bangalore to ladakh road trip plan

A journey far and beyond: Road trip from Bangalore to Leh on a Royal Enfield.

On the 21st of August 2015 me and my wife Sumera Shariff, started a journey to explore India on a motorbike. The trip wasn't about the destination for us but the ride through the veins of India to feel the heartbeat of my incredible country. Bangalore to Leh on Royal Enfield motorbike... A journey far and beyond...

The route:-

Day 1 - Bangalore - Hubli - Goa , Day 2 - Rest Day, Day 3 - Goa - Ratnagiri - Mumbai , Day 4&5 - Rest Day, Day 6 - Mumbai -Surat - Kapadvanj , Day 7 - Kapadvanj - Modasa - Udaipur - Ajmer , Day 8 - Ajmer - Jaipur - Delhi , Day 9 - Rest Day, Day 10- Delhi - Chandigarh - Amritsar - Wagah - Amritsar, Day 11 - Amritsar - Jammu - Banihal , Day 12 - Banihal - Pahalgam - Srinagar , Day 13 - Srinagar - Sonmarg - Zoji La Pas - Dras - Kargil , Day 14 - Kargil - Fotu La Pas - Lamayuru - Nimmu - Leh, Day 15 - Leh - Khardung La Pas - Khalsar - Panamik - Diskit , Day 16 - Diskit - Hunder - Leh, DAY 17 - Leh - Shey - Karu - Chang La - Tangste - Spangmik - Pangong Tso, Day 18 - Pangong Tso - Leh, Day 19 - Leh - Karu - Gya - Tanglang La - Pang - Lachulung La - Sarchu, DAY 20 - Sarchu - Baralacha La - Zingzingbar - Jispa - Keylong - Rohtang Pass - Manali , Day 21 – Manali - Kullu - Mandi - Bilaspur - Chandigarh, Day 22 - Chandigarh - Delhi - Agra - Jhansi , Day 23 - Jhansi - Sagar - Nagpur, Day 24 - Nagpur - Adilabad - Hyderabad , Day 25 - Hyderabad - Bangalore.

Day 1 - Bangalore - Hubli - Goa

I Landed in Bangalore from Dubai around 4.30 AM although we planned to leave by 10.00AM we started our much awaited journey at 11.30AM. We stopped around 1.30 for lunch on the highway between Chitra Durg and Davangere . The ride until Davengere was pleasant and clear skies welcomed us but trouble is something unexpected and it struck us around 70 kms before Hubli, thunder storm with heavy rainfall we couldn't even find a shade or roof to save ourselves from getting drenched. An idea struck my mind, we were carrying a blue plastic sheet to wrap our luggage so i just parked the bike aside and we sat on the bike with the sheet covering us entirely, we sat that way for almost an hour until the rain gods showed some mercy and we continued our journey. It was almost sunset when we approached Hubli, although my wife insisted that we stay put in Hubli for the night but somehow i wasn't keen on stopping and thought that reaching the targeted destination will keep us on schedule. We left the AH47 to turn right after Hubli, it was drizzling and roads were wet and slippery and i was riding at a speed between 80 to 100 and we met an accident at a steep turn, my wife was thrown towards the road and i along with the bike fell off the road on stones and wet mud, the bike's headlight broke and i was struggling to get up since my right leg was under the bike and my wife couldn't gather strength to lift the bike single handedly then luckily there was a person passing by on another bike and my wife stopped him and asked for help and he was kind enough to help us out and we followed his bike's tail light since our headlight gave way and the roads were full of fog due to rain and i am still not sure how I managed to drive with the excruciating pain in my knee and hand. We reached Ponda around 12.30AM and on upon checking into the hotel room i realize the kind of wounds i had on me, fortunately my wife escaped with small bruises on her knee. We had carried a first aid box along and did the dressing and retired for the day.

Day 2 - Rest Day in Goa

Although the rest day wasn't scheduled, it was taken coz of last night's disaster, bike's headlight was broken and we discovered that one part of the baggage carrier was broken too so we packed our bags to leave to Panaji . We found the Royal Enfield Showroom with a service station attached but Goa being a laid back city the place was shut for lunch so went looking for a welding shop to get the carrier fixed. The carrier was fixed really quick and we headed back to the service station and left the bike and took a walk to a near by restaurant to satiate our hunger, we relished upon some prawn vindaloo and steamed rice. the bike was ready and my wife insisted that I visit a doctor to get a proper dressing done for the wounds and also take a tetanus injection so went looking for a clinic or a hospital and we were informed that everything is shut until 4:00PM for lunch I wonder what people in this city do in case of an emergency coz coming from a city like Dubai where such services are available 24/7 i was a bit astonished. We decided to check into the same resort in Baga that we have been staying during the last 2 visits and this was the 3rd year in a row. After leaving the baggage in the room we walked hunting for a clinic which upon reaching saw a long queue of patients awaiting their turn our plan to head to the beach after the visit was postponed indefinitely, it was already 8:00PM by the time we got out so we decided to have our dinner at the restaurant in the resort that we stayed. We had a nice candle light dinner, it was a karaoke night at the restaurant so i decided to croon a number for my wife as she had asked me for it since we got married and my wife was smiling ear to ear throughout.

Day 3 - Goa to Mumbai

We had two options to ride to Mumbai. One is the NH17 and the other route was the NH 4 which runs along the coast line from Goa to Mumbai. This route was longer than NH17 but we decided to take it because it had challenging roads and at the same time you could enjoy the beauty of Goa - Mumbai coastal line. NH4 distance between Goa and Mumbai is about 610Kms and the roads has sharp bends and curves where you need to ride in a very slow pace. Therefore, we started from Goa by 5:00AM so that by sunset we could reach Mumbai. Trust me! it was worth riding through that road. The roads were perfect to ride except few places here and there. The route has black and white sand beaches throughout, lush green mountains, straight stretches of roads, rivers and a lot of bridges to ride through, ferry crossing and more... If you are a rider, you should ride through this route at least once in a lifetime. We had our lunch in Ratnagiri, a place is very famous for black sand beaches and temples. We used the ferry to cross river in places called Jaigad and in Dabhol . This ferry crossings helped us to save almost 80Kms and it was worth the experience to cross the river in a ferry. It was about 2:00pm when we reached Dapoli and from there we had to cover a distance more than 200 km to reach Mumbai. We wanted to further ride through the coastal line road but it would have been difficult to reach Mumbai as per our schedule if we did that. We started to move away from the NH 4 and took the road connecting Dapoli - Kadivali - Mandangad -Goregaon and then took the NH66 Pen. It took about 3 hours for us to cover this distance. From Pen - Panvel - Mumbai made us tired because of the traffic we had to ride through. Finally at 6:30 in the evening we reached CST, Mumbai where we had our stay arranged.

Route: NH4 :- Baga - Anjuna - Shiroda - Vengurla - Malvan - Devgad - Ambolghad - Pawas - Ratnagiri - Ganpatipule - Jaigad - Guhagar - Dhabol - Dapoli - Kadivali - Mangangad - Goregaon - Pen - Panvel - Mumbai

Day 4 - Rest Day in Mumbai

A rest day in Mumbai was a must because it is one of the favorite cities of my wife and it was long since we both visited Mumbai. We got out in the afternoon to explore the city. Although i have been to Mumbai several times but never had a chance to see places in Mumbai. We decided to give rest for our Bike and took a taxi to roam around the city. We spent some time at the Gateway of India, Marine Drive and Haji Ali Dargah. Went to the famous Haji Ali Juice Center to taste flavors and then took a taxi back to the place we where staying. The next day we wanted to leave early as we planned to ride to Vadodara , Gujarat from Mumbai. So we finished all our packing before we dozed off.

Day 5 - Unexpectedly Held Up in Mumbai

As scheduled, we left the place in Mumbai at 6:00 in the morning. It was very cloudy and drizzling when we started. We wanted to ride through the Marine drive and take the skyline bridge to connect NH 8 to Vadodara. But it wasn't meant to be... Firstly the rain stopped us near marine drive for about an hour. it was pouring. Once the rain stopped, we continued through the Marine drive to take the skyline bridge. But unfortunately we couldn't take the bridge because the bikes where not allowed to ride through that bridge. We took the alternate route to connect NH8 then near Mahim Darga the unexpected happened. The bike broke down, it wasn't starting... I checked all the basic knobs of the bike to understand that the bike got some electrical problem. it was 8:00 in the morning and finding a mechanic at that time was difficult. i spoke to some of the locals there and got to know that there is a Royal Enfield service station just about 5 minutes away, near the Mahim Station. We pushed the bike until the service station and was lucky to have this place so close to where the bike broke down. We had to wait outside the service station for almost 3 hours because the service station opens at 11:00AM! It was very tiring and frustrating for us to be held up like that. Finally at 11:00AM the station opened and the mechanics started looking through the bike to find out the problem. I thought it will be fixed in an hour's time but i was wrong. it was 2:00PM in the afternoon and the mechanics were still trying to find out the root cause. We had our lunch at a place nearby. Now it seemed impossible to continue our journey as per the schedule. We decided to call it a day and stayed back in Mumbai to continue the journey the next day. My wife took a taxi and went back to place where we stayed yesterday. I stayed at the service station and finally at 5:00PM they managed to fix the bike. We ended up changing the entire electric cable set of the bike because it was impossible to find the root cause of the short circuit.

Day 6 - Mumbai to Kapadvanj(Gujarat)

It was not the route as per our plan. we had planned to ride to Vadodara from Mumbai. except 30-40 kilometers from Mumbai the highway was good until Surat. We stopped for a tea just about 15km before Surat. A small discussion with the locals at the tea shop helped us to understand the seriousness of the current situation all over Gujarat. We decided to ride further through the highway hoping that there will not be any problem from the protesters to the travelers but we where wrong! after another 10km ride, just before a toll gate we saw the vehicles taking a U Turn from the double lane highway! we understood that the situation is not right for us to ride further so we also took a U Turn and started to ride back. We really didn't know what to do at that point of time and we where just looking for a safe place to stop. luckily, we saw a police crime branch office on the opposite side of the highway and decided to go there to take some time out and think about the next plan of action to get out of Gujarat. We spoke to a few officers at the crime branch office and got multiple advises. they advised us to find a hotel on the highway and stay back in Gujarat until the things get settled. but i thought it was not an option right now because it could get you stuck in Gujarat for days. So i decided to check the alternative routes to get out of state. finally we found a route which was a longer route through the villages of Gujarat to reach Rajasthan . We rode almost 700km that day under the desperation to get out of Gujarat. We saw rallies taking place in and around the routes we took with very risky circumstances. At about 7:00PM in the evening we reached a village called Balasinor and stopped there for fuel and tea. We still had to cover another 120Km to enter to Rajasthan. We both were very tired due to the long journey so far but we had to push ourselves to a safe place before we rest for the day. luckily after speaking to the guys from the restaurant where we had our tea, we got go know that riding further is very dangerous and it was better to find a place to rest and ride early morning to get out of Gujarat. These guys where so helpful and kind that they helped us to find a guest house to stay over night in another village called Kapadvanj which was about 15Km away from that restaurant. it wasn't easy to check-in to that guest house because they where not ready to give the rooms due to the tension around. finally we manage to convince them and gave all our identity documents to hire the room for the night. We were tired till the toe, crashed and slept off like babies.

Day 7 Kapadvanj - Udaipur - Ajmer

While leaving Kapadvanj at 5:30 in the morning we had only one thing on our mind. "Getting out of Gujarat!". We had to ride through Madosa which is the most effected village in Gujarat due to the tension. With God's grace we managed to cross Madosa and the Gujarat-Rajasthan boarder without any problem. We felt so relieved and happy after entering Rajasthan. Rode all the way to white city ,Udaipur and had our breakfast moving around the city. Explored the Udaipur city palace overlooking the Lake Pichola, the grandeur and beautiful architecture left us awestruck. We also visited the vintage and classic car collection at the Udaipur Palace, since we reached Udaipur by 10 in the morning and finished having a look ar couple of places by 12.30 PM, we decided to ride till Ajmer before sun set and rest there. The roads where very good from Udaipur to Ajmer. Had our lunch on the way in the highway and reached Ajmer 5:00PM. Took a hotel room to stay over night. Got fresh and then visited the Ajmer Darga. Had dinner and got back in the hotel to switch off for the day.

Day 8 Ajmer - Jaipur - Delhi

As expected the roads where good from Ajmer to Jaipur. Reached Jaipur by 10:00 AM. By the day 8 we had already done 2600+ kilometers and It was time for the bike's service. We directly went to the Royal Enfield service station in Jaipur to get the scheduled service done. Dropped the bike at the service station and got out to explore the pink city, Jaipur in a auto rickshaw. Went through the old pink city gate of Jaipur to see the famous Amer Fort. It was a must visit place if anyone visits Jaipur. The fort was worth seeing. Then we headed back to the Service station to pick up the Bike. The bike was serviced and ready to ride further. 2:00 PM in the afternoon we started from Jaipur to Delhi. It was never expected to have such a bad highway to reach the capital of India! The road was dusty, polluted and the traffic was horrible! It took 7 hours or more to cover the distance because of the above mentioned reasons! It was planned to meet one of my very good friend, Arjun Sandhu. We used to work and stay together for years while we where in London , UK. It was almost after 8 years that we were meeting and i was so excited about it. He was so kind to arrange us a stay in his office space. It wasn't easy to find a hotel stay that night due to the Rakhi festival happening and moreover we just needed a place to crash after the tiring ride from Jaipur to Delhi. We reached his place by 10:00 PM, dropped the bags at his place and went for dinner with his wife Richa Sandhu and brother Anand Sandhu. After dinner we got back to the place he arranged for us to spend the night.

Day 9 - Rest Day in Delhi

It was 9 days since we started our ride and it was obvious to have so many dirty clothes to wash! i found a laundry nearby and took all the dirty clothes there for washing. There was another major issue which was disturbing our minds to ride further. Due to the 8 long days journey on a motorbike and being a pillion rider my wife developed severe pain in her spine, it was hard for her to bare it. I could see how badly she was struggling to manage on the motorbike. We moved out of Arjun's place and took a hotel room. it was very important for us to talk and decide how to go about further with the ride. finally we mutually decided that I will continue the ride from Delhi and she will take rest for the next couple of days and if the her pain settles then she will join me wherever i am or else she will take a flight back to Bangalore. Arjun had invited us for dinner out that night. Arjun, Anand and his sister Aradhika were there to have dinner with us. we had a great time with them. We cant thank them enough for the hospitality. They treated us like heroes! :-)

Day 10 - Delhi - Amritsar, Punjab

It was very hard for me to leave my wife and walk out of the hotel room to continue the ride. I was missing her presence throughout the ride. The bike was light now because of lesser baggage and no pillion. I was riding on an average of 80km. After Riding through some part of Haryana i entered Punjab. After entering Punjab I started feeling the happiness in the air. The people in Punjab was so welcoming and fun loving. I was stopped at so many places in Punjab by the locals just to ask about my trip and click pictures with me, I felt like a celebrity :-P . The roads where amazing to ride through i reached Amritsar by 4:00PM and rode all the way to Wagah Boarder to witness the parade. It was very hot and humid in Amritsar. The parade is one amazing event which every Indian must witness. I was pumped after the parade and I decided to carry an Indian flag on my bike for the rest of my journey.

After the parade I went near the Golden Temple in Amritsar and found a Place to stay overnight. Got fresh and went to visit the Golden Temple. I felt so welcomed by the people in the Temple because of their good gesture and kindness. Had dinner in restaurant and hit bed early.

Day 11 - Amristar, Punjab - Verinag, Jammu and Kashmir

I started the day by visiting the Jalianwala Bagh by 7:00 in the morning. It was impossible for me to leave Amritsar without visiting one of the most historical places in the Independence of India. It was hardly 5 minutes walk from the Golden Temple, spent some time at the Jalianwala bagh to pay respect to the martyrs. Started Riding from Amritsar towards Jammu just after breakfast. It didn't take much time for me to reach the Punjab - Jammu and Kashmir Boarder. I could see the Himalayan Terrains from far. From the time i entered Jammu and Kashmir, the entire landscape changed. i felt like i was riding in the Himalayas already. There were good and bad roads on and off and the beauty of Jammu and Kashmir slowly started to smile and welcome me. The Indian Army soldiers and trucks started showing up on the road more than the civilians and civilian vehicles. The air and the sky in Kashmir was so clean compared to the road i rode for the last 10 days. The roads were narrow with sharp bends and curves which made me ride slow, had my Lunch after crossing the city of Jammu. Whie having my lunch i realized that my phone network is no longer working after entering Jammu. The locals in Jammu told me that only the local sims or postpaid sims work in Jammu. i went to a mobile shop in jammu and bought a local sim card after giving the identity document copies. I called up my wife to inform about the new number. She told me that she was trying to get in touch with me to let me know that she is now ok and will take a flight tomorrow morning to Srinagar joining me to continue the ride with me. i thought i will be able to reach Srinagar before sunset but after riding through Udampur and Patnitop i managed to cross the Jawahar Tunnel near Banihal by 7:00PM only. This tunnel is the entrance to Kashmir Valley by road. There are two tunnels one in each direction of vehicle movement. Total length of Jawahar tunnel is 2.5KM. It takes 5 Minutes to cross the tunnel. Both ends of the tunnels are heavily guarded by security personals. After crossing the tunnel i realized that it is not possible for me to ride any further in the night because of the cold weather and road. So i decided to look for a place to stay over night. unfortunately, it was not the area i could easily find a place to stay. Finally i reached a truck halting place called Verinag. I got a matchbox sized room there to stay over night. Had dinner from the roadside dhaba and spent the night.

Day 12 Verinag, Jammu and Kashmir - Pehelgham - Srinagar

As my wife was expected to land in Srinagar by 12:00PM , I decided to ride to Pahalgam and then ride to Srinagar. It was definitely worth visiting Pahalgam. The landscape in Pahalgam is so beautiful and breath taking that it makes you dream about heaven. It was truly the heaven on Earth. The amount of military trucks and soldiers in that area are intimidating at times but when you look around and see the beauty of Pahalgam, it makes you forget the rest of the things around you.

I reached Srinagar by 1:30PM and by then my wife had already landed and took a cab to reach Lal Chowk. We directly went to the most famous Dal Lake and took a house boat to stay overnight. Took some rest in the afternoon and explored the Dal Lake and surrounding areas in a Shikara.

Day 13 - Srinagar - kargil

Just before we started to ride, the feel of taking on toughest Himalayan terrain was already kicked into our minds. We knew that the ride for the next one week is going to test us in all aspects. Having my wife back was a biggest boost for me to take on any challenge. We started early in the morning from Dal Lake. Rode through Sonamarg , the weather was perfect to ride. After passing a village called Wayul we saw the Sind river flowing for the first time. The green topped Kashmir Valley and the roads just before we reached Zozila Pass was just perfect. About 20km around Zozila Pass was bad. It was the first test on my ability to take on such roads. It was difficult for me to balance on those because i had a pillion rider and almost 40kgs baggage! but the machine i was riding was perfect for those roads and she was carrying us with ease. She started to make me fall in love with her.

We had a short stopover on top of Zoji La Pass to enjoy the beauty around. We were already 11,640FT above the sea level. Just after Zoji La Pas we noticed that there is a very dramatic change in the landscape. The greenery around us faded away and dry, dark brown mountains had taken over. The roads throughout from there on were good and bad on and off, especially in Baltal . As per the schedule we reached Drass town by lunch. Drass known to be second coldest inhabited place in the world! In peak winter the temperature there drops upto -60 degrees which impossible for humans to survive there at that time of the year. We saw so many families walking on the road, carrying all thier belongings on ponys. One family told me that they are going to Jammu because the winter is around the corner and it will not be possible for them to stay there. I asked them how long does it take to reach Jammu, they replied, a month by walk! This conversation with them made me realize how lucky and blessed we all are. We keep complaining for what we don't have and always want more. These people are showing us what is life is all about. Appreciate what we have and be thankful to life.

The Kargil war memorial was the next destination we stopped. was just 5kms away from Drass town. The memorial is beside the famous Tololing Hill. The memorial has a huge epitaph with names of all the officers and soldiers who died in war. The martyrs grave yard made me feel extremely respectful to Indian Army for putting their lives in front to save ours. Slowly the temperature started dropping as the evening approached. We reached Kargil town by 5:00PM and took a decent hotel room for the night to spend. The shops and restaurants in Kargil close very early. Because of that we only managed to find some roadside food to kill the hunger for the night. The hotel we stayed was on the shores of Suru River and the flow of the river was loud that we could hear throughout the night.

Day 14 - Kargil - Leh

The first major town we reached after leaving from Kargil was the Mulbek which has a Huge statue of "Future Buddha" known to be build in the 8th century on a single rock. just a few minutes ride from Mulbek we passed through the Namika La (12,198ft) which has breathtaking view around you. About 42Km from there we reached the highest pass on the Srinagar- Leh Highway which is the Fotu La Pas(13, 479ft). The next stop was at the Lamayuru village which is home to one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh, dating back to the 10th century. Around the Lamayuru there is a very unique landscape known as the Moonland which gives you a feeling that you are standing on Moon. Further up we reached Nimmu Village, where we saw the famous confluence of Indus and Zanskar River. The Indus was was looking clean and green while the Zanskar was wild and muddy. After Nimmo the roads were pretty ok and straight until Leh. We rode through the magnetic hill and felt the magnetic force pulling the bike uphill. It was an experience which cannot be described but felt. It took another 45 mins for us to reach the Beautiful Leh Town. It was only afternoon when we reached Leh. So after checking in in a hotel I decided to go out and get some very important tools which we must for the journey ahead. The next few days we will be riding through one of the most difficult and remote terrains in Leh,Ladakh which is prone for bike breakdowns due to the uneven, slippery, rocky and muddy roads ahead. So i went out and brought some of the important tools to carry in case of any breakdowns, We had our dinner at the hotel we where stayed that night and went to bed.

Day 15 - Leh - Nubra Valley

This ride was a mixed bag of emotions. We started from Leh at 6:00AM. It was very cold and windy. The roads started pealing and fading away as we approached the uphill roads of the highest motorable road in the world. It was getting tougher every minute to ride further because of the deadly roads and the weather. After having stopped at North Pullu for permission to ride further the weather dramatically started to drop. For the first time in the journey I felt the biting cold. My hands where frozen inside and was very hard to ride on. The oxygen level was dropping every meter we go uphill and it was making difficult for us to breath. After fighting out hard finally we reached the highest point of the world's highest motorable road, The Kardung La Top (18,380 ft above the sea level). It was an amazing feeling to achieve that feat and thought me a very valuable lesson for life that "there will be always a lot of obstacles and reasons around to stop you from what you what to do or achieve in your life. But if you have the determination, passion and courage to overcome all these, then you can conquer anything and everything in life". within 5 minutes of time at Kardung La Top my wife developed altitude sickness and we left immediately. We rode away from Kardung La Top. Even though riding on the high altitude for the last 4 days and acclimatization to the weather, it didn't help her to stay stable in Kardung La Pas. This shows toughness of the Terrain we are riding on. After a careful ride downhill from Kardung La Pas we reached the South Pullu military base camp where military officers were serving free hot tea for the travelers. That one cup of tea really helped us to regain our breath and gave some heat in our body.

Riding further down we reached a place called Khalsar which is connecting the silk route to Pakistan and further to the china border is the most beautiful ride. It took us through the mesmerizing Nubra Valley which is known to be the gateway to Heaven. The low altitude landscape was breath taking!. We rode all the way till a village called Panamik which is famous for the hot water springs. Its really amusing to see and feel the hot water coming down the hill and still remaining hot in such weather conditions. The road from Panamik heads to Siachen Glacier Base Camp, but civilians are not allowed to visit there. So we turned back to Khalsar to go towards the Pakistan border, Turtuk . It was already 5:00 in the evening and we managed to get to a Diskit village before sunset, took a hotel there to rest for the night.

If you haven't been to Nubra valley while your trip to Ladakh, you are almost missing out on the heart of the Ladakh.

Day 16 Diskit- Hunder - Leh

We were dead tired due to the ride yesterday, so it took longer than usual to get back the energy to ride back to Leh. A place called Hunder is just about 14kms from the place where we were staying. Hunder is famous for white sand dunes and the double humped camels known as the Bactrian Camels. A ride on the camel through the white sand dunes is a must and is a wonderful experience. On our way back from Hunder to Leh we saw the 106 feet tall Buddha statue in Diskit. Now you know that you have to ride back through the roads you came yesterday to get back to Leh will create a physiological feeling in your mind which will make you prepared better for what to overcome. The ride back was quicker because of the awareness of the road conditions in that area. Relived the emotions once again what we went through yesterday. Except an hour delay in Kardung La Pas Due to landslide, rest of the ride was nothing dramatic than expected. We reached back in Leh before the sunset, took a room in the same hotel where we stayed the last time and went out in the evening to explore Leh market and have dinner.

Day 17 - Leh - Pan Gong Tso Lake

The route to Pang Gong Lake is not has challenging or scenic as compared to the route to Nubra Valley. After 35km ride from Leh you get the first deviation from a small town called Karu. You need to register your information at the Karu Military base to go further. After taking the next deviation from Skati, in 35km of ride we reached the 3rd highest motorable road in the world know as the Chang La Pass (17,688ft above the sea level). The weather and altitude was ok there comparatively to Kardung La Pas. After Chang La Pass the roads are bad on and off. From a place called Tangtse a deviation to smaller to Pan Gong Lake will motivate you that you are closer to the most beautiful lake in the world. the roads are good from Tangtse until the Lake. You get to see wild horses and Yaks while riding through that road. We started feeling little low after riding from Leh towards Pan Gong Tso Lake because the route was not as scenic as compared to the route to Nubra Valley. So we even started thinking that is it really worth to ride all the way just to see a Lake! oh boy we were wrong when we saw the first view of the Pangong Lake from far!!!! That view brought the smile and energy back in us to ride further. The spread of blue is endless, its a sight to behold. As soon as we reached, we started looking for the best place to hire tents to stay overnight. We found a very beautifully located tent setup just on the lake shore. We hired a tent there for the night, kept our bags inside the tent and went near the lake to feel the most perfect place on earth.

Although the tents that we hired we comfortable but there was no power at 10 PM since the lights work on a generator and are switched off. Although I managed to get a good sleep my wife was Terrified because the wind was blowing too hard which made her feel that it will blow the tent away, she kept waking me up at regular intervals since she is scared of darkness and it was pitch dark, nothing around was visible. That night for her was dreadful.

Day 18 - Pan Gong Tso Lake - Leh

I had mixed feelings while riding back from Pan Gong Lake to Leh. This will be the last ride for my wife as she was taking a flight from Leh back to Bangalore the next morning. It was not easy for a pillion rider to ride through one of the most dangerous terrains in the world. it speaks volume about the trust, confidence and belief she had in me as a rider to sit calm, steady as a pillion. She stood strong even at times when i felt it was difficult. She gave me the strength to ride on and to face all the obstacles that came on our way. I don't think this ride from day 1 would have been this smooth if she wasn't there with me.

Reached back in Leh early which gave us time to walk through the Leh Market once again and had dinner with a couple we met in Pan Gong Lake who are also from Bangalore. I met with another gentleman in Leh Market who is from Mumbai and he also joined us for dinner. After getting back in the hotel room we finished unpacking and packing her stuff separately as she was catching an early morning flight to Bangalore connecting Delhi.

A trip to Leh - Ladakh is not just a journey its an experience which will be cherished throughout your lifetime, it will leave a dent on your mind. A nostalgia will be remain forever.

Day 19 - Leh - Sarchu

After dropping my wife at the airport I took the road to Manali which is known to be the most deadliest road to ride. The best part was the guy whom i met in Leh joined me as a pillion rider to Manali. His name is Naresh and he joined me because he wanted to experience the Leh - Manali Highway once again as he traveled through that road 10 years back. He had his flight booked from Delhi to Mumbai, So he decided to ride with me until Manali and take a bus from Manali to Delhi.

We stopped in Karu for breakfast, filled the tank and also carried extra petrol in cans. we knew that this ride is not going to be that easy to complete. After moving out from Karu the roads started to disappear. These muddy roads were narrow and dangerous, trucks and buses pass through the road. You have to save yourself from falling a good few hundred meters down or getting rubbed against the mountain walls. It was clearly visible that the harsh winter is around the corner as some of the hills were covered with snow and the roads were wet and slippery because of the ice formation on shiny rocks which we were riding on. The uncertain weather conditions and horrible roads was making us ride even slower than expected. But above all these hurdles the enchanting valleys, rugged terrains, picturesque mountains and scenic landscapes was amusing and encouraging us to ride further.

