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Travelogue Bengaluru to Leh - Leh Bhai (Bye) Ladakh
South Sanskar to Zanskar

Bengaluru to Delhi: Awesome drive in XUV 5OO in 2 days
We explored a new route from Bengaluru to Delhi via Hyderabad, Nagpur, Gwalior and Agra. We did Bengaluru to Delhi thrice earlier, but we always took the route via Rajasthan, Mumbai.
Day1: Bengaluru start at 4:15 am (stay at Nagpur)
Day2: reached Delhi at 10:30 pm



Summary of the Travel:
Date: 24-Jul-2019 (Wednesday) to 23-Aug-2019 (Friday)
Total Days traveled: 31
Distance Traveled during this trip: 7964 Km
Route taken / Places Visited: Bengaluru – Hyderabad – Nagpur – Sagar – Gwalior – Agra – Delhi – Vaishno Devi (Katra) – Jammu – Palampur – Sissu – Keylong – Pang – Leh – Hunder – Hanle – Sarchu – Mandi – Delhi – Nagpur – Hyderabad – Bengaluru
Total toll paid: Rs 6,705

Any damage to XUV5OO during the Leh Ladakh Trip?
An underbody hit during rugged terrains and nala crossing somewhere on the Pangong – Chushul route. The Mahindra service centre Mandi supervisor helped repair the cut and replace the nut at 09:00 pm. Yes, you read it correctly. XUV 5OO was repaired at 9:00 pm at Mahindra authorized service centre! So, eventually, we did not do much repair work or spend on our cheetah.

Any other significant expenses on our XUV5OO?
We took precautionary measures due to the travel to such tough terrains in the Himalayan region (Leh and remote places in Ladakh). We replaced all 5 tyres to brand new Bridgestone tyres in Delhi a couple of days before our trip to Ladakh. This was done to ensure that we did not encounter frequent flat tyres in such remote places, though we carried all the necessary puncture kit (including compressor). We did our regular service after returning from Ladak.

Encountered any landslides?
Pang toward Gata Loops (cleared self with the help of lorry drivers)
We encountered various water logging and the gush of water flow at various water crossings.

How about Acute Mountain Sickness?
Yes, AMS is definitely an issue that we travelers should be concerned about at high altitudes and take adequate precautions. Drinking lots of water, ORS (electral), Dimox and avoiding taking hotel / night stay at high altitudes are some precautions that we can take to minimize AMS.

What is required during the trip?
HIGH ENDURANCE and POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Why these delays in writing the Travelogue?
The reasons are multi-fold. I was pursuing PhD in Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (IIM-Ranchi). Also, because we are in a premium institute, we are expected to do high-quality work. Thus, I brought my research & laptop with me on this trip. Secondly, I had to learn and excel in the art of academic writing & research as I had transitioned from industry to academics. Thirdly, my PhD thesis included multi-study research, comprising of total 4 studies (the first being a qualitative study and the rest 3 quantitative studies). This brought around the challenge to publish my research work in International premium journals (known as ABDC category journals). During my journey to Leh, I received a review from one journal, and I was working on a response in Leh, Hunder, and Mann village on the banks of the Pangong Tso to meet the deadline. As a result, I was fortunate to have my first research paper published in ABDC category "A" journal – Marketing Intelligence & Planning (Emerald Journal) (https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-12-2019-0622). I am happy to share that I was able to obtain my PhD in 3 years time. Fourth, despite taking care and shutting down the laptop after each usage, my laptop's hard drive was knocked off. I did consider the advice of other travelers not to bring a laptop or to keep it turned off. However, the laptop was affected by the rocky terrain we travelled over and the high altitude. After returning to Delhi, I bought a new laptop from an authorized Lenovo dealer at Nehru Place. Retrieving data and then copying it into a new external USB hard drive took a while. Fifth, after arriving in Bengaluru, I faced issues with my external USB hard drive and retrieving data again took a long time. Sixth, we recorded our travel details enroute to this trip that failed to upload on iCloud due to lack of free space in the mobile and network connectivity. We had to recall all the experiences and pen them down from our vivid memory. Also, we had used all our gadgets for clicking photos. Finally, the pandemic situation and our mindset caused procrastination.


