[Maky]

Thank you for sharing this with us all graaja. It was a fantastic read. The usual beautiful Leh scenery but then coupled with your astrophotography made my day!

Originally Posted by graaja

[*]Friend and TBHPian RobiMahanta for lending me his 20 liter jerry can to carry spare fuel. This was very useful when I drove to Hanle and Umlingla, where the last petrol bunk is in Karu which is 225km from Hanle.

So a question on the fuel given your german car, do you get 95 Octane in these far out regions or you have to make do with 91.

Thanks again : ).

[ex-innova-guy]

Another superb travelogue graaja! For couch travellers like me, I have now travelled some of these places because of such beautiful pictures. Also, your smile in every picture shows how much you were enjoying it.

Just one question, what is the final odo reading?

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by graaja

We parked the car at the designated spot, but could not feel anything strange. As we did not know what to look for or feel for, we could not experience the magic of the magnetic hill.

Not sure if it is the same in Leh but the usual magnetic hill experience is if you leave the car in neutral with no handbrake, it will start rolling in what feels like an uphill direction.

It is an optical illusion due to the road and the scenery. You are usually rolling downhill.

[raptor_diwan]

Wow, what a lifetime trip! Fantastic photos, especially the ones with the car against the snowy background. Lots of effort evident, congratulations, and thanks for sharing. By the way, did you happen to note down the total trip distance in kilometers?

[arbaz906]

Incredible!! What a journey and what a travelogue!

Love how this was such a "been there, done that" kind of a road trip. You've managed to make full use of your time, hit every major attraction and enjoyed all the authentic food right there in the thick of it the way it needs to to be done!

We say pictures don't do justice, but man! some of the shots you've captured are so breathtaking, they do justice to the landscape! I was leaning back with my hands behind my head just staring at them for minutes! That shot of the GT parked on the shoulder with the snowy landscape ahead almost looks like it's somewhere from Europe!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Amazing stuff Graaja! Kudos to your courage and perseverance...

Thank you so much for the kind words Robi. And thank you for all the updates you had given on the road conditions, petrol stations etc. during your trip, and the jerry can. These were very critical for my Hanle and Umlingla sections. Thanks to your inputs, I was able to complete this sector without any range anxiety.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Kudos to you for your passion for outdoors.

Thank you so much for the kind words mobike!

Originally Posted by batterylow

Hats off coach, both to you and the GT. The GT is living up to its GT moniker.

Thank you so much for the kind words mate!

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Fantastic travelogue @graaja, and of course a fantastic trip! Kudos to your courage and spirit of adventure. I was in Ladakh about a month before your trip and seeing those challenging roads there, I was wondering how your 3GT would manage there. But you proved that with careful driving, you can take your 3GT anywhere!

Thank you so much for the kind words Dr.AD! The only worry I had was about deep water crossings from snow melt and rocky terrains. From the inputs you had given me during your Leh trip, as there were not many water crossings, I was confident I could do this trip. In fact, the 320D can do all the roads I did. We have done similar roads during some of our trips during the last mile connectivity to reach some of the resorts and homestays we go.

Originally Posted by ajmat

As a notorious tyre buster and slasher, I am truly amazed and humbled on how you managed to get there and back without any mishap.

How was the traction of the tyres in the snow. I am really puzzled as my friends with BMW's have big problems in slowly conditions unless they have winter tyres fitted.

I did have one puncture while on the way to Kargil from Leh. But this was due to a big screw. But fortunately I found a puncture shop before Kargil and got it fixed. Other than this, I am usually very careful while driving on bad roads. I reduce my speed according to the severity of the road conditions. And maybe I was lucky too.

I had traction issues while driving on black ice and the car would skid on braking. In this section, I reduced my speed to 20 to 30 kph and did not have any problem after that. But driving in these conditions for long distances may definitely require snow tires and/or chains.

[BalaSNKL]

Superb travelogue. Great pics and write up. Reminded me of things I did / experienced in my trips before and those I haven't. Guess, its time to plan another trip.

[XDriver]

Epic trip graaja! Congratulations on successful completion of this “Carathon” ! And kudos to the BMW for coming out with flying colours. The photography is simply awesome. Loved each frame. Astro shots are stunning. Thanks for sharing.
After reading this I realise how under utilised our cars are :-)

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Axe77

I can’t imagine any single ad campaign that’s done as much credit to the 3GT as your singular threads on this Forum must have - to demonstrate what a truly capable machine this is. Heck if I was a BMW sales head, I’d be gifting you the next GT just out of good business sense.

Haha. Thank you mate. Now I am dreaming about getting gifted with X3 M40i and doing tougher terrains in that car

Originally Posted by Axe77

On a more serious note, always lovely to see how you truly manage to extract the most out of this wonderful machine. Combined with your incredible eye for photography, always a joy to read these threads. I would have been seriously sweating my load driving through some of the areas you took the GT into - whether on account of road surface (traction) or generally the extreme potholes etc.

Wonderful to see the various cuisines experienced too during this trip. I’m sure IF will have you back in shape before you know it. Well worth it to enjoy all these cuisines but keep some balance by going one / two meals a day only.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I consider going for the GT instead of the sedan as the best decision I have made in car purchases yet. This is such a wonderful car which is practical and sporty at the same time. The slightly higher side profile of the tire in the GT gives that confidence to drive on the potholed roads (with a little care) and the huge boot makes it a great tourer.