We reached One of the highest mountain passes in the Ladakh region, the Tanglang La pass, which is the highest pass on the Leh - Manali Highway and the 2nd Highest motorable road in the world. You will be able to experience the feeling on riding above the clouds and approaching close to the doors to go out of sky. The way down from Tanglang La Pass was very steep and slippery. The weather was already below zero in the afternoon and it was dropping further as the time went by. We reached Pang by 1:00 PM and stopped there for lunch. The scenery of this place is breathtakingly different any other place in Leh - Manali Highway. There is one straight stretch road in Pang which is more than 20 km long! the ride though that road was truly amazing.

The next was the Lachulung La which welcomed us with the water crossing which has very unpredictable force of flow which can easily make your bike float and slip off and drop a certain to death. Luckily we didn't have to face the brute force of that water crossing because the flow is lesser during the afternoons. We were already feeling the brutal weather condition but the shadow games played by the sun and the mountain was entertaining us. The next 40km stretch through the Gata loops until Sarchu was the most difficult test of my physical and mental strength and the ability to overcome the obstacles in life. My hands and legs froze and I was not able to move them to ride the bike, my neck and back muscles were sore and my bones and joints started to pain badly. I wanted to get to Sarchu as soon as possible and find a place to rest for the night but it felt like ages to cover that stretch to reach Sarchu. Finally at 7:00 in the evening we reached a tent in Sarchu. i just got out of the bike and ran inside the tent to get some heat for my body because i was freezing to death! the temperature was dropped drastically during the evening and it was -10 or below while we reached Sarchu. The family which was mananging the tent gave us hot tea and some blankets to cover ourself to stop shivering. The shivering continued for about 15 minutes until the blanket and the tea started helping me to regain myself. They prepared and gave us a very nice dinner to kill our hunger. Straight after the dinner I got inside my sleeping bag and put more blankets on top of the sleeping bag to help me beat the cold. Naresh was also feeling the same but not to the level I was. He discussed the journey so far and try to close our eyes to get some sleep.

I was mentally and physically tired due to the most horrible ride of my life. I wanted to get some sleep so badly but there was something unexpected was waiting for me to experience. As the night went by the temperature dropped below -20 degrees and the wind blowing outside was so strong that it was literally shaking our tent and felt like we will fly away any minute. I was half asleep and started feeling something magnetic around me. I felt like someone is holding my neck so tightly and I struggling to breath. I could see myself in a dark, remote and empty land calling out for help. I wanted to wake up from my sleep but i was not able to. My neck was feeling so heavy and i was not able to move my hands and legs. Somehow i managed to open my eyes but around me was pitch dark and the sound from the wind hitting on the tent was triggering my fear to close my eyes to get some sleep. i really don't how i managed to get through that night but all i know was i lived and died every single minute of that night.

Day 20 - Sarchu - Manali

After the early morning tea we started our ride to Manali. It was very difficult for me to forget what i went through last night and ride with a fresh mind. It took sometime on the road for me to understand and put my concentration back on road other than what happened last night.

The next highest pass we pass through was the Baralacha La Pas which is surrounded the mountains of Pir Panjal and Himalayas. this place is also famous for the Suraj Tal Trek. ZingZing Bar is one of the highest roadside bars in the world. It was truly the most peaceful place in Leh Manali highway where i found myself back completely from the trauma i went through last night. Jispa was the next on the way and it had a charm of scenic stretch beside the Chandra river. The lush greenery and valleys around Jispa was telling me that the mother nature is calling me back home. The scenic views and the high mountain ranges was getting rich through the way from Jispa to Keylong and beyond. finally we started to go uphill to the famous Rohtang Pass which is the last Pass to complete before i complete the Leh - Manali Highway. Rohtang Pass is famous for the snow capped mountains but unfortunately it had melted and clearly the signs of global warming was visible. The next 50kms to Manali was filled with local tourists and vehicles from Manali. The downhill road were peaceful and the atmosphere brought back the thougts in my mind from last night and made me realize how lucky i was to be alive after riding through the most dangerous Himalayas for the last 10 days. It brought a strong belief in my mind that i can face and overcome any type of situation in life.

Day 21 - Manali - Chandigarh

It was time for the bike to go through the next major service done. I found the Royal Enfield service station on the old Manali hill top. The bike also has some minor issues which were expected after taking on the Himalayas. The mechanic fixed the bike and by the time we left from Manali, it was already 2:00PM. By the way, As planned, my pillion rider Naresh was suppose to take a bus from Manali to Delhi to catch his flight to Mumbai. But he said he prefer to ride with me rather than taking a bus. So we started from Manali and passed through Kullu and reached Mandi by 6:00PM. The Himachal roads where so welcoming and not so welcoming at times. The road and the traffic from Belaspur until Nalagrah was very bad due the number of trucks that run through that route. It was 11:00pm when we reached the center of Chandigarh city. Took a hotel room to spend the night.

Day 22 Chandigarh - Jhansi

Naresh had to catch a 1:30PM flight from Delhi. so leaving early in the morning was important. We left from Chandigarh very early and had our breakfast somewhere on the way. The roads were amazing. so we managed to reach Delhi by 11:00AM. I dropped Naresh to the nearest metro station and said goodbye to him. He was truly a friend to be around and the time we spent together riding definitely made us friends for life!

I wanted to ride as much as I could on that day because i wanted to get back home so badly and be with my wife and my lovely daughter. I took the Yamuna express highway from Delhi to Agra. the highway is good except the draw back of having less petrol stations and the access and exit from the ones available. I reached Agra by 2:00PM. The most interesting part in Agra was i didn't see the Taj Mahal even after riding few meters away from the Taj Mahal entrance gates! I think I am the only person in the history that visited Agra and did not see The Taj Mahal!. There was a reason behind it because I had promised my Wife that we will go and see Taj Mahal together.

I rode through Dholpur , Morena and Gwalior to get to Jhansi. The highlight of day was that i rode through 6 states of India in a single day! Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajastan and Madhya Pradesh(780KM). It was also the longest ride i did in a single day! Took a place in Jhansi to stay and decided to ride to Nagpur the next day.

Day 23 - Jhansi - Nagpur

Because of the long ride yesterday i slept off like a baby and got up late, by 10:00AM! Got fresh quickly and started to ride toward Nagpur. Had a quick breakfast on the highway and reached Sagar by 3:00 PM.The highway was good to ride, so managed to reach enter Nagpur city by sunset. Rested for the day.

Day 24 - Nagpur - Hyderabad

The highway AH43 was just the kind of roads i was looking for to get back home as i wished. riding through the villages of Madhya Pradesh and speaking to the locals i heard one thing in common from everyone.. NO RAIN! Global Warming indeed... reached Hyderabad city by evening and went out to taste the authentic Hyderabadi Biriyani. After taking suggestions from few people i went to a hotel they all recommended but the biriyani i had was not good as i expected it to be.

Day 25 - Hyderabad - Bangalore

I woke up early because of the excitement of getting back home by evening to be with my wife and daughter. Unexpectedly, i met with the Badminton superstar of India, Miss. Saina Nehwal and her father at the hotel I was staying. She was there for some documentary shoot. I spoke to her and her father for sometime and got some valuable inputs from her father to include in my next ride. It was really nice meeting with Miss. Saina and her Father.

I took the most amazing double line stretch of road from Hyderabad to Bangalore and the 570Kms done in 8 hours time! Met with a couple, Mr. Ali and his wife on the way who were driving back from Hyderabad to Bangalore after spending their weekend. We had small chat over a tea and he also helped me to get my phone battery charged in his car. The Bangalore city welcomed me back with a speeding fine of 300Rs :-) . Reached home by 6:30PM and the feeling I had when I saw my wife and daughter was something i cannot describe in words.

After 25 days of riding through the incredible India finally I have reached back in Bangalore where I started my journey on the 21st of August. 9,920 Kms Covering 15 states, 27 cities. Weather highest of 42•c to the lowest of -20•c. Riding through the seashores to 18,380 feet above from the sea level which is the highest motorable road in the world. Through high tech highways to unimaginably destroyed road which reminds you of the fine line between life and death every second while you ride through. Catching up with all buddies, making new friends, meeting all sort of people from different walks of life. Lush green Mountains, Hills, beautiful Himalayan terrains where each and every mountain looks different from each other in colour and size, paddy fields, dry lands, sand dunes, forests, lakes, rivers, sea and more... I cannot conclude this without mentioning about the machine i which took me through this journey. what an incredible machine! This trip wouldn't have been possible the way i described if the bike i rode wasn't good enough. This ride is definitely the best ever ride of our life and it will always remain the best of all for years to come. Remember... The ride never ends for a true rider...! until then take care , Ride Safe and

Signing Off...

THIS IS WHERE WE STARTED OUR JOURNEY!

We started our from our home on the 21st of August 2015

City Palace

THE PLACE WITH ROYALTY, HISTORY AND CULTURE OF INDIA RESERVED

A NIGHT STAY IN THE HOUSEBOATS OF DAL LAKE AND EXPLORING THE FLOATING MARKETS IS A MUST DO IN SRINAGAR

Diskit - Turtuk Highway

A ROAD TO PAKISTAN BOARDER

Harmandir Sahib

WITH SAINA NEHWAL AND HER FATHER

Jallianwala Bagh

Jammu and Kashmir

HEAVEN ON EARTH

Kargil War Memorial

Khardung La

LIVING THE FEEL OF BEING ON TOP OF THE WORLD

A LAND OF MYSTERIES

Madhya Pradesh

ONLY ONE THING I HEART FROM EVERY SINGLE PERSON I SPOKE DURING MY RIDE..."NO RAIN FOR MORE THAN A YEAR"! GLOBAL WARMING!

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF JANSI AND NAGPUR

Royal Enfeild, Manail

Catching up with my friend, Arjun almost a decate

Nubra River

Nubra Valley

DOUBLE HUMP CAMELS IN WHITE SAND DUNES

MAGICAL AND THE MOST SCENICALLY BLESSED JOURNEY TO THE HOT SPRINGS OF PANAMIK

Bangalore-Hyderabad Highway

THE JEWEL OF INDIA

Panamik Hot Spring

Pangong Tso

The First Look!

Royal Enfield

Service done

The Lamayuru Monastery

Uttar Pradesh

Yamuna Expressway

Zojila Pass

Bangalore - Goa Highway

Goa to Mumbai

Crime Branch Office

A place where we stopped for a while because of the tensions and took some advis

Gateway Of India Mumbai

Rest Day in Mumbai

These Guys helped us to get a place to stay overnight

NH 4 - Goa to Mumbai

NH 4- Goa to Mumbai

A place where we got informations about the highly sensitive tensions in Gujarat

Mumbai to Gujarat - NH 8

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Bykemania Blog

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Bangalore to Leh, Ladakh – A road trip to remember

“Some beautiful paths cannot be discovered without getting lost.” – Erol Ozan

People say that the journey is beautiful than the destination. In the case of this road trip, the journey and the destination is equally beautiful. If you are someone who loves road trips, this journey is for you. If you are someone who loves adventure, this journey is for you. If you are someone who has never been on a road trip, this journey is definitely for you.

In the past few years, for obvious reasons, the route from Bangalore to Leh, Ladakh has been very famous. It has to do everything with the large population of Bangalore being in love with bike rides and Ladakh being an ultimate destination for bikers in India. Also, statistically speaking you get a lot of traction on your social media posts on a classic bike, Ladakh roads or a picture of your road trip. Imagine its impact if all of these would be combined. Each and everyone on your follower list would be so jealous. Wouldn’t you love that? We sure you would.

Who knows, you might inspire a one or two to plan a road trip for themselves!

So, here we go, presenting a guide for you to follow when you embark on this exciting journey!

The first rule for visiting Ladakh is always being aware of the weather conditions there. Ladakh, the land of high passes, is renowned for its fickle-minded weather conditions. Considering technology, internet and communication is a little weak up there, you must be absolutely aware of what you are stepping into. We don’t mean to startle you, but being safe is always the first step towards having fun. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Remember to gear up well, with your winter clothes, jackets, gloves, helmet and other safety gear. Your trustworthy bike rental in Bangalore will advise you on this! Travel light, but travel right.

You would be taking the Srinagar route, so expect a lot of chilly winds and extreme weather conditions.

The second rule of taking a road trip to Ladakh is knowing your routes, pretty well. You start your journey on NH44 or NH48, whichever is preferable for you and ride along the way with sanity, because the distance is 3000 kms which would roughly take you about 65- 70 hours, including the bathroom, lunch, stretching, oh-look-a-pretty-sunset-let-me-instagram-it breaks!

So, as you commence on your journey, always remember your pit-stop states. For this route, it’s going to be Bangalore-Mumbai-Jodhpur-Amritsar-Srinagar. The first few hundreds kilometres would be you just admiring the city landscapes and battling pollution, but as you leave the city behind, the true flavours of the journey can be enjoyed. As you speed up, you will cross small villages, tempting dhabas (don’t forget to make a stop on one of the highway dhabas, they are truly the best). Majestic wildlife and 3000 miles later, you’d be in Srinagar. As we know, the beauty of this city is enchanting, you’d want to stay more and admire the beauty (you sure can if you have the time) but you have to make a move as soon as possible.

In the next phase of your journey, you’d be riding from the mesmerizing lanes of Srinagar to Kargil. You must bear this in mind that the roads are not great, but the view is. You have to take extra care of your bike, as a little off-roading won’t be really good for it. If it’s rent ed bike from Bangalore , we would advise you to stay on the good part of the road more. By taking the NH1 path, you’d have to ride for around 6 hours to reach Kargil. Take a night stop before this would be advisable as this phase is much more critical than the phase where you were crossing states on the highway.

That’s it just 200 Kms worth of ride more and you’d be in Leh, the beautiful city of Leh, as its rightly called. Once you are in Leh, get a good night’s sleep, You deserve it. The next day and visit the monasteries, stare at the mountain for hours, rejuvenate by the beach or make your feet wet in the river. You’ve made it there, now it’s your time to make the most of every moment.

The most famous places you can go to our Diskit Monastery, Magnetic Hill (Brake well here), Marka Valley, Pangong, Khardungla, Nubra Valley, pay your respect to the Indo-China border and seep in the fresh air of this alluring city, one last time.

When it’s time to go back, the road will feel narrower, the distance would feel longer and the time would feel slower. We would suggest you take a different route (via Manali) to keep things interesting!

Are you already sold on the idea? Then wait for the best season, find a perfect bike for you from Bykemania, Bangalore and ride along! Happy Journey!

Bangalore to Ladakh by Road with Family

by | | Travel | 0 comments

In the excitement of adding a new category to my blog I thought of sharing one of our long road trip so far which was from Bangalore to Leh Ladakh. We had made many short trips in south India but this was the only one we did which took 18 days. My husband was the one who came with the place Ladakh and I always turned my face because I thought that it was never going to happen. I discouraged him when I heard that it was going to be a road trip. We had a plan of changing our vehicle during 2015. At the end of 2015, the decision of buying a new vehicle became strong when he thought of the road trip. I was still not so serious even in the decision of changing our vehicle. In the month of March 2016, we bought a new vehicle XUV 500 and I started little bit nervous thinking about the road trip. Till buying everything was going in a slow pace, but things changed after getting the vehicle. He assigned me the work of collecting all the information regarding the trip.

Check the video here!

I searched every articles regarding the trip got as much information as possible. Thanks to everyone who shared their experience as it was very much helpful. Team BHP was of much help even we were not a member while travelling, we got loads of information from that. My husband got a 3-week vacation from office, took that in advance. We planned it in the second week of May.

We also have a daughter and she is 6 years old. We also had to consider much about her.  But we know she will not make any problem in the back seat if she has something to eat and draw. So, we had to arrange that as a priority.

We really did not spend much time in planning, because we were unsure of buying the vehicle itself. So from March to May, we had only a little time to plan things. We were not worried about the vehicle as it was new, but we had to do the first service. That was another funny part. So need to cover the kilometers. Somehow we made it to 4000 Kilometers just 1 week before our trip and completed the service. We told the service guys that we are planning a long trip, they said the vehicle is fine and you can do it. But we took a tyre inflator with us.

Zoji la Pass

Pangong Lake

Then came the route. Route was finalized by my husband very quickly by selecting the Golden Quadrilateral road to reach there and while returning we choose North South Highway. Used vehicle navigator (it was nearly 100% accurate!), Offline Navi Maps downloaded in the mobile and also some images of maps from Leh to Pangong was taken in case if needed. We started collecting our stuffs in 3 weeks before leaving. Just went to Commercial Street and got almost everything including woolen clothes (Of course did not use few of them..but suggest others to carry those thing  :)).

Medicines were bought just one day before leaving. Thankfully we did not have to use anything. Did not have any plan of the hotels that we are going to stay. Only one thing I made sure was every day by 5pm to 6pm we are going to reach any of the town nearby and look for a stay. No driving on highways beyond 6 Pm. And we could maintain that to an extent.

Goibibo helped us in searching for our daily stay and we could get that for reasonable prices. My husband was the sole driver throughout the journey. As we had to cover the high altitude areas, we were much worried about having breathing difficulties and my Husband had Asthma Problem. So apart from the below listed medicine we also carried Theoasthalin and Asthalin Rotocap. But 3 of us did not had any health related issues. We only had vegetarian food throughout our journey except 2 days as we were worried it would upset our stomach but I was bit tired of eating Paratha most of the days. Packed with many dry fruits, biscuits, few chocolates and some snacks items.

So almost everything was ready by 13th May and we started our journey on 14 th of May. Halted at Satara at Hotel Sagar Deluxe. On May 15 th we had to reach Vadodara , and we stayed there at Hotel Aditi. On 16 May, we reached Ajmer , stayed at Hotel Royal Melenge, visited Ajmer Sharif Dargah . On 17 May, we started early morning reached Jaipur visited Amber Fort , Hawa Mahal , Jal Mahal and left Jaipur around 12 PM.

We reached Ambala by evening and stayed at Kingfisher Resort on the Highway. We had a plan of starting early next morning so that we will have some time at Amritsar. On 18 May We stayed at Vitana Hotel, Amritsar. We went to Wagah Border for the gate opening Ceremony and had a visit to Golden Temple. On 19 May We reached Srinagar, but it was dark when we reached there because of heavy traffic and stayed at Hotel City Plaza and was not very much comfortable.

On 20 May we had a plan of changing the room and also had to find time for sightseeing. We came out to have our Breakfast and just checked nearby for a good stay and changed to Akbar Residency. It was close to the other one. At 3Pm we hired a rickshaw and covered Srinagar with lots of information about the place from the rickshaw driver. He was so helpful and safely took us to all places and gave the guidance too.

On 21 May, we started early morning to Sonamarg and stayed at Snowland Sonamarg. We went to the Snow glaciers which was just in front of the hotel we stayed and had to face little problem from the locals while visiting Snow Glaciers.

By then we were little worried as next day we are going to face the Zoji La, I already had a clear view of Zoji La from all the articles I went through. My husband had the confidence but I was disturbed. My daughter felt so adventurous.  We just discussed with few people about the road condition. Everyone warned us to go so slow and not to worry at all.

On 22 May, morning we just stated and in few minutes, we had to wait near the checkpost as they will leave the vehicle only at 11 AM. So we had many vehicles in queue. And we completed Zojila Pass and the landscapes totally changed. It cannot really be explained. We reached Kargil and stayed at Zojila Residency. On 23 May, we started to Leh and I think I need to write an another article to explain Leh. We stayed at Kanika Mountain View. The owner of the Hotel shared his experience with Zojila Pass and spent some quality time with him discussing about nearby places.

On 24 May, we started to Pangong Tso, and reached there by 12:30 PM. Returned from there at 2:30 PM and reached back to the hotel at 8:00 PM. On 25 May, We visited a Monastery and Lamayuru Monastery and reached back to Kargil by evening and stayed at the same hotel. On 26 May, we started from Kargil early morning at 2 AM as there was a land slide the day before and the road was closed. We reached Udhampur by night and stayed there at Hotel Singh Axis.

On 27 may we reached Noida and stayed at Golden Gate Residency. On 28 May, we started to Agra to visit Taj Mahal. By afternoon we reached Taj Mahal, and stayed at Agra Regal Vista. We did some shopping there.  On 29 May, we reached Nagpur and stayed there at Asian Inn and completed our shopping from there. We changed our plan of returning to Bangalore and thought of reaching Kerala our native and halted at Kurnool – Sign Regency on 30th May. Reached Kerala on 31 May and we completed our trip.

Here is a brief about the kilometers we covered each day and spent for toll

Toll Charges & Kilometers

14 May: 780 – 740 KM

15 May: 704 – 654 KM

16 May: 666 – 677 KM

17 May: 723 – 618 KM

18 May: 272 – 315 KM

19 May: 245 – 458 KM (19 & 20 May)

21 May: 150 – 89 KM

26 May: 70 – 445 KM

27 May: 611 – 680 KM

28 May: 360 – 212 KM

29 May: 1145 – 840 KM

30 May: 719 – 735 KM

31 May: 360

Norflox – Anti Diarrheal, Domstal – Anti Vomiting, Dexona – Anti Mountain Sickness, Gerbisa – Constipation, ORS, Ciplox Eye Drops, Throat Lozenges, First Aid Bandages and Plaster, Crocin, Otrivin Nasal Spray, Paracip were the medicines we had with us. There was many long list out there in many articles when I searched but I just selected what we needed the most.

The places we visited during our journey are Great Banyan Tree at Gujarat and Durghah at Ajmer. Amber Fort, Hawa  Mahal & Jal Mahal at Jaipur, Wagah Border and Golden Temple at Amritsar, Botanical Garden, Pari Mahal, Dal Lake, Mughal Garden at Srinagar and Taj Mahal, Agra on the way back.

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Bangalore to Ladakh & back: 8000 km & 17-day road trip in a Tata Safari

It was special on so many levels. What started as a small discussion in a restaurant, ended up being a lifelong memory.

BHPian hemanth.anand recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Chal0 ChaLeh

This is a travelogue of an 8000km road trip that we did between the 5th to 21st of August 2022

It was the April of 2019; a friend of ours was on the cusp of shifting to Japan on an official delegation for 3 years. My wife’s desire of visiting Japan only grew stronger as it would be better when we have somebody there. Since March-May is the Cherry Blossom time, it was the perfect time. But since our friends would need some time to settle down, we decided that we will plan it for the 2020 season. But then, who on earth knew what was in store the next year?

2020 came and we all know what unfolded. 2021 also went past in a similar way. A Japan trip when our friends are there, could not become a reality. But we needed a vacation without a doubt! During one casual discussion sometime in April, my wife and I accepted that a foreign trip was difficult in the short term. I proposed that we plan something within the country. That discussion ended there with nothing concretely decided.

Some days later, my friend and BHPian avinashsg and I were at a restaurant for dinner. We were just cursing covid in general and remembering the pre-covid times and the nice mega road trips that we had gone on. It was nothing more than just venting out the frustration of being locked down for the last couple of years.

He said “At least you’ve done 2 big road trips (East to West and West coast) after the North-South Road trip in 2012. I’ve not done such a trip after 2012 and it’s now been almost 10 years to that!”. We both were like “We should do something like that again”.

For the people who haven’t read those travelogues of mine, below are the links.

• We ran out of Road - 2012 - Kashmir to Kanyakumari
• N.E.W.S - 2013 - Arunachal to Gujarat (N.E.W.S. Nepal & East to West in a Safari)
• W.E.S.T - 2015 - West coast (W.E.S.T. - Western End from Southern Tip)

That discussion with avinashsg stayed in my mind for long enough and the memories of that road trip in 2012 were refreshed. Some days later I told my wife “It seems just like yesterday, but it’s been a decade since our Ladakh road trip!" and I added, "We were thinking of celebrating the 10th anniversary in some special way. The best way would be to do a Ladakh trip again!”. She replied sternly “Last time you left me alone and went on a boys-trip. Don’t even think of doing it again. Either we both go together, or we both don’t go”.

The conversation ended there at that time, but the seed of a road trip had been planted in my head. I wanted to do the 10th-anniversary trip, but taking along my wife and daughter in the car was not going to be easy. Then a Eureka moment happened, and I thought “Hey, we can easily club both together - the family trip and the 10th anniversary celebration of our K-K drive!”

Over the next few days, I put forth this idea to My wife and also Avinash. Both liked the idea and asked me to work out details of how I plan to combine the two.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Checking my WhatsApp messages now, on May 1, 2022, I made this proposal to a broader group of 5 friends and their families. This was the message I sent them…

Hello people, We are planning a Ladakh trip in August 2022. This is to mark the 10th anniversary of our previous Ladakh trip. The plan is that the husbands (currently I have discussed with Avinash) drive the Tata Safari till Leh. Wives and kids will land directly in Leh by flight. We can go around Leh in Tata Safari for 5-6 days and then again wives and kids return in flight and we drive back. We'll hire another vehicle in Leh for sightseeing. Approximate per family cost will be 1.5lakhs. Please check and let me know.

All of them were interested and we decided to meet and make a more detailed plan. That meeting happened on May 7th and I was astonished that all 5 families were ready (it had never happened in the past!). All of us put forth our convenient dates considering the holidays in our respective offices and the common dates were between August 6th and August 21st.

Avinash, Vishwa and I who were part of the 2012 trip had no problems planning our leave at the office for all 16 days. BHPian pumpy_raj a.k.a Rajesh who had to miss the 2012 drive due to unavoidable circumstances, needed a couple of days time to speak to his manager at the office before confirming. The fifth person Anil said that he can only plan for a week and not more. Two days later Rajesh confirmed in positive too. However, he said that his wife would not be able to join. He said that it would be just his 11-year-old son who would be joining us. So, it became a big group of 15 people (9 adults and 6 kids).

The rough idea was that 4 of us (Avinash, Rajesh, Vishwa and I) would start from Bengaluru in the car and by the time we reach Leh, all the remaining 11 members would land in Leh by air. After 6-7 days of doing the basic Leh Circuit, 11 people would fly back and we 4 start our drive back home.

With this idea, it was decided that we start in the car on Aug 6th and reach Leh on 11th where all others would join us. August 17th would be when we would head back home; 11 people taking the flight and 4 of us in the car.

I named the Whatsapp group as Cha10 ChaLeh – it reads as chalo chalein in Hindi meaning Come let’s go signifying the big group going together and the '10' and 'Leh' signify the fact that this would be the trip to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of our Leh trip of 2012.

With the dates finalized, I applied for leave at my office on May 11th and got it approved. Then the immediate next task was to book flight tickets which I did the next day. Others also got their leave days approved at the office over the next few days.

With this done, it was time to make further bookings. Although I generally do the planning and bookings myself, with families involved, the group suggested that we take a package tour. I played it safe and agreed. In the next week, we enquired with 3 known travel agents and decided to go ahead with one of them.

I was the SPOC for the travel agent and there were multiple loops of discussions with him. Tweaking and changing the plan, places to be covered and activities to be done, price negotiations and acting as a mediator for all the questions from the group…trust me it was not easy. All this took one full month and on June 18th, we paid the advance and booked the travel package. This was the package itinerary that was finalized (It was probably the 10th version)

Leh, Ladakh Package 6 Nights / 7 Days

• Day 1, Thu 11.8.22: Arrive at Leh by flight. Transfer to hotel, Acclimatize. Overnight in hotel at Leh.
• Day 2, Fri 12.8.22: Hall of fame, Magnetic hill, Sangam, Gurudwara, Shanti stupa. Overnight in hotel at Leh.
• Day 3, Sat 13.8.22: Leh to Nubra Valley via Khardungla, Diskit Monastery. Overnight in camp at Hunder.
• Day 4, Sun 14.8.22: Hunder to Turtuk (former Baltistan) and back. Overnight in camp at Hunder.
• Day 5, Mon 15.8.22: Hunder to Pangong Lake Via Shyok. Overnight in camp at Pangong
• Day 6, Tue 16.8.2022: Pangong to Leh via Changla, Thiksey and Shey Monasteries. Overnight in hotel at Leh.
• Day 7, Wed 17.8.2022: Departure from Leh to Bengaluru.

Between all these things, I had to do all the planning for our road-trip. I had 3 things in my bucket list for this road trip:

• Drive to Umlingla - The reigning highest motorable road in the world.
• Drive to the centre of India - Since we have previously driven to the 4 corners of the country.
• Drive on the Kistwar-Killar road – supposed to be one of the most dangerous roads in the country.

Over and above this, we had a couple of restrictions and conditions:

• Our Safari was now more than 10 years old, and taking it inside Delhi was not allowed. We had to bypass the National Capital.
• We wanted to repeat as less places from our 2012 trip as possible and cover as many new places as possible.