Prelude to the trip

This trip to Leh Ladakh was very dear to our heart as it was our silver jubilee anniversary month. Earlier in 2009, we planned a trip to Leh Ladakh, drove from Delhi to Chandigarh – Manali, and got stranded for a whole day due to heavy downpours and landslides. We were disappointed that we had to retrace. However, we took a detour and spent our holiday at the Amritsar and Wagah border, which was also very memorable because of the Independence Day celebration with great vigour and fervour at the Wagah border. As a result, it was a decade long delay to make this trip happen.

Planning for the trip
a) Vehicle checks and servicing
b) Condition of tyres – replaced all 5 tyres in Delhi
c) Altitude details of Leh Ladakh (with altitude variation graph)
d) Budget/cost for the trip (food, diesel, hotel, vehicle expenses, toll plaza fee, miscellaneous)
e) List of items to carry for the trip
f) Things to purchase for the Leh trip
g) First-aid Medical kit and essential medicines (Diamox, electrol, Vitamin C, lozenges)
h) Details of hotels, homestay enroute
i) Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow the inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. Details of where is it issued, office working hours, time taken, the fee to be paid, and the process to be followed to obtain the permit. ILP was required for Hanle, Chusul, Tsaga and Marsimik La.
j) Photocopies of valid Photo-IDs (Passport, Driving License, Voters ID, PAN card etc.)
k) Toll plaza details and fee paid (accessible as csv in FasTag)
l) Extra diesel plan with alternates (based on the trip enroute)
m) Our Day Log (updated each day during the trip including places visited, time taken, diesel filled, odo km, hotel stayed)

Teasers from this trip

Filling the Army green Jerry Can 20 ltr capacity at Delhi




Pic of essential items to take for Leh, Ladakh Trip







Timbaktu- Kiosk of art and craft enroute to Anantapur




Moong dal pakoda breakfast at MP topped with chat masala





Beautiful Nehru ORR - Developed India










Parantha with a lavish dollop of freshly churned butter








Vaishno Devi - the start of trek










Palampur- Most scenic Himachal




Hall of fame - A true tribute to the Kargil war martyrs





Most friendly double humped camels at Hunder - cold dessert












Magnetic Hill- Illusion







Nimmoo - confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers





Most famous 3 idiots bike - commercialisation at Pangong Tso




Pathar Sahib Gurudwara - maintained by Indian army great langar and kada prasad





Rabcho's wall- place of shoot of 3 idiots fame




Rohtang pass- we visited 25 yrs ago in 1994 on our honey moon trip





Shanti stupa Leh




Tanglangla - 2nd highest pass in Ladakh

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What prompted us to undertake the travel?
Our many years of pilgrimage travel which is in abundance in our country, our experience during these travels has given us rich culture, tradition, history, discipline, thus resulting in a feeling of being cleansed. The minimum conveniences in remote pilgrimage sites, trek to temples, austerity, and discipline in food habits have always impacted our holistic well-being. Inspite of hectic schedules, it amazes us how our energy levels have sustained from early mornings to late nights definitely the source of energy has come from the sanctum darshan, holy charanamruth and Prasad.

There are many famous pilgrimage sites commonly visited by most. However, there are so many lesser-known temples in remote locations less frequented. In our quest on these lines, we have travelled along the length and breadth of India from J&K (Amarnath, Vaishno Devi) to Kanyakumari and Gujarat (Dwarka) to West Bengal (Ganga Sagar). Listening to discourses of Sri UV Velukkudi Krishnan, Dushyant Sridhar brought to light the Divya Desams, Vaishnava tradition and the story behind each. This aroused in us a devotion to visit the temples.

