[SajiNSalin]

Jacs,
I strongly recommend you do this trip in September. The tourist rush would have disappeared and climate will be really good. The water crossings also will be manageable. It is better to go via Spiti valley to Leh, provided you have a capable vehicle. You will get to see some spectacular scenery in Kalpa, Tabo, Kunzum Pass and the incredibly beautiful Chandratal lake. A parikrama around this lake is the high point of the trip. You can join the Leh highway at Gramphoo (skipping Rohtang pass all together).

It is better to avoid Srinagar, because it is not of driving interest and is also not always safe. You can return from Leh via Tso Moriri/Tso Kar lakes and drive down to Manali via Rohtang Pass. You can reach Chandigarh in about six days from Kochi. So you have 14 days Chandigarh to Chandigarh. If you can add a week, you can have a relaxed drive to Nubra valley and possibly explore Padum too.

[sumzup]

Originally Posted by ramsnavy

Are Inner Line Permits still required to visit places around Leh?

Hi Ram, last year, I visited Leh and there are couple of things you need to remember and those are:

1. You need permit to enter Leh if you are entering from Manali through Rohtang Pass. Please get it done at the DC office in Manali or the security check at 30 km enroute will send you back. The office works 1/2 day on Saturday and on second Saturdays will be closed (please reconfirm on the second Saturday with the local admin). There are touts who will get your work done for something like 600 to 1000 for those who don't want hassles. You need to keep your id proof to be given twice in this sector along with those who are traveling with you

2. You need to get a magistrate/'s permit/permission if you are visiting Tso Moriri via Hanle from Pangong. This has to be done at Leh and should be on or before Friday as the office does not work on Saturday. I missed this beautiful road simply because I was not made aware of it. The other way of doing it is to come back to Karu and drive back another 200 km in another direction

[Shivanshu]

Originally Posted by jacs

Heart says Kochi - Chandigarh - Srinagar - Leh - Manali - Chandigarh - Kochi. Chandigarh to Chandigarh I should be able to spare about 10 days if a beautiful itenary can be worked out. Have to factor about 8 days for up and down drive between Kochi and Chandigarh.

Please feel free to correct my ignorance being a first time traveler to Himalayas. First of all is it a realistic plan in high level? If yes, what all places like Spiti valley or Nubra valley can be added between Srinagar - Leh - Manali circuit? Should I add another week or push the travel to July to make this trip at its best?

What will be your mode of travelling?

1. Kochi to Chandigarh - You will be coming by air or will be driving? As this is approximately 3000 kms so you will take around 6 days to reach, with an average of 500kms driver per day, which of-course depends on your riding style. You may be able to do it within 6 days as well.

2. Chandigarh to Srinagar - Approximately 640 kms ( if you take the Jammu route ) - Till Jammu the distance is approximately 350kms and its mostly plains, the drive time should be somewhere around 6 to max. 7hrs. The rest of the journey is again 300 kms, now this will take around 12hrs. As the average time taken to cover 100kms in plains is 2hrs, whereas in hills it is 4hrs. So, you will have to halt in between.

3. Srinagar to Leh - The route which you can take is Srinagar - Sonamarg - Zoji La - Drass - Kargil - Khaltse - Lamayuru - Nimmu - Leh. This is 440kms. I would suggest you do this trip completely and try to visit every place around Leh. If you mix up Spiti Valley along with it, you wont be able to enjoy the place. Its better to be in Leh and enjoy the place and tour and cover all the important places around. Spiti can be the itenary for next time.

4. About the time when you should come here, as I told you earlier if you go just after the passes open, the route will be slushy and messy. But you will get to see a lot of snow around this time. There may be some delays in some routes as well. If you go later then yes you will be more relaxed but miss on the adventure part. After mid - June and before mid - October, its perfect, the scenario changes from white to green as you delay your arrival.

I would strongly suggest you to go through this log, it will help you plan a lot and clear a lot of things, it is one of the best guide you will ever get. Here is the link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ate-guide.html

Let me know if you have anything else in mind.