Accordingly, I made my initial plan as below:

Initial plan

I ran this plan among my co-passengers. They told me that I had the full freedom to do all the planning and I can just inform them of the final plan, and they’d just follow it. I then started reading all the information available on TBHP and various other travel forums for the latest road conditions, new roads, POIs etc.

While I was working on this, I was attending a college friend’s family gathering on May 22nd. At the function, 5 of us were sitting together chatting with each other as this was a gathering after a very long time (thanks to Covid). Just like that, one of them, Anoop, asked me “It’s been so long since you went on a long road trip…have you planned something this year?”. I told him that as a matter of fact, I have planned one and I just completed booking the flights.

He was immediately ready to join but he couldn’t get his entire family. Two more were also interested but again for various reasons, they were not in a situation to get their families too. I shared my plan, and they all told me that we should also plan something similar.

Every one of them told me that if I join, they would be ready to do it in 2023. I agreed and we closed the topic there. But after a couple of weeks, Anoop called me again and he said that he had convinced the other 3 and they also wanted to do this in his Ertiga in 2022 itself. Their available dates were almost the same except that they wanted to start on 4th of August. I was honestly surprised because I had not expected them to be ready so soon!

While every one of us is an experienced driver, we four in Safari differ in some respects when it comes to driving in comparison to 4 of them. Couple of major differences are:

• They prefer night driving and are late risers, we are early risers and prefer to start early and drive during the day.
• We prefer booking all hotels in advance and set a goal for the day, they prefer finding a hotel in any location that they are in at some cut-off time.

So, we agreed that we can be together in Ladakh, but we can take different routes with no dependability on each other. Since it was their first drive to Ladakh, we planned a similar route that we took in 2012. This was the initial plan.

Initial Plan for Ertiga

As we were planning, one of them had to drop out due to some unplanned official trip. They still did not cancel the plans and only 3 decided to go. Due to this, they made some small modifications but overall, they stuck to their planned route. This was their final plan before leaving. They were prepared to be extremely flexible and make changes on the go.

Final plan for Ertiga

While I was booking the flights for the 5 families, one day, one of my colleagues overheard me and asked me what I was planning. He was also very much interested but the dates were not matching. He asked me to talk to my travel agent and get him also the same plan but a week earlier. Same thing happened with my wife’s colleague too and they too did the same but 2 days earlier than us. So in total, I was involved in planning trips for 4 different groups. My wife was joking that I should become a travel agent myself!!

What these 4 plans did was it helped me in getting the entire map in my head (I’m generally poor at this) and the most important thing was that, since all others were going before us, we would get the latest road status in advance. This would help me in tweaking our plan if needed.

Talking about tweaking, I called up our helpful DBHPian paragsachania on June 3rd to take his suggestions, feedback, and improvement points. I’m always amazed at people like Parag how they have map details at the back of their hands always! Parag told me that he’d connect me to another avid traveller, Madhu, who would be the best person with this. He told me that he does a Himalayan Road trip at least once every year and had recently returned from Ladakh and is a very resourceful person.

On June 13th, Parag setup a conference call with Madhu. How correct was Parag! Talking to Madhu was the best thing that could’ve happened. Not only did he help me with planning the route, but he also shared detailed co-ordinates and information throughout the trip. Hotels, road conditions, alternate options…everything and much more. During the route planning options, he first patiently listened to me as to what I wanted, what is our driving patterns and preferences etc. Only after that, he suggested changes that suited us. If not for him, I’d never have taken the routes that we finally did and we’re truly grateful to him for sharing his knowledge and guidance.

He suggested that instead of doing Keylong-Kishtwar, Kishtwar-Srinagar, Srinagar-Kargil and Kargil-Leh over 4 days, it is better to do Keylong-Kishtwar-Keylong, Keylong-Padum and Padum-Lingshed-Leh over 3 days. He said that the thrilling road we were seeking near Kistwar-Killar was no more as thrilling as it used to be. Hence he suggested that we drive only till Azhaal falls near Killar and return back and stay in Keylong.

From Keylong, we can do the Zanskar circuit of Keylong-Padum-Leh. With this, not only will we not repeat the Srinagar-Leh route which we had done in our previous trip, but also get to do the less explored Zanskar circuit.

Instead of returning back with the entire group from Pangong to Leh and then going to Hanle, Madhu suggested us to go to Hanle directly from Pangong. Again, this would mean that we will not repeat the Pangong to Leh road and get to do the more adventurous Pangong-Chushul-Hanle route. Furthermore, he told me to visit Umlingla in the morning than do it in the evening.

He suggested us to take the Loma-Dungti-Koyul-Hanle route as it was more adventurous. However, he advised us to be flexible in this section and check with locals for the latest conditions.

I accepted all the changes and below is how the almost-final plan looked like on Jun 16th.

Updated plan

I showed it to the other 3 and they had no issues whatsoever in general. But they were sceptical about the first three days. They thought that Bengaluru-Nagpur, Nagpur-Agra and Agra-Manali would be too hectic even with 4 drivers. While Parag and Madhu said that we could do this easily, the group felt that I should try to change it if possible.

With the flights already booked, the only option to change without affecting much was that we start a day earlier. Rajesh said that he could not take more leave at office. So, everyone agreed to this plan although not entirely confident with it.

One thing that Madhu categorically told me was to book a Homestay in Hanle immediately as there are very few good options there and it would get filled up soon. He gave me the contact of Padma Lodge at Hanle too. I checked various sites and sent a message too. On Booking.com I found that Padma homestay was available and immediately I booked it. I got the confirmation email also the next day. The mail said that I need to pay directly at the homestay. It even had a separate note saying that I would be contacted if any advance was needed.

By June 26th, I had booked accommodation at Padum for one night and Keylong for three nights by paying the necessary advance amounts.

On June 27th I wrote an email to Booking.com asking them the exact co-ordinates of the homestay and payment terms. From then on, I called them almost every day and they asked me to call them a day later while they confirm with the homestay. On July 1st I got an email from Booking.com that my booking was cancelled because I had not made the prepayment!!! I called up customer care again and gave them a piece of my mind and they finally wrote back saying that they didn’t have rooms for the dates I was looking for. I don’t know whose problem it was, but it was not the experience I expected.

Immediately I looked for other homestays and I found one Milky Way homestay. Called them up and checked availability. He had a triple bedroom with an attached bathroom and another dormitory. We were ok with this and booked it right away by paying them the advance. The next day I even Booked a homestay in Tso-Moriri.

The stay for the remaining day in Ladakh was part of the package tour. and all the way till Himachal we had a lot of options and hence I decided to book them closer to the travel date.

On Jul 2nd we gave the Safari for its annual service which was anyway due and we told the service advisor to be really thorough as we are planning a trip to Ladakh. Apart from the regular service, the clutch plates, brake pads, brake discs and suspension bushes were replaced too. The vehicle was taking more than usual time to start up and the wipers were operating really slow. So, the wiper motor was replaced and there was new coil winding made for the starter motor. They took 10 days with an overall bill of 45k!

Meanwhile, we were continuously checking with Rajesh if he can manage one additional day leave at the office. He told us that he’ll try his level best but can’t confirm anything early. In one of the discussions, we got an idea and decided that on the afternoon/evening of Friday, August 5th (a day earlier than planned), we’ll drive a small distance and reach Kurnool. Rajesh told that in the worst case, he’d take a bus/train in the night and reach Kurnool the next morning and then from there we can go together. Although this meant that Rajesh might not be fully rested for Day 2, we felt it was a good compromise to driving huge distances that we are not fully confident about.

The Bengaluru-Nagpur-Sonipat-Keylong over 3 days was changed to Bengaluru-Kurnool-Jabalpur-Panipat-Keylong over 3.5 days. So, I made hotel Bookings in Kurnool and Jabalpur on Jul 9th.

Closer to the Actual start date, Rajesh came with the news that he can take an additional half a day's leave and we can start at 14:00 from his office on Friday. This was good news overall as we all could go together from the beginning and Rajesh would be fully rested on Day 2 as well.

On July 15th I booked a Hotel in Panipat too. With this, hotels for the entire onward journey and half of the return journey were booked. For the remaining, I decided to book it as and when needed. The final plan looked like this…

With Hotel bookings in place and Vehicle service completed, we slowly started collecting things that would be needed for the trip. The first thing that we did was purchase a traction board. On our 2012 trip, our car was stuck in the sand and had to be towed out. Our wooden DIY traction board wasn’t of much help. Hence this time we purchased a good traction board, the ones generally seen on 4x4 vehicles. So I purchased this from Swastikfabs Bengaluru. When the item arrived, it was bigger than I expected and took up a lot of space in the boot. So, we decided to tie it on the roof using motorcycle tie-down straps. Although the red thing would look ugly in pictures, it was more important than looks.

One major modification (probably the first one for the SUV) that we did to the Safari was the headlamp upgrade. The stock headlamps were slightly brighter than a candle. We seriously don’t know how we did so many trips with those lamps. We left it at our trusted accessory shop “High-Definition Cars” on Bhannerughatta road for this upgrade. We upgraded the headlamps to an LED projector setup. We also added Hella Auxiliary lamps. These 4 lamps made sure that whatever little night driving we do, will be stress-free for us.

A friend of mine was returning from the US and we got a 2 channel Thinkware dashcam. This was also installed in High-Definition cars. Meanwhile, Vishwa arranged for a small handy gas stove for emergency purposes.

20 days before the flight and two weeks before our road trip started, Rajesh informed me of a good change. His wife was successful in obtaining leave from her work and she was also ready to join. Rajesh immediately booked flight tickets for her-the same flight as others. Even though it was slightly more expensive than a couple of other flight options, Rajesh booked her the same flight as others so that everyone would be together.

With this new addition, we did one more round of negotiation with the travel agent. Once this was finalised, we made the full package payment to the agent on 29th July and checked that item off the list.

After this, Avinash took the vehicle on a trip to Sakaleshapura over a weekend with his friends. This 800kms trip of his would be like a preparatory run. This would help identify things that need attention if any, any fresh issues, etc. This would also help us in making sure that the traction board tied on the roof would stay on the roof even at highway speeds.

When he returned, the vehicle was running perfectly well with no issues whatsoever. Avinash was mighty impressed with the performance of the headlamps and the aux lamps. The tie-down straps held the traction board on the roof very well too.

With a week to go, we purchased a medical kit with all basic medicines, first aid kit, the most important Diamox tablets in case of HAMS among others. In 2012, we were just 4 young men, but this time we had families with kids in the age 5.5 to 11 years age group. The excitement of all the wives had now turned into anxiety. Friends and families everyone was talking about HAMS, Low Oxygen density in the Himalayas and this made them more worried. Even though we knew that we will not need oxygen cylinders, with kids, everyone was extra-cautious, we purchased small portable 5L oxygen cylinders too.

Just a day before our trip, we purchased snacks that would be needed in the car. This included biscuits, dry fruits, fried snacks, chocolates, trail mixes etc. On the same day. We also kept a 25ltr water can and a 10ltr Jerry can in the boot.

I also purchased a long new tow rope of 5 tonne capacity. A shorter tow rope (2T capacity) which I already had, was given to the other group in the Ertiga along with a 5ltr fuel can when I waved them off on August 4th evening.

Thursday, 4th August 2022

We were just a day before the actual start. The Ertiga arrived at my home in the afternoon to collect the towrope and fuel can. My friend Anoop and his elder brother Ashvin who live near my home were in the car. Another friend Harsha would be picked up on the way. I wished them a happy journey. We were anyway scheduled to meet the next week at Leh.

After my office hours, I started to keep all the things that I need to carry in one place and check off items one after the other. We did one last conference call before the trip and everyone else had packed up everything.

Since Rajesh would be the last person to start after attending his office for half a day, we didn’t want to waste time after he left office. Avinash who lives close by, collected all his luggage, and kept it in his home. Vishwa lives on the opposite side of the city. The plan would be that everyone reaches my home in the morning, we pack the vehicle, have lunch, and pick Rajesh up and depart.

That evening, like always before such big trips, I had butterflies in my tummy. While I had everything that we need and more, there was a strange feeling that I’d left out something. Although I slept well that night, it took an hour or so to get sleep after I hit the bed! Anxiety, Excitement, Eagerness, Nervousness, what do they call that funny feeling?

Day 1 | Friday, 5th August 2022 | Bengaluru - Kurnool

Usually, the alarm wakes me up at 0600hrs on a Friday. Today was different…I woke the alarm up at 0545

After Breakfast, I started to put all the items that I had kept aside into bags. I topped up the fuel tank just near my home. By 1000hrs, Avinash arrived at my home with Rajesh and his luggage. We put all that and my luggage inside the vehicle. Vishwa arrived by around 1100hrs and in some time, everything was inside the vehicle.

And...we were ready to go! My family waved us off and we had officially started our trip!

Rajesh was still not home and hence the first stop for us three was for Lunch. We had our lunch at a restaurant near my home. By 1315hrs we reached Rajesh’s home. Anil also had come to flag us off.

Our destination for the day was Kurnool. It was a straight 350-400 kms drive on the Hyderabad highway. As soon as we had crossed the city limits, we stopped at a shell petrol bunk just near Nandi. We purchased some Engine oil for the vehicle to top up if needed.

After that, it was a straight quick non-stop drive, apart from a small photo stop near the Kia factory.

On the Highway

The Powerhouse

The proud owner

The Kia factory

Avinash who was driving all the while till here gave away the driver seat to Vishwa who drove till Kurnool from there on.

Straight and fast

Some evening scenes

The straight and flat roads continued

We reached Kurnool by 1830hrs and checked into our hotel. We called family members and some friends that we have reached. Some friends told us that probably we should have driven all the way till Hyderabad, but we did not want to stress ourselves on the first day itself.

We had a leisurely dinner in the hotel and by 9:00 PM we crashed into our beds because the next day we are planning to leave early. The destination for the next day was Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

• Total Distance: 382 km
• Drive start: 11:30
• Drive end: 8:30
• Duration: 07:00
• Average Speed: 54.6 kmph
• States crossed: KA, AP
• Fuel filled: Bengaluru, KA at Nayara at ₹90.89 per ltr

Continue reading about hemanth.anand's road trip for BHPian comments, insights and more information.

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Accommodation

Leh ladakh road trip: an unbelievable drive in india.

This is Part 1   of our 5 part series on planning the ultimate road trip to Leh Ladakh in India. We will cover every aspect – itinerary, accommodation, packing, driving – of planning an unforgettable Ladakh road trip:

Read Part 2 – Leh Ladakh Road Trip II (Nubra, Pangong, and Manali) (opens in new tab)

Read Part 3 – Packing for a road trip to Leh and Ladakh (opens in new tab)

Read Part 4 –  10 Dos and Donts for a roadtrip to Leh-Ladakh, India  (opens in new tab)

Read Part 5 – Accommodation: Luxury Camping in Ladakh (opens in new tab)

As we make our way to Ladakh, lush meadows, Chinar forests, and apple orchards give way to barren landscapes illuminated by the glimmering sun. Monks are everywhere and monasteries dot the landscape – that’s when you know you’ve arrived in one of the most spectacular places on Earth!!

A road trip to Ladakh is no small feat- it is well and truly the stuff of dreams. Ladakh’s soundlessness, its cobalt blue skies, bright rainbows, and glistening lakes are pure magic.  This road trip boasts of iconic landmarks such as the highest motorable road in the world ( Khardung La );  some of the highest mountain passes in the world such as Zoji La and Tanglang La;  splendid scenic drives in remote regions, and some little known gems such as the kaleidoscopic More Plains , Lamayuru, and the hypnotic Gata Loops. It is truly a road trip like no other!!

Before the fun stuff and a day-by-day itinerary of our roadtrip to Ladakh, here’s a quick look at the logistics:

Here’s an overview of the route we followed over the course of 3 weeks. We drove from Delhi to Ladakh via Gulmarg. We drove back from Leh City to Delhi via Manali.

This self-drive road trip is only for experienced drivers who are comfortable driving in India and  skilled at driving in the hills. There are dubious roads, bumpy stretches, and unpaved mountain passes by the dozen (all details in the daily breakdown below). Having said that, if you enjoy driving and are fond of road trips, it truly doesn’t get better than this. Look at these panoramas and those crystal clear skies. Don’t forget to read our article on 10 Things to keep in mind while planning a road trip to Leh and Ladakh  before embarking on this road trip.

Try to stick to bottled/filtered water while you are in India. Stock up on water and also on non-perishable snacks including dried fruits, nuts, and cookies before the road trip. However there is no need to go overboard as hot food is plentiful, cheap, and easily available in India.

There are hundreds of dhabas (shacks) along the way, most of which cater well to vegetarian and vegan travellers. Expect to find paranthas (stuffed flatbreads) and sandwiches. As you begin to inch closer to Leh, you will start noticing a smattering of mok mok/momos (steamed dumplings), chowmein (an Indian take on traditional stir-fried noodles), and Maggi (Instant noodles) on menus. A meal at a roadside shack will rarely set you back by more than £5 (INR 500). There are also loads of mid-range and some truly exquisite restaurants in the bigger cities you’ll hit during this road trip. We’ve mentioned a couple of our favourites in the itinerary  below  🙂

The cumulative expenses depend on the kinds of hotels and restaurants you choose to stay and dine. As with every other country we visit, we chose quaint lil B&Bs for the days when we had to be on the road all day and just needed a place to crash at night and luxury hotels for languorous days that had to be spent in the same city. Besides accommodation and food, expect to spend approximately £120 (INR 12000) on fuel and £40 (INR 4000) on tolls and road taxes if you’re driving a rental car . This sum is a bit lower if you’re driving your own car.

Try renting a 4X4 for your road trip to Ladakh – this isn’t essential but it makes the ride easier. It is easy to rent a car in most major cities in India. As most of you probably know, driving in India is like nowhere else in the world. Roads are chaotic and lane driving is but a myth. Taking these things into consideration, it’s best to rent a car from an Indian rental company . Such companies understand the nuances of the Indian market well.

There are a number of car-rental companies in India. Here are a couple of things we kept in mind while renting a self-drive car in India:

• Make sure you opt for a company that provides unlimited mileage. A lot of companies offer a quote that includes limited mileage. Customers are charged an extortionate amount for every kilometre over the fixed mileage. This is never a good idea if you, like us, love taking detours and discovering offbeat gems along the way.

Keeping these things in mind, we rented a Scorpio from Myles Cars   for our self-drive road trip and the experience was seamless. We opted for their personalised service, which included a pick up/drop off at our doorstep (something we’ve seen only in India 🙂 ). Our car was in great shape and didn’t give us trouble as we drove through varied terrains, bumpy roads, and mountain passes. We drove it much more than we anticipated but paid no additional cost (thanks to the unlimited mileage clause!)

Now that the logistics are out of the way, let’s head to the fun stuff. Here’s a day by day breakdown of a road trip to Ladakh:

Day 1: Driving from Delhi to Patnitop

The first day’s drive through bustling Indian towns and cities and plains is perfect to acquaint oneself with driving in India. The drive from Delhi to Patnitop , a small hill-station in Jammu and Kashmir is long. It can take about 16 hours (although Google says 10 ;-)), so you might consider breaking it if you don’t enjoy long days on the road. In any case, always take frequent breaks especially if you are the only one driving.

Start early – we left Delhi at 4.30 am. We took the following route: Delhi-Karnal-Ambala-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Pathankot-Udhampur-Patnitop. This drive isn’t particularly scenic and there are frequent toll booths along the way. However the first 7-8 hours boast of great roads. Also, there are lots of service stations and public toilets along the way.

There is no shortage of restaurants. International chains – McDonald, KFC, Subway – seem to be extremely popular in the area. But if the weather’s conducive, we’d suggest taking a pitstop at a traditional Indian  dhaba (shack) for some North Indian grub.

Fight the impulse to follow your GPS blindly and try to stay on the highway as much as possible. For eg. our GPS took us through ‘shortcuts’ towards Gurdashpur and Binanagar. Instead of following the highway and driving towards Pathankot, we obeyed the GPS. This was the worst idea ever as roads were bad and in horrible condition. We ended up wasting 2 hours on an already long day!

Accommodation:

Patnitop is a small hilltop town that makes for a perfect pitstop for the night. There are a few hotels and resorts in the area. We chose to spend the night at Vardaan Resorts because it was recommended by a couple of locals.  Rooms are clean but dated and food is fresh. The view however is enviable. Waking up to this view made us really excited about the panoramas that lay ahead.

Day 2: Driving from Patnitop to Gulmarg

This is when the fun begins in real ernest. Almost as soon as you leave Patnitop, you will start spotting lush forests, meadows, glistening waterfalls, and blue skies. Apple farms start making an appearance and Kashmir’s sun-drenched panoramas put visitors in a good mood. At one point you’ll cross Jawahar tunnel and the moment you come out on the other side, you’ll be greeted to the first glimpse of the beautiful Kashmir valley.

The winding hilly drive from Patnitop to Gulmarg takes over 8 hours. Expect to make loads of stops along the way – rainbows play hide and seeks with red-cheeked kids in the countryside and Kashmir. Glowing and throbbing nature is at its best and most magical here in Kashmir.

Make sure your fuel is topped up when you leave Patnitop as gas stations start getting scarce at this point.

You could choose a hotel in Srinagar or Gulmarg. We chose to stay in a slightly secluded spot in Gulmarg – The Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa was recommended to us by a reader and we’re so glad we chose it for our stay in Gulmarg. It’s a magical property, nothing short of splendid. Decadent rooms overlook snow-capped peaks and coniferous forests. On s haring a photo on our Facebook page , we found out dozens of our readers have stayed there in the past and all of them gush about it – so glad we aren’t the only ones! 🙂

Days 3-5: Gulmarg & surroundings

We spent 3 nights at The Khyber Himalayan Resort as we explored Gulmarg and its surroundings. It provided the perfect break from all that driving. Nature is extravagantly beautiful in this part of Kashmir.

You could just pick up your car, pack a picnic basket, and find an idyllic picnic spot just about anywhere. Alternatively you could go for a hike , one that’s as easy or strenuous as you want it to be, through Gulmarg’s magical woodlands. Don’t forget to hop on the Gulmarg Gondola, one of the highest operating cable cars in the world . The first level of the gondola ride is passable but the views of the Himalayas from the second level are splendid. Highly recommended. Tickets cost £16 (INR 1600). Go prepared for LONG queues 🙂

Day 6: Driving from Gulmarg to Kargil

Finally it was time to leave the serene environs of Gulmarg and head to faraway hills. The drive from Gulmarg to Leh cannot be covered in 1 day, so it’s best to cover it over 2-3 days. Kargil is the perfect pitstop if you decide to do this stretch over 2 days.

This drive is one of the most scenic drives so far. Expect glacier views at Sonmarg, little streams at Drass, herds, cheery shepherds, flocks of sheep, and seductive stretches of countryside. At Zoji La (Zojila Pass), one of the bottlenecks along the way, roads are dubious but stunning views abound. Snow-laden panoramas are everywhere to be seen so it’s hard to get annoyed at the bad roads or traffic jams.

Start early. The drive from Gulmarg to Kargil is just 250 kilometres long but it took us 12 hours because the mighty Zojila Pass is always jam-packed and the roads on this stretch are in bad shape. To add that, there was a protest in one of the villages on our way and the villagers had blocked all traffic for a couple of hours. Always stay prepared for things like these when driving in India 🙂

It being peak season we were unable to find any hotel in Kargil for the night. Finally, after over 2 hours of first pulling into Kargil, we found a dingy room at a local guesthouse. We were grateful for the beds at the end of a long day but we can’t recommend the place. I won’t get into the nitty-gritties but let’s just say we were very glad to get out of there next morning! 😉

Day 7: Driving from Kargil to Leh City

The military presence in this area can’t be glazed over. You will spot soldiers everywhere – this is because of the volatile political situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Scenery wise, this stretch of road is spectacular ! In fact, it is so scenic you will want to stop every 5 minutes especially as you inch closer to Leh. As we made our way to Ladakh, we could see lush meadows, and Chinar forests giving way to barren landscapes illuminated by the glimmering sun. Monks could be seen everywhere and monastries dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see – that’s when we knew we had arrived in Leh!!

Some of the places that are worth stopping on the way are Lamayuru village (mid-way between Kargil and Leh), Alchi, and the famous (and much hyped) magnetic hill .

Start early with lots of time on hand and stop to absorb the scenery every 20 minutes 🙂 Have lunch at Lamayuru to break your journey and enjoy the peaceful vibe at the monastery.

Leh City has loads of guesthouses and hotels to suit every budget. Choose one that gels with your travelling style – just make sure the hotel offers parking (as you will need to leave your rental car here while exploring Nubra Valley & Pangong Lake), rooms are heated, and it has oxygen supplies should you need them.

Since we had to spend quite a few days in Leh city, we chose the luxurious Chamba Camp Thiksey . It overlooks the gorgeous Thiksey Monastery, far from hustle-bustle of Leh City. Glamping is the only way to stay next to some of the most remote panoramas of the world in such luxury. We’ve been glamping in loads of places around the world but I’ll say this – nowhere has it been more decadent or scenic that in India. We loved waking up in our decadent tent at The Ultimate Travelling Camp, nestled amidst snow-capped mountains and spending languorous days absorbing Leh’s natural beauty, with cappuccino on call 🙂

Days 8-10: Explore Leh City and surroundings

There are loads of things to see in Leh City.

• Explore Shanti Stupa , a Buddhist stupa located on a hilltop
• The  Old Town of Leh also makes for a fascinating self-guided walk – explore its crumbling houses, the buzy marketplace, and Leh Palace
• Leh Palace offers great views of Leh City but for truly spectacular views of Leh City, head to the neighbouring  Namgyal Tsemo Monastery
• Outside the city, Thiksey Monastery and Hemis Monastery offer an insight into the Buddhist way of life. It’s easy to spend hours at each monastery – exploring rooms, marvelling at staircases, and talking to monks. Don’t miss the early morning call to prayer and prayer ceremony at Thiksey Monastery.

All these historical and cultural sites draw visitors. However here in Leh City, the landscape is the real draw – you could stop just about anywhere and be treated to a special view.

Take it easy on your first day in Leh City and give your body time to acclimatize to the altitude. If you’re on a road trip, chances are you will adjust pretty quickly because the ascent to such high altitudes has been gradual. However the difference in altitude might hit you harder if you’ve flown straight to Leh City. In any case, refrain from consuming spicy/heavy food or alcohol for the first couple of days. Have loads of water and keep yourself well hydrated.

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140 thoughts on “ leh ladakh road trip: an unbelievable drive in india ”.

This is Amazing and extremely helpful. Thank you for the detailed post .

Thanks Ananya – so glad you found it useful 🙂 We wanted to pen EVERYTHING that could potentially help someone planning a trip to the area! 🙂

More than just a tour guide, its extremely helpful for people like me who are planning a trip to Ladakh.

Thanks Suyash – it took us SO long to put all this information about a roadtrip to Ladakh together in one post but your comment just made it all worth it 🙂

Hi Savi/Vid,

I have been following your page from quite a while now. I love to read your experiences and struggles in a trip. I have been struggling from last few months to plan my honeymoon trip from April 20th. It would be great if you can help us with some inputs. We are planning a road trip to Ladakh from Manali. Is it a good option for honeymoon purpose, as we both like road trips, that’s why we thought this could be a good option. We are planning a 10 days trip from Manali to Leh and vice-versa.

Plz share your inputs also if you have any other suggestions than Ladakh, we are open for suggestions.

Plz help in the same, we are planning a decent honeymoon trip within India as we are not interested in Maldives, rest most of the countries have not opened there borders yet.

Waiting for your reply.

Hey Shivani – if you choose nice accommodation Ladakh can make for a good honeymoon 🙂 If you want someplace warmer with nice honeymoon-friendly hotels you can also choose Kerala

Such a awesome journey it look like .. I been there many a times but seems like life got refreshed after reading your words with awesome pictures … Much useful link .. In august I am Going again . Will Try all the places which U guys mentioned . Thanks 4 the post .

Thanks a ton Harkaran – so glad you enjoyed our guide to driving in Ladakh 🙂 We’re not surprised you keep going back to Ladakh – Have fun in August & don’t forget to send us photos

Stunning pictures. After reading this post, I am so looking forward to my trip to Ladakh! <3

Thanks Deepika – we hope you have an amazing time in Ladakh. Do try to check off some of the lesser known sites (Lamayuru, More Plains etc) too 🙂

Hi guys.. Wonderful writing & you guys make my mind to go & see such a beautiful place in India.. Photos are amazing. Hope you had great time there

Hey Manoj – it’s awesome that we managed to persuade you to go and drive around Ladakh. We promise you you’ll love it 🙂

I was 4 when I was left behind due to my acute asthma in 1986 by mom and Bro to joindad in Ladhak serving the Indian army.At this time this little gem wasn’t known to the world.But I grew up on stories from the valley and have been wanting to go there since I was 4. Last year after a lot of convincing my husband took me upto Srinagar, Sonamarg and Zozilla pass. I had to call dad then to salute him to serve the nation at the toughest battlefield and also assure him my asthma was doing just fine. I have been holding up Leh because I wanna drive up there and not fly so I acclimatise well.Your post is just what was needed. Thank You ?