Some of the pilgrimages we have undertaken are given below:
• Char Dham of India (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram)
• Ashtavinayak - The eight Ganesha temples in Maharashtra are Mayureshwar, Siddhivinayak, Ballaleshwar, Varadavinayak, Chintamani, Girijatmaj, Vighneshwar, Mahaganapati
• Aaru padai veedu (6 abodes of Murugan - Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparankunram and Thiruchendur)
• Dwadasa Jyotirlingas (Baidyanath, Bhimashankar, Grushneshwar, Kashi Vishwanath, Kedarnath, Mahakaleshwar, Mallikarjun, Nagnath, Omkareshwar, Rameswaram, Somnath, Triambakeshwar)
• Navagraha Sthalams in Tamil Nadu (Sooriyanar Kovil, Thingaloor, Vaitheeswaran Kovil, Thiruvenkadu, Alangudi, Kanjanur, Thirunallar, Thirunageswaram, Keezhperumpallam)
• Panchabhuta Sthalams - Srikalahasti, Thillai Nataraja Temple Chidambaram, Annamalaiyar Temple Tiruvannamalai, Ekambareswarar Temple Kanchi, Jambukeswarar Temple Thiruvanaikaval
• Nava Narasimhan - Ahobila Narasimha, Yogananda Narasimha, Jwala Narasimha, Bhargava Narasimha, Chatravata Narasimha, Varaha Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Paavana Narasimha, Karanja Narasimha
• Gomukh to Ganga sagar. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier at Gaumukh, and the tributary eventually meets the ocean at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal. Ganga begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
• Char Dham of Uttarakhand (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath)
• Panch Prayag (Vishnuprayag, Nandaprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag, Devprayag)
• Vaishno Devi (a few times), Amarnath, Golden Temple Amritsar
• Shirdi, Shani Singnapur, Aundh Nagnath, Parli Vaijnath, Ambejogai, Pandharpur, Kudala Sangama, Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple, Ganapathipule.
• 108 divya desams or vishnu sthalams (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...avelogue.html). We have presently covered 104 out of 108 Divya Desams and 2 more yet to be visited by us. The balance 2 are out of this world, and human beings cannot visit them, namely Thiruparkkadal and Vaikundam, which are beyond the Bhoolokam.
• 276 Shiva Sthalams or Paadal Petra Sthalams. We have embarked on this trip to 276 Shiva Sthalams and have visited 130 out of 276 temples. (I do have all details of the places visited but need to pen down and complete the Travelogue)
• In Andhra Pradesh, apart from Nava Narasimhan & Jyotirlingas, we have visited Tirupati, Puttaparthi, Panaga Narasimhan Vijaywada, Dwarka Thirumala.
• Athi Varadar, Kanchipuram
• Pilgrimage to Sabarimala during Mar-2022

Google maps for marg darshan have been extremely useful to travel through these remote places, villages & also to locate the temple without seeking guidance from the locals. However, a word of caution is that we cannot be 100% dependent on the maps. During this visit, also we faced a couple of issues with the routes suggested by google maps.

Our travelogue update will contain details of the itinerary, day plan, places visited, and route map, which will help others plan an independent trip.

Be tuned to this page to get more updates on our Travelogue!

Some of my other Travelogues

Athi Varadar, Kanchipuram - A once in a lifetime darshan
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...e-darshan.html (Athi Varadar, Kanchipuram - A once in a lifetime darshan)

The Grandeur of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...telangana.html (The Grandeur of Andhra & Telangana)

Rann of Kutch travelogue
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ous-kutch.html

108 Divya Desams: Vishnu Sthalams Travelogue
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ravelogue.html

Spiti Splendour - Delhi to Spiti in an XUV500
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ti-xuv500.html

Travelogue Delhi – Bangalore – Navagraha Sthalams – Ganapatipule – Delhi in XUV 5OO
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...apatipule.html

Travelogue to the Golden City, Jaisalmer
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...jaisalmer.html (To the Golden City, Jaisalmer)

Pilgrimage to Sabarimala during Mar-2022
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...age-march.html (Sabarimala Pilgrimage in March)

[vittal]

Preparation for our dream trip
Exhaustive reading of travelogues and experiences from various seasoned travelers gave us the insight to plan our trip. We collated all information right from the beginning. We paid keen attention to details, which helped us create a detailed day-by-day itinerary for this trip. We created a document for our use, "our personalized lonely planet guide", with frequent updates whenever we came across more information about Leh Ladakh. Keeping in view the high altitude during the trip (or known as AMS), my wife embarked on a fitness schedule with Yoga, pranayama and regular walks. Our enthusiasm and exuberance grew exponentially as the days came closer to the travel dates.

Our primary packing of essentials for the trip was scheduled to happen in Delhi as our Jerry can, camping equipment, tent, sleeping bags, shovel etc., were kept in our home in Delhi.