True about the food. Food forms a part of culture of any place we visit and without tasting local cuisine, the experience is not complete. That is why I don't worry too much about my diet or the weight I may put on (there is tha small feel of guilt though ) and enjoy all the food on the way. With the IF lifestyle I have been practicing my body naturally regulates food in take. On days I have a heavy meal - for example the feast in Srinagar, my body does not let me have another big meal in the day.

Originally Posted by Kashi053

@graaja, Loved the contrast of dry and snow pics. I always say its not the machine rather the person behind the wheel matters. I know many are appreciating how capable the 3GT is but I seriously feel its you who knew to take the calculated risk by knowing what 3GT can do or not.

Thank you so much for the kind words. Even for me, that drive through Zoji La in snow was the best day of the trip enjoying how the scenery changed from brown to white.

Originally Posted by megazoid

Must have been a collection of unforgettable experiences graaja. Glad that you pulled it off so easily. Lovely captures! Btw, in the last parked pic of the car at home, did your boot have luggage?

I sometimes wonder if many awesome things should go together? A Rajasthan after Ladakh is like having both chicken and mutton on your plate. Sometimes creates a barrier in enjoyment. What’s your take?

Thank you for the kind words megazoid. Yes. In the parking lot picture, the car was still loaded with all the luggage. But the total luggage is less than 50 kilos. That lowered look is there even without any luggage and is due to the M Sport suspensions.

Agree with your point about doing so many things in one trip. Mutton was for me and chicken was for the family. Due to kids' school and college timings, we have not been able to do any family trips for a long time. As we got 4 days of Navrathri holidays coinciding with my trip, I did not want to waste this opportunity. I would like to go back to Rajasthan again and spend more time there some time soon.

Originally Posted by Maky

Thank you for sharing this with us all graaja. It was a fantastic read. The usual beautiful Leh scenery but then coupled with your astrophotography made my day!

So a question on the fuel given your german car, do you get 95 Octane in these far out regions or you have to make do with 91.

Thank you so much for the kind words! XP95 was availabe even in Leh and Kargil. But I stuck to regular 91 Octane petrol for the whole of the trip as I did not want to have an added burden of searching for 95 octane petrol. The car did perfectly fine on regular petrol.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Another superb travelogue graaja!...

Just one question, what is the final odo reading?

Thank you so much for the kind words! The odometer now reads 1,06,959

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Not sure if it is the same in Leh but the usual magnetic hill experience is if you leave the car in neutral with no handbrake, it will start rolling in what feels like an uphill direction.

It is an optical illusion due to the road and the scenery. You are usually rolling downhill.

Ah. Ok. That makes sense.

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

Wow, what a lifetime trip! Fantastic photos, especially the ones with the car against the snowy background. Lots of effort evident, congratulations, and thanks for sharing. By the way, did you happen to note down the total trip distance in kilometers?

Thank you for the kind words. I did not note down the initial and final odo readings. I just took the distances from Google maps for the table in the first post. This does not include my Umling La drive and some local sight seeing drives in Leh. So, the total should be around 9000 kilometers.

Originally Posted by arbaz906

Incredible!! What a journey and what a travelogue!...

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by BalaSNKL

Superb travelogue. Great pics and write up. Reminded me of things I did / experienced in my trips before and those I haven't. Guess, its time to plan another trip.

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by XDriver

Epic trip graaja! Congratulations on successful completion of this “Carathon” ! And kudos to the BMW for coming out with flying colours. The photography is simply awesome. Loved each frame. Astro shots are stunning. Thanks for sharing.
After reading this I realise how under utilised our cars are :-)

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[AKTransAM]

Amazing pics and a very entertaining read. Thanks for taking the time to put up the pics. Kudos on taking the BMW out there. Got to admit, I wouldn't have ever considered doing a trip like that unless it was in my truck.

[vignesh.cv]

Awesome travelogue graaja!! Loved the fact that you use your GT to the fullest, kudos to you !!

One question:- Are you running regular tubeless or RFTs ?

[Darkcloud]

It was great reading such a beautifully detailed post. The pictures and their quality are outstanding.

I’d be thankful if you could answer a few questions -
How are the crowds in Ladakh in October? Is it crowded like the earlier months, is it comparatively less crowded or is it empty?
Is it easy to get accommodation on the fly without pre booking in October?

Thank you for penning such a good travelogue!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by AKTransAM

Amazing pics and a very entertaining read. Thanks for taking the time to put up the pics. Kudos on taking the BMW out there. Got to admit, I wouldn't have ever considered doing a trip like that unless it was in my truck.

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

Awesome travelogue graaja!! Loved the fact that you use your GT to the fullest, kudos to you !!

One question:- Are you running regular tubeless or RFTs ?

Thank you for the kind words. I am running regular tubless tires. 225/50/18 in the front and 245/45/18 in the rear.

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

It was great reading such a beautifully detailed post. The pictures and their quality are outstanding.

I’d be thankful if you could answer a few questions -
How are the crowds in Ladakh in October? Is it crowded like the earlier months, is it comparatively less crowded or is it empty?
Is it easy to get accommodation on the fly without pre booking in October?

Thank you for penning such a good travelogue!

Thank you for the kind words! October is end of season. So absolutely no crowds. As I mentioned, I and my friend were the only people in the temple for more than 15 minutes. After that there were a couple of other tourists who wandered in. Accomodation is also not a problem at least in Leh. In places like Pangong and Hanle, most of the hotels are closed down. If you book in advance, they may stay open. You will still be able to find some or other accomodation. I would say last week of September or first week of October will be a better time.

[Darkcloud]

Originally Posted by graaja

I would say last week of September or first week of October will be a better time.

Thank you for the advice. I wish to travel to Ladakh when the crowds have reduced. You chose the perfect time I think.