Hey Kamakshi – you’re welcome. As we mentioned, Savi’s bronchitis held up well in Ladakh. We’re sure you’ll be fine and would love it 🙂 Just make sure you book a hotel with oxygen supplies and don’t try to pack in too much in your schedule. Hugs from us

Awesome blog, have been on two treks in Ladakh (personally count it among my favourite destinations, though obviously there is a lot of world left to explore) but your snaps are brilliant and a road trip looks like a pretty interesting prospect for a 3rd visit. Do visit the Tso Moriri if you ever go again. Long drive but personally thought it was way better than Pangong…

Thanks Uday – you should definitely try driving to Ladakh. We’ll be back for Tso Moriri but thought we’d recommend it to our readers anyway – we heard SUCH great things about it 🙂

Stunning pictures, great writing and truck load of information. Thanks for such a detailed post. Definitely bookmarking this series for our future leh travel plan. I have to ask, do you guys had any issue with self-driving in and around kashmir and ladakh? I keep hearing there are lot of taxi union issues, any comments.

Hey Krithika

Thanks a ton – glad you enjoyed the post 🙂 Driving in Kashmir and Leh City isn’t a problem but the taxi union is quite strong in Ladakh – we’ve written all about it (and how we dealt with it( in days 11 -15 of our itinerary here: https://www.bruisedpassports.com/india/epic-road-trip-leh-ladakh

Guys, it seems like an awesome journey! I’m just speechless. 🙂 The views like those make it all worth it. I’ve been wanting to go to Leh since forever. I think this post will help a lot! 🙂

Thanks a ton Ramya – hope you make it there super super soon. A roadtrip to Ladakh is truly dreamy 🙂

Absolutely stunning views and informative blog post. Can I just ask what camera you’ve used for these pictures?

Keep doing what you are doing!

Thanks a ton Harshitha 🙂 We use a Nikon D610 for all our photographs – we’ve written a detailed post on our travel and photography essentials: https://www.bruisedpassports.com/featured/travel-photography-essentials

Thanks v much Savi! Really appreciate your response, it’s been really helpful.

Btw, i just turned on notifications on your insta account! Great pictures you guys ?

Thanks a ton Harshitha 😀

Hey! I have been waiting for this post, so that I can make notes before I leave for my trip:) Loved the post and the pictures are incredible as always:) Thanks for taking out time to answer all my queries with regard to the accommodation at Leh, Nubra and Pangong. I have made bookings at the same stays at all 3 locations 🙂 Leaving on 17th July, so excited. Thank you so much 🙂

Hey Chinar – that’s awesome. You MUST send us photos when you visit Leh & Ladakh. We’d love to share them with our readers 🙂 Hope you found all the information you wanted – feel free to drop us an email if you need anything else

finally , the itinerary is out. Covers all bases , but just wanted to ask for someone not going by car to leh , what all can be done using motorbikes and what will need a taxi? was planning to take taxi for Nubra valley and Pangong and Motorbike for Leh local??

Hey Gaurav – you can refer to days 11-15 to see what we did but I think what you have in mind is great. In fact you can even cover Nubra and Pangong by bike but do be warned, the roads are really steep and in bad shape. However we did see a few bikers covering the route themselves 🙂

Thanks , taking lots of cues from u guys , hope we end up as much fun as u guys. Cheers.

Awesome Gaurav. Have fun and send us photos from you trip to Ladakh 🙂

Best post of yours till date.. such detailed write up and envious pictures to match up with it..3 weeks in Heaven i should say.. keep rocking guys..

Thanks a ton Madhu – so glad to hear you found it useful 🙂

just wat i needed, have been waiting since the day ur first post abt Ladakh came uo… its just my dream destination. Being suffering from chronic disorder its just scares me out listening the stories abt the place but the moment i see any pic of leh ladakh it seems this is wat i wanna do. And ur pictures, they motivate me to the T. they just scream out saying “Come fall in love with me”…just get goose bums seeing god’s beautiful creation and to witness it would be something else. great job guys love love love you. BIG HUGS AND KISSES TO U.. stay blessed and KEEP LIVING.

Thanks a million Prachi – It’s easy to get medical attention, especially in Leh City. You should make a short trip just to test the waters 🙂

Yup this is on my top priority list now. And next to top is meeting you guys. you truly are big time INSPIRATION. just WAITING FOR MY BIG FAN MOMENT. 🙂

Aww thanks Prachi – I hope our paths cross somewhere around the globe super soon 🙂

What time of the year did you take this trip? Want to plan one in April, advisable?

Hey Vamshika – we went in July. In April some roads are still snowed under, so do check before going. Or you could fly to Leh City and you’ll explore it from there 🙂

You guys are lucky to have made it just before the ban on self driving cars in Ladakh region.

Hey Sam – we didn’t. We drove to Ladakh and back from Ladakh but rented a taxi to explore Ladakh while we were there. Please see days 11-15 for this!

Great post, even greater pics! Surely gonna use this if and when I plan an epic road trip to Ladakh. Btw, you guys look amazing in all of the pics!

@Vid: If possible, could you write a post on your photography workflow? How you manage the RAW files, what softwares you use etc? I have read about your travel photography gear but was curious about the workflow.

Thanks for the tonne of info already 🙂

Regards, Anu

Hey Anu – thanks a million 🙂 Sure I’ll definitely pen a post on that. I have a few huge HDDs (couple of TBs each) to store RAW files and I use Lightroom to edit photographs

Omg!! My husbanhuhas always been dying to be here and I have been researching the areafor quite some time now but reading all of your series I am also desperately wanting to be there. So beautiful described! This is definitely on top of my list now! Thanks for the traveling goals..

Hey Sneha – so happy to hear you enjoyed reading about our roadtrip in Ladakh 🙂 Hope the two of you make it there soon 🙂

It’s so beautifully written that sitting on my bed feels like driving on the panoramic Leh and Ladakh road.You two are inspiration for me!!

Thanks for that Upasana – this took so much time to put together but your comment just made it all seem worthwhile 🙂

Wow..I mean wow..Reading this was like traveling to Kashmir . And the pictures are so beautiful. Loved reading ! Sorry for all the exclamation marks but I am awed.

Thanks Khushboo – so happy to hear you enjoyed both the text and words- yay 🙂

Great travelogue. I haven’t seen northern India but now I won’t be able to stay away. Thanks!

This was our first road trip to The Himalayas and it did not disappoint 🙂 You should definitely head over!

Thanks for such detailed and helpful posts and for not saying that driving in India is too crazy to attempt – I drive here everyday and love it! I think once you understand the culture and drive like an Indian it’s not too unsafe. I’d love to try this road trip on a car or a bike. Thanks for the self drive car hire tips and stunning photos too!

Hehe Anna – driving in India is a different ballgame altogether but it’s definitely doable and a lot of fun. Would love to hear from you after you attempt a roadtrip to Ladakh – have a feeling you’ll love it 🙂

Your post reminded me of my CEAT tyres sales trips in punjab and jammu. Gt road and beyond. 20 yrs back.

Extremely beautiful Photoes…

Thanks a ton Hardik 🙂

Amezing clicks! Which month u did it? how was weather? any rain?

We went in June and the weather was amazing. We didn’t encounter any rain 🙂

You guys r just superb!!.. Seeing u travel makes me leave everythng nd jst go by d flow lyk u guys do U both are such full of positivity nd full of lyf dat it makes us believe all d more in everything u do

Dear Anubhuti, you are too kind and generous in your appreciation. We are really humbled by your words.Thanks so much and we hope you also get a chance to travel around the globe and explore everything for your self 🙂

You Guys Are Doing Awesome Work. Keep Exploring!?

Thanks a ton Meet 🙂

I heard you could do go through Ladakh by road these days. Walked from Lamayaru to Darcha (took almost a month) and then bus to Manali 30 years ago! Memories. Time to go back.

Hey Steven – Walking from Lamayaru to Darcha sounds like one incredible adventure. Love the sound of it. You should definitely re-visit Ladakh – you’ll be surprised at just how much things have changed 🙂

I just checked the route – been trying to match my old photos to Google maps! We walked quite a bit further, over the Shingo La (I remember that) into Himachal Pradesh and we must have hit the road at Keylong. It appears many of the gompas are still only accessible by foot – Photoskar, Lingshed, Lingshot, and some others. There is now a new gravel road up to Phuktal north off the Manali road. Did you get up there? That is a truly incredible and memorable place, thousands of years old. I also remember as it was an easy 40 mile river valley walk from Padum, so on a road trip could be done from Padum in a couple of days. Lamayaru to Padum was about 2 weeks of daily mountain climbs – still walking only.

Hi, Which month did u travel?..Love the season colors..

Hey we travelled during summer (June)

Hi, I really wanted to know about the weather there in May.We are planning in last week of May this year.there will three kids in the group. TIA

May is a great time but sometimes the snow hasn’t melted and many roads are not open. So check for updates before leaving

It is a very advantageous post for me. I’ve enjoyed reading the post. It is very supportive and useful post. I would like to visit the post once more its valuable content. Thanks a lot for this beauty Enjoying article with me. I appreciate it very much!

We are a group of 3 engineering students from Mumbai and we have been dreaming of going to Leh Laddakh since our freshmen year! Thanks to your blog we are finally planning a bike trip to Leh from Delhi and back this year. Kudos to you guys for inspiring people like us. We shall make full use of your suggestions. Keep up the great work and wish you luck for your future endeavors.

Hey Rohith,

thanks a lot for your message. Hope you guys had a great road trip to Leh Ladakh – do share photos with us if you get a chance 🙂

Hey there ! Every time I surf thru https://www.bruisedpassports.com , I’m in awe of you both. Cheers guys ! Now coming on to the important point, how much did it cost for the entire trip. Plus would like to have your advice on the following route we intend / plan to take – delhi to Srinagar (via flight) to leh ladakh to manali / Jammu (via road) and fly out of delhi. Would we be doing justice to the scenic beauty of Leh Ladakh. Secondly, what time of the year does it opens for civilians, which month onwards

Best Sripat

Yes your itinerary will be doing justice to the beauty of Leh Ladakh. Costs will vary as you’ll have to hire a cab from Srinagar to Leh to Manali/Delhi. We rented a car and drove from Delhi back to Delhi. You will be taking flights. So it’s difficult for us to tell you the estimated cost for your trip 🙂

It usually opens May onwards but that varies year on year so best to check that closer to your trip

Hi Guys . We are planning to do a road trip from Delhi to Leh , but i am hearing all scary stories that a rental Car ( yellow/black board) should be avoided as the locals don’t let u pass after a certain point ? Is this true ? Most of the folks are advising us to take flight to Leh . What do you suggest?

Hey you can only drive till your hotel in Leh in a rental car. Beyond that, (say for Nubra / Pangong etc.) you have to take a local taxi. Nothing to worry about. Taking a flight to Leh is also not a bad idea – to be honest Delhi – Patnitop drive was quite bleh and I’d rather skip that. That said, Kargil – Leh and Leh – Jispa are some of the most stunning drives so if you fly to Leh and back you’ll be missing those 🙂

Loved your post. Is the road trip doable with kids?

Thank you 🙂

I believe it’s best to take a doctor’s advice on that as many people suffer from altitude sickness in Leh and it might not be good for kids

Hi Your post is great.. Its detailed and covers all the bases.. I have read and heard that self-driven cars from Myles and the like are not allowed beyond a point in ladakh as the local car hires do not allow you to use ur rented vehicle. I am planning for a similar trip in July by renting a car from one of these app based rental services. Need your input on this. Should I go for it or look out for other options?

Hey Aditya,

Yes, you’ll only be allowed to take the car to Leh. For Khardung-La, Nubra, Pangong lake etc., you will have to hire a local car.

Can we plan a trip in July ion leh?

Yes in fact July is one of the most popular months to do a road trip to Leh Ladakh 🙂

Hi we are planning to visit leh ladakh during aug.. wanted your suggestion on where should we stay- at nubra valley or at diskit because i’ve heard all monastriea are closer to diskit but dunes are closer to nubra.. bit of confused over there. Also, have been reading articles about altitude sickness at leh. I’ve never felt any such sickness before while travelling to hill stations..should I be worried this time?

Hey one can never predict altitude sickness, so we can’t say anything. You’ll just have to wait and watch. As a precaution, do spend 1-2 days getting acclimatised to the altitude before starting to explore. We’d say Diksit is a better option 🙂

The photofeature of the Manali-Leh Ladakh road trip is just mesmerizing. Definitely have to give it a try.

Best time to visit Leh Ladakh would probably be like in mid-December and Jan starts it is one of the most charming places to see I have visited there for like 3 days and 4 nights, food is also delicious. thanks for the wonderful article.

Yes we’d love to visit Leh Ladakh in winter months 🙂

Excellent blog writing with beautiful photography enjoy reading such a nice blog. Thank you for sharing.

I have read this article this is such an amazing place for hill lover. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for your detailed report!

Would you recommend doing this trip in July? We are a European couple who loves roadtrips and I have seen so many beautiful videos of this region but I don’t know if it’s not too dangerous to drive the roads?

Hey there – would’nt recommend driving yourself if you haven’t driven extensively in India before this 🙂

Hey Savi and Vid,

Amazing Post and beautiful pictures!!! I was planning on visiting Leh-Ladakh end of June and this article is undoubtedly the best one I have come across. Could you please let me know when (which month) did you visit?

Hi Sharanya,

We drove to Leh Ladakh at the end of May / beginning of June 🙂

Ladakh is a standout amongst the most attractive tourist destinations on the planet. It has amazing natural magnificence and beautiful scenes which impress visitors. Thanks for the amazing post with a great picture.

That’s right!

What an amazing experience you had in this road trip. I am eagerly waiting for mine, and yes your 10 Tips for planning trip to leh ladakh would be so helpful to us. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

Great – enjoy your road trip to Ladakh 🙂

Hi We are family of 3. Myself, my husband and our 3 year old daughter. Could you pls tell me which is the best time of the year to visit Leh Ladakh. We plan to make a road trip.

We went in May/June and it was great. You do have to check the road conditions though as they vary from year to year. July/August is better but also more crowded and risk of high rains.

Hello Vid and Savy,

Your article is awesome and the photos are just incredible, that’s the best pictures I’ve ever seen of Ladakh! I’m travelling to Ladakh next year with my girlfriend, I can’t wait to be there 🙂

We are motivated to follow a similar itinerary as yours, renting a car from Delhi. However, we are wondering if this still possible. First because of the situation in Kashmir, could there be additional restrictions for foreigners? We are also unsure if it’s possible to drive a rental cat in Ladakh. On this website ( https://www.leh-ladakh-taxi-booking.com/contact-us ) it says that tourists are not allowed to drive in Ladakh and that it is compulsory to have a driver. Is it true? Is there a difference between foreigners and Indian tourists when travelling in Ladakh? Where to find the official rules?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Damien from France

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. In general, self-drive rental cars can be driven to get to Leh (capital), but you can’t drive rental cars to get to say Nubra valley, Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri etc. To get to these places you need to hire a local driver.

Have you driven in India before this? It can be a very challenging experience for someone who has never driven in India. Also, as you pointed out, the current situation in Kashmir might not be favourable for a road trip via the Srinagar route.

There is a difference between foreign tourists and Indian tourists when in Ladakh e.g. you will need to get additional permits to visit Nubra/Pangong/Tso Moriri. There was a website http://www.lahdclehpermit.in/ for issuing permits online but I just noticed (June 2020) it’s not issuing permits online (this might change as they must be revising rules etc. after the situation in Kashmir last year)

Do keep us updated. It’d be interesting to see what you do. Any other questions, just mention them here.

Nice coverage of the place. I really like to this article its very interesting and informative. Thanks for your amazing travel guide and your photos are mind-blowing.

This is really a lot helpful. Me and my friends are planning a trip soon. Is Maruti Suzuki XL6 a good choice to drive for the trip? Plz reply

Yes it should be a decent choice for driving in Ladakh 🙂

Thanks for sharing very nice planning. Hire the best self-drive cars in Coimbatore we are here our name Cars2u all brand cars and pick your favorite color cars2u is the best choice, No1. service providers, cheapest self-driving cars in Coimbatore visit our web page. choose your favorite cars all times available free doorstep delivery

Thank you so much for this content. You discussed very interesting things in this blog. I also have a great experience on Delhi to Leh trip. Checkout my content, hope you like it.

Amazing clicks Savi. The narration is really flowing, made me relive the journey. Thank you!

Nice blog post with wonderful pictures. I’m from ladakh and I really enjoyed your blog post like watching your trip on the screen like a movie. Your stay in Kashmir was very short..there are other great tourist attractions in Kashmir.

Your Delhi to a leh-Ladakh road trip is so Amazing. Really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure you this would be beneficial for most people.

Super excellent blog writing with beautiful photography enjoy reading such a pleasant blog. many thanks for sharing.

Brilliantly scripted, well presented with the right balance of information and story telling and of course, your landscape photographs have taken this narrative to a different orbit altogether. Thank you guys for sharing your experiences in such a wonderful manner. I am sure there will be a lot fence sitters falling on the side of doing ” Life mein ek Bhar ” trip. A small clarification though, You mention that this trip was in End May / early June. May i know which year?.

Very informative for our journey. What you provided is very vibrant if somebody wants to take a digital tour at the destination. The pictures are mesmerizing and could easily grasp anybody’s interest towards the destination. You had covered all popular places in Ladakh but I’m a little bit eager to know about the off-beat destinations in Ladakh which would be very fascinating for me. Your content is much initiating towards any traveler who is planning for Ladakh trip. I’m convinced that this Ladakh itinerary can brought up anyone’s interest. Keep on travelling.

OMG… What a trip you had guys… it’s amazing… Fabulous… fantabulous … am just dying to follow the same path you did during your entire Ladakh tour from Delhi and the pictures… are just awesome, mind-blowing boss… Thank you guys for this lovely travel guide to Ladakh. Kudos …

Your article was very good, and you have given very good information in this article. I regularly read all the articles on your website

Wow! Such a wonderful article with beautiful pictures, everything is described in detail. The entire article is full off valuable information & tips which will definitely help and encourage all the fellow travelers to plan it more efficiently. Leh Ladakh is one of my dream destinations . I am planning to visit there since long but due to this pandemic it has been delayed. Your article has again increased my passion and I am more excited to feel the breath taking beauty of Ladakh region with my own bare eyes. The Hotels and accommodation you have suggested will surely help me to plan my trip more efficiently. Thank you for sharing your experience and depth knowledge on the sector.

I really enjoyed reading your post. This is a very nice article for traveling and It was an amazing blog I really like it, all pics are very beautiful. Thanks for sharing this article. You can visit us if you need any travel regarding help, we love to do bike adventures

After reading your article, I checked out your website, and i really like your post. It looks massive and pretty cool. It offers a lot of awesome things

I really enjoyed reading your post. This is a very nice article for traveling and It was an amazing blog I really like it, all pics are very beautiful. Thanks for sharing this article.

While reading your post I was virtually on a Ladakh trip. You explained each and everything day to day very beautifully. It is very informative, could you please explain the exact cost breakup of the rented car to and fro Delhi.

It was roughly around 3K per day (unlimited kms) and we had to pay the state road tax ourselves when crossing different states

Hey Savi, The blog you shared has helped me to plan a trip with my friends, the images you have shared are so much tempting. Ladakh is a wonderful beauty. I am planning for a Ladakh Motorcycle Tours with friends, hope it turns out as planned. Thank you for sharing the information, just loved it!

Hey Savi, You’ve accomplished a great job. I’ll definitely share it with my friends and suggest it to my acquaintances. I’m certain that they’ll benefit from this website.

Waoo, well written …keep it up, I also did Chadar Trek

Hey, loved reading the blog! Can you also tell which month you went? Or any suggestion on best time to visit Leh Ladakh?

HEy we’ve been in both summer and winter and it’s beautiful. But if it’s your first time, we would suggest June-July

welldone. i will go there next year.

I really enjoyed your post. This is a very nice article for traveling and It was an beautiful blog I really like it

Found your post interesting to read. Good Luck for the upcoming update.This article is really very interesting

Can you recommend a good driver for 19 June-6 July 2023 for me and my wife. I have detailed itinerary with hotels booked. Cannot find a driver with an email address, so that all intinerary can be sent and proce quoted.

Paweł/Kraków/Poland [email protected]

Found your post interesting to read. Good Luck for the upcoming update. This blog is really very interesting.

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Fantastic article. I am very pleased to say that your article is fascinating to read.I always find myself wanting to comment on it.You’re doing an excellent job.Keep your writing up

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This is very well detailed blog about Leh Ladakh road trip itinerary. It will help many travelers to plan a Leh Ladakh trip. Leh Ladakh has a magnificent beauty which is worth visiting. i am planning for a trip to Leh Ladakh with my family can you please share what are the best months to visit Leh Ladakh.

Very well written article, i love to read it. The article is very helpful for the people who are looking for a Leh ladakh road trip. Leh ladakh is one of the beautiful region which has a natural majestic beauty. When i visited there, the experience was quite wonderful. If you are planning to visit Leh ladakh this article will help you plan your trip to Leh ladakh.

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Leh ladakh road trip is a beautiful experience. This article will be very helpful for the people who are looking for a road trip to Ladakh. This article provides detailed itinerary for Ladakh road trip. Thank you for this great information.

Great Trip Leh Ladakh This is a very helpful knowledge for the peoples Amazing Road trip leh Ladakh.

Many Indian’s primary wish to travel Ladakh by a road trip on their own bike. Definitely my dream also. Hope I will also achieve it.

Got our travel rout sorted after reading this post. Thanks it was of great help.

Your guidance is so much helpful for us. Thank you for your share. keep it up.

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Nomadic World

Explore what lies beyond the horizon!

Lovely Ladakh – Road Trip from Bangalore to Leh

We are a group of 7 college friends who did a Ladakh road trip from Bangalore, all by road, covering a distance of around 8,200 KM in19 days.

• Vehicles : Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Volkswagen Polo, Bajaj Pulsar RS200, Royal Enfield 500
• Team : Anish, Anshu, Meghdeep, Mohit, Pranjal, Prateek, Pretesh
• Time Period : June 6, 2018 – June 24, 2018
• College : IIT Kanpur

Day 1: Bangalore – Hyderabad – Nagpur (1100 Km, 18 Hours)

• Start Time: 4:30 AM
• Breakfast: Food Pyramid, Kurnool (9:50AM)
• Lunch: Moti Mahal Deluxe, Hyderabad (1:30PM)
• Dinner: Hotel Woodland (Oyo Flagship 525), Nagpur
• Refueling: 2 – 44.09L
• Toll: 17 (INR 1260)
• Arrival: 10:30 PM
• Stay Cost: INR 2000 (2 Rooms)

The plan was to start at 3:30AM but with slight delay, we reached with all the luggage near the car. It was a tough moment as we had a lot of loose items which would occupy a lot of space and trust me, it took us 30-40 minutes to pack the stuff in car. Thanks to Mohit and Anna for their superb stuffing skills.

A night before we also had to fit the tank bag on Prateek’s bike. We mistakenly ordered the tank bag thinking that Pulsar’s tank is metallic and tank bag would easily fit with its magnet but unfortunately fuel tank is made of plastic and Mohit did some jugaad to keep it in place.

The road from Bangalore till Hyderabad (infact till Nagpur) is a 4 Lane highway with few speed breakers but no bad patch. You can easily cruise at 100Km/Hr.

We reached Hyderabad at around 1PM where we met an old friend and had lunch. We almost spent 3.5Hours crossing entire Hyderabad as bikes are not allowed on Outer Ring Road and the service road is a nightmare, full of speed breakers.

After having lunch, we started again and reached Nizamabad around 4:30PM. From Nizamabad for the next 100Km, road is just perfect. There are few bad patched between Shankarapur and Adilabad.

To clear the doubt of few people, Hinganghat rail flyover is now complete and that section till Nagpur is now a proper 4 lane highway.

Nagpur approaching….

With lost time in Hyderabad and ghat section after Nagpur, we decided to stay in Nagpur itself. We booked an Oyo room and decided to sleep for atleast 4 hours before the next day. One of the most memorable dinners we had in the entire trip was in Nagpur where hotel served us a superb “khichdi” which we are not able to forget till now. Day 1 was a success and we slept peacefully.

Day 2: Nagpur – Chindwara – Agra – Mathura – Gurgaon (1087 Km, 17.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 4:00 AM
• Breakfast: Narsinghpur (8AM)
• Lunch/Snacks: RadhaKrishna Family Dhaba, Mathura (6:30PM)
• Dinner: Pretesh’s House
• Refueling: 3 – 75.29L
• Toll: 14 (INR 1125)
• Arrival: 09:30 PM

Starting a very long day with just 3 hours of sleep was supposed to be very tiring but the *excitement* defeated all the tiredness and we could beat all the North Indian heat very easily.

After driving through the beautiful ghat section after Nagpur, we decided to stop for breakfast at Narsinghpur.

For viewers’ information, there is a 20km patch of ghat between Nagpur and Chindwara & 50km ghat section between Chindwara and Narsinghpur. But thanks to MP Govt., all this is a well laid highway with almost zero bad patch. You can cover Nagpur and Narsinghpur stretch easily in 2-3 hours.

Too much heat 😐

The maximum temperature we saw in Baleno’s display system was 45 Celsius in Jhansi, UP. The stretch was very tough for Prateek as he was dehydrating very quickly. It was good to have Anish as a backup rider on bike while Prateek took some rest in the car and re-hydrated himself.

The disputed patch of 90kms between Jhansi and Gwalior took us 2 hours to cover and road was below average with a lot of diversions. Finally we joined Gwalior bypass and from that point, road was proper 4 lane. Once we entered Morena, all city traffic joined us on the highway and it wasted a good amount of time. We stopped at Morena toll plaza for having some sugarcane juice until we saw huge pileup of traffic at the toll plaza. To avoid overtaking that traffic, we rushed to our vehicles and left Morena. A piece of advice would be to not stop in Morena and cross it quickly.

Gurgaon reachable now….

Morena-Agra-Mathura section was a piece of cake and we were cruising at good speed until we stopped at Mathura as were very hungry and we just had some chips and sugar cane juice during the entire day.

The last 10km was not very good for us as Sohna Road had heavy traffic and Prateek’s mobile fell from his pocket. Unfortunately, it was driven over by multiple vehicles and we lost contact with him. After 15 minutes, we found him but it was sad to see his broken phone. We quickly started towards Pretesh’s home which was just 15 mins away.

We finally reached Gurgaon at our expected time and it was wonderful to meet Pretesh after so many days.

Meghdeep was supposed to land at 10:30PM but his flight got delayed and he reached at around 1AM. Anshu landed next day at 8:30AM.

• Narsinghpur-Lalitpur: 1 Hour 37 Mins
• Jhansi-Morena: 2 Hours 40 Mins
• Morena-Mathura: 2 Hours 35 Mins
• Mathura-Gurgaon: 2 Hours 20 Mins

Day 3: Gurgaon a.k.a Gurugram (Buffer Day)

This was our 1st reserve day kept for getting the vehicles serviced for the upcoming challenges. Anish had to pickup up his rented Royal Enfield 500 from Stonehead Motorcycles (INR 1500/Day) in East Delhi. I got Baleno serviced at Nexa Exclusive Workshop in Sector 16, Gurgaon.

Polo had already been service while Pulsar was serviced at the nearest Bajaj Service center.

Service Cost: Pulsar – INR 710(3 Hours); Baleno – INR 1627(4 Hours)

Day 4: Gurgaon – Ambala – Ludhiana – Pathankot – Udhampur (679Km, 14.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 4:20 AM(Pretesh’ House) 5:30AM(Friends Place in Delhi)
• Breakfast: Multani Vaishno Dhaba, Ambala(9:30AM)
• Lunch: Apna Dhaba, Pathankot (4 PM)
• Dinner: Hotel Dolphin, Udhampur
• Refueling: 1 – 33.92L
• Toll: 8 (INR 650)
• Arrival: 08:11 PM
• Stay Cost: INR 5000 (3 Rooms)

The very first thing we did was get the luggage packed in the car earlier night as it became a painful task the other day when we left from Bangalore.