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by jacs

Heart says Kochi - Chandigarh - Srinagar - Leh - Manali - Chandigarh - Kochi. Chandigarh to Chandigarh I should be able to spare about 10 days if a beautiful itenary can be worked out. Have to factor about 8 days for up and down drive between Kochi and Chandigarh.

Please feel free to correct my ignorance being a first time traveler to Himalayas. First of all is it a realistic plan in high level? If yes, what all places like Spiti valley or Nubra valley can be added between Srinagar - Leh - Manali circuit? Should I add another week or push the travel to July to make this trip at its best?

Hello Jac's, I with my cousin did Trivandrum Leh in a swift way back in 2010. We took around 22 days to complete the circuit.

On the assumption that you are driving from Koch (with multiple drivers to share and in a SUV),the suggested aggressive itinerary would look something like this



Day 1: Kochi to Hubbali

Day 2: Hubbali to Vadodara

Day 3: Vadodara to Jaipur

Day 4: Jaipur to Jammu

Day 5: Jammu to Sonmarg

Day 6: Sonmarg to Kargil (you can reach Leh same day, but I'd suggest to take it easy)

Day 7: Kargil, lemaryu, camp at Leh

Day 8: Leh local visit
(get the permits through some agent)
Day 9: Hunder via Khardungla

Day 10: Return to Leh

Day 11: Pangong tso
(day trip)
Day 12: Tso moriri
(stay)
Day 13: Back to Leh
(with tso kar thrown in)
Day 14: Leh to Srinagar

Day 15: Srinagar to Chandigarh

Day 16: Chandigarh to Jaipur

Day 17, 18, 19 back home

I'd suggest not add padum sector or Spiti sector.
As you are planning to go in June, I've not selected rhothang route.
If snow melts by the time you reach there then the itinerary will change from day 13 onwards.
Day 13: Tsomoriri to pang
Day 14: Pang to Manali (bit tight still)
Day 15: Buffer
Day 16: Manali to
Day 17, 18, 19: back home.

[jacs]

Wow! Lot of good inputs there. Thank you so much guys.

Though my plan of travel started with my Thunderbird 500 bike, now it has taken a different dimension when my friend offered me the role of co-driver on his Isuzu vCross. Our plan is to drive in shifts till Chandigarh with about 1000KMs penetration per day which translates to about 18 hours drive with 9 hours for each of us. Though I target three days one side to do this, keeping another day buffer each side.

Total 3 weeks in disposal but including 8 days for Kochi-Chandigarh-Kochi and 1 day rest back home before hitting work. So net-net, 12 days is what I have in hand for Himalayas but I do not want to rush and fell prey for AMS. Need to make a proper itenary with room for acclimatization but visit the musts this time itself if possible.

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by jacs

Wow! Lot of good inputs there. Thank you so much guys.

Though my plan of travel started with my Thunderbird 500 bike, now it has taken a different dimension when my friend offered me the role of co-driver on his Isuzu vCross. Our plan is to drive in shifts till Chandigarh with about 1000KMs penetration per day which translates to about 18 hours drive with 9 hours for each of us. Though I target three days one side to do this, keeping another day buffer each side.

Total 3 weeks in disposal but including 8 days for Kochi-Chandigarh-Kochi and 1 day rest back home before hitting work. So net-net, 12 days is what I have in hand for Himalayas but I do not want to rush and fell prey for AMS. Need to make a proper itenary with room for acclimatization but visit the musts this time itself if possible.

Wow, Isuzu vCross.
It is doable in 20 days (we did it in Swift that too in 2010 - now the roads are even better - vehicles too) . And if you return via Manali you might even save a day as the distance from LEH to Chandigarh via Srinagar is far more than and via Manali.