One of the good resources in team-bhp to find the details of Leh Ladakh trip.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ate-guide.html (Leh, Ladakh and Zanskar - The Ultimate Guide)


Note:
Nala is known for water crossing in the mountains
la is known for mountain pass

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Day 1: 24-Jul-2019 (Wednesday)

Early morning start from Bengaluru to Delhi.
“Sadde Delli bole bindaas”

Summary of the day:
Distance Travelled during the day: 1078 Km
Time taken: 15:35 hours (Start time: 4:25 am at Bengaluru and reached Nagpur at 08:00 pm)
Route taken: Bangalore - Penukonda - Anantapur - Gooty - Kurnool - Hyderabad - Nehru ORR - Adilabad - Hinganghat - Nagpur (outer)
Places visited: Nil (only drive-through)

04:25 am - As planned, we had an early start from Bengaluru and left much before dawn. I reviewed a few of the earlier travelogues of fellow Team-BhPian who took the Bengaluru to Jabalpur / Leh route via Nagpur. We were excited to explore the route via Nagpur. We did a Delhi to Bengaluru trip a few times earlier but took the routes via Rajasthan – Pune – Shirdi – Pandarpur. This was a new route for us to explore via Nagpur.

We drove along listening to Venkatesa Suprabhatam sung by MS Subbulakshmi followed by a playlist of our favourite devotional albums & Carnatic music. We stopped at our usual tea point at the Lepakshi junction (immediately after crossing Karnataka, entering Andhra Pradesh). We sipped into a cup of hot tea with a soft bun we carried with us, knowing that no breakfast joints would be open early morning hours. My wife also got to buy a string of fragrant jasmine (mullai flowers). A few kilometres after Lepakshi, we were stopped by 2 policemen and policewomen for a random check of vehicles. One of them checked our luggage in the XUV boot (by opening our bags & suitcase) while the other was clicking the photos of the vehicle. It was our first experience of them taking photos during their routine checks.

We did not have adequate time to have a full tank when we left Bengaluru since we had a trip to Athi varadar, Kanchipuram, a day before. As per the legend, the Lord Athi Varadar is taken out of the pond once in 40 years, and the devotees can have darshan of the Lord for approx. 45 days at the Vasantha Mandapam, Varadaraja perumal temple premises. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us, and we felt blessed to have the darshan of the Lord before we started our journey to Delhi / Ladakh.

08:15 am - The XUV fuel indicator displayed the half mark, and we looked for a refuel at a COCO pump (Company Owned and Company Operated petrol pumps). After driving for about 250 Kms, we topped up our XUV fuel tank at Indian Oil pump, Kalluru, Anantapuram, with 28 lit diesel @ Rs 71.34 / lit, in order to suffice until we find another COCO pump.

I was posted in Hyderabad during 2016-2017, and we have driven from Bengaluru to Hyderabad a few times. Although we were familiar with this route, it was a new experience for us to find lots of signboards written in Korean script. Driving further, we found the KIA automobile factory on the highway, hence the reason for these signboards in Korean.

Driving further, we saw a signboard with a milestone of "Timbuktu". As we drove along, we were able to locate Timbuktu, a café selling organic boutique of food & clothing that was closed in the early morning hours. The name intrigued us as we used the word Timbuktu in colloquial usage for a remote, unknown region.

Information for fellow travelers
We spotted an HP COCO immediately after crossing the Kasepalli toll plaza. We are always on the lookout for refuelling at COCO petrol pumps to find quality and quantity diesel, thus avoiding refuelling at ordinary pumps.

09:50 am: we reached Kurnool, and along the highway, we took an Idli break at Mr Idli, which served quality food and strong tea (quite refreshing to have tea on this long drive).

10:20 am: Driving for about 150 Km from Kalluru, Anantapuram (our last filling point), we found BPCL CoCo at Manavapadu and refuelled full-tank diesel 38 lit @ Rs73.43 / lit for Rs2,800.


12:30 pm: We entered Nehru ORR from Shamshabad, Hyderabad and after driving for over an hour, took Exit 6 at Medchal. It was a pleasant drive, and not many vehicles on the ORR.

05:40 pm: We entered Maharashtra immediately after a detour due to road repair work, which slowed our speed. We were determined to reach Nagpur a little after twilight.

08:00 pm: We reached our OYO hotel about 25 km before Nagpur, which we booked via OYO app for a good deal. We got a parking space inside the hotel premises ensuring safety for our baggage which we did not carry inside our hotel room. Since we had an early start from Bengaluru, we retired by 8:30 pm.