As planned, we started on time from Gurgaon and we had to meet Gaurav (college friend and Pretesh’s cousin) in Delhi. We reached his place and after a quick hangout, we started from Delhi at around 5:30AM towards Banihal.

We had our very first snacks break at Panipat (7:15AM) where a thought struck us (seeing that everyone was noticing BLR-LEH-BLR on Baleno and giving thumbs up!) that we should also get something written on Polo. This is where skills of Mohit becam helpful as he designed “जी Leh” using paper and cellotape.

We then started again and drove continuously until our breakfast break at Ambala. We had amazing “Paranthas” with huge portions of butter (after all it was Punjab we were about to enter).

Enfield problem 🙁

Our next stop was unintentional and it was because Enfield had no engine oil left. Thanks to the poor condition we got it from Stonehead bikes. We found a repair shop nearby and got the oil changed.

The next stop was after a bad section of road in Ludhiana where we found 2 ft. water overflowing on the highway and traffic pileup nearby. Prateek couldn’t avoid his shoes from getting into the water and we took a fuel break so that he could get them changed.

By now, we realized we have lost some time and it would be tough to reach Banihal. Time now was 1:30PM.

We started again and drove until we opted to have some meal. This was after crossing Pathankot city at Apna Dhaba just before the J&K border. We had some heavy lunch and the food was really tasty!

The excitement was boiling as we were about to enter J&K and that too by our own vehicles. The entry point was Lakhanpur and the time was 5:28PM. Interestingly, there was no checking done for our vehicles. We had a quick photograph session just after where we decided that we would stop at the junction of roads going towards Jammu and take shortcut towards Udhampur.

Into J&K Now…..

Jammu road was longer in terms of driving time but had a better tar. We inquired from the forest officials about the shortcut and they said that we should prefer this road as we would reach earlier, locals use this road and road condition is good.

BUT “goodness” was relative and road was not very good. Still we saved a lot of time as we reached Udhampur earlier than expected time from Jammu route.

This short route to Udhampur was both a good and a bad decision as it saved a lot of driving time but had a large number of bad patches. Our target was to reach JKTDC Hotel in Banihal where we had a booking but to avoid night driving we decided to stay at Udhampur (Hotel Dolphin).

Day 5: Udhampur – Chenani Nashri Tunnel – Srinagar – Sonamarg – Kargil (416Km, 15 Hours)

• Start Time: 6:15 AM
• Breakfast: Vaishno Dhaba, Peerah
• Lunch: Zojila Pass
• Dinner: Al-Kareem Guesthouse, Kargil
• Refueling: 2 – 34.26L
• Toll: 2 (INR 120) + Kargil Entry Fee(Rs 50)
• Arrival: 08:30 PM
• Stay Cost: INR 5840 (2 Rooms with Extra Beds) including Breakfast and Dinner

After good night sleep, we woke up around 5AM. We took around 1.5 hours in the entire trip to get ready. We got refueling done at a fuel bunk nearby and left for our destination Kargil.

The very first thing we were excited about was to cross the Chenani-Nashri Tunnel.

Thank God! It was there as it saved almost 3 hours of our driving time skipping Patnitop altogether.

We reached Peerah at around 7:40AM and decided to have breakfast there itself. It is famous for Rajma Chawal. Prateek’s colleague in the office told us about a famous dhaba in Peerah. Hence, once we reached Peerah, we went straight into that Dhaba. And worth mentioning, we never ever can forget the Rajma Chawal that we had. *delicious*.

We started again and soon crossed Banihal. It was not a good feeling to see the JKTDC hotel which we had booked. Infact they called us the previous day to confirm if we are coming and kind of motivated us to stretch. Next on this stretch was the old Jawahar Tunnel which I was crossing for the second time. In my previous trip with family, I crossed this tunnel and it took around 1 hour to cross it. This time it was smooth sailing and thus we entered the so called disturbed part of Kashmir.

We were anxious of not getting into any kind of “bandh” or “stone pelting” and rushed to cross Srinagar.

The Deadly Zojila Pass is next….

We stopped for a photo session at Dal lake (~2PM) followed by a refueling at Indian Oil bunk just outside the city. Thanks to fueling person, we wasted a lot of time in arguing with him that we had paid him for all the vehicles but he was no trusting us. Though we agreed at that time that we didn’t pay him for one of the vehicles but we still feel, we paid him extra. In all this debate, at the back of our mind we had a confusion of closing time of Zojila Pass. We thought it would close by 5PM. Hence we rushed to cross Sonamarg so that we could start ascending Zojila as soon as possible.

We started ascending Zojila at around 5PM and it took us 1.5 hours to cross it completely including the photo break of around 30mins.

Just after crossing Zojila, we had a long break to eat something as we didn’t have any lunch and everyone was very hungry.

Awesome road!!

The road between Zojila and Kargil is like a runway, no potholes and proper 2 lane highway between the hills. We soon reached Kargil war memorial and time was around 7:45PM. Since we missed visiting the memorial as it had already closed, we decide to come back again after visiting Zanskar as it would be a small detour while going to Leh.

It took us around 1 hour 30 mins to reach our guesthouse, Al-Kareem in Kargil which we had booked on Booking.com. We already informed them about our arrival and hence they had prepared the dinner for us (both Veg and Non Veg). We ate like anything as if we were hungry for days.

The day was all scenic drive across various terrains and our first pass, the killer pass, Zojila.

Day 6: Kargil – Near Rangdum – Sankoo (111Km, 11.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 9:10 AM
• Breakfast: Al-Kareem Guesthouse, Kargil
• Dinner: Goba Guesthouse, Sankoo
• Refueling: 1 – 13.34L
• Stay Cost: INR 4540 (2 Rooms with Extra Beds) including Breakfast and Dinner

Late start, that is what you would say!

We realized it later in the day. We could have started earlier and made it BUT!

Today, we planned to reach Padum, the headquarter of Zanskar which was about 227km and we expected to reach in 10 hours. This estimation was because till today, we had been on time and our estimations were working perfectly.

We got Royal Enfield checked up in a nearby shop and tyre pressure was corrected by the inflator which we carried from Bangalore.

We then went for a refueling and reached Sankoo in no time as road was perfect. Time was around 11AM and we thought everything is going good.

Break for a while!

We had a small break with local kids and then started again. We then stopped at Panikhar and time was 1:30PM. Nallahs had started coming and since they were our initial crossing, we were extremely careful. Road had become terribly bad by now. We also decided to stop at Rangdum for tonight as Padum was unreachable and incoming vehicles warned us about the nallahs coming ahead.

After traveling for some time we reached Suru Valley at 4:30PM. We stopped at a small stupa and realized it would be late to reach Rangdum but then we were just 30Kms away, time was 5PM and on the right was Nun-Kun Peak. We took some photographs as Rangdum was reachable.

As soon as we started again, we hit a Nallah. It was deep but could have been crossed by car. We also saw a truck coming and could estimate the depth from its submerged wheels. Seeing it, bikers became terrified and it was logical as bikes would have got stuck.

Everyone was upset as Zanskar now seemed just a dream. We were hoping if someone could help us cross the nallah but no one was there.

Should we return back now?

Now the biggest dilemma was that where should we go as it would get dark in 1.5 hours and both ways there was no place to stay. It already took us 7 hours from Kargil if we remove breaks. So only option was to find a village and stay with someone. The Truck wallah told us about a village 1 hour from this point towards Kargil. So we started in hope of finding that village but couldn’t find it. On top of that, both the bikers were way ahead and were supposedly missing.

We started driving fast and were covering greater distances in no time. Then came a junction, we came from the other side but google was now suggesting a different way. Only thing creating problem was that which route did the bikers take? We were hoping that they target Kargil rather than stopping at some way in between as without network connectivity it would be very difficult to find them.

After taking the Google suggested route, we became anxious as we started gaining height and we were unsure where this route would take us. Thankfully a JKSRTC bus came and we became confident that we are on the right track. But still no sign of the bikers. After driving for half an hour, we saw a person stopping us but we didn’t. Then again a tractor stopped us to tell that 2 bikers are waiting for you ahead. Thanks God, we found them and it was an emotion which cannot be expressed in words. We still were targeting Kargil and luckily this new route was much better and wider. We reached Sankoo and bikers were very tired, so we decided to stop there itself.

All’s well that ends well!!

It was a wise decision to take a u-turn before Rangdum as if we would have tried and anything gone wrong could have screwed up the whole trip.

We reached Sankoo at around 8:30PM and luckily found a very good guest house. The aunty over there prepared dinner for us and a tiring and insightful day came to an end.

Learning: Do not trust Google blindly infact avoid Google and just follow road signs. Google gives faulty time of arrivals and sometimes even wrong routes.

Day 7: Sankoo – Kargil – Drass War Memorial – LOC – Mulbek (194Km, 13.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 8:05 AM
• Breakfast: Goba Guesthouse, Sankoo
• Lunch: Tololing Inn, Drass War Memorial
• Dinner: Paradise Guesthouse, Mulbek
• Refueling: 0 – 0.0L
• Stay Cost: INR 4800 (2 Rooms with Extra Beds) including Dinner

It was more like a reserve day for us as we had missed Zanskar. So utilization of this was the utmost priority and we did it perfectly well.

We first left for seeing a famous Buddha Statue in Sankoo as suggested by the landlady of the guest-house we stayed in. The statue apparently was not properly located on Google maps and we had to walk to and fro until we found that we already crossed it. It is on a narrow trail and embedded perfectly in the rocks. We clicked some photos and left directly for Drass War Memorial.

We left Sankoo finally at around 10AM and reached war memorial at 12:15PM. For me, it was one of the most memorable moment of the trip. Paying homage to those who give their lives for our future is a very small thing we can do for them.

Kargil War Memorial #proud

We could relive the Kargil war and sacrifice of our heroes by visiting this place. You could see the evidences of Pakistan NLI’s involvement in the war and how they disowned their own soldiers. All of us sent Postcards to our homes form this place which is essentially a contribution of small amount for maintaining the memorial.

We then had our lunch at a small restaurant besides the memorial itself, planned what to do next and decided to head for the guesthouse in Kargil to pickup our luggage which we had left intentionally while leaving for Zanskar and then head towards Mulbek to stay that day. We reached there in quick 1 hour and had some tea.

The guesthouse owner suggested us to visit the LOC view point which was half an hour away from Kargil. I wanted to visit this place which no one wanted initially as we were late but then everyone agreed to it. We located the place on Google Maps and started in no time.

LOC for the first time 😀

The road towards this view point is well paved but steep. You would almost gain an altitude of 2000 ft. in few minutes. We reached the topmost point which is a village where you have to make entry and park your vehicles. It started raining heavily and we took shelter in an army portable compound where the officer described the place very well.

So we could see 4 different peaks, of these, 3 were Indian and 1 was Pakistani, There were small bunkers from both the sides which could only be reached by climbing the hills. The temperature at the top reaches -40 C in winters. There is a small village in the valley which was capture by India in 1999 Kargil war and handed over to Pakistan again when they appealed in UNO to hand it over to them. Now at the mercy of Indian army is this village situated, surrounded on 3 sides by Indian Army. We spent good half hour over there and started for Mulbek after that as it started raining heavily.

Pakistan check-post

There is a small stall just before the actual point who rents binoculars to look at all the Indian and Pakistani check-posts closely. We borrowed 3 and could now visually connect what the officers told to us. We could see all the bunkers on top of the hills. Unfortunately, Mohit and Pretesh were ahead of us, we tried to stop them using horn and dipper but they didn’t stop. They missed this binocular experience.

When we started descending, Prateek’s Pulsar was skidding a lot and it was because of the type of tyre it had while Anish was moving quite swiftly.

We met them Mohit and Pretesh at the foothill and made them jealous about the experience we had. We reached Mulbek at around 9:30PM after a good drive on a wonderful road and stayed at a road side guesthouse. For initial half an hour, it was tough to find a place to stay but then we located this guest-house which is directly in front of Mulbek Gompa. The owner provided us with the dinner and it was a relieving sign as we were very hungry. We quickly slept after having dinner.

Day 8: Mulbek – Leh (198.8Km, 11.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 7:15 AM
• Breakfast: BudhKharbu
• Dinner: Punjabi Kitchen, Leh
• Arrival: 06:50 PM
• Stay: Raybo Hostel, Leh INR 3500 (7 Beds) including Breakfast

More of a relaxed day, so we wanted to spend enough time at various places en-route. The very first stop was directly in front of the guesthouse, i.e., Mulbek Gompa. Being in Buddhist region now, we rang the prayer bells for the first time which was one of a kind experience.

We then moved in the direction of Leh and the crossed our 2nd Pass of the trip, Namik La.

Once again, 20 mins break for photography. After driving for an hour, we stopped at a Punjabi dhaba in Budhkharbu for having breakfast. This break was almost an hour followed by a straight drive till Fotu La, highest pass on Srinagar-Leh Highway.

We then reached Lamayuru Monastery at around 11:40AM where we spent almost 1.5hours. Apparently a festival was going on at the monastery and it was the last day of the festival. We were lucky to have witnessed atleast 1 festival in Ladakh. We did some live video streaming on Facebook and Instagram. Airtel was rocking here with a good and stable 4G connection.

Nimmu Confluence

Post that we stopped at Nimmu Confluence which is basically a confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers. One can see the clear difference in water colors from this point. At this time of the year, Indus was bluish while Zanskar was muddy. We spent good 1 hour around the confluence until we realized that we would get late in reaching Leh. Photographs are attached below.

Next in the list was Magnetic Hill which few people in the group were confused that it is not an illusion but some magnetic effect which pulls vehicle! Though the illusion cannot be easily realized by standing on road or on bike. The best way to feel it is seeing in the rear view mirror of the car. I took various people in the car to make them feel what the illusion is all about.

After a quick break, we left again for Leh. We also stopped at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib which was very close to Leh. We had a quick darshan at the gurudwara (maintained by India Army), had some suji halwa and tea, clicked photos and left again.

Leh FINALLY!!!!

We reached the entry point of Leh at around 6:30PM and it was a great feeling as our first half of BLR-LEH-BLR was now complete :D.

We reached the Raybo Hostel at around 6:50PM and it was relaxing to have reached on time.

While transferring the luggage from the cars to the hotel, we could feel the shortness of breath and yes we were at 11,500ft! We finalized the plan for the next few days as Anish had to rent a new bike here in Leh and he would rent accordingly.

A word of caution for all the readers out there – If you have rented a vehicle from outside Leh(even Srinagar, number has to be JK10), you have to rent a new vehicle from Leh otherwise taxi union people wouldn’t let you roam around in or outside Leh. They have check-posts on Leh-Pangong and Leh-Nubra roads. If vehicle is in your or your parent’s name, then you don’t need to worry about.

We decided to rent the vehicle next day and then leave for Tso Moriri the day after. We would deposit the vehicle and pick our Delhi’s Royal Enfield while we cross Leh after Nubra.

All of us had dinner at a restaurant nearby and slept.

Our next night stay in Leh was at Hostel Lavie.

Day 9: Leh (Buffer Day)

• Lunch: Gesmo Cafe (01:15PM)
• Dinner: Himalayan Cafe, Main Market, Leh
• Refueling: 1 – 37.15L
• Stay: Hostel Lavie (INR 350 per person including Breakfast)

We divided ourselves in 3 groups – Anish and Prateek went for the bike service and picking up the new bike. I and Meghdeep went for getting the permits signed. Mohit and Pretesh went for the service of both the cars. For Maruti Service, you can visit Druk Auto Zone. For other cars, there is a big area near Indian Oil which has a large number of workshops.

Permit Info

• Permit Stamp Location: Tourist Information Center, Taxi Stand, Leh (34.1638788,77.5848806)
• Cost: INR 560/person
• Areas Included: Hanle, Tangtse, Nubra, Pangong, Chushul, Shyok

Don’t go to the DC office as they would redirect you to the above location.

You can register for a permit on http://www.lahdclehpermit.in/ . Remember to register for a group permit if you are not traveling alone as it would save time as well as you don’t need to have a printout for each person. The office at the TRC initially asked us to get a group permit as we had separate permits on everyone and they would have to sign on 28 copies (7 for each person and 4 locations). There is a photocopy shop just next to the TRC and they were charging Rs 100 per person extra for the permit.

So we decided to request the officer once again and this time she agreed. It took her some time but she did it for us. Remember to reach TRC as early as possible.

We met a few people who told us horrific stories of what happened at ZingZingBar nallah a few days ago. 3 bikes got washed away because of the sudden increase in water level due to cloud burst. The villagers warned the bikers not to go but they ignored. Thankfully they were alive.

Similarly there was a landslide near Panamik village which has led to closure of that route.

Day 10: Leh – Upshi – Chumathang – Tso Moriri (215.5Km, 11 Hours)

• Start Time: 7:00 AM
• Breakfast: Upshi (07:55AM)
• Lunch: Chumathang (01:00PM)
• Dinner: Nomadic Tent, Tso Moriri
• Arrival: 06:00 PM
• Stay: Nomadic Tent (INR 8200 including Dinner and Breakfast)

It was time to explore Ladakh now and our very first destination was Tso Moriri. It is the largest high altitude lake which is entirely in India. But the concern was regarding the road, how bad it is and do we have ample time to reach. We started well on time and directly stopped at Upshi covering around 50 Km in 50 mins.

We had some breakfast at one of the dhabas in Upshi. Apparently this was the last point till Airtel works. After this it was all no network or BSNL only. We had Paranthas in the breakfast and spent close to an hour here.

Our next break was one for a photograph close to blue colored Indus which was somewhere between Ikpadok and Kiari (33.691971,77.977321). The road till here was good and we covered another 30Km in just half an hour.

After the previous break of 30 mins, we started again for Tso Moriri. We were targeting to have lunch at Chumathang which was supposed to be the only place where we would find something.

We next stopped again for a photo break after 47 Km. There were good and bad patches but road was much better than what we expected.

Lunch Break 😀

We reached Chumathang at around 1PM for lunch!

After starting again, we stopped for the permit verification at a J&K Police Check-post (33.255646,78.431685) which was at the junction of road going towards Nyoma and towards Karzok.

The road from this point was not very good and we were driving at an average speed of 20Km/Hr.

We were astonished to see a beautiful lake just 30Km before Tso Moriri, which was Kyagar Tso (3:30PM).

We spent good 1 hour at the lake to capture some of the most amazing photos of the trip.

After starting from Kyagar Tso, road became terrible and it took us around 2.5 hours to cover 30 Km. There was one ITBP check-post just before the lake.

Since we had no advance bookings, so we had to roam around few places to confirm the rates and we finally stayed at Nomadic Tent which turned out to be a better option.

We had a wonderful evening tea and then we walked towards the lake which was just opposite to the tent. We also spotted a fox and few Tibetan Mastiff close to the lake.

Post that we had our dinner which was a tasty buffet and the main chef became very good friend of ours. He also suggested where we should stay at Pangong. He cooked a very tasty dinner including soup and rotis.

BSNL was working here in Tso Moriri.

Day 11: Tso Moriri – Nyoma – Merak(Pangong) (191.6Km, 10.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 9:00 AM
• Breakfast: Nomadic Tent, Tso Moriri
• Lunch: Gandpa (02:30PM) +122Km
• Dinner: Homestay, Merak
• Arrival: 07:45 PM
• Stay: Merak Homestay (INR 5500 including Dinner and Breakfast)

 The day started with the first snowfall of the trip. It was really a mesmerizing experience, all nearby peaks covered with fresh snow. We had a quick breakfast, checked tyre pressures and cleaned the vehicles. We also realized that there is another group of tents just on the opposite side of Lake (East) and road till there would have been much better.

And we started!

We again had to trace back till the J&K Police check-post where we had shown the permit. The road till ITBP check-post is horrible. You cannot driver at more than 10Km/Hr. We had to stop as a Scorpio group from Haryana who asked for help. They had flat tyre and their stepney was also flat. There was no puncture shop nearby. We tried to inflate their tyre and it took almost 15 minutes as tyre was very large. They wanted to borrow our inflator but we couldn’t lend them as we still had a lot of distance to travel. It would have been a nightmare for them as they also didn’t have puncture repair kit.

Anyways we couldn’t help much and we started again until we stopped for a photo break besides Tso Moriri.

We slowly and steadily reached the J&K post and we did our second entry over there and changed the direction towards Nyoma bend. The road was much better now. The landscape also started changing and it was as typical as we see in photos of ladakh online. There were sand dunes, blue Indus river and small green patches. Overall it was ladakh as we imagine now!

We next stopped at Hanle bend where road diverges towards Hanle and Spangmik. The ITBP checked our permits and we had a small and interesting conversation with them. They suggested us to refill our water bottles as we wouldn’t find any drinking water till Pangong.

Thereafter, we stopped for lunch at Gandpa (2:30PM). From here Pangong was around 85Km.

But then there was no tar road and we had to drive on trails of sand and mud. This was truly a very new experience. You have to be careful here as we had read at few places that people take wrong trails and cross China border. Have a sense of directionality with the help of Google maps.

We also tried drifting the car a lot of times which was amazing. Pretesh got stuck 2 times in the loose sand. So we had to push the vehicle. Bikers were literally abusing us as we had splashed large amounts of sand while drifting. Driving fast here was causing difficulty for the bikers, so we had to be slow. It was very tough riding on the bike at this stretch especially for the Pulsar.

Pangong on the right…

We eventually reached the road when Pangong came on our right side at around 6:45PM and decided to stay at Merak where we reached at 7:30PM. There was a homestay where we negotiated and stayed. Pangong was just 100m from us!

From the roof, you could enjoy the clear night sky. All the planets of the solar system till Saturn are visible in ladakh region. Today was one of the interesting day in terms of driving as I drove in sand for the first time in my life.

Day 12: Merak(Pangong) – Shyok – Hunder(Nubra) (194.6Km, 11.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 8:15 AM
• Breakfast: Merak Homestay
• Lunch: Dreamland Restaurant, Spangmik-Durbok Road (+37Km) – 12:40PM
• Dinner: Shizling Homestay, Hunder
• Refueling: 2 – 39L
• Arrival: 07:20 PM
• Stay: Shizling Homestay, Hunder (2 Rooms, INR 5000 including Dinner and Breakfast)

We started the day with a plan to reach Spangmik village in Nubra which is famous for hot springs. The day would also see moving into the Karakoram range. We started a bit late but had breakfast in the homestay itself. Pangong was on our right and the road was a trail of sand, stones and small rocks.

We soon reached Spangmik, where the majority of the tourists stay and we thought to stockup water bottles in the car until we came to know that each bottle is double the price, i.e., Rs 40. Hence, we just took 2 bottles, had a photo session and left. We soon reached the famous “3 Idiots” photo spot which has become commercialized and they charges INR 50 for each photo with the scooter and the bench.

Away from Pangong

The road became better as we moved away from Pangong and sand started coming on the road. Anish was driving infront of me and I could see him slipping on the sand. Then came a very big pile of sand and I intentionally slowed down so that I could cross it with good momentum. But Anish slowed down and I had to brake which got me stuck in the sand as axle was now caught in the sand pile and wheels became free. Soon traffic started piling up and few people came to help us. With a push in the reverse direction, I again came back at speed and crossed it easily this time. This helped a lot of vehicles cross that sand pile as with the help of my axle, sand got spread all over.

We met a uncle in an army vehicle who gave us water and hajmola candies 😀

We reached a restaurant called Dreamland (12:40PM) where Jab Tak Hai Jaan was shot where we had paranthas and refueled the vehicles with the petrol cans. This place was 27 Km before Tangtse.

We reached Tangtse at around 1:30PM where we got our permits checked and from there Karakoram range started. We started ascending quickly and could see the beautiful Shyok valley (2:50PM). The road today was very good till now. Though we got stuck couple of time when Army convoys were coming.

The road before Khalsar is very bad and full of big pebbles. One has to be careful here.

We reached Khalsar at around 5:45PM and road was just awesome now. All of us decided to go to Spangmik next day if we have time as we came to know from the locals that road may be closed because of the landslide which happened few days ago. We went in the direction of Diskit and road was perfect for an evening drive. On the way, we saw sand storm as well.

We reached Diskit at 6:50PM and refueled at Diskit Indian Oil bunk. We skipped Diskit and went to Hunder instead. After struggling initially, we found a very good home stay at reasonable price.

This was the end of a wonderful day!

Day 13: Hunder – Turtuk – Hunder (246.6Km, 12.5 Hours)

• Breakfast: Shizling Homestay, Hunder
• Lunch: Ashoor Cafe, Turtuk (+147Km) – 4PM
• Refueling: 0 – 0L
• Arrival: 08:45 PM
• Stay: Shizling Homestay, Hunder (2 Rooms, INR 3500 including Tea)

The day was more of a relaxed day as we just had to visit last Indian village that was with Pakistan till 1971, i.e., Turtuk

We started a bit late but then we knew that road was very good. We had already driven on some of the bad roads till date and this would be a smooth ride for us. But with over confidence comes trouble!

There was a small wooden plank with few nails lying on the road and Pretesh drove over it avoiding any tyre contact. Unfortunately, Anish drove over it and he realized immediately that his tyre got punctured by the nail protruding out from the plank. We stopped to check and we could listen the strong air gushing out of the tyre. The place was right opposite to the Thoise defense base.

RE’s tyre was a tube one and hence would take some time. If it would have been tubeless, we could have fixed it immediately. We luckily had some saved Youtube videos for puncture repairing and we started repairing it. Anish, Mohit and Pretesh led the whole effort. Prateek, unfortunately, got separated from us and he didn’t stop.

I and Pretesh went till Hunder again (19Km) to find any shop but we didn’t, so we came back and decide to try ourselves. I also drove almost 15Km in direction of Turtuk to find Prateek but couldn’t.

Finally…

We were able to fix the puncture after 2 hours (the rubber patch was bad and we it wasted a lot of time). After fitting the tyre in the tube, we started filling air but tyre didn’t inflate even after several minutes. We realized something was wrong and hence I and Anish took the tyre and drove to Diskit where there was 1 puncture shop, just besides Indian Oil. This is probably the only puncture shop in Nubra (Hunder, Diskit and Thoise).

There was a long waiting at the shop so it took us almost an hour to get the puncture repaired. The puncture shop person told us that we fixed the 1st puncture very well but did a 2nd puncture in the process. Meanwhile, we came to know that Prateek had reached Thoise where everyone else was there. This was a good news and thanks to BSNL for providing network connectivity in such remote places. Everyone felt that Prateek should have halted if he didn’t see us for some time. He was like 50 mins ahead of us when he stopped!

We started for Turtuk at around 2:15PM and reached there at around 4PM. I and Anish felt we should first visit LOC at Turtuk and then eat something but everyone else was of the other opinion. So we had our lunch and by the time we reached LOC view point (20 mins from Turtuk) it was closed. Closing time was 5PM.

Tussle in Turtuk

We talked to the officer over there and he explained the story of 4 villages including Turtuk which was captured by India in 1971 and about the landscape of Turtuk. It serves as the gateway to Siachen basecamp and one could easily spot Pakistani peaks from the viewpoint. To clarify, LOC doesn’t have fencing in general and there is no clear demarcation of the boundary. There is a very good army canteen at Turtuk, cheap and good food!

We clicked few photos and left again for Hunder. The plan was to stay at the same place as previous night. We finally reached Hunder at 8:45 PM.

Day 14: Hunder -Khardung La – Leh – Pang (285Km, 14 Hours)

• Start Time: 6:30 AM
• Breakfast: Khardung Village – 8:30AM
• Lunch: Upshi – 2:40PM
• Dinner: Tent @ Pang
• Refueling: 1 – 23.85L
• Stay: Roadside Tent @ Pang (1 Big Room, INR 2300 including Dinner)

The day had finally come when we would be crossing Khardung La, aka, Mecca of Road Travelers.

We started on time today as we had a lot of things to do in Leh; a) Return Rented Bike b) Pickup old bike c) Refuel all vehicles d) Polo’s clutch smell check e) Cash

and we had to move as close as possible to Manali, i.e., reach either Sarchu or atleast till Pang.

We started on time and quickly reached Khardung village in just 2 hours. The road was just awesome and no bad stretch. We stopped for breakfast and ate paranthas (again :p). It was very cold outside and it started raining as well. After the breakfast, we started again at around 9:30 AM.

Khardungla Top approaching….

The rainfall gradually got converted into snow and I started getting “ice ahead” warnings on Baleno instrumentation. The temperature dropped to -3 Degrees. We stopped for few photo clicks and kept moving. For some reason, Pretesh complaint of Polo not getting proper pickup, so I was moving ahead of him. In the course of time, Anish and Prateek got separated.

We reached Khardung La top at around 11 AM. The dream had come true!

We saw Prateek but then he disappeared again. There was lot of traffic at Khardung La top was if everyone in Ladakh was there only.

