladakh region but travel in night only if you are travelling in a group of two or more cars because if you get stuck or something happens you might not encounter another vehicle for hours .

[sureshkumar]

Must have been quite a thrilling experience. I thought Fortuners came with all-time 4WD.

[raider9990]

Originally Posted by sureshkumar

Must have been quite a thrilling experience. I thought Fortuners came with all-time 4WD.

Previous generation Fortuner was available with all time 4wd as well as in 2wd variant . Current generation is available with part time 4wd and 2wd variants.

[H0RSEPOWER]

Great trip report to some unique places in India in two unique vehicles!