[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. But again as with a lot of people, this plan didn’t materialize for several years. But this year, when it was least expected due to pandemic, it actually happened. A lot of things fell into place themselves and believe me or not, the plan was made 1 week before the trip. So before you doze off, let us get to some interesting stuff.

The Journey with Overnight Stops:
Bangalore – Nagpur – Ujjain – Udaipur – Panipat – Patnitop -Srinagar – Kargil -Leh -Pangong – Leh – Kargil -Jalandhar – Delhi – Sagar – Hyderabad – Bangalore

Facts and Figures: Total 20 days. 7700 kms. 15.5 kmpl fuel consumption. Fuel worth Rs 52,000. Tolls around Rs 7000.

And most importantly, Weapon of Choice – VW GT TSI (2016 model, 72000 kms on the odo (at start of journey), 1.2 TSI with DSG). Why GT TSI? Because I asked around what’s the best car to do a trip to Leh and the answer I liked the most: The car in your garage!

3 marathon drives
Bangalore to Nagpur – 1160kms in around 14 hours.
Kargil to Jalandhar – 660 kms in around 14 hours.
Sagar to Hyderabad – 900 kms in around 12 hours.
Every other day was less than 10 hours of driving.

Why Ujjain and Udaipur? As I told that several things fell into place for this trip to happen, one of those things was an official trip to Udaipur. It sowed the seed of an opportunity to do a road trip in Rajasthan which eventually evolved into a bigger plan of doing a Leh trip. It also gave me a 2 days break in Udaipur which was a good time to recharge my energy for the long drive.

Engineering Marvels – 2 tunnels en-route Udhampur to Srinagar. Chenani Nashri Tunnel and Jawahar Tunnel. Both are around 9kms long each. Each cuts the driving distance by about 45 mins to 1 hour. Another tunnel is under construction that will avoid Zojila Pass (Srinagar to Kargil route). Hats off to the army and engineers who are making the seemingly impossible task possible.

Road conditions – 90% roads are decent to good condition. The best road condition is from Kargil to Leh! Yes you read that right. Kudos to BRO (Border Roads Organization). It’s like a high altitude race track and I had good fun driving the GT on the roads it’s designed to be driven on. The landscape, however, will slow you down like crazy. You can’t drive for more than 15 minutes before taking a stop, getting down and absorbing the beauty around you.
Around 10km patch near Zojila pass was quite bad. Almost non-existent roads but no problem for the GT as potholes were not deep.
Around 40 kms patch near Changla Pass (Leh to Pangong route) was super bad. The only time I regretted bringing the GT. All Xylos and Innovas were cruising past, those cars are really abuse friendly but their occupants were not. Nauseating passengers were everywhere. Mechanical empathy made me drive real slow but the GT did not complain much. Short wheelbase and firm suspension assured that ground scraping was minimal.

GT Performance – Flawless! So thankful that there was no problem at all with the car during the entire trip.
Automatic transmission was a boon on long driving days.
Cruise Control was extremely useful. I had figured out in first 3 days that I need to drive slow if I want to drive for long so cruise control at 90 kmph was my friend every day.
High altitude changed the car performance drastically. Car was idling at ~1200 RPM and there was MASSIVE turbo lag till 2000 RPM due to thin air. Sports mode helped things by keeping the RPMs high.

Landscape – Mindblowing! I won’t write much. I will just say that everyone in India who loves travelling and nature OUGHT to experience the sheer beauty of the Himalayas. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. The drive from Srinagar to Leh is 400 kms but we broke it down to 200kms each for 2 days. Srinagar to Kargil (200kms) and then Kargil to Leh (200kms). We took 8-9 hours for 200 kms because each turn brings about a new view that will just blow you away and you can’t help but stop and adore the jaw-dropping beauty. DO THIS DRIVE if you haven’t yet. Srinagar to Leh!

Kashmir Situation – Thankfully all was peaceful for the days we were there but the tension in the air could be felt, more so because of the heavy army deployment all throughout the route. Soldiers surely have a difficult life standing alert with the guns out all through the highway. It’s as if they are anticipating an attack every second! And then all the civilian vehicles were made to pull up to the side of the highway whenever an army convoy came around which made the journey time quite long. Feel sad for the local people who have to live their lives in such a tense environment every day.

Respect for Army – BRO has done an extraordinary job of making and maintaining the roads in one of the most treacherous terrains. Extreme temperatures, extreme rainfall, extreme snow, heavy vehicle movement and YET not a single pothole in majority of the BRO maintained route. Kudos!
Army has base camps in high altitude regions which see negative 30C temperatures and are covered in snow for months. I live a safe life because they are doing their job with full commitment. I don’t have words to express my gratitude to them!

Start of the drive: somewhere in Maharashtra



Somewhere in MP



View around Udaipur from Sajjangarh Monsoon Fort:



En-route Patnitop to Srinagar


Early morning clouds and open roads


Entering the Kashmir valley. I stopped to take this picture but an Army personnel told me to leave immediately. No stopping allowed on this highway.


