[Ecstasy_Drive]

It all started here. Team BHP’s Travelogues are my inspiration to plan a trip to the mighty Himalayas. A plan was made in May 2013 as my cousins Quanto was there in Delhi (he bought the car in Coimbatore and took there to Delhi for his official work). A simple Itinerary was prepared based on the inputs from the various travelogues. It was a 16 day plan starting from Delhi - Jammu - Srinagar - Kargil - Leh -Manali - Shimla - Chandigarh.

As many had written in detail about the trip logs i would like to present my trip as a photologue. Hope you will enjoy it

[Traveller Nayak]

Originally Posted by Ecstasy_Drive

It all started here. Team BHP’s Travelogues are my inspiration to plan a trip to the mighty Himalayas.

As many had written in detail about the trip logs i would like to present my trip as a photologue. Hope you will enjoy it

Hey lovely pictures! If you can upload some more pictures that will be really nice. Also your 'moments' from the trip and any feedback on how the vehicle fared on the fabled land would be of interest to all. Look forward to hearing from you!

[100kmph]

Thanks for the wonderful pics. Please upload some more, if possible. Do post some of Manali.
By the way, how did the 3-pot Quanto perform in relatively higher altitudes?

[Anoop_SG]

Great Pictures - the quality of pictures taken by TBHPians these days makes me wonder if this is a community of petrol heads or photographers - though both are closely coupled !

Would you mind sharing your photography gear and editing software (if any) that you have used to get these wonderful snaps.

[ankan.m.blr]

Very nice pictures. Please provide more details of your travel itinerary and travel experience from TN to Leh & back.

[Ecstasy_Drive]

Originally Posted by Traveller Nayak

Hey lovely pictures! If you can upload some more pictures that will be really nice. Also your 'moments' from the trip and any feedback on how the vehicle fared on the fabled land would be of interest to all. Look forward to hearing from you!

Sure i will add more pictures with details. Quanto performed well in tough terrain. Barring Jumpy rides and body roll we did not have much problem with the vehicle.

Originally Posted by 100kmph

Thanks for the wonderful pics. Please upload some more, if possible. Do post some of Manali.
By the way, how did the 3-pot Quanto perform in relatively higher altitudes?

I did not take much pictures in Manali but i will try to dig out and post some pictures. Quanto with its 3 pot motor did not feel under powered in higher altitudes but the clutch felt a bit hard. We did not push the vehicle to its limits. It performed well without any glitches.

Originally Posted by Anoop_SG

Great Pictures - the quality of pictures taken by TBHPians these days makes me wonder if this is a community of petrol heads or photographers - though both are closely coupled !

Would you mind sharing your photography gear and editing software (if any) that you have used to get these wonderful snaps.

My Camera gears are Canon EOS 1000d with 18-55mm Kit lens and Canon EOS550d with 55-250mm. Captured in RAW mostly and Post Processes with Canon DPP and Photoshop CS5.

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Very nice pictures. Please provide more details of your travel itinerary and travel experience from TN to Leh & back.

We flew to Delhi where we had our Quanto. The Itinerary is as follows

Day1
- Stay in Delhi for the night
Day 2
- Started early by 7 am and after almost 11hour drive reaches Jammu and stayed there for the night at a JKTDC Guest House.
Day 3
- Our plan was to start early and reach Srinagar by afternoon and if possible drive to Sonamarg and stay there but due to heavy traffic and crazy driving skills by some tourist vehicle operators we reached Srinagar by 7pm and stayed there for night.

Day 4

- Initially we planned to give Srinagar a skip due to some ongoing tension between locals and the Military persons but the valley conquered us. We changed our plan to stay in Srinagar for the full day. Beauty of the valley is unparalleled. It was lush green cover all over the place. Unfortunately Hartal was declared due to some shootings and we were a bit scared to venture out. But around 11am life was quite normal out on the streets. We hired a Chikara and spent a good 2hours in Dal lake. As of me Chikara ride is best suited in the early morning and late evenings. First Picture what i posted is of Dal lake and second one taken from Pari Mahal.

As it was a Hartal we had tough time finding a Fuel pump inside city to fill up as our next stop to refill was only in Kargil. Luckily with some help from locals we found that in 20kms enroute to Sonamarg a fuel pump was open. We filled up and stayed in Sonamarg for the night.

15-20 kms prior to Sonamarg we saw some amazing retautant /cottage with Bonfires alongside the river stream. It was picturesque. We gave it a miss as our stay options was confirmed there in Sonamarg and the heavy rush to Baltal made us think we might end up return to stay in srinagar for the night. We found a JKTDC cottage in Sonamarg. Initially they quoted 7K for a 2Bedroom Cottage. We negotiated it for 2K and stayed there for the night

[dmplog]

Speechless! Breathtaking pictures those!! The landscapes, colours and the people.. Simply wonderful. Cheers

[Ecstasy_Drive]

Day 5

A lot had been said about traffic jams due to Army Convoys in Zozila pass. Keeping that it in mind we started early around 6am. Traffic was there till Baltal but after that the road was completely free for us. In-dash Temperature monitor showed 4deg C and it was tough to see people travelling atop the bus. With loose soil and some narrow stretches Zozila pass lived upto its reputation as one of the toughest passes in the world. We zipped through Zozila without any traffic and we stopped in Gumri Army camp for our breakfast.

