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It is extremely rare for Srinagar Leh highway to be closed early June. Manali Leh sometimes opens very late (As late as mid June), however the Srinagar Leh highway is opened by mid May, and latest by end May

some updates:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...le17549006.ece

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/57781948.cms

http://www.kashmirreader.com/2016/03...ext-two-weeks/

regards,

Based on all the inputs gathered, my team met yesterday and decided on the date of travel based on everyone's convenience. It will be 30th June 2017 as official start from Kochi, Kerala targeting to cross Jammu by 3rd July 2017.

We are 12 guys on 5 SUVs and hence one anxiety is on accommodation since its would be peak season by then. Is it advisable to pre-book accommodation? I always thought its difficult to predict the destination of stay on each nights once we enter Himalayas.

Our wish-list in terms of stay are as below. We are not very particular about a star rated hotel, home-stays if they could accommodate us in near proximity with safe parking is really what we look forward. Please guide.

Srinagar/Sonmarg (1 night)
Lamayuru (1 night)
Leh (1 day & night) + (1 night buffer)
Turtuk (1 night)
Nubra Valley (1 night)
Pangong Tso (1 night)
Tso Moriri (1 night)
Sarchu (1 night)
Manali (1 night)

Also is it possible to camp ourselves in areas like Nubra, Pangong etc if we carry tent, sleeping bags and basic cooking utilities?

Jacs, don't worry too much about prior booking through the J&K leg as it can can be tricky about the time you would get there. You are right about being unpredictable. Have apps of makemytrip and booking.com on your phones will help for all the hotels at the lower reaches but again remember the net is very slow around Sonmarg and Kargil. IMHO, you can get the list of hotels on the net beforehand and you can carry their phone numbers. There is definitely a danger of the hotels quoting higher as you will be calling them closer to your stay but I guess with your flexibility you will be able to get some deal. There is another thing you need to remember that you are going into the peak season and the areas you are travelling will have quite a crowd so at least in Leh it would be better to check the availability just to be sure. Your carrying the tents can really be handy and it could be the best backup in case everything fails.

Off your list
1. Try Sonmarg than Srinagar as the crowd would be lesser. Secondly, you will be closer to Leh which could also give you an alternative to stay at Kargil.
2. Stay at Kargil would give you more time to stop and enjoy the scenery around and take more photographs. Also, you could spend time at the Kargil Memorial which is a must on this route.
3. You could drive through Lamayuru after spending time at the Monastery if you are keen or drive straight to Leh. There are plenty of hotels but Lingtzi is a good suggestion as it is very close to the markets and eating centers so you could walk it up. The other option is Hotel Nalanda which has ample car parking but here again it would probably help to book before you hit the hotel.
4. Nubra Valley should be first on your list as you will Nubra/Hunder on your way to Turtuk. These places have various camping hotels and you could possibly pitch a tent adjacent to these places. There could be an issue of washrooms which you might have to request these places. Also, these places will go down to 10 degrees during late evenings and nights so take sufficient care if you like to pitch your own tents
5. Pangong also has camping hotels and you could your own tents
6. You can drive to Tso Moriri from Pangong but that will require you to travel through Hanle and two things you have to remember here. One, take a permit from the Magistrate for all of you and secondly you will have to stay at Hanle for a night. The other route will be to come back to Karu and then go to Tso Moriri which is long-about route. The best option to stay at Hanle is Padma guest house but they do not confirm the booking without payment so you will have to call them take their account number and transfer the amount. Then the second day you will drive to Tso moriri. At all these places you can use your tents extensively. So, worst come to worst, you could simply drive there and pitch your tents if you don't get accommodation.
7. From Tso Moriri you could travel to Manali via Sarchu. I'm unware of this route so you could take some tips there with the locals. Again at Sarchu, you could use the tents which you have or try the camps. Use makemytrip or booking.com for Manali and you will get good deals under the circumstances.

A note of caution is that between Nubra Valley and Pangong, the only petrol station is at Diskit and that has a varied timings. They are open after 8 am in the morning and close anytime in the evenings after 1700 hrs as the traffic reduces considerably and the lone operator goes home. Every car should have at least a 30-ltr can with diesel so that you have no concerns en-route. Again, from Tso Moriri to Manali there is only one petrol station at Tandi which is about 120 km to Manali.

If you are carrying your own tents to accommodate all of you then except at Leh you could use it at all other places you have mentioned above as most of these places boast of camping hotels rather than the regular ones for a fantastic experience so I guess it should be okay as long as you are up for surprises.

Query: is this the same permit we suppose to take from DC Office in Leh ?

Sorry didnt know to use quote on my new Iphone

Yes, it might be same nevertheless mention to them specifically that you are going to Tso Moriri via Hanle, cheers

Great news for people travelling to Leh this time onwards.
The Chenani-Nashri tunnel has been opened.

Positive points (for travellers):-

- 9.2 km long tunnel which reduces distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 30km.

- Saves about 02 hours of drive time.

- Bypasses Kud and Patnitop.

Please check the following link for further information.

http://indianexpress.com/article/ind...nagar-4596209/

This is wonderful news. The Patnitop traffic snarls are history plus the traffic going towards Kishtwar will be diverted. Any idea if all kind of vehicles are allowed through this tunnel or not? I am specially interested if two-wheelers are allowed or not.