We quickly clicked photos and left for Leh assuming we would meet Anish and Prateek in Leh only.

Unfortunately, road after Khardung La top for 5-10 Km is very bad and narrow at few places. This led to a huge traffic jam in which we got stuck for almost 40mins.

Back to Leh…

We reached Leh at around 1:30PM and we got a call from Anish that they have returned the bike and picked up the old one. So we decided to meet at Indian Oil fuel bunk where there was a cash machine as well. We got all things done in Leh and decided to reach Pang for the day.

 We drove for 50 mins and reached Upshi quickly. Again we stopped at the same dhaba for lunch where we stopped while going to Tso Moriri.

There we met a biker coming from Manali who told us that ZingZingBar nallah is now fine but road after Pang is very bad and we should leave as early as possible from Pang.

We quickly left for Pang at around 3:30PM and reached Tanglang La top at around 5:50PM. Road till now was good except that outside it was too cold due to fast winds. We had some Tea at the top where we met a group of bikers from Bangalore.

Tanglang La onwards….

We started from Tanglang La again at 6:30PM and soon reached More Plains where Prateek switched with Pretesh and Mohit started driving Polo. Prateek wasn’t prepared for that much cold and hence came inside car.

For the first time in my life, I defecated in the open, behind a rock.Hell of an experience!

We reached Pang at around 8:30PM and were surprised to see that there is literally nothing to stay except few tent like structures made of wood where lorry drivers sleep.

Where to stay?

We enquired from the driver of an Indian oil lorry and he suggested us to stay in those tents only as road ahead was bad and it was night already. We got a big room in one of the tents and few thick blankets. The aunty prepared fresh dinner for us and we felt good as finding good food in such a remote place was less expected.

We also met a group from Mathura who had AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) symptoms. We gave them Diamox and asked them to take rest. They were totally unprepared while leaving from Mathura and were literally not carrying proper winter clothes. They were also going to Manali and they said to wake them up as well the next day when we would leave.

The day was finally over!

Day 15: Pang – Jispa – Keylong – Manali (301Km, 16 Hours)

• Start Time: 5:05 AM
• Breakfast: Sarchu – 8:30AM
• Lunch: Snacks @ Darcha – 12:15PM
• Dinner: Sparsh Resort, Manali
• Arrival: 09:00 PM
• Stay: Sparsh Resort, Manali (3 Room, INR 5000)

We planned to start at 4:30AM but eventually started half an hour late. Everyone slept with their jackets on and were almost ready to go. The bathroom was kind of unusable and there was no electricity as well. We didn’t even brush!

The day was interesting as we had to cross ZingZingBar nallah and Pagal nallah.

The Mathura group also started at the same time and were happy as Diamox did wonders to them.

The road became terrible as we had expected. We crossed Lachung La at around 6:05AM and later Nakee La at around 6:45AM.

Sarchu break

We stopped for breakfast at Sarchu and this was almost an hour break. This was a must break to get fresh for the day 😛

We started at around 9:30AM and soon entered Himachal Pradesh. There is a check-post at the border where you have to make an entry. We soon reach Baralacha La (10:40AM). The landscape here was very different as you can see in the pics below.

We kept crossing nallahs, few were easy and few were difficult but made easy by us :D. Baleno’s large tires were very helpful to driver on bad roads with water crossing and big stones.

We stopped for snacks break at Darcha where we enquired about the ZingZingBar and Pagal nallahs.

ZingZingBar Nallah

ZingZingBar nallah had lot of water but maneuvering was not that tricky. On the other side, Pagal nallah was easy to cross. We soon reached Tandi (1:40PM) where bikes were refueled and now our expectation was that we had crossed all the nallahs. But the game was still not over.

The toughest nallah we faced was while ascending Rohtang pass. That was a serious challenge and we faced no big issues except 1 underbody hit. The time was around 3:30 PM.

Rohtang from Leh side is terrible as roads are all broken, there are big boulders, traffic and steep slopes. All bad things put together made the driver very slow.

Down to Manali

We started descending Rohtang pass at around 4:20PM and were shocked to see a huge traffic jam. The local taxi drivers told that it would take another 5 hours to reach Manali which was less than 40kms away. Meanwhile, we decided that Anish and Prateek should reach Manali and take rest, may be find some place to stay as well. Bike could easily cross the jam.

The jam started clearing in an hour and we entered Manali at around 8PM. We met Anish and Prateek just at the foothill and they had their dinner.

We did a booking on Booking.com and reached the hotel at around 9PM. It was very close to Manali-Kullu highway. We had our dinner and finished the day.

Day 16: Manali – Kullu – Ambala – Gurgaon (585Km, 15 Hours)

• Start Time: 6:05 AM
• Breakfast: Mandi- 9:45AM
• Lunch: Snacks @ CCD, Ambala- 4:50PM
• Dinner: Pretesh’ House
• Refueling: 1 – 31.97L
• Arrival: 09:05 PM
• Toll: 6 (INR 335)
• Stay: Pretesh’ House

We were supposed to start at 5AM but got delayed by almost an hour. This was a personal learning from the trip that bathroom becomes a blocker in the morning(:P) and just thinking that I would just take 15mins doesn’t work.

Anyways, we got the air pressure checked in all the vehicles except RE as the valve was not fitting properly. So Anish went to a nearby fuel bunk to get it checked.

The road till Kullu is not that good and there are small potholes which break the speed. Also, we found few points where some work was going on and hence led to a delay in reaching Mandi where we had our breakfast. Time was around 9:45AM and we had traveled 100Km in 3.5 hours.

Too much traffic 🙁

One problem in leaving late is increased traffic until you reach highways which became a cause of concern for us.

RE had a problem with the brakes and because of that Anish fell down once. We got it repaired at a local shop.

I got a bit frustrated with the traffic after reaching Bilaspur and that too on the hills, so I decided that I would now stop only in Gurgaon. Anshu and Meghdeep joined in and we next stopped directly at Ambala (4:50PM) for having snacks. The next break was a water break at around 7PM at Delhi entry and then directly at Gurgaon.

The other vehicles reached Gurgaon around 10:30PM.

Day 17: Gurgaon (Rest Days)

• Refueling: 1 – 35.27L

This was our 3rd reserve day kept for getting the vehicles serviced for the long stretch before Bangalore. Anish had to drop his rented Royal Enfield 500 from Stonehead Motorcycles in East Delhi. I got Baleno serviced at Nexa Exclusive Workshop in Sector 16, Gurgaon.

Service Cost: Baleno – INR 1704(4 Hours)

Day 18: Gurgaon – Mathura – Chindwara (910Km, 15.5 Hours)

• Start Time: 5:00 AM
• Brunch: Gwalior- Shubhim Retreat 10:20AM
• Dinner: Dhaba @Chindwara
• Refueling: 1 – 33.73L
• Arrival: 08:20 PM
• Toll: 13 (INR 1045)
• Stay: Hotel Kusum Residency, Chindwara (2 Room, INR 2822)

We started on time as decided as we had a good idea of the roads this time. Hence, we were gliding this time after coming from such bad roads and reached most of the places as expected. We crossed Morena and Gwalior-Jhansi stretch in no time. There was a lot of heat outside, so Anish and Prateek kept switching regularly. After Lalitpur, we also encountered rain and it was a good feeling.

Unfortunately it started raining as we crossed Narsinghpur and riding on bike became difficult. We also had to cross 30Km ghat section. So we took a call to stay in Chindwara itself. We had dinner at a Dhaba and meanwhile booked a hotel on Booking.com

Day 19: Chindwara – Nagpur – Adilabad – Hyderabad – Bangalore (1237Km, 19 Hours)

• Lunch: Sarang Food Court, Nizamabad – 11:35AM
• Dinner: Food Pyramid, Kurnool – 5PM
• Refueling: 3 – 79.5L
• Arrival: 11:45 PM
• Toll: 19 (INR 1405)
• Stay: HOME 🙁 🙂

Today was going to be one of the longest days in our life on vehicles and hence challenging. We quickly reached the Ghat section and had a small snacks break to have some Tea., then crossed Nagpur followed by Hinganghat (7:30AM). We were taking short breaks and hence were quite fast today. Soon we entered Telangana.

Next stop was at Nizamabad at a Rajasthani restaurant. We also decided that this time Prateek and Anish would go through Google suggested fastest route for bike while I would go through ORR and would meet at the junction. This proved to be a good strategy for us. While Prateek took around 1 hour and 10mins to cross, we crossed Hyderabad in whopping 39Mins.

We stopped again at Food pyramid to eat something as we were very hungry. Food pyramid has become our favorite break-spot. This was my 4th break at Food pyramid.

We entered Karnataka at around 10:05PM and soon reached Bangalore.

A big relief as we didn’t face any issue and were back home.

A successful and memorable trip comes to an end!!!!

Quick Tips and Suggestions

Saving time.

• Leave as early as possible in the morning (max before 8AM) to avoid a hectic day and save ample time for photographs
• Avoid taking bath daily as it wastes time and come on you are
• Save offline videos from YouTube for fixing punctures, cleaning air-filter, towing car, jump-start, etc. Learn about your vehicle in detail!traveling, forget hygiene for some time
• Pack minimal items as you have to pack and unpack a lot of times during the trip and it would be a tiring and time-taking job unless you have less items
• Leh taxi union doesn’t allow any rented vehicle outside Leh (including J&K vehicles). In other words, only JK10 rented vehicles are allowed in Nubra, Pangong and Tso-Moriri
• Top-up fuel every time you find a fuel bunk unless you are aware of the next one
• Cross all dangerous nallahs (e.g., pagal nallah, zingzingbar, etc.) before noon as water level starts increasing after noon
• Carry a BSNL Postpaid SIM as only postpaid networks work in J&K. In Ladakh, only BSNL postpaid works in most of the areas except Leh region.
• Stay for atleast 1 full day in Leh to get acclimatized to high altitude and get the permits ready
• Forget internet as soon as you leave Leh
• Booking.com is quite handy for booking accommodations as you don’t have to pay while booking
• Stay in a hostel in Leh as you would meet a lot of travelers from across India
• Know the sunrise and sunset time to plan your day
• Leh-Manali CANNOT be done in 1 day unless you start at 4AM in the morning
• Drink only mineral water and carry reserve water, you may not find one for several hours
• Start taking Diamox as soon as you are above 9000 Ft and put few drops of parafin in the nose every morning. Parafin prevents nose bleeding due to dryness.

Car Checklist

• Car Tow Cable
• Tissues, Napkins, Extra Cleaning Clothes
• Windshield Fluid
• Puncture Repair Kit
• Offline Map Location Update
• Plastic for Seat in case person is wet
• Gloves for Dirt
• Water Bottles/Camper 5L
• Car Mats Other Than Cloth Mats: Rubber mats
• Spare engine oil
• Glass Breaker/ Seat Belt Cutter
• GoPro Holder
• Oxygen Cylinder
• Oil Pouring Funnel
• Nitrogen and Pollution check
• Fastag Recharge
• Duplicate Keys
• Jump Start Kit
• Double sided tape

Medicine Checklist

• Diamox (Most Important)
• Paracetamol
• Azithromycin
• Ciprofloxacin
• Roxithromycin
• Entroquinol
• Metfal Spas
• Multi Vitamin
• Crepe Bandage
• Cough Syrup

Cloth Checklist

• Thermals – top and bottom – 2 pairs
• Woolen Gloves
• Normal Socks
• Woolen socks
• Underwears – 5-10
• Shoes Sandals
• Sunglasses UV
• Handkerchief

General Checklist

• Phone Charger
• Laptop for Photo Backup
• Hard Disk for GoPro
• BSNL Postpaid SIM
• Google Offline Map
• Disposable bags for garbage/laundry
• Moisturiser
• Offline Youtube videos of vehicle checkups and basic repairs
• Hand Sanitizer
• Nail Cutter
• Power Extension
• Facewash, shampoo
• Toothbrush, ToothPaste
• Passport Size Photos
• Newspaper and Polythene
• Printouts of Vehicle Documents, ID Cards, Booking and Permits
• Ziplock bags
• Toilet paper
• Leather gloves or biking gloves
• Gum boots for bikers

Coverage in Media

• https://www.rushlane.com/maruti-baleno-owner-impressed-with-the-car-12274159.html
• https://www.rushlane.com/bajaj-pulsar-rs-200-road-trip-leh-ladakh-12278170.html

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Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip by bike in 2023

• Updated December 2, 2023
• Posted in Road trips / Destination / Travel Guide
• By Kapadiya Bhautik

Are you an adventure lover and want an epic journey on two wheels?

The Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip by bike is a dream come true for any bike lover & traveler.

In this blog article, we will guide you through everything you need to know Before starting your dream journey from Bangalore which help you to make a memorable trip.

Table of Contents

Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip distance

Banglore to Leh Ladakh by road distance is around 3070 km which will take around 59 hours long driving. the distance can vary on which route you choose to travel.

Here are some route options with Distance in a table format;

Bangalore to Leh Ladakh route map

How do I take a road trip from Bangalore to Ladakh on a bike?

1. Planning:

• Decide on your travel dates and the duration of your trip. Ladakh is accessible by road from May to September, so plan your trip within this window.
• Via Manali: Bangalore → North India → Manali → Leh
• Via Srinagar: Bangalore → North India → Srinagar → Leh
• Obtain the necessary permits, such as Inner Line Permits (ILP) and any other special permits required for specific areas in Ladakh.
• Ensure your motorcycle is in excellent condition and has undergone a thorough checkup. Address any issues and carry essential spare parts and tools for repairs.

2. Packing:

• Pack your riding gear, including a full-face helmet, gloves, armored jacket, riding pants, and riding boots.
• Dress in layers to prepare for changing weather conditions.
• Pack camping gear if you plan to camp, including a lightweight tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat.
• Carry navigation tools such as a GPS device, maps, and a compass.
• Bring communication devices like a mobile phone with a power bank and, if possible, a satellite phone or communicator for remote areas.
• Pack non-perishable food items, reusable water bottles, a water purification method, and a first aid kit.
• Don’t forget personal items like toiletries, sun protection, and a Swiss army knife or multi-tool.

3. Route and Accommodations:

• Plan your route with attention to fuel stations and accommodations along the way.
• Pre-book accommodations if you have specific places in mind, but be prepared for limited options in remote areas.
• Expect the availability of budget guesthouses, campsites, and homestays in Ladakh.

4. Safety and Road Conditions:

• Follow road safety rules, especially on winding mountain roads.
• Check road conditions and weather updates regularly during your journey.
• Carry an emergency kit with essentials like a whistle, reflective tape, and an emergency blanket.

5. Enjoy the Journey:

• Be prepared for a challenging yet rewarding experience as you traverse stunning landscapes and immerse yourself in the culture of Ladakh.

Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip itinerary

Here is a detailed itinerary for the Leh ladakh road trip from Bangalore.

Day 1: Bangalore to Chikmagalur

• Distance: Approximately 320 kilometers
• Travel Time: 7-8 hours
• Budget Stay Option: Zostel Chikmagalur
• Website: Zostel Chikmagalur
• Popular Restaurants: Relish local Malnad cuisine at various restaurants in Chikmagalur.

Day 2: Chikmagalur to Hampi

• Distance: Approximately 350 kilometers
• Travel Time: 6-7 hours
• Budget Stay Option: Shanthi Guest House, Hampi
• Popular Restaurants: Try local South Indian dishes at nearby eateries in Hampi.

Day 3: Hampi to Pune

• Distance: Approximately 370 kilometers
• Budget Stay Option: Backpacker Panda Pune
• Website: Backpacker Panda Pune
• Popular Restaurants: Enjoy street food at Juhu Beach or dine at Britannia & Co. for Parsi cuisine.

Day 4: Pune to Mumbai

• Distance: Approximately 150 kilometers
• Travel Time: 3-4 hours
• Budget Stay Option: Backpacker Panda Mumbai
• Website: Backpacker Panda Mumbai

Day 5: Mumbai to Vadodara

• Distance: Approximately 400 kilometers
• Budget Stay Option: Hostel Mantra Vadodara
• Website: Hostel Mantra Vadodara
• Popular Restaurants: Taste traditional Gujarati thali at Mandap, or try local street food.

Day 6: Vadodara to Udaipur

• Distance: Approximately 250 kilometers
• Travel Time: 4-5 hours
• Budget Stay Option: Moustache Udaipur
• Website: Moustache Udaipur
• Popular Restaurants: Visit Ambrai for a lake-view dining experience and try Rajasthani cuisine.

Day 7: Udaipur to Jodhpur

• Distance: Approximately 260 kilometers
• Budget Stay Option: Zostel Jodhpur
• Website: Zostel Jodhpur
• Popular Restaurants: Savor the local flavors at Gypsy Restaurant or On the Rocks.

Day 8: Jodhpur to Bikaner

• Budget Stay Option: Bhairon Vilas Bikaner
• Website: Bhairon Vilas Bikaner
• Popular Restaurants: Sample Rajasthani snacks and sweets at Chhotu Motu Joshi Sweets.

Day 9: Bikaner to Amritsar

• Budget Stay Option: Jugaadus’ Eco Hostel Amritsar
• Website: Jugaadus’ Eco Hostel Amritsar
• Popular Restaurants: Don’t miss Amritsari Kulcha at All India Famous Amritsari Kulcha and try local Punjabi cuisine at Kesar da Dhaba.

Day 10: Amritsar to Srinagar

• Distance: Approximately 450 kilometers
• Travel Time: 8-10 hours
• Budget Stay Option: New Shaheen Hotel, Srinagar
• Popular Restaurants: Enjoy Wazwan cuisine in Srinagar, known for its delicious non-vegetarian dishes.

Day 11: Srinagar to Leh

• Distance: Approximately 420 kilometers
• Travel Time: 9-11 hours
• Budget Stay Option: Zostel Leh
• Website: Zostel Leh
• Popular Restaurants: Try local Tibetan and Ladakhi cuisine in Leh, including momos and thukpa.

Day 12: Explore Leh and its surroundings

• Take a day to explore Leh’s monasteries, markets, and nearby attractions.

Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip cost

Things to Carry on Bangalore to Leh Ladakh bike trip

Here are some things that you need to carry on while Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip.

• 📄 Valid driver’s license with a motorcycle endorsement.
• 📃 Vehicle registration, insurance, and pollution certificate.
• 🆔 Aadhar card, passport, and other identification.
• 🔖 Obtain all the necessary permits, such as the Inner Line Permit (ILP) for specific areas in Ladakh, Rohtang Pass permit, etc.
• 🔧 Toolkit and spare parts.
• 🛠️ Tire repair kit.
• 🚗 Engine oil, coolant, and brake fluid.
• ⛓️ Chain lubricant and cleaning kit.
• 🏍️ Riding gear, including a full-face helmet, gloves, armored jacket, and riding pants.
• 🌦️ Layered clothing for varying weather conditions, including thermals, waterproof jackets, and warm clothing.
• 👢 Riding boots and rain covers.
• ⛺ Lightweight tent and groundsheet.
• 🛌 Sleeping bag and sleeping mat.
• 🍳 Camping stove and cookware.
• 🗺️ GPS or a reliable map.
• 🧭 Compass and paper maps as a backup.
• 📱 Mobile phone with offline maps.
• 📞 Mobile phone with a power bank.
• 🛰️ A satellite phone or a satellite communicator for remote areas.
• 🥪 Non-perishable food items.
• 💧 Reusable water bottles or hydration packs.
• 💊 Water purification tablets or a portable water filter.
• 🩹 Basic medical supplies, including bandages, antiseptics, pain relievers, and any personal medications.
• 😎 Sunglasses and sunscreen.
• 🧴 Toiletries and personal hygiene items.
• 🦟 Insect repellent.
• 💵 Sufficient cash and debit/credit cards.
• 💰 Emergency fund for unexpected situations.
• 🧲 Bungee cords and cargo nets to secure luggage.
• 🩹 Duct tape and zip ties for quick repairs.
• 🔦 Headlamp/flashlight with extra batteries.
• 🛠️ Swiss army knife or a multi-tool.
• 🔥 Firestarter or waterproof matches.
• 🗑️ Trash bags for waste disposal.
• 📷 Camera and extra batteries.
• 📹 Action camera for recording the journey.
• 🛄 Saddlebags, panniers, or top boxes to carry your belongings securely.
• 🌈 High-visibility vest and reflective tape.
• 📢 Whistle and signaling devices.
• 🌟 Emergency blanket.

Stay safe and enjoy your journey! 🏍️🌄🗺️

Best Places to visit in Ladakh from Bangalore

• Some must-visit attractions in Leh include Leh Palace, Shanti Stupa, and Leh Market.

2. Nubra Valley:

• Located to the north of Leh.
• Nubra Valley is famous for its surreal landscapes, sand dunes, and the Diskit Monastery.

3. Pangong Lake :

• This breathtaking high-altitude lake is renowned for its ever-changing shades of blue.
• It gained fame from the movie “3 Idiots.”

4. Zanskar Valley :

• Zanskar is a remote and rugged region known for its adventure activities.
• Visit the town of Padum, explore the Phugtal Monastery, and embark on the challenging Chadar Trek during the winter months.

• A remote village near the Pakistani border, Turtuk offers a unique cultural experience.
• Interact with the Balti people, sample their cuisine, and explore the beautiful landscape.

6. Khardung La Pass :

• While en route to Nubra Valley, make a stop at Khardung La, one of the highest motorable passes in the world , for panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

7. Magnetic Hill:

• Experience the unique phenomenon of a vehicle appearing to move uphill on its own due to magnetic forces.

Safety Guidelines for Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip by bike

Certainly, here’s a concise list of safety guidelines for your Bangalore to Leh Ladakh bike trip:

Bike Maintenance:

• Ensure the motorcycle is in excellent condition.
• Carry a toolkit, spare parts, and tire repair kit.
• Maintain the chain and use lubrication.

Safety Gear:

• Wear a full-face helmet, gloves, armored gear, and riding boots.
• Dress in layers for changing weather.
• Use high-visibility gear.
• Fasten helmet and gear securely.

Road Safety:

• Follow traffic rules and speed limits.
• Keep a safe distance and use hand signals.
• Avoid night riding.

Altitude Sickness:

• Acclimatize in Leh.
• Stay hydrated and avoid alcohol.
• Learn altitude sickness symptoms.

Health and Hygiene:

• Carry a first aid kit.
• Maintain personal hygiene.
• Stay well-hydrated and eat nutritious meals.

Weather Precautions:

• Monitor weather conditions.
• Use rain gear and sun protection.

Emergency Preparedness:

• Inform someone of your itinerary.
• Carry a satellite phone or communicator.
• Know the locations of medical facilities and police.

Route Planning:

• Plan your route and breaks.
• Be prepared for road closures.

Local Guidelines:

• Respect local customs and traditions.
• Drive cautiously, and be mindful of wildlife.
• Dispose of waste responsibly.

Prioritize safety on your memorable journey through Ladakh.

Preparing an important document and item checklist

Certainly, here’s a checklist for your Ladakh trip:

Important Documents:

• Valid Photo ID (e.g., Aadhar card, passport)
• Motorcycle Documents (registration, insurance, driver’s license)
• Permits (ILP, Rohtang Pass, etc.)

Travel Itinerary and Contacts:

• Travel Itinerary
• Emergency Contacts

Bike and Maintenance:

• Bike Toolkit
• Spare Parts
• Tire Repair Kit
• Engine Oil and Fluids
• Chain Maintenance

Personal Items:

• Riding Gear
• Layered Clothing
• Camping Gear (if camping)
• Navigation Tools
• Communication Devices
• Food and Water
• First Aid Kit
• Sunglasses and Sunscreen
• Toiletries and Personal Hygiene
• Insect Repellent
• Money and Cards

Miscellaneous:

• Bungee Cords and Cargo Nets
• Duct Tape and Zip Ties
• Headlamp/Flashlight
• Swiss Army Knife or Multi-Tool
• Firestarter or Waterproof Matches
• Emergency Supplies

Camera and Electronics :

• Camera and Extra Batteries
• Action Camera

Ensure you’ve packed all these items to make your Ladakh trip safe and enjoyable.

How much does it cost to visit Leh Ladakh from Bangalore?

Here are some Estimate Costs to visit Leh Ladakh From Bangalore By bike;

What is the best way to reach Leh from Bangalore?

The best and fastest way to reach Leh is by Flight which takes around 5-6 hours. there is some regular flight operating between Leh and Bangalore.

How many days will it take to go to Ladakh from Bangalore?

It takes around Continue 60 Hours to reach Ladakh From Bangalore. If you visit a major tourist attraction during a road trip then it takes around 10-12 days.

How much should a bike trip to Ladakh cost from Bangalore ?

A Bike trip to ladakh cost from Banagalore is around ₹30,000 to ₹40,000+. It depends on Your hotel’s choice, Restaurant choice, etc.

Which month is best for the Ladakh road trip?

The best time for a Ladakh road trip is from June to September .

Conclusion:

The Bangalore to Leh Ladakh road trip by bike is more than just a journey!

It provides you with a lifetime experience and a memorable journey. From Busiet Street of Bangalore to the peaceful environment of ladakh offer you a unique experience.

Enjoy your journey!

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Road Trip to Ladakh Guide For Beginners

A bike trip to Leh Ladakh is every motorcycle enthusiast's dream! The challenging terrains of the Himalayas that lead up to Leh Ladakh make it one of the best routes in India for a road trip plan. However, there are many things that you need to know before you venture out on a trip to Leh Ladakh on your bike. Right from picking the perfect bike that wouldn't give up on you in the middle of nowhere to the right paperwork that you need to carry with you, we have compiled a simple guide on how to plan a Leh Ladakh bike trip. You can go off-roading or even take as many pit stops as you want during your journey. But make sure that you carry the mentioned essentials as the intimidating Himalayas could challenge you with many concerns en route Leh Ladakh.

Be comfortable off-roading

Let's first understand what off-roading is before you make a decision. Off-roading is one of the most popular things that road trippers indulge in, especially during a Leh Ladakh road trip. You basically do not stick to a rigorous schedule when you're teaching Leh Ladakh from any part of Himachal Pradesh. The hilly state in India has one too many small and quaint villages nestled as Himalayas' best-kept secrets. You can actually explore these small villages by taking breaks from your road trips. You do not have to ride till you reach your destination continuously. It is one of the most preferred Leh Ladakh bike trip plans as it allows the rider to take the necessary break the gluteus and back require. Not to mention how part of the itinerary is to make new connections and off-road to new terrains. You might even manage to find easier routes to reach your destination as the locals know better.

Ensure that you carry medicines and supplies

One of the most important tips to follow on a road trip to Leh Ladakh is to ensure that you have packed a proper set of medical supplies. The roads leading up to Leh Ladakh aren't as friendly as you think. The wobbly terrains with uncharted roads and narrow paths often make it difficult for a cruiser to have a good trip. The chances of accidents or unfortunate events are also highly possible during a road trip to Leh Ladakh. Hence, you must carry your own medical supplies. The chances of receiving the best medical attention en route Leh Ladakh is tough, but as long as you have all the essential medicines and supplies, you wouldn't have to worry much. We also recommend that you take up a short course on how to treat accident wounds before you commence on your road trip to Leh Ladakh. It will help you tremendously and also make you more independent as you venture out.

Always carry toilet paper

Don't be surprised to read this point as proper western toilets and water are a luxury that not all of Himachal Pradesh can afford. In fact, the paths leading up to Leh Ladakh don't have public restrooms on the way. You will have to take nature's call in the wild, perhaps before you get back on your saddle to conclude your journey. Hence, it is essential that you carry your own toilet paper and perhaps save some water too. There might come times when you will have to camp in the middle of nowhere and use your survival skills to rest before you can get back on track for your road trip. Even some of the homestays and accommodation options in Leh Ladakh do not have tissues and toilet papers. Best to carry your stock.

Avoid referring to Google Maps

Google Maps is not the most reliable source of navigation, especially when you're backpacking across Himachal Pradesh. The roads leading up to Leh Ladakh are quite convoluted and confusing at times. Surely, if you have a group of people with some seasoned riders who know how to reach Leh Ladakh without the need for a navigation system, follow them. Or, carry a map of roads leading up to Leh Ladakh. It is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you are not lost. Plus, it would be easier to ask the locals too as you can show them the map. Google Maps tend to add to the confusion and sometimes even take you to some wrong roads.

Make pit stops to soak in the beauty of the surrounding

Don't be in a rush to reach your desired destination. Take short breaks and make the journey a memorable one. One of the biggest mistakes that people tend to make on their first road trip is to avoid pit stops and just head for the destination. You need to understand that the destination is not going to shift base and that you will eventually reach the place. But it is important that you spend your time making moments during your road trip count. While you're on your way, you could take a short break to have some lovely tea and Maggi noodles at one of the small stalls in the middle of nowhere.