The road from Drass to Kargil was the best i had driven. With the newly laid tarmac the road was a pure bliss to drive alongside the river stream. We reached Kargil and stayed there for the night. In Kargil our stay option was Hotel Siachen with a rent of Rs. 1200/room. The stay was basic and nothing bad to write about.

Day 6

Left Kargil around 8am. We reached Lamayaru Monasty for our lunch. From Lamayaru the roads are just spectacular. With the scenic surrounding and with handpicked Ilayaraja's songs on the backdrop it was one of the best moments of my life. After the failed Magnetic hills test reached leh around 5pm with numerous photo stops.

Day 7

It was a rest day for Acclimatization. We ( 4 members in our Quanto) did not have any symptoms of AMS. We applied for Inner line permits and we roamed inside leh.

Day 8

It is Nubra valley for the day. Read a lot about Khardungla. There was an unexplainable excitement climbing it. Roads were not good and with our bumpy ride the drive was slow. In 3 hours we were there in Khardungla. Reaching there and calling our special ones to say where we are is a special feeling to behold. There were convoy of army trucks all along the route. They were very disciplined. Some stretches were bad but one should appreciate the commendable work of BRO in the toughest terrains of the world. Take a bow BRO.!

We reached Diskit around 3pm and visited the monastery. We had already made confirmation in Habib's guest house for the night stay. Reached Nubra and headed straight towards the sand dunes. That evening was so beautiful. Clicked one of my fav pics here and returned back for our guest house.

Day 9

Initially we had a plan to travel till Turtuk but cancelled it as the monastery had organised a function to celebrate Dalai Lama's Birthday. Thought it will be a good idea to experience their culture. The Air temperature was just 20deg C but it felt like 40deg. Spent a good amount time there and headed back to Leh.

[Vihari]

Originally Posted by Ecstasy_Drive

As many had written in detail about the trip logs i would like to present my trip as a photologue. Hope you will enjoy it

Many, MIGHT HAVE written in detail, but each one's experience is different from the other. This variety is what makes the trvelogues on T-BHP, so TASTY!

Moreover, your way of putting things is different. So please do write in detail.

Now, coming to the photos, they are of the 'Highest Quality'. Not posting all of them, will be deeply regretted by all members.

Hope, I have conveyed my opinion properly.

Please do not make us wait for the next batch of photographs.

- Sai

[e2p]

Yes. Please do post more pictures. They are a feast for the eyes. Thanks a lot for sharing.

[Ecstasy_Drive]

Originally Posted by Vihari

Many, MIGHT HAVE written in detail, but each one's experience is different from the other. This variety is what makes the trvelogues on T-BHP, so TASTY!

Moreover, your way of putting things is different. So please do write in detail.

Now, coming to the photos, they are of the 'Highest Quality'. Not posting all of them, will be deeply regretted by all members.

Hope, I have conveyed my opinion properly.

Please do not make us wait for the next batch of photographs.

Wish i had known the Assemble line section prior to starting this travelogue. It would be easier for me to compile the pictures with its description.

Thanks for your Appreciation

- Sai

Originally Posted by e2p

Yes. Please do post more pictures. They are a feast for the eyes. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Thanks. Will post remaining pictures soon

[docmoya2007]

The pictures are very beautiful. I wish there is a like button in Team-Bhp as in Facebook.

[Chethan B G]

Hi! Nice photos!! Excellent photographic skill!!

Was there any safety concern en-route? Did you feel threatened at any given point of time.. Roads look totally deserted... Would be excellent if there are no threats...

[Ecstasy_Drive]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Hi! Nice photos!! Excellent photographic skill!!

Was there any safety concern en-route? Did you feel threatened at any given point of time.. Roads look totally deserted... Would be excellent if there are no threats...

We did not experience any threats what so ever during our entire trip. I would like to share an experience what we went through in Srinagar. After visiting Parimahal, we started to Sonamarg. All 4 of us are not good in Hindi and we completely relied on Google maps/MapmyIndia GPS device for the direction on the entire journey. On this particular route google directed the shorter distance which connected to NH1 and we followed it. It took us to the remote part of Srnagar and after a while there was this lingering thought i.e., thanks to movie roja "what if somene abducted us?" As it was a day of Hartal roads were deserted and shops were closed and we cant see anyone to confirm us the direction. Then after some Roja movie provoked abduction thought driving we came across a Bajaj Scooter wala. We stopped him and politely asked him to confirm us the route. He was in all smile seeing our faces and the vehicle registration where we are from. We then asked him like whether its safe to continue on this road and whether if some one will stop us/damage our vehicle as its a Hartal. The reply what he gave is what amazed us. With confidence gleaming eyes he said like " Noone will ever touch a tourist who visits our mother land. Dont worry about anything. Just continue with the journey. No one will touch your vehicle" . Thats it we thanked him and moved on and reached the NH1 junction in 5-6kms.

In Ladakh region most of the roads are deserted but there is no such thing like threatening from local people. As of me you could find the most hospitable people there.

[Anand3553]

Awesome pictures Ecstasy_Drive. They are simply superb.
What about the Quanto? A travelogue in Tbhp without a comment on your ride? Were there any issues? How did it perform on the tough terrain?