[Dieseltuned]

hi all,

I have a humble request to help me out with a few queries I have for Leh ::

Background :: My parents (Dad is 61 yrs and Mom is 56 yrs of age)are planning a trip to Leh from 26th May to 7th June 2017 and they plan to do this via the following route ::

Mumbai - Delhi (Train)
Delhi - Srinagar (flight)
Srinagar - Kargil - Leh (Road)

Return ::

Leh - Delhi (flight)
Delhi - Mumbai (train)

Now my queries would be as follows ::

1. What kind of clothing should they prefer for this travel dates ?
2. Any suggestion on specific footwear to be bought ?
3. Any specific medicines to carry as per their age ? (Dad has a slight BP and sugar problem but is in control at the moment)
4. Would tented accomodation at Pangong lake be too harsh for them ?
5. What kind of permits are required to visit Hanle and where to get them from ?

Regards
Dieseltuned

[ramsnavy]

Originally Posted by sumzup

Hi Ram, last year, I visited Leh and there are couple of things you need to remember and those are
1. You need permit to enter Leh if you are entering from Manali through Rohtang Pass.

Thanks Sumzup! Planning to enter Leh via Srinagar

Originally Posted by sumzup

2. You need to get a magistrate/'s permit/permission if you are visiting Tso Moriri via Hanle from Pangong. This has to be done at Leh and should be on or before Friday as the office does not work on Saturday. I missed this beautiful road simply because I was not made aware of it.

Will pan to reach Leh at the beginning of the week

[v12]

Hello All, I have a question to ask. Is Leh (especially the area around Pangong, Nubra valley and Khardung La) open for a bike trip during the last week of April / first week of May?

[pcpranav]

Some good news coming-up. India's longest road tunnel between Chenani & Nashri (also known as Patnitop Tunnel) in J&K will soon be open to public.

http://auto.ndtv.com/news/indias-lon...ch-end-1671142

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenani-Nashri_Tunnel

https://youtu.be/suuEUUvSSo4

regards,

[jacs]

Originally Posted by v12

Hello All, I have a question to ask. Is Leh (especially the area around Pangong, Nubra valley and Khardung La) open for a bike trip during the last week of April / first week of May?

Based on my search recently to make a trip in April/May, passes are not actually open for tourists until June. Sometimes it can get late like June end as per a very recent update from someone flew in and visited Sonmarg a week back. However if you are able to secure special permissions from authorities, it should be possible.

[Bahul Arora]

I and a couple of my friends are planning to ride from Srinagar to Leh to Manali to Delhi. We are planning to start from Srinagar on June 11th, it would be great if we can meet if your schedule overlaps with us.

Originally Posted by jacs

Based on my search recently to make a trip in April/May, passes are not actually open for tourists until June. Sometimes it can get late like June end as per a very recent update from someone flew in and visited Sonmarg a week back. However if you are able to secure special permissions from authorities, it should be possible.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by Bahul Arora

I and a couple of my friends are planning to ride from Srinagar to Leh to Manali to Delhi. We are planning to start from Srinagar on June 11th, it would be great if we can meet if your schedule overlaps with us.

We are yet to finalize the date of travel. But yes we could meet if we cross ways.

Though most blogs claim May to September as tourist friendly months to visit Leh, this varies by months due to climatic changes. Last year a friend had to wait till mid June to get confirmation of all passes open for tourists. Any Ladakhi's who can confirm this years trend?

[sid1509]

Hi everyone,

I am getting ready for my annual Himalaya sojourn this year and seek inputs from fellow bhpians.

A little background first – avid traveller, 40 years old and have done Leh twice, first in 2013 (with office colleagues, 7 days in Sep’13, Srinagar – Leh – Manali ), second time in 2015 (with wife and 2 kids aged 9 and 4 then, 8 days in Jun’15, Srinagar – Leh – Manali) and last year did Spiti (office colleagues, 5 days in Sep’16, Chitkul – Tabo – Kasol). All self drive with my trusted Scorpio (4X2, VLX, done 115K and in prim and proper shape). I was the only one who drove on all these trips. Know I should have 4x4 for this trip but quite frankly, with Jun’16 Leh trip (2nd day since baralachala had opened when I took the Leh-Keylong stretch), I did not feel the need for it with wife and kids in tow with all their luggage, feel confident that can do it again. Hope not misplaced about it, especially with Spiti also thrown in the mix for this year’s trip.