Further, you can also take a photography break to soak in the gorgeous views of the Himalayas into your cameras. Further, you could meet some fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and opt for off-roading too. It would be a fun expedition, and you will have a great time too.

Don't be too dependent on the mobile network for directions

Mobile networks can give up as your elevation increases. When you're on a road trip to Leh Ladakh, the chances of your mobile network bidding farewell is quite high. We suggest that you download and keep all your required apps and documents, if you have found a proper Google Maps route to guide you through the roads, we suggest that you save it. Mobile networks can be super dicey in regions where they cannot erect network towers. Although BSNL is one of the very few networks to penetrate through the rugged Himalayan range, they might also not give the strongest 4G network and internet that you seek. Hence, we suggest that you do not depend wholly on your mobile network during your road trip to Leh Ladakh. Instead, you carry essentials such as an external map, a torchlight and write down important contact details on a piece of paper or a book.

Carry all the necessary paperwork

When you're travelling to Leh Ladakh via road, there are many documents and official paperwork that you need to carry with you. For road trips to Leh Ladakh, depending on the route that you choose, you will need to carry permit papers accordingly. If you are travelling from the Shimla - Kinnaur - Kaza - Spiti - Leh Ladakh route, you might have to cross through the Kunzum La Pass for which, you will require a permit from the government. Similarly, for those who choose to head to Leh Ladakh from Manali - Rohtang Pass, you will also require a permit from the government to pass the checkpoints. Similarly, it is also important that you carry your IDs and documents along with you to ensure that you do not get stranded in the middle of anywhere without a proper permit.

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• Road Trip to Ladakh – A Complete Travel Guide
• Ladakh Tourism Guide
• June 1, 2023 June 1, 2023
• 11 Comments

Traveling to Ladakh by road is an exciting and adventurous journey that offers breathtaking landscapes and a chance to experience the unique culture of the region. Here’s a travel guide to help you plan your road trip to Ladakh:

• Best Time to Visit: The best time to visit Ladakh by road is from May to September when the weather is pleasant and the roads are open. However, note that the region experiences extreme temperatures, so pack accordingly. The road, however, sometimes remain open in October as well.

a. Manali-Leh Highway: This route starts from Manali in Himachal Pradesh and goes through the Atal tunnel, Keylong, and the Baralacha Pass. It is around 428 kilometers long and offers stunning views of the Himalayas.

b. Srinagar-Leh Highway: This route begins in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, and passes through Sonamarg, Drass, and the Zoji La Pass. It is approximately 434 kilometers long and showcases the scenic beauty of both Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.

• Permits: To travel to Ladakh, both Indian and foreign nationals do not require permits. However, permits are required to visit the sightseeing places of Ladakh including Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Khardungla pass, Nubra Valley, Dah Hanu Batalik region and Turtuk etc. You can obtain the Inner Line Permit (ILP) from the District Magistrate’s Office or through online portals. Foreign nationals need to obtain the Protected Area Permit (PAP) or Restricted Area Permit (RAP) from the Leh District Magistrate’s Office.
• Acclimatization: Ladakh is located at high altitudes, so it’s essential to acclimatize to avoid altitude sickness. Take a day or two to rest in Leh before exploring further. Stay hydrated, avoid strenuous activities initially, and consider taking medication for altitude sickness after consulting with a doctor.
• Accommodation: There are various accommodation options available in Leh and along both Leh-Srinagar and Leh-Manali highway, ranging from budget guesthouses to luxury hotels. It is advisable to make advance bookings, especially during the peak tourist season.
• Fuel and Supplies: Fuel stations are limited along the Manali-Leh highway and S rinagar-Leh highway besides Ladakh, so ensure your vehicle is adequately fueled before embarking on your journey. Carry extra fuel in jerry cans if necessary. Stock up on essential supplies, including food, water, and medicines, as facilities may be scarce in remote areas.
• Vehicle and Road Conditions: It is recommended to travel in a sturdy and reliable vehicle, preferably a SUV, to tackle the challenging terrain. The roads in Ladakh are mostly well-maintained, but certain sections may be rough, narrow, or unpaved. Be prepared for occasional landslides, water crossings, and treacherous mountain passes besides unseasonal snowfall.
• Persevere Road Safety: Drive cautiously and follow traffic rules. Keep an eye out for other vehicles, livestock, and unexpected obstacles on the road. Maintain a steady pace, especially while ascending or descending mountain passes. Avoid rash overtaking and be prepared for oncoming traffic on narrow stretches.
• Altitude Highlights: While in Ladakh, explore popular attractions like Pangong Tso Lake , Nubra Valley, Magnetic Hill, Khardung La Pass (one of the highest motorable passes), Lamayuru Monastery , and Hemis Monastery. Take time to immerse yourself in the local culture and interact with the friendly Ladakhi people.
• Safety Precautions: Ladakh is a remote region, so it’s crucial to take certain safety precautions. Inform someone about your itinerary and expected return time. Carry a first aid kit, spare tires, tools, and emergency supplies. Check weather conditions and road closures before setting off.

Remember, road trip to Ladakh requires proper planning and preparation. Ensure you have travel insurance that covers medical emergencies and vehicle breakdowns. Respect the local customs, preserve the environment, and enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of the region.

Check Out Our Jeep Safari Tour Packages to Ladakh

In Details:

A road trip to Ladakh through daunting and winding roads is a lifetime experience. Ladakh is reachable by two roads — Manali-Leh road and Srinagar-Leh road. Both the roads have distinctive features but Manali-Leh road is more challenging, passing through high altitude, crossing many rivers, mountain passes and having over a hundred hairpin bends.

Travelling through Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh highways is a dream of all the adventure and nature lovers. While Manali-Leh highway, too, has three options (branches) to reach Leh, the Srinagar-Leh highway also has three different routes. While Srinagar-Leh highway generally remains open from late March to November, the Manali-Leh highway remains open from May to October. After building of the Atal tunnel, the road is expected to remain open for longer time as the tunnel bypasses mighty Rohtang pass.

When travelling Ladakh by road comes into mind, tourists usually think about their safety, challenges and road condition. They are also curious to know about permissions, passes, petrol pumps, repair shops, midway hotels/camps, chances of snow and chances of watching snow etc. In this post, we shall talk about everything to guide the tourists properly and with true information as Discover Leh Ladakh has been organising road trips to Ladakh for over a decade now and no one else has the better knowledge of the routes and challenges.

Both Srinagar to Leh and Manali to Leh (via Atal tunnel) is 14-15 hours journey and tourists are advised to cover the distance in two days for two reasons – they can enjoy sightseeing of some major mid-way attractions in the day time by spending enough time and they will get enough time to acclimatize to avoid altitude sickness.

Srinagar to Leh: 430 KM

Manali to Leh: 428 KM via Atal tunnel and 474 KM via Rohtang pass

Bus service to Leh Ladakh

If you are planning a road trip to Ladakh by bus, there are a limited bus services on Manali -Leh and Srinagar-Leh highways. Himachal Roads Transport Corporation (HRTC) and Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Council (HPTDC) run seasonal buses between Manali and Leh. While HPTDC runs a semi deluxe 2X2 bus service on alternate day on this route, HRTC runs daily ordinary bus service. Generally both bus services are available from June or July to mid September. HPTDC bus fare includes transfer and one night stay at Keylong but HRTC bus generally go non-stop. JKTDC runs deluxe and semi deluxe buses between Shrinagar and Leh. Some private operators also run bus service on this route but the buses do not stop for sightseeing.

Hotels on Srinagar – Leh highway

Kargil is the most preferred midway night halt destination while travelling between Srinagar and Leh. However, tourists can stay at multiple locations like Sonmarg, Drass, Lamayuru, Ule etc. Kargil has a large number of hotels, resorts and guesthouses and restaurants. Tourists will get to eat meal/snacks and drink tea at multiple locations on Leh-Srinagar highway.

Hotels and Camps on Manali-Leh highway

On Manali-Leh highway , tourists stay at Keylong, Jispa or Sarchu. While Keylong and Jispa has hotels, guesthouses, homestays and tent options, Sarchu has only camping option. After opening of Atal tunnel, Sarchu will become most preferred midway halt destination as Keylong and Jispa can be reached from Manali within a few hours. However, while travelling from Leh to Manali, Jispa and Keylong can be convenient places as tourists can easily catch bus to Delhi from Manali on the next day. Besides these preferred locations, stays are available at Sissu, Khangsar, Billing, Gemur, Darcha, Pang and many other locations. Tourists can get tea/meal at Tandi, Keylong, Darcha, Bharatpur, Sarchu, Pang, Debring, Upshi, Karu etc.

Delhi – Manali – Leh Ladakh – Srinagar Jeep Safari (Road Trip)

Different road routes between Manali and Leh

• Manali-Atal tunnel-Sarchu – Leh
• Manali – Rohtang pass – Sarchu – Leh
• Manali – Atal tunnel/Rohtang pass – Darcha – Shinku-la pass – Padum – Pensila pass – Kargil – Leh
• Manali – Atal tunnel/Rohtang pass – Darcha – Shinku-la pass – Padum – Lingshed – Wanla – Nimmu – Leh

Different road routes between Srinagar and Leh

• Srinagar – Sonmarg – Zojila pass – Kargil – Lamayuru – Leh
• Srinagar – Sonmarg – Zojila pass – Kargil – Batalik – Dah Hanu – Khaltsi – Leh
• Srinagar – Sonmarg – Zojila pass – Kargil – Batalik – Dah Hanu – Chitkan – Lamayuru –Khaltsi – Leh
• Srinagar – Sonmarg – Zojila pass – Kargil – Suru – Pensi-la pass – Padum – Lingshed – Wanla – Nimmu – Leh

Check-out Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh Road Trip Packages

Major sightseeing places on Manali-Leh highway

• Atal tunnel (or Rohtang pass)
• Tandi (confluence of Chandra and Bhaga rivers which give birth to Chenab river)
• Baralacha pass
• Moore plains
• Taglangla pass

Major sightseeing places on Srinagar-Leh highway

• Zojila pass
• Lamayuru monastery
• Basgo ruins
• Sangam (confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers)
• Magnetic Hill
• Pathar Sahib Gurudwara

Srinagar Ladakh Manali Delhi Jeep Safari (10 Nights 11 Days)

Mountain passes on manali – leh highway.

• Rohtang pass (3,980 m)
• Baralacha pass (5,030 m)
• Nakila pass (4,739 m)
• Lachulung-la (pass) (5,065 m)
• Taglang-la (pass) (5,328 m)

Mountain passes on Srinagar-Leh highway

• Zojila (pass) (3,528 m)
• Namik-la (pass) (3,700 m)
• Fotu-la (pass) (4,108 m)

Best time for road trips to Ladakh

April to mid-November (or late October) is the best time to travel on Srinagar-Leh highway while late April (or early May) to mid-October is the best time to travel on Manali-Leh highway. Both the highways remain closed for traffic following snowfall in winter season.

Petrol pumps on Manali-Leh highway

There is only one fuel pump at Tandi (Lahaul valley) on Manali-Leh highway. After Manali town, there is one petrol pump at Kanchanikoot (2km from Manali) and at Bahang (5km from Manali), then you will get petrol/diesel at Karu, just before Leh town. There are no petrol pumps (gas stations) between Manali and Leh. So, all the taxis (and other vehicles) prefer carrying extra fuel for emergency.

Petrol pumps on Srinagar-Leh highway

You will get a large number of petrol pumps on Srinagar-Leh highway, so you need not to carry extra fuel with you. Sonmarg, Drass, Kargil, Khalsi and Leh have the petrol pumps.

Is it safe to travel to Ladakh by road?

Yes, travelling by road to Ladakh is as safe as in other roads of the country. Moreover, there are many benefits of travelling to Leh Ladakh by road as you gain altitude slowly, giving your body enough time to acclimate which helps avoid altitude sickness. Secondly, you get to see different geographical transformations and beautiful peaks, glaciers, valleys, rivers, mountain passes, villages, cultures, flora and fauna. The road trip to Ladakh is adventurous because of all these variations and geographies with hundreds of hairpin bends and high passes. Remember, the road journey to Ladakh can prove fatal if you drive drunk, consume any drug, driving day and night without taking proper sleep or fail to concentrate on the road. A small mistake can result in your vehicle falling in deep gorge. Follow traffic rules, drive at your side, don’t overtake until its safe, don’t drive in snowy conditions to avoid slipping of the vehicle and restrict speed to 5kmph in case of dense fog. Both Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh roads have mostly black-topped and double-laned. So it’s a fun. If you don’t have driving experience on steep hills, you can hire local taxis.

Can we see snow on Manali-Leh highway?

There are chances of watching snow at Baralacha pass, Rohtang pass and Taglangla pass till late June and sometimes even till mid-July. But availability of snowfall totally depends on quantity of snowfall in winter season and temperature. Snowfall is possible 12 months a year on high mountain passes.

Can we see snow on Srinagar-Leh highway?

Generally Ladakh receives too less snow. Ladakh is known for its extreme cold. However, high mountain passes receive very heavy snowfall here. Tourists can see snow at Zojila pass in April and sometimes in May month also.

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As 9.02km-long Atal tunnel, Rohtang, is ready for inauguration, the Ministry of Defence is concentrating on building more tunnels on Manali-Leh and Darcha-Padum axis to make both the highways all-weather. Building tunnels below 16,600ft high Shinkula pass and 16,050ft high Baralacha pass are on priority.

According to sources, Defence Ministry has asked to make a detailed project report (DPR) of the tunnel beneath Shinkula pass. The primary survey of the tunnel was already conducted by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The Darcha-Shinkula-Padum highway which connects with Manali-Leh highway at Darcha, 98km from here through Atal tunnel, will further meet with Leh-Kargil highway at Nimmu. While many more tunnels are required to make existing Manali-Leh highway an all-weather road, only one tunnel beneath Shinkula pass will ensure year-round connectivity of Ladakh from the mainland.

“National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd can be given responsibility to prepare the DPR for tunnel below Shinkula pass. Work to dig the tunnel is expected to start soon. Three tunnels at Baralacha, Lachulung-la and Taglangla pass on Manali-Leh axis are also on the priority of Defence Ministry. Primary survey of proposed tunnel beneath Baralacha pass has already been done,” a source with the BRO said.

At present all the traffic including military convoy use 474km long Manali-Leh highway to travel between Himachal and Ladakh. The other highway through Shinkula pass is still under construction but local residents are using it since September last year. The 40km stretch between Darcha and Shinkula is being widened and blacktopped. Shinkula is the state boundary between Himachal and UT of Ladakh. Nearly 20km stretch between Shinkula and Kurgiah, the first village of Zanskar valley of Ladakh, is in poor condition.

Shinkula receives heavy snow in winter months. The plan is to dig a tunnel from near Chhika-Rarik villages of Lahaul towards Lakhang, the base of Shinkula in Zanskar. The tunnel is expected to reduce distance between Darcha and Padum by about 30km but will save a travel time of nearly two hours. Padum is currently connected with Leh-Kargil highway with a link road via Lingshed. The main double-lane highway is being built by the bank of Zanskar river and will connect Padum with Nimmu, about 35km from Leh.  Major portion of the highway has been built.

On other side, after Atal tunnel which is decreasing the distance between Manali and Leh by 46km, three more tunnels on Manali-Leh axis will reduce this distance by about 74km. So, the present distance of 474km will reduce to just 354km. The 11.25km-long tunnel below Baralacha pass will reduce distance by nearly 19km, 14.78km-long tunnel below Lachulung-la will decrease distance by about 31km and 7.32km-long tunnel below Taglangla pass will shorten distance by about 24km.

According to a source, earlier building a tunnel below Baralacha was the priority but now priority is to dig tunnel below Shinkula pass which will make alternate route to Ladakh safe and easily accessible. “Just Atal tunnel cannot make Manali-Leh highway all-weather. For example, Baralacha pass receives more snow than Rohtang and blocks highway for six months. In an effort to strengthen our border road infrastructure and to strengthen Indian Army, the highway through Shinkula pass will play a crucial role in coming days as it will be the shortest and safest route,” he said.

Ladakh to get all-weather connectivity with two roads from Manali soon

While a 14.15km long tunnel beneath Zoji La will provide all-weather road connectivity on Srinagar-Leh highway soon in next few years, Ladakh will get year-round connectivity by two roads from Manali very soon.

Additional Director General Border Roads (ADGBR) Anil Kumar while his visit to review the work on Atal tunnel, Rohtang, said besides making Manali-Sarchu-Leh highway an all-weather road, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is working on making Manali-Shinkula-Nimu highway double-lane and all-weather. He said DPR of Baralacha pass tunnel is ready and DPR of three other tunnels is being prepared.

“Atal tunnel is complete and ready for inauguration. After this, three more tunnels are proposed to build on the Manali-Sarchu-Leh highway to provide year-round connectivity. While DPR of tunnel under Baralacha pass has been prepared, DPRs for tunnels below Lachulung-la pass and Taglang-la pass will be made soon. Besides this, DPR of Shinkula tunnel to make Darcha-Shinkula-Padum-Nimu road all-weather is being prepared,” he said.

He added that development of road network in border areas of Himachal, Ladakh, J&K and Uttarakhand and all the north-west regions is an important aspect. He said an alternate route Darcha-Padum-Nimu is being built to connect Himachal with Ladakh besides existing Manali-Sarchu-Leh road.

“Total length of this road will be about 297km where only 35km road is to be constructed. This road will be made a double-lane road and nearly 90km of the length has already been made double-lane. The tunnel at Shinkula pass is also proposed which will make this road an all-weather highway,” he added.

Darcha is now just 100km from Manali via Atal tunnel. The Manali-Darcha-Padum-Nimu road will be about 397km in length. This length will further reduce after Shinkula tunnel. Nimu to Leh is just 35km while Nimu to Kargil is about 185km. The main advantage of this new road will be its location which is completely inside from international border with both China and Pakistan and has no mountain pass other than Shinkula. The travel time on this highway to reach strategic points of Ladakh will be much less than other two roads.

The growing tension at India-China border has forced Ministry of Defence to strengthen the border road network. The Indian Army these days is sending essential supplies to Ladakh to store it for winter months when there will be no connectivity. The Army will be totally dependent on air connectivity. Not just Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh highway is busy with military convoy these days but even the skies are roaring with military transport aircrafts day and night as Army does not want to leave any stone unturned in preparations for possibility of war.

Army will need not to store essentials in such a large quantity in coming days as surface transportation through multiple roads will be possible 12 months a year. In case of any emergency, the Army will have option to move troops and other supplies through any of the three roads.

An 11.25km-long tunnel will be the next major project of BRO after Atal tunnel. This tunnel will reduce distance between Manali and Leh by nearly 19km. DPR for 14.78km-long tunnel below Lachulung-la and 7.32km-long tunnel below Taglang-la pass are being prepared. These tunnels will reduce distance by about 31km and 24km respectively.

Another long-span bridge on Manali-Leh highway to make road trip to Ladakh smooth

Sept 4, 2020: While a 360m-long Darcha bridge, longest on Manali-Leh highway, can be dedicated to the nation along with Atal tunnel this month, another long-span bridge will come up at Bharatpur where a “pagal” nullah has troubled Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for years.

BRO has improved condition of the Manali-Leh highway over the years due to its strategic importance, but a damaged stretch of the highway at Bharatpur remains to be a nightmare for the travellers for many years now. Manali-Leh highway has many pagal (insane) nullahs which have got this identity because they can experience flood in rain, sunny day, monsoon or in any season without prior warning. Bharatpur nullah is one of them.

Bharatpur nullah goes out of control in summer and monsoon season when it comes in spate and brings tonnes of debris so often. Vehicles are required to cross the gushing nullah and nearly 200m stretch covered with huge boulders. The Manali-Leh highway was once fit only for four-wheel drive vehicles with high ground clearance but it has now become safe for light cars as well. However, negotiating the Bharatpur section is an ordeal for the motorists.

Local residents suggest travellers to leave Keylong for Sarchu or Leh early in the morning as crossing this section after noon become very difficult when water level rises abnormally. The nullah swells every day when rise in temperature melts down snow on the peaks. Heavy rain also results in its flooding. The small vehicles hit the boulders on the road here. If crossed this section, travellers know that nothing can stop them from reaching Leh.

Manali-Leh highway is under heavy load these days due to military convoy and goods trucks plying on this road. The highway, which otherwise has become so smooth for driving, will become smoother after opening of Atal tunnel by end of this month. The Bharatpur section was in want of attention.

BRO had made many failed attempts to remove fear from the hearts of the travellers by maintaining this road. Every time BRO maintains road, the devastating nullah damages it. The main challenge here is a flat valley and nullah flowing on the level of the highway. The debris is spread across the valley. BRO had put a small bridge here but nullah is flowing over the bridge. Now BRO has planned something else for Bharatpur.

A BRO official said, “We shall build a long-span bridge here. This is the only viable option to protect the road and offer smooth ride to the travellers. This way water and debris will pass underneath the bridge. The work will start next year.”

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• Leh Ladakh Tour From Bangalore

Leh Ladakh Package From Bangalore Rated 4.2 /5 (based on 10711 reviews) Leh Ladakh Package From Bangalore

Top Selling Leh Ladakh Package From Bangalore 11 Days & 10 Nights

Hotel included in package:

• Srinagar (2D)
• Gulmarg (1D)
• Pahalgam (1D)
• Kargil (1D)
• Nubra Valley (1D)
• Pangong (1D)

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Leh Ladakh Package From Bangalore

Trip Location: Leh Ladakh Destinations Covered: 2N Srinagar, 1N Gulmarg, 1N Pahalgam, 1N Kargil, 1N Pangong, 1N Nubra Valley, 3N Leh Start Point: Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru End Point: Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru Accommodation: Hotels/ Resorts Things to do: Visit Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, Namgyal Tsemo, Sankar Gompa, Hall of Fame, India Post Leh Head Office

About The Package

Generally, every mountain lover dreams of visiting the most rugged yet beautiful mountains of the Ladakh range. Our Ladakh trip from Bangalore can be the boldest choice a mountain lover can make to get the fullest enjoyment of the trip.

Bestselling Leh-Ladakh Tour Packages From Top Cities in India

In the package made by TravelTriangle, you will be able to cover the total Kashmir valley and Ladakh region. As part of this Leh Ladakh trip from Bangalore, you will start experiencing the blissful Himalayas from Srinagar. Other places of the Kashmir valley region that are included in the itinerary are Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Chandanwari. You can, therefore, enjoy your trip amidst the lush green meadows and the forests of the Himalayan Mountains.

In the trip to Leh Ladakh from Bangalore, you will thoroughly visit every spot of the Leh and Ladakh region. You will visit the well-known spots like the Magnetic Hill, Patthar Sahib, Lamayuru Gompa, and Alchi Gompa. The Ladakh Hall of Fame and the Zanskar-Indus Sangam is something you can also visit.

Get a chance to witness the mystical cold desert in the Nubra Valley. Here you can see and ride the double-humped camel. Explore the high-altitude villages and discover the culture of the people living in Hundar and Deskit. The package also gives you an opportunity to ride on the highest road with motor access. You can also get a good time to stay near the famous Pangong Lake.

A quick visit to Shey Palace, Sindhu Ghat, and Thikksey Gompa is also included in the package.

So, don’t wait anymore! Get your place in the package trip to Leh Ladakh from Bangalore with TravelTriangle. We assure you about the excellent hospitality and the utmost comfort that you will get from the trip.

• Enjoy the heavenly bliss of Srinagar
• Witness the picturesque gardens in all their glory
• Live in the houseboat for a day
• Fall in love with the beautiful Pahalgam
• Refresh your soul at Betaab valley
• See the wood factory at Chandanwari

Srinagar: Arrival

• Sightseeing
• Mughal Gardens

Other Benefits (On Arrival)

The tour initiates with Srinagar Sightseeing

After you land at Srinagar airport you will be transported to the main city. Expect to cross the Abdullah Bridge on the way. In Srinagar, you will visit the famous picturesque gardens that are located by the Dal Lake. Witness the famous Shalimar and Nishat Bagh. In the evening check-in the hotel or houseboat. Stay overnight.

Travel to Gulmarg

Have a pleasant drive to Gulmarg

Expect a wonderful road trip to Gulmarg on the second day of the trip. After breakfast, you will check out from the hotel in Srinagar and start the journey. Drive by the Tangmarg town stuffed with some awesome views. On reaching Gulmarg and check-in the hotel. You can ride the Gondola or the horse and roam about at your own cost. Stay at the hotel in Gulmarg for the night.

Travel to Pahalgam

• Lidder Stream

Feel the ultimate ecstasy of the soul in Pahalgam

Pahalgam is one of the most beautiful hill stations of the Kashmir region. On the third day of the trip, you will check-out from the hotel in Gulmarg after breakfast and reach Pahalgam. Expect to touch then places like Pampore and Avantipura. You can also get a glimpse of the second largest city of the state that is Anantnag. Pahalgam is rich in scenic beauty and you can enjoy leisure time by the Lidder stream. Check-in to the hotel here and stay for the night.

Reach out to Betaab Valley, Chandanwari

• Betaab Valley

A day full of activity in Betaab Valley and Chandanwari

The 4th day of the tour will be full of activities as you will check-out from the hotel in Pahalgam after breakfast. You will visit the Betaab Valley and the Chandanwari on this day. Expect to see the majestic meadows of the place. In the afternoon, you will start the journey back to Srinagar. Once you reach the capital, you will check in the hotel and stay overnight.

Reaching Kargil

Have a full day of traveling

The 5th day of the trip, you will have a full day of traveling through the rugged roads of mountains. The mystic views of the lofty mountains will accompany you. After breakfast, you will start from Srinagar and cross the Sonamarg. You will also cross the Zoji-La pass. You will feel that you have stepped into some ancient time. Move into Drass Sector and after checking in Kargil, continue till Wakha. You can stay here for the night.

Touching Leh

• Magnetic Hill

Experience an amazing journey to Leh

After a night in Wakha, you will leave the hotel post breakfast and start the journey towards Leh. It is generally a 6 hours journey but on the way, you will visit the places like Lamayuru Gompa, Alchi Gompa, Magnetic Hill, Patthar Sahib Gurudwara. By the evening you can reach Leh. Get into the hotel and have good rest for the night.

Witness the Cold Desert in Nubra Valley

Nubra Valley

• Diskit Monastery

Enjoy the majestic cold desert in Nubra Valley

Starting from Leh you will be transferred to the Nubra valley on the seventh day of the trip. Expect to cross the Khardungla Pass which is the highest motorable road in the earth. You can indulge in activities like camel riding in Nubra. Visit the Hundar village and the Deskit Monastery to see that life of the monks and normal people in such a high altitude. You will stay in the deluxe camps of Nubra for the night.

Return to Leh

• Leisure Time

A day of journey and Leisure

You will leave the Nubra camp on the 8th day morning after breakfast. The cabs will drive you back to Leh crossing the Khardungla Pass yet again. Once you reach Leh, you can enjoy a good time for leisure. Get into the hotel and take a decent rest for the night. You might also explore the Leh Bazaar on foot.

Visit Pangong Lake

• Pangong Lake
• Shey Palace

Have a blast at Pangong Lake

You will visit the majestic Pangong Lake on the 9th day of the Leh Ladakh trip. On the way from Leh you will visit the Shey Gompa and Palace. In the evening, you will check-in at the camp near Pangong Lake. You will stay for the night here.

• Sindhu Ghat

The departure to Leh for the last time

On the 10th day, you will start for Leh for the last time on the trip. While coming back you will visit the amazing Thiksey Monastery and the Sindhu Ghat. Once you reach Leh, you will check into the hotel and have a good time resting.

The tour package ends

A fantastic trip comes to an end

On the last day, you will have breakfast and complete the procedure of checking out from the hotel in Leh. Get to the airport and board the flight as the trip ends.

