[unoczar]

Awesome trip boss!! It's a solid statement for all the small car/sedan owners.

"The car in your garage". That brought a wide smile on my face and suddenly I realised I'm in office!

Great pics and great concise log.

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by cpabhijit

What preps did you do to the car before the trip?

Nothing really. The car was serviced around 4 months back so it was good in terms of new engine oil, new oil and air filters. The tyres had 35k kms on them but were still in good condition (MRF Perfinza).

I did take care of the car and showed my gratitude towards it by sending it for service just after the trip ( at an interval of 12k kms from previous service instead of prescribed 15k kms).

[YK85]

Excellent travelogue. The photos were really nice.
Really made me want to pack my bags and set forth to Leh immediately 😊. Well, some day soon, fingers crossed.

After this extended road trip, did you notice any difference in the way your Polo drives and feels?

[Sujoy76]

Congratulations on completing a trip to Ladakh by road. A road trip to Ladakh is every road trippers dream. Beautiful photographs. Your travelogue and pictures took me back to the beautiful place and reminded me of the good times I had in October last year during my road trip.

Wish you many more such trips in future. Happy driving.

[Artyom]

Amazing Photos brother. Some of them are worthy of a wallpaper for life .
I do have a noob question. TSI being a turbo unit produces good power that could also mean that travelling in those terrains is a breeze.
What are your thoughts on 1.6 Litre Petrol NA engines(Creta VTVT to be specific) .You think they can also easily complete that route without much issues?

[ankitsharma]

Excellent writing man. And those images are super wow. What device did you use for the photos ?

Also thanks for inspiring the confidence. I am also contemplating this trip for years now. I did several longer ones with my Rapid Tsi but did not get the courage to take it to Leh.
I will plan it now thanks to you.

Keep revving and clicking.

[nuttyprof1991]

That looks amazing!
Would love to do it some time but my manual S Cross may not be ideal

[jagan88]

Nice travelogue and awesome pictures. Gives inspiration for me to drive from Hyderabad - should be possible looking at your overnight stops.

[88_TANK_88]

Originally Posted by Artyom

What are your thoughts on 1.6 Litre Petrol NA engines(Creta VTVT to be specific) .You think they can also easily complete that route without much issues?

Originally Posted by nuttyprof1991

That looks amazing!
Would love to do it some time but my manual S Cross may not be ideal

A lot of NA cars do the trip. I was accompanied by a Swift petrol and a Seltos for quite some time when I went to Leh. Also seen enroute were ertigas, small hatches etc.
The point being, one should travel in a vehicle they are most comfortable in spending long hours of driving. A known car is less likely to throw surprises.
Roads may be bad, non-existent even at some places along the way, but it is not undrivable.
Once in Leh, there are options of hiring a rental bike for local/ regional excursions or a guided tour.
One thing is for certain, if you go in your own vehicles, you would take longer to reach as you would be stopping to take pictures a lot, enough personalized wallpapers to last a decade(or till the next road trip)

[Sahil00090]

Wow, this is on my bucket list. It must have been a great experience.

I recently took my Polo TSI till Keylong and now desire to take it farther than that, your post gives me hope

[ampere]

Wow wow wow! We have read so many stories of Leh rides.. But none that speaks through the car and that too a GT TSI.

Each picture a post card. And And each post card? A Story!

I bet by now your favourite colours are red and blue!

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by YK85

After this extended road trip, did you notice any difference in the way your Polo drives and feels?

No, it drives the same as before. If anything, it's more eager and free revving now

Originally Posted by Artyom

TSI being a turbo unit produces good power that could also mean that travelling in those terrains is a breeze.
What are your thoughts on 1.6 Litre Petrol NA engines(Creta VTVT to be specific) .You think they can also easily complete that route without much issues?

Yes definitely, any car with a decent engine can do this trip. You just need to adjust your driving style with the loss of power as the altitude increases. There are not much steep slopes on this route. I have experienced far steeper slopes in other areas like McLeodganj and around Dhanaulti. This Leh route is more of gentle but consistent slopes and the altitude just keeps increasing and the engine feels sluggish as you keep climbing.

Originally Posted by ankitsharma

What device did you use for the photos ?

2 humble phones: Oneplus7 and Iphone XR. I've used 'vivid' filter in most of the Iphone pictures.

Originally Posted by ampere

I bet by now your favourite colours are red and blue!

And a million shades of brown

[Ragavsr]

Awesome travelogue.

One small mistake I spotted. The Jawahar Tunnel is not 9 kms. Either you have gone through the Qazigund Banihal tunnel which is 9 km long and officially opened on 20th April 2022 (trial runs were allowed earlier) . After the Qazigund tunnel opened , only fuel tankers were taking the old Jawahar tunnel route and the Jawahar tunnel is 3 km odd.

I just crossed the Qazigund Nanihal tunnel 2 days back.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

Awesome travelogue.

One small mistake I spotted. The Jawahar Tunnel is not 9 kms.

Yes, it has to be the Quazigund Banihal tunnel. Had driven through it on the 6th Apr.. Truly an engineering marvel. I think it is 8.3 Kms and the Syama Prasad Mukherjee tunnel is 9 km I guess.

[Tifosi2306]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

As with a lot of people who love automobiles, I had this yearning of driving or riding to Leh from Bangalore since a few years.

Congratulations on the trip and thank you for the Travelog. Inspired me to firm up my intentions to visit LEH in the coming year. I am looking forward to experiencing the drive with the car in my garage, an Abarth Punto.

Cheers and happy driving!