[amitnair]

Beautiful narration and very good photos.

[F10D_Estilo]

Excellent write-up and Trip. Ladakh is one of my dream place to visit in life. It's only the distance from Hyderabad that is keeping us apart. But someday, I plan on challenging myself by taking one of my underpowered vehicle to Ladakh. A 2018 Bajaj Discover 110cc with 8.5Hp or 2008 Maruti Zen Estilo Vxi with 64Hp.

Reading about your experience, looks like you had to use first gear quite often and even that would not cut it if you lost momentum. All that action for a 2.2L Turbo Diesel with north of 250Nm torque and 4WD.

Do you think my Estilo would be able to manage Ladakh or am I asking a lot from it? Somehow, I have a strong feeling about my discover if provided with some meaty tyres.

[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Lovely travelogue. Hats off to your passion.

You mentioned you had put in 5w40 engine oil. That might be the reason why you had starting issues at high altitude. I had experimented with engine oil grades in my old Scorpio back in the day, and my experience with 5w40 mirrors yours. The standard 15w40 gave better and more consistent performance in the cold and thin air of high mountains. Easier starting, quicker warm up and better response.

Agree, that could be the reason. But engine oil was good and it still had life in it after 8,000 KMS.

Originally Posted by shatrughna

Awesome, inspiring , wonderful, detailed and fluid , read it in 1 go. Thank you for sharing- I am sure it will motivate many fence sitters like me.

I was on the fence on this for a long time. I just made up my mind to go come what may.

Originally Posted by MGSP

Your travelogue is prompting me to get adventurous again. Earlier 2018 I drove in car 'Bangalore - Amritsar - Srinagar - Leh - Turtuk and back via Manali' in 15-days (will share details in a separate thread, coming days).

For coming season I've modified New Wagon-R 1.2L AMT into a proper camper, enabling ~7 footer to drive and sleep comfortably (will share modification details in a separate thread) and thinking of tracing your route in 10-days?.

You have a good car, WagonR is spacious, light weight and AGS is a boon for long distances. 10 days might be difficult starting from BLR, but will be adventourous for sure. Have fun, that's most important...!!

Originally Posted by gopa99

Amazing thread. I salute your courage to make it solo. And the best part is you could even help a stuck SUV to rescue it and even ferry army people around.

Ya, all this adds up to the journey memorable. I never say no army people.

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Great solo trip !! I will do a solo Zanskar in motorcycle (not by choice but by condition ), Planning to start the trip in late May, I don't have any timelines so I will make it a 20 day trip with ample stops in-between. And maybe stay here and there, meet friends on the way to Zanskar and on my way back - a quite laid back trip I must say. Your writeup was what I needed to plan it solo, otherwise I was looking for groups etc but nothing of that sort was a complete fit to my requirement.

This writeup helped in making up my mind !!

I am happy it helped you and others to try.

Motorcycle has it's own challenges, especially travelling solo. My initial plan was ride my Himlayan, but being alone, exposed to weather, unable to travel distances compelled me to take Scorpio. But, on second thought i think i could have done it. Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by Bageera

What a beautiful read to start a Monday morning, and what an incredible journey you had! It always gives me a sense of emotion when I see the oldies - previous-generation Scorpios and Safaris, especially in the 4WD format - still chugging along and taking on challenging trips like this. I have always had a soft corner for this generation of the Scorpio, particularly the LX in its 4WD guise with those stock steel rims.

We also traveled to Ladakh in August 2024 during the floods, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the crowds were minimal. We did the trip in our 2014 Tata Safari Storme 4WD and had an incredible time - memories that will last a lifetime.

Signing off with a few images from our trip, with no intention of hijacking your thread.

Hoping to meet you on the road someday!

You have a nice ride. Storme is what i call last real SUV from Tata.

The 2.2 are a gem of engine, they gobble up KMS like anything and low torque is so good.

Would definitely love to meet you on the road.

Originally Posted by W.S.T.R.

Hats off to you. Read an amazing solo travelogues after quiet a long time.

You have got an amazing set of wheels and the passion to live & travel with them. Hope to cross roads with Kariya(and yourself) some day, somewhere.

Keep safe, keep travelling.

Thanks. Kariya is what keeps me going when the going get tough

Originally Posted by F10D_Estilo

Excellent write-up and Trip. Ladakh is one of my dream place to visit in life. It's only the distance from Hyderabad that is keeping us apart. But someday, I plan on challenging myself by taking one of my underpowered vehicle to Ladakh. A 2018 Bajaj Discover 110cc with 8.5Hp or 2008 Maruti Zen Estilo Vxi with 64Hp.

Reading about your experience, looks like you had to use first gear quite often and even that would not cut it if you lost momentum. All that action for a 2.2L Turbo Diesel with north of 250Nm torque and 4WD.

Do you think my Estilo would be able to manage Ladakh or am I asking a lot from it? Somehow, I have a strong feeling about my discover if provided with some meaty tyres.

Although 2.2l has good torque it weighs more than 2 tonnes, that's a disadvantage when the air gets thinner at high altitudes.

Zen Estilo should have a good power to weight ratio. It should be doable as long as you stick to the main roads and slight offroad. There are people who have done in Alto as well. Going in motorcycle is different ball game. Good luck in your travel plans.

[GolakaGo]

Enjoyed the travelogue thoroughly!! What a feeling it must have been to do the trip solo! I love the pictures too. I'm just curious that since Kariya is more than 10 years old, did you have to keep that into consideration while choosing your route to get to and from Ladakh to avoid certain tolls or restrictions for diesel vehicles of that age?!

[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by GolakaGo

Enjoyed the travelogue thoroughly!! What a feeling it must have been to do the trip solo! I love the pictures too. I'm just curious that since Kariya is more than 10 years old, did you have to keep that into consideration while choosing your route to get to and from Ladakh to avoid certain tolls or restrictions for diesel vehicles of that age?!

Yes, I was aware of such restrictions only in NCR area, which I completely bypassed by taking the Trans Haryana highway.

[GolakaGo]

Originally Posted by gypsyFreak

Yes, I was aware of such restrictions only in NCR area, which I completely bypassed by taking the Trans Haryana highway.

Thank you! There's still hope for us having oldies in our stables 😂