Srinagar to Kargil. Heavenly route starts from here!


The Green hills of Kashmir


Number plate had to be cleaned to keep it visible


First view of snow


At Sonmarg. GT Rally TSI :-)


Near Zojilla Pass


More Snow covered peaks and the landscape starts turning barren.


Grazing Sheeps. The shepherds in these areas are essential messengers for the army.


Clouds playing the shadow game


GT Rally TSI


Kargil to Leh. The Cold Desert.


Middle of Nowhere


High Altitude Race Track


Ya I got a wash in Kargil


Picture Perfect

[anshumandun]

VW Flash Red Against Nature's Sky Blue


The BRO Racetrack


GT experiencing snow and negative temperature for the first time in it's life.


At Khardungla! (which is not the highest motorable pass anymore because BRO outdid themselves by building the Umlingla Pass)


Customary Picture


It can't get any more real


En-route Pangong


Crossing Changla


One of many glaciar lakes


When you see such beauty, you stop!


Early morning in Pangong


My personal favourite pic of the GT


Different shades of Pangong


Panoramic view


One last pic before we started the return journey


The sky is so clear that the photo looks photoshopped

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[igemini]

Your photos made me want to go as well with my GT. Thank you for sharing.

May I ask if you face any mechanical issues during your drive? Especially at some areas where you said the roads were really bad?

[katoom]

What a kick-ass drive!
Loved the photos and the crisp write up - I know the kind of a person when I see more pics of the bike/car than the surroundings
Being a fellow GT owner (Tashi, born in 2017), this is definitely a reminder for me to finish the dream of doing this leg with the dude someday!

Did you have to turn off TCS or use M anywhere at all?

Post more pictures if you have.
Cheers.

[rakesh_r]

Excellent pics, thanks for sharing. Which month did you do this trip?

[GP19]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

Kargil to Jalandhar – 660 kms in around 14 hours.

I’m planning to do Chandigarh - Sonamarg. Anything to keep in mind on that route ? Start at 4 am

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by igemini

May I ask if you face any mechanical issues during your drive? Especially at some areas where you said the roads were really bad?

Thankfully there were no issues at all. There was belly scraping a couple of times near Changla Pass but nothing too bad.

Originally Posted by katoom

Did you have to turn off TCS or use M anywhere at all?

I did not turn off the TCS anywhere. The roads were not as bad as I had imagined. More than M, I used the S mode to keep the car in the power band as there was significant turbo lag up to 2000 rpms due to the thin air.

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Excellent pics, thanks for sharing. Which month did you do this trip?

I went in September 2021.

[superchamp]

Nice Photos. Would love to do such a trip.
Was the Polo GT comfortable for such long drives. I meant with reference to fatigue, body pain and overall ride comfort.

[divyadeeptsi]

What an excellent travelogue !!!

I can't help but imagine taking my Polo to Leh. Till now I've had a lot of apprehensions whether i'll be able to bring back my polo in a single piece or not :P

Going through this thread has surely given me a lot of confidence to at least think about getting my Polo Leh'd.

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by GP19

I’m planning to do Chandigarh - Sonamarg. Anything to keep in mind on that route ? Start at 4 am

Start early morning from Udhampur to avoid traffic and army convoys. There is a lot of construction work going on and if you don't leave early, you'll be stuck in traffic.

Originally Posted by superchamp

Was the Polo GT comfortable for such long drives. I meant with reference to fatigue, body pain and overall ride comfort.

Polo GT is a driver's car and from that point of view, it was comfortable, engaging and enjoyable for me, specially on the good roads. On the bad roads, the firm suspension does make it uncomfortable. For passengers, GT is not a comfortable or spacious car. My wife and son flew in to Srinagar and flew out of Leh, I think that says enough about the passenger comfort .

Originally Posted by divyadeeptsi

Till now I've had a lot of apprehensions whether i'll be able to bring back my polo in a single piece or not :P

I had apprehensions whether I will be able to get the car back at all

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

I went in September 2021.

That's great, i did something similar on my SCross: Pune-Udaipur-Jaipur-Amritsar(Golden Temple)-Shimla-Manali-Solang(wanted to visit Atal Tunnel but couldnt since police was permitting only 4wd, rented a 4wd Bolero to Solang valley)-Kufri-Chandigarh-Agra-Indore-Pune.
I intend to do a Leh Ladakh trip and your itinerary looks perfect for me.

[cpabhijit]

What an absolutely ripping trip in the GT. Your pics are all wallpaper level. What preps did you do to the car before the trip?

[Atom]

Amazing travelogue and the pictures are a treat to the eyes. GT in Red looks totally gorgeous amid the heavenly landscape. Thank you for an excellent travelogue!!

[Mach_1590]

Amazing travelogue, a shining red POLO amid that barren landmass is quite a sight. Can't wait to explore the mighty land of passes myself next month. Also, as of now we are just 2 people, so can't decide whether I should drive the Ecosport or Endeavour. Having said that, your travelogue gives me complete confidence that even Ecosport will be home in those terrains.