Hello Jacs,

I did Kochi-Leh-Kochi last year during the similar time as yours. It's the initial period of tourism and the traffic would be little lesser when compared to peak tourism dates but still will be heavy in peak hours of the day and at various bottle necks along the route.

I booked accommodation about a week ago. It was a risky affair but I missed just one location that was Srinagar where I couldn't reach the hotel which was inside the town as there was a huge traffic jam from outskirts. So I suggest you to look for hotels very close to highway as far as possible to avoid internal roads which are very narrow especially in your case because of 5 SUVs. It was a nightmare in my case with just one SUV. So the point is look for hotels/ home stays/ tents in various blogs and make a list of them with phone numbers. I booked all the hotels via Goibibo. I created accounts for all people who are coming to the trip prior and started booking hotels well in time mainly because I did not wanted to bank on internet there. And there was no signal (BSNL postpaid) for most of the trip. I did not book in Sarchu (only tents available) and return from Manali as night stops enroute where not fixed.

I know it's difficult to predict the destination on Himalayas but I planned realistic day wise itinerary and put a lot of time as buffer mainly because I wanted pre booked accommodation everywhere (For the comfort of my parents as they are old and will be tired every evening after a long drive). So plan accordingly.

I did not look for camping so I cannot comment on that aspect but there was lots of place along the Pangong lake and I am sure you can camp there but be ready for harsh weather conditions. I wanted my parents to experience camping so we did one in Sarchu but they have attached toilets too so camping with comforts. lol:



Can you PM me your email address so that I can share the hotel details and other points.

Happy planning as it is the most hectic yet memorable but you will cherish this period for a long time to come.

That's absolutely true as the traffic indeed is very slow and people often face jams which run into hours to clear.
The news has details of cars, buses and trucks with a height limit of 5 metres but does not speak anywhere about two-wheelers so I am not sure about it.

Hello everyone..
In 2014, we (4 people) had done ladakh trip in september on an XUV 500 W8. That time, we had visited leh, nubra and pangong. It was a wonderful trip and now after 3 years, we are agin planning to revisit and also see some other places which we did not last time. This time we will be doing it in XUV 500 W10 Automatic. The tentative itinerary is.

19 Aug: start from Amritsar in the evening around 4 pm and reach udhampur.
20 Aug: Udhampur - Sonmarg
21 Aug: Sonmarg - Kargil/LEh. Is it possible to do sonmarg leh in a day if we start early.
22 Aug: Leh
23 Aug: Leh - Nubra
24 Aug: Nubra - Pangong
25 Aug: Pangong - Hanle
26 Aug: Hanle - Tso Kar - Sarchu
27 Aug: Sarchu - Manali
28/29 Aug: Manali - Amritsar
We may decide to do Hanle - Tso Moriri instead on 26 Aug which will add 1 day more to our itinerary.

Is the above plan ok and doable especially in an Automatic?
Any difficulty in finding accommodations?
Any need to carry fuel along with on this circuit?
Any other suggestions?

Waiting for the advices...

Yes soanmarg to leh is possible in a day. It took about 14 hrs when I did it in 2013.
The xuv automatic shouldn't be an issue. It'll work just fine.
You will however need to carry significant amount of fuel on your trip as some of the routes you have chosen don't have any fuel stations

Hello.
Sonamarg to Leh is doable provided you start early and not face traffic jam while climbing Zozila Pass.
Fuel may not available in Nubra at times.
No fuel between Nubra to Pangong.
No fuel between pangong to Tso kar/ Tso Moriri. So carry extra fuel cans.
Please book accommodations prior if your plan is fixed. You can look for hotels in various online booking sites. You can find one or two tents In pangong but no hotels in Tso Moriri. For that few numbers are given in various blogs. Please check them.
Happy planning.

Dear Ladakh veterans,

I am planning to ride to Ladakh this season alongwith a couple of friends.

Our tentative itinerary is as below :

Day 1 : Jammu - Srinagar (are two-wheelers allowed via the new Chenani tunnel?)
Day 2 : Srinagar - Sonamarg - Kargil - Panikhar
Day 3 : Panikhar - Rangdum - Pensi La - Rangdum - Panikhar
Day 4 : Panikhar - Leh
Day 5 : Leh (Permit Day)
Day 6 : Leh - Khardung La - Diskit - Turtuk
Day 7 : Turtuk - Panamik
Day 8 : Panamik - Agham - Shyok - Pangong Tso (or Wari La route)
Day 9 : Pangong Tso - Merak - Chushul - Tsaga La - Hanle
Day 10: Hanle - Nyoma - Tso Moriri
Day 11: Tso Moriri - Tso Kar - Pang - Sarchu
Day 12: Sarchu - Manali
Day 13: Manali - Ambala
Day 14: Buffer Day
Day 15: Buffer Day


Is this plan doable on motorcycles?

Are there any accommodation options available in Agham?

There are rumours going around that ILP for Nubra Valley and Chumathang sector will be introduced again to control the number of tourists visiting Ladakh every year. Is this true?

Any leads would help.

Thanks in Advance. :)