This year I plan to do it solo as I don’t’ want to rush in and explore the areas I missed out through the earlier trips. I run my own business and hence time ain’t a constraint. However, I would like to be back in 20 days hopefully. I plan to leave on 27th May/3rd June/10th June depending upon the state of passes (zozilla) at that point of time. The dates below are flexible at my end. I plan to cover killad-kishtwar, Zanskar valley, Nubra-> Wari-la direct to ->Pangong, Chushul, Hanle, Tso moriri, Spiti on the way back via Keylong

Please chime in on your thoughts (good, bad, ugly all are welcome) on the itinerary below –

1. Day 1 00:00 hours start/Saturday/27th May’17 -> Delhi – Dalhousie/Kalatop
2. Day 2, Sunday/28th May’17 –>Dalhousie, Kalaptop, Khajjiar local
3. Day 3 Monday/29th May’17 –>Reach Killar. Prepare for the Cliffhanger.
4. Day 4 Tuesday/30th May’17 -> Start early, Killar-Kishtwar, Srinagar, Push to Sonamarg if possible??
5. Day 5, Wednesday/31st May’17 -> Srinagar/Sonamarg – Kargil
6. Day 6, Thursday/1st Jun’17 -> Kargil – Padum
7. Day 7, Friday/2nd Jun’17 -> Padum – Kargil
8. Day 8, Saturday/3rd Jun’17 -> Kargil – Leh
9. Day 9, Sunday/4th Jun’17 -> Leh Local (think DC office is closed on Sunday, will arrange for permits ahead of time or might move the itinerary by 1 day to reach Leh on Sunday and manage DC office permits on Monday 5th Jun..in that case, dates move by 1 day after this)
10. Day 10, Monday, 5th Jun’17 -> Leh – Nubra
11. Day 11, Tuesday, 6th Jun’17 -> Nubra – Wari La – Pangong (assuming Wari la is open by then..if not, then come back via Khardungla-Leh-and then head to pangong)
12. Day 12 – Wednesday, 7th jun’17 -> Pangong/Spangmik – Chushul/Mahe route – Hanle
13. Day 13 – Thursday, 8th jun’17 -> Hanle - Tso moriri and near abouts
14. Day 14 – Friday, 9th jun’17 -> Longish drive to get to Keylong
15. Day 15 – Saturday, 10th jun’17 -> Keylong – Chandertaal
16. Day 16 – Sunday, 11th jun’17 - > Chandertaal - Kaza/Tabo
17. Day 17 – Monday, 12th Jun’17 -> Kaza/Tabo – Chitkul
18. Day 18 – Tuesday, 13th Jun’17 – Chitkul and around
19. Day 19 – Wednesday, 14th jun’17 – Back home to madness

The usual packing bits for the trip plus plan to remove the jump seats and back seat in the scorpio to make way for a car bed, plus my montra packed in with its wheels removed. Since I will be alone, don’t have too much luggage to haul around and hence I am thinking of hauling the montra to bike/cycle around locally at good places that I stay. Will be good fun to see what’s around while cycling around.

Still undecided about whether I should be camping or not. Am a stickler for a proper bed at the end of the day and will look for places to stay/HVK’s CHD.

Let me know your thoughts. Hope not being too ambitious with my planning here.

Cheers,
Sid

[Bahul Arora]

Originally Posted by jacs

We are yet to finalize the date of travel. But yes we could meet if we cross ways.

Though most blogs claim May to September as tourist friendly months to visit Leh, this varies by months due to climatic changes. Last year a friend had to wait till mid June to get confirmation of all passes open for tourists. Any Ladakhi's who can confirm this years trend?

If it's closed in June I would need to move my bookings, can anyone confirm passes not opening by early June?

My googling skills tell me Srinagar-Leh is open early June