Note: Our agents will provide you these or similar hotels depending on availability

Hotel pine spring

next to Gandola, Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir 192126

Hotel luxury inn

Raj Bagh, Near Post Office , 190008 Srinagar, India

• Iron/ironing board
• Laundry facilities
• Pets not allowed
• Room service
• 24-hour front desk

Royal group of houseboats

Gate No 15, Dal Lake, 190001 Srinagar, India

Hotel greenland kargil

Main Bazaar Kargil,Adjacent to LAHDC Headquarters,Near Old Taxi-Stand, Kargil (Ladakh), India 194103 Kargil - Jammu and Kashmir, India

Hotel eden resort

Rafting Point, Kennair, , Pahalgam, 192126

Nubra valley

Desert oasis camp

Hunder , Daksa, Chazkot, Hunder, Leh

• Travel Desk
• Doctor on call

Days 6, 8, 10

Hotel arya ladakh

Karzu Rd, Leh, Jammu and Kashmir 194101

Pangong delight camp

Spangmik, Pangong, Jammu & Kashmir, 194101 Spangmik, India

• Meal plan : Breakfast & Dinner
• Airport Transfer : Arrival & Departure
• Government Taxes/VAT/ Service Charges
• Cab for sightseeing (01 Scorpio / Xylo) -English Speaking Driver
• 01 Nac Etios (Srinagar area)(Day 1-day 4)
• Arrival / Departure transfers by 01 NAC Van / Tavera / Sumo
• Transportation by 01 NAC Scorpio / Xylo(In Leh area) & 01 Nac Etios (Srinagar area) for sightseeing as per the itinerary
• Driver as assistance at the airport while arriving and departing
• Misc. charges are inclusive like
• Toll tax & Parking
• Meal plan : Lunch
• Camel ride Entry fee charges
• Any Kind of Personal Expenses or Optional Tours / Extra Meals Ordered Rafting & Camel Safari Charges
• Anything not specifically mentioned under the head “Prices included”
• Tips, Insurance, Laundry, Phone Calls
• Any Kind of Drinks (Alcoholic, Mineral, Aerated)
• Cost incidental to any change in the itinerary/ stay on account of flight cancellation due to bad weather, ill health, roadblocks and/or any factors beyond control

Your Preferences

Where do you want to go?

FAQs for Ladakh

How much does a leh ladakh trip cost.

The cost of your Leh Ladakh trip will depend upon the number of days you spend there and the places that you choose to stay at. For instance, a Leh Ladakh 6 nights 7 days package might cost you nearly INR 30,999 for a single person with a few perks thrown in.

How many days are enough for a Leh Ladakh trip?

For touring Leh Ladakh in a relaxing manner and for you to actually enjoy your vacation, you need at least a week here. Plan a trip for at least 6 to 7 nights for a vacation you will never forget.

Which route is best for Ladakh?

Tourists who want to enjoy road trips, May and October are the best time to explore Leh Ladakh. The roads are open and in a good condition for the tourists to enjoy the scenic beauty. One of the best routes for Ladakh is the Manali route. However, some of the travellers also prefer the Srinagar route as well.

Do we stay at the houseboat in Srinagar?

Yes, but it depends upon the availability.

Is the cable car cost included in the itinerary?

No, the cost of the cable car in Gulmarg is excluded, and you will have to pay your own way for this ride.

What sorts of dishes to try in Kashmir?

You can try different dishes of meat in Kashmir.

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Ladakh Tour Packages From Bangalore

Home » Ladakh Tour Packages From Bangalore

Explore Our Best & Cheap Leh Ladakh Tour Packages From Bangalore start from Bangalore to Leh By air and also By road from Manali or Srinagar. Valley Trip offers the best Cheap Ladakh Tour Packages for all Like Ladakh Couple Packages Ladakh Family Packages & Ladakh Group Tour Packages . Our Packages are starts from 6 days 7 days 8 days to 10 days Book and get amazing deals with us 

Ladakh is the most adventurous travel destination where you will explore the best adventure travel activities such as River rafting trekking bike riding and much more, not only Adventure also explore local monasteries like Shanti Stupa and Diskit Monastery 

Valley Trip Planner is the best travel agency in Ladakh offers all types of Ladakh Packages Like Kashmir Ladakh Packages and much more Book and get cheap deals

Are you ready to embark on a journey that will take you from the vibrant city of Bangalore to the serene landscapes of Ladakh? A Ladakh tour from Bangalore promises an incredible adventure filled with breathtaking vistas, ancient monasteries, and a glimpse into the unique culture of this Himalayan region. Let’s delve into the enchanting highlights of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Your Ladakh escapade commences in the bustling metropolis of Bangalore, often referred to as the “Silicon Valley of India.” Bid adieu to the city’s fast-paced life as you board a flight to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. Get ready to trade in skyscrapers for soaring mountains, and tech-talk for soul-stirring natural beauty.

Table of Contents

Popular Ladakh Tour Packages from Bangalore

Are you from Bangalore and have plans to visit Leh Ladakh We offer two types of Ladakh Holiday Packages by air starting from Bangalore to Leh by air? which means the company will pick you up at Leh Airport. and 2nd is starting By road from Manali to Leh or Srinagar to Leh

On Our Ladakh Tour Packages From Bangalore , you will get the best Hotel Camp stays in all places such as Leh Nubra Valley Pangong Lake, Ladakh is the most beautiful travel restraints where you will explore high pass landscapes and advent activities explore local food and culture buy the best things like Pishmena Shawasl and much more

From the dynamic city of Bangalore to the serene landscapes of Ladakh, this tour promises an unforgettable experience. Immerse yourself in the spiritual aura of monasteries, revel in the stark beauty of deserts and mountains, and forge connections with the welcoming locals. A Ladakh tour from Bangalore is a harmonious blend of adventure, culture, and natural beauty that will leave you with memories to cherish for a lifetime.

Your Ladakh tour is incomplete without a visit to the Magnetic Hill, where the laws of gravity seem to be defied. As your vehicle seemingly moves uphill on its own, you’ll be reminded of the mysticism that surrounds this land.

Each year we offer all types of Holiday Packages starting from India Like Ladakh Packages from Kolkata Ladakh Packages From Pune Ladakh Packages Mumbai etc Book with us 

Overview of Ladakh Tour Packages From Bangalore

1- Pickup & Drop Options: Are you from Bangalore and looking for a Ladakh Trip? the company offers you pickup services from Leh airport which means you should come to Leh By Air

2- By-Road Options:  Yes we offer by-road options Also if you want to come by train you can book the train to Delhi also to Jammu in this case we will pick up you at Manali or Srinagar

3- Hotel Stays:  We offer 6 days to 10 days Ladakh holiday packages which means we offer you stay as per your days and needs in Leh Ladakh

4- Inner Line Permits:  Yes company offers you all types of Inner Line Permits that you will need in Nubra Valley Pangong Lake and other places in Ladakh

5- Customized Plan:  If you want to make a Customized Tour Plan contact us any time and get the all details about the Ladakh Trip as Per Your Needs and Budget

Top Ladakh Tour Packages From Bangalore

Leh sham valley nubra pangong 6 days, nubra valley pangong trutuk budget trip, best ladakh summer 8 days tour, explore ladakh tourism & places from bangalore.

1. Leh City: The capital city of Ladakh and largest town, Leh is a natural starting point for those who want to explore the local culture and foods. on our Ladakh Packages from Bangalore Explore the vibrant markets, historic Leh Palace, and the serene Shanti Stupa. Thiksey Monastery and other places in this City

2. Pangong Lake: Pangong Lake’s pristine beauty and ever-changing colors against the backdrop of rugged mountains create an enchanting setting.  It’s not only a lake but you will get time to have unique experiences like Cam Stays lakeside picnics, and photography sessions, including the Permit on our Ladakh Tour from Bangalore so that you can reach there and explore

3. Nubra Valley:   The Nubra Valley offers a unique landscape with sand dunes, lush oases, and the chance to ride double-humped camels. Explore ancient monasteries, enjoy the stunning views of the valley, and bond with your group or family over unforgettable experiences.

4. Tso Moriri Lake: If you have time you can also include this in your itinerary of Ladakh Packages from Bangalore Moriri Lake’s remote location and stunning surroundings provide a serene escape. The high-altitude beauty and tranquility of the lake create a perfect environment for group members to unwind and connect with nature.

5- Sham Valley:  it’s not one destination but a 60 km around sightsee which will be covered in Ladakh tour packages explore the Hall of Fame Gurdurawa Pather Sahib and Lamayur in the Sham Valley trip

6- Turtuk Valley –  Book a 7-day LaTurtuk is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous community development block in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is a small village sandwiched between the Karakorum Range and the Himalayas, Ladakh tour from Coimbatore and explore the Trurtk Valley,

7- Zanskar Valley  The segregated Zanskar  Vale  is  known  for its  amazing   scenes  and its  remote  and bona fide  metropolises  where it seems as though  time  has halted. The  set  of  times   rich   abbeys  in Zanskar are  much   worked  around antiquated  bluff   top   reflection   centers ,  saving  an  ancient   type  of Buddhism.

8-Shanti Stupa:  a local attraction you can cover first on Ladakh Tour Packages from Bangalore, Based on a ridge in the Changspa area of Leh at an elevation of about 14K feet (4267 Mtrs), Shanti Stupa was worked in 1999.  it’s  quite possibly  the foremost  loved vacationer location among different places in Leh’s nearby touring plan.

Things to do on –  Ladakh Trip From Bangalore

• Camel Safari Camel safari is maybe an extraordinary way of journeying down the lopsided territory of Leh Ladakh. What better than Bactrian camels giving you a long ride on their backs while you partake in the persona landscapes unfurling before your eyes. in Ladakh,t
• Camping  camping in Ladakh is the best activite that should be included in Ladakh Travel Packages from Bangalore , There is no deficiency in courageous and invigorating activities in Leh Ladakh, and setting up camp close to quiet lakes is one more intriguing and fun activity to enjoy. 
• River Rafting In the place where there is experience, waterway boating adds to another top experience you would prefer not to miss in Ladakh. The best places to appreciate waterway boating in Ladakh are its two well-known streams – Indus and Zanskar that have fast grades going from I to V. Be that as it may, the greater part of the stretches of these waterways have Grades I to III
• Cuisine Of Ladakh explore local foods & make your Ladakh  Packages  more amazing. Assuming the scene of Ladakh is infertile and tough, however wonderful, it’s food is rich, bright, flavorsome, and nutritious. Notice the words Ladakhi food, however, and a great many people’s answers end with momos and noodle soup
• Bike Riding For some purposes, it tends to be an undertaking yet for other trekking in Leh Ladakh is the most intriguing experience that should not be underestimated. It is said that you can’t view yourself as a genuine rider in the event that you have not ridden on the rough territories of Ladakh. Trekking is considered as the top choice and vital outing of life during the  Ladakh Tour Packages from Bangalore

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Leh Ladakh Tour Packages from Bangalore – Only 12,300 Rs

Are you from Bangalore? and Looking Leh Ladakh trip, you’re at the right website. Give a treat to your Family with our Best Leh Ladakh Tour Packages from Bangalore you do not need to look anywhere because LadakMart Ladakh holiday packages is a local tour company that is the right choice for you for all  Cheap Ladakh Tour Packages starting from Bangalore At LadakhMart you will find all types of Couples Family & Groups customizable Leh Ladakh tours from Bangalore to suit every kind of traveler from Bangalore

get the list of 100-holiday packages from Bangalore to Ladakh and enjoy unbeatable deals and discounts price with us. LadakhMart offers a tour package for Leh Ladakh from Bangalore that is available by air from Leh and also by road from Manali. get the low cost of Rs 14,300 rs Per Person for 6 days. no matter which type of Ladakh Package from Bangalore are you looking for a Ladakh family package, a Ladakh couple package Ladakh Group Package,

on our website you will find the right trip option here. With well-digging and planned sightseeing and recommended activities in Ladakh, LadakhMart ensures you that cover all the sightseeing &attractions are included in your Leh Ladakh Tour Package from the Bangalore itinerary.

You can include any travel activity in your Leh Ladakh trip, our  Ladakh customizes your holiday package depending on your budget and needs. the company offers tour packages from Bangalore to Ladakh with low cost and best stays. no matter which type of Ladakh trip it is an adventure trip, a bike trip jeep safari, or relaxed holiday in Ladakh, or a road trip with friends, 

Only on this website, you will find the right Leh Ladakh Package at Ladakmart. offer travel services from all over India to Leh Ladakh.

Browse Other Ladakh Packages:   Ladakh Tour Packages from Nagpur,    Leh tour Packages,   Ladakh Kashmir Tour Packages,   Leh Ladakh Trekking Packages,   Ladakh Tour Packages from Ahmedabad,   Ladakh Tour Packages from Kolkata

Table of Contents

Popular Ladakh tour packages from Bangalore

Every year 100 travelers from Bangalore come with us to Ladakh and we suggest him cheap Leh Ladakh tours. so if you are one of them and have a plan to visit Ladakh,

book our Leh Ladakh tour packages from Bangalore and get cheap deals starting from Leh to Bangalore by air and also by road from Manali to Leh & Srinagar to Leh

We are a local tour company based in Ladakh and offer all types of Holiday tour packages starting from Leh By Air and also by road from Manali to Leh and Srinagar to Leh, Get the best travel services for our side in all places like Leh Kargil Nubra Valley Pangong and other places, Book your Ladakh Tour with us and visit the best travel places with family or friends

Highlights of Ladakh Tour Packages from Kolkata

• all the tour packages on this website start from Bangalore to Leh and also by road from Manali or Srinagar
• for By road tour package from Bangalore, you can come by train to Manali or Jammu
• all the Ladakh tour packages are ready-made which means you can change the day’s places and stays if you like
• Also, you can make your own customized tour plan that will match your needs and budget
• contact our reservation any time to get the all information about the Ladakh tourism
• The pickup and drop option is based on the client’s requirements 
• so before you’re going to book the Ladakh tour please check the all details on this website

Types of Leh Ladakh Packages From Bangalore

Ladakh is the most adventurous travel destination in India, where you are going to explore the mountain range Landscaps High pass’s monasteries, and much more with your family or friends

Book All kinds of Ladakh vacation packages from Bangalore offered by LadakhMart from family tours to Group Packages that will make everyone’s mood perfect. For those travelers who love adventure and nature and landscapes, then you should to come once Ladakh.

where your going to explore the majestic Himalayan ranges to the most beautiful region is also home to several remote valleys including the Turtuk Valley and Hanle Nubra Valley. with LadakhMart Ladakh package from Bangalore also offers can include adventure activities like exploration, expeditions, treks, paragliding Ladakh which is also known as  ‘Little Tibet’, so get the three types of Ladakh holiday packages with our travel company any time and amaze the cheap deals

1- Ladakh Family Tour Package from Bangalore

These tour packages are for families who like to visit Leh Ladakh from Bangalore. our Ladakh Family Tour Packages are well customized and planned as per the places in Leh Ladakh so that you can cover all the sightseen and take stay in Hotels and Camps. The company offered the Best Ladakh Tours for Family from Bangalore to Leh by air and also have an option by road to Leh

2- Ladakh Couple Packages From Bangalore

Explore the most romantic  Ladakh Couple tour Packages with us, and get the best prices from Bangalore to Leh for Honeymoon Couples. all the Ladakh Packages from Bangalore start by air to Leh and also have an option by train to Manali or Jammu. the package are included top places monasteries and other travel activities

3- Ladakh Group Tours from Bangalore

Yes for all Groups who want to visit the most beautiful travel destination In India Ladakh get the best deals By road and also by air Leh  Ladakh Group Packages  with LadakhTravelMart. explore the land of adventure by cab or Bike at our cheap prices.

Top Leh Ladakh Tours From Bangalore

Luxury Nubra Valley Pangong Leh 6 Days For Couple

₹ 53400 / per person.

• Leh Nubra Valley Pangong Lake Sham Valley

Ladakh is the best destination for couples and if you are looking the Best Couple Trip Book With us for Luxury Nubra Valley Pangong Leh 6 Days For Couple Explore the best Places also take a luxury Stay in All Places

Best Nubra Valley Pangong Leh Sham Valley Family Trip 6 Days

₹ 13700 / per person.

If you are a Family & looking for the best 5 night & 6 Days Tour PACKAGE BOOK THIS TRIP AND EXPLORE THE ALL main places like Leh Sham Valley Nubra Valley Pangong Lake get the best family hotels in all places

Explore New Leh Ladakh Group Tour For 7 Days

₹ 13900 / per person.

• Leh Nubra Valley Pangong Lake Turtuk Sham Valley

Its a 6 Night & 7 Days Tour Plan for Those Groups who want to explore the top main places Like Leh Sma Valley Nubra Valley Pangong Lake also Visit Day Trip To Turtuk Valley With Your Grop & Get The Best Deals

Explore Ladakh With Family Package 6 Days

₹ 12700 / per person.

its a Family Trip for 6 Days Book This Trip with our company & explore the top visit Places Like Leh Sham Valley Nubra Valley Pangong Lake with your Family to get the cheap and best Stays in All Places in Leh Ladakh For Our Side

Land Of Highpass Leh Ladakh Trip 7 Days

₹ 13300 / per person.

• Leh Nubra Valley Pangong Lake Turtuk

Land Of Highpass Leh Ladakh Trip 7 Days Book with us this tip and explore the main places Like Leh city Nubra Valley Pangong Lake also visit Trutuk Valley for a Day Trip, In Leh you will cover Sham Valley also get the best stay in all places Ladakh

Explore Ladakh Packages & Tourism

Ladakh UT is a magnificent and unexplored Adventureland of the Himalayas. It is one place that is considered challenged by everyone who wants to do some unique activities, and who is on the lookout to satiate their indomitable love for adventure. Besides bike riding and camping also trekking in Ladakh, you can indulge in a series of adventure sports such as biking, water rafting, safaris, etc. Also known as the ‘Land of High Passes, 

Its a land where you are going to explore the local culture local Tibetan Foods, historical places Religious places like Monastery in Ladakh, and lakes,

There are so many popular lakes like Zanaskar Lake Sangam Lake Pangong Lake Tso Moriri Lake also cover landscapes like Nubra Valley Turtuk valley and other places

we are going to share some popular places that you will cover in your  Ladakh Tour Package 

Top Places in Ladakh

Leh City Leh is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, where you can explore local monasteries and historical places explore local food, and do the shopping in Leh

Sham Valley it’s not one valley but it’s a 90 km group of travel attractions in Leh city where you’re going to explore Alchi Monastery Lamayuru Liker Monastery Gurudwara Pather Sahib Magnetic Hill and other places with your family, also explore river rafting in Sanmrg if you like to Do

Nubra Valley Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. were you going to visit the top Khurdungla Pass on the way from Leh to Nubra Valley Distik Monastery and Hunder Sand Dunes in Nubra Valley,

Best Time To Book Ladakh Trip

Ladakh is the most visited travel destination in India, the best place for those adventure lovers who like to explore the Raffting Landscapes Sand Dunes, and High pass’s yes get the perfect time to explore the beautiful land. Before booking the Leh Ladakh Holiday packages from Bangalore you should know the best time to explore

Winter Session ( November Till March) Its called off session winter session in Ladakh its for those only who want to do the Chader trek but not for the tourist who likes to explore the places and more, where you are going to face problems

Summer Session ( April Till August) It’s a peak session in Leh starts from April till August and a perfect time to Book Leh Ladakh tours from Bangalore Packages, because you’re going to explore all places and do the best travel activities in Ladakh

How Can You Reach Ladakh From Bangalore

So before you’re going to book the Ladakh tour starting from Bangalore we will guide you on how can you reach Ladakh From Bangalore. reaching Ladakh there are two ways by road also by air

By air to Leh From Kolkata, It’s an Easy way to come to Ladakh from Bangalore Book your Flight from Bangalore to Leh Airport and Back to Kolkata  from Leh

By Road from Manali: Alsi you can come by Train to Manali and in Manali get a cab to Leh it will take 10 hours to reach Leh

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Bengaluru to Ladakh: Road Trip that tested Man and Machine!

The title says it all! All roads lead to the Himalayas! But the road from Bangalore to Ladakh is the one less taken. But this time it was! on a Roy Cruiser organised Road Trip. Officially, one of the biggest road expeditions that has ever taken place in the country! Max Participants, Max Distance!

The whole expedition was ideated, and organized by Roy Cruiser, an organisation headquartered in Bangalore, India. Roy Cruiser brought this concept of Self-drive Road trip expeditions to India and is providing these services since the last two years to Indian travel enthusiasts.

This year in May-June 2022 Roy Cruiser successfully executed another road trip expedition to Ladakh: the land of high passes, that you should never pass by! It started out from Bengaluru, Karnataka on May 21, 2022, and it was called “Roads to Himalayas” Season 03 (Bengaluru to Ladakh). The fifty-eight participants covered around Eight thousand five hundred kilometres across twelve states and two Union Territories in 22 days!

Nothing easy about it!

It was not an ordinary comfortable road trip. Its challenging for the vehicles and their drivers, its tiring for everyone involved, and yet it’s a great adventure for the participants. That is why it falls into the category of Expeditions! “From the comforts of a city road to the demands of a national Highway and to roads that seem to go into nowhere. We saw it all on the trip!” said Ramesh Ranjan, one of the participants!

It was challenging for the participants as well as for cars to sustain with minimal oxygen at higher altitudes. This expedition required a resilient mind-set and physique! Emotionally too, it was draining, but the participants pepped each other up, when spirits were down because of exhaustion. The rests in between driving spells were a welcome boon, and sight-seeing was what revived moods! The History and Wonders of India were in full display. An education by itself!

But yes, Roy Cruiser made it possible with proper planning of the entire itinerary and the cooperation, nay collaboration, of individual Participants. This was a journey of 22 days with a big family of travelers from different professional backgrounds and of different age groups (4-70 years) and yet the camaraderie should have been seen to be believed.

The beginning and the end in the words of one of the participants!

Day 1: On the very first day we drove to Pune, Maharastra from Bengaluru and then journeyed on to Kewadia, Gujarat

Day 2: On Day 2, we explored the Statue of Unity, the tallest statue in the World.

Day 3 : Day 3 started with a drive from Gujarat to Rajasthan and after exploring Udaipur, we moved on to Jaipur, The Pink City. Since online hotel booking has never been easier, we got the best hotels in Udaipur in our budget.

Day 4: Day 4 was reserved for exploration. We visited the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur and started our journey to the next destination which was Chandigarh.

Day 5: Next morning on Day five we started our journey from Chandigarh towards the Himalayas and in next few hours we were into the foothills of Himalayas entering Himachal Pradesh. The view was mesmerising. Our convoy moved slowly towards Manali as per the SOP for driving on Himalayan terrain. We reached Manali after sunset, but the drive was memorable!

Day 6: Day 6 was a day reserved to explore the beauty of Manali and for adventure activities like Paragliding, Rafting and other snow-based activities. In the evening we were entertained by a special Himachali cultural program organised by our travel partner Himalayan Panthers from Shimla.

Day 7: Well, Day 7 was reserved for the final leg of our onward journey to Leh, Ladakh and its majestic beauty! The oxygen thinned out and the temperatures dropped and our resilience and that of our vehicles was put to the sternest test of our journey!

Now we know that there is light at the end of a10000 ft tunnel, the longest tunnel in the world, one we had to cross to find it, and some amazing landscape. Our camera lenses went into over-drive! Engrossed, we reverted to reality, when we reached Pagal Nala, which is the first dangerous and challenging water crossing on the Manali- Leh highway. As is our wont, we helped each other cross our first huddle successfully.

The oxygen level had dropped, and we were not able to walk outside comfortably, while the vehicles started facing major power losses. But we persevered and reached our next challenging water crossing at the Baralacha La pass. Collaboration saw us through, and we reached Sarchu which is on the border of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

Sarchu is a test for all those who wish to see the beauty of Leh! Its desert terrain, very low oxygen level and sub-zero temperatures combine to put anyone into reverse gear. But we stayed a night got acclimatised and then moved on – a testimony to our determination to see it through!

Day 8: The next day, a new day! A beautiful sunrise shining on the valley, and we got a move on after some vehicles sputtered to a start because of the cold! Day 8 saw us drive through some challenging terrain like Gata Loops, Whiskey Bridge, Pang, Tanglang la pass etc. and then at last a good flat highway into the Himalayas called More Plains. We were in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, the northern tip of India, before dark. Had to be! Leh is only place in Ladakh where you find good hotels, restaurants, Airport, and other facilities.

Day 9: In Leh next day the team explored the Shey Palace, Santi Stupa, Hall of Fame, lMall Road and other local markets. It was a day of rest, relaxation, and acclimatization

  Day 10: The next day, Day 10 we moved on to Turtuk, the last village of India, via Khardunga La, the highest motorable pass in the world at an altitude of about 18000 Ft. We entered the Nubra valley and visited The Diskit Monastery situated in Hunder and halted there.

Day 11: On Day 11, of our expedition, we visited Turtuk via Shyok War Memorial which comes under Siachen Range.

Day 12: The next morning after breakfast we headed towards Pangong TSO, and the convoy reached Pangong lake at around 4 PM. The beauty was incomparable to whatever we had seen so far! Memories and photographs are what we will cherish! We camped out at Pangong in extremely cold and windy weather. An adventurous experience to say the least! The next day we were all set to head back towards Leh which was to be our last night halt in Ladakh.

Day 13: Pangong to Leh; the journey was very challenging journey which required us to do a lot of off-road driving, go through high passes and low oxygen levels. Despite the challenges we all reached Leh on time without any issues.

Day 14: Still in J&K on Day 14, we started moving towards Kargil. We reached Kargil by evening via the Fatula Pass and the convoy went to The Dras War Memorial which is also known as the Kargil war Memorial. We thought Ladakh was beautiful; we were wrong! Kashmir was more so!

Day 15: We journeyed through Sonamarg and through nature full of greenery, pure water rivers, mountain peaks and snow. The Kashmir valley is indeed as pretty as is shown in pictures and movies! We reached the famous and beautiful Dal Lake before sunset! We stayed in a Boat House, and went on a Shikara ride into the Dal Lake, and visited the floating Meena Bazar.

Day 16: The expedition was not yet over. But it was time to journey back to Bengaluru! From Srinagar we reversed direction to reach Amritsar, Punjab. We got stuck in huge traffic jam on the way and could reach our destination only very late night. The highway from Jammu was good though.

Day 17: In Amritsar on Day 17, we visited the Atari-Wagah (India- Pakistan) border to be the part of evening retreat parade of the Indian BSF and Pakistani Rangers. The whole environment was patriotic that evening! And so felt we! After watching the retreat, we visited the most spiritual and beautiful place of Punjab, The Golden Temple, Amritsar and halted at Amritsar.

Day 18: The next morning we started our journey towards Agra, Uttar Pradesh to inhale the beauty of the seventh wonder in the world, the Taj Mahal.

Day 19: And then on Day 19, we drove to Gwalior where we saw Scindia Fort, Gwalior. A magnificent tribute to the valour of Indian Kings!

Day 20: The next morning, Day 20, we left Gwalior after eating that famous breakfast at SS Kachori Wala and reached Nagpur by evening, where we rushed towards the Haldiram restaurant, one of the most famous food outlets in Nagpur. Oh! did we enjoy it!

Day 21: After breakfast on Day 21, we drove down to Hyderabad and visited Sevagram which was a little out of the way, but a must see! There we explored the Bapu Kuti and other ancient legacies of Mahatma Gandhi created during his extended stay there before Indian Independence.

Day 22: The final day of our Expedition! From Hyderabad to Bengaluru! We all reached Bangalore safe and sound on 11th June with lovely memories and more than few good friends made during the trip!

“It was a once in a lifetime experience for all of us and we all learnt lots of new things which will certainly add value to our life,” said the participant!

“The world belongs to the brave”

This is what Ramesh Ranjan, another participant, had to say on the expedition, “it was a test of Man and Machine and also Physical & Mental endurance. It’s not for the faint hearted but as Evazubeck says “the world belongs to the brave.”

He adds, “ It’s not the absence of fear, challenges, stress but it’s the conquest of fear, challenges and stress that differentiates between a successful person and the not-so successful person”. E very day I used to get up at 5.45 am, get ready by 7 am and get ready for a long challenging drive. Often, we reached our destination in the night even as late as 3.30 am as at Amritsar. We drove through mountains, forests, and other challenging terrains at night with near zero visibility. We faced dust storm, hailstorm, snow, and other challenges thrown at us by mother nature. My body was pushed to the limits. But we came through and are only the better for it!”

The end of one expedition is the beginning of another one for Roy Cruiser! For them it’s a never-ending journey, high passes, and low valleys notwithstanding! If you want to get on board, call, +91-7358410784, +91-9538383840; or Email: [email protected] , or visit the website, www.roycruiser.com . Ride on!

With inputs from  Rajesh Roy & Rohit Kumar  (Roy Cruisers)

Brian Fernandes

Brian is an alumnus of Roshni Nilaya’s Post Graduate School of Social Work, HR Department and has 30 years of local and international HR and General Management experience. Journalism, poetry, and feature writing is a passion which he is now able to pursue at will. Additionally, he loves compering and hosting talk shows. He loves learning and imparting it; so, when time permits, he provides leadership facilitation and soft skills training to Postgraduate students and Corporates in Mangaluru and Bengaluru. Besides, he is an accomplished Toastmaster under the aegis of Toastamasters.org and a designated Distinguished Toast Master.

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