[vittal]

Day 2: 25-Jul-2019 (Thursday)

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day: 1067 Km
Time taken: 17:10 hours (Start time: 5:20 am to 10:30 pm)
Route taken: Nagpur - Chhindwara - Narsinghpur - Sagar - Lalitpur - Jhansi - Gwalior - Morena - Agra - Noida - Delhi
Places visited: Nil (only drive-through)

This was another day of the long drive ahead of us, and we decided to leave the hotel by 05:00 am. We had to wake the hotel staff to open the gates & settle our hotel room bill. We had initially planned to take the 2nd route (details below) based on the recent review from a fellow Team-BhPian indicating that the route from Seoni was now a 4-lane highway. We decided to take this route instead of the traditional Chhindwara route. However, as soon as we entered Nagpur, google Maps (our marga darshi) redirected us towards the airport due to the highway's white topping and metro work. Unknowingly we missed going by the forest route. Though it took almost an hour to cross Nagpur, no regrets as this highway route are well maintained. Following are the 2 routes from Nagpur outer to Narsinghpur.
(1) Nagpur via the city – Near Nagpur Airport – Sausar – Ramakona – Chhindwara outer – Amarwara – Singhpur – Narsinghpur (278 Km)
(2) Nagpur outer – take clover at Gavsi - Manapur towards outer ring road – Kapsi – Mansar – Seoni – Lakhnadon – Narsinghpur (285 Km)

We had a good mind to eat vada pav for breakfast, but we were in M.P. even before we realized it. We treated ourselves to crispy, piping hot moong dal pakoda, which is a local breakfast in Madhya Pradesh. It was a ghat section towards Narsinghpur and no eateries enroute. Bhaji Vada, topped with a dollop of mango chutney and soaked in mattha (boiled buttermilk garnished with spices & turmeric). This was so typical of local Madhya Pradesh.















Khali ghata chaaye, near Sagar - Madhya Pradesh




The cows have not come on the highway, it is the highway that is on the cows' way!!














It was a unique experience on the Madhya Pradesh highway. After driving a few km, we found cows running hither thither, slowing down our speed. We had to be alert and in full control of our vehicle in order not to hurt Gaiyya Mata.


We found many signboards directing us towards a Mid-way restaurant, only to find it shut down as we reached there.


After crossing Chirula (i.e. border of M.P. & U.P.), many unexpected, consecutive diversions spread over a long stretch that restricted our driving in 2nd gear and slowed us down considerably.











Aab Dilli door nahin
Excited to see the milestone nearing Delhi






From the outskirts of Agra, I would have preferred to take the outer Agra bypass road to come to Delhi. As usual, we followed google map (our marg darshi), which directed us to Agra Inner Ring Road leading to Yamuna Expressway cutting across Agra city. It was a strenuous drive wading through city traffic (near The Taj!), taking almost an hour to reach the outer ring road.


On the Yamuna Expressway from Agra to Noida
a) Not too many vehicles or crowded on the expressway
b) At the toll, they don't accept FasTag, and only cash is accepted (₹415 toll charges)
c) Huge display board of traffic challan for those violating the speed limit of 100 km/hr on Yamuna Expressway (A person's name was displayed on the board who was challaned for driving at 165 km/hr)
d) Google map took us all through Agra city to reach the expressway, which took an hour
e) Need to be cautious of the monotonous expressway drive and be prepared to stay awake
f) Plenty of welcome breaks along the Yamuna Expressway to have food or to refresh

[vittal]

26-Jul-2019 to 31-Jul-2019 at Delhi
We utilized these days to complete our personal work and prepare for our ongoing trip to Leh Ladakh. On 29-Jul, we got all the 5 tyres replaced with Bridgestone tyres by calling TyresNmore. The next day we also got the wheel-alignment done at Noida.

We took all our camping equipment, sleeping bag, shovel, and jerry can (army quality) from the attic. When we were in Delhi, the jerry can was procured online a couple of years ago from Olive Planet, Bengaluru. It was a fused metal, heavy-duty, leak-proof jerry can, and its O.G. green colour gave us a patriotic army feel. We later purchased the remaining items as per our checklist for the trip, especially dry fruits, medicines, electoral, read to eat food items (MTR poha, Maggie noodles), and mineral water (25 lit cans).














The mineral water (2 cans apart from filling it in coke bottles) and electoral were essential items to help us keep hydrated and cope with Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) while passing at high altitudes. We filled water in Coke bottles (apart from our usual Tupperware water bottles). Coke bottles are leak-proof even at high altitudes and can be placed horizontally under the car seats.

We calculated the extra fuel required for this trip based on its availability at remote places in Ladakh. We also worked out the fuel requirement based on XUV mileage, route to be taken, places to visit, alternate routes, last petrol pump enroute so as to suffice for the trip. Accordingly, we got our 2 x 20 lts jerry can filled apart from our 70 lts XUV 500 full tank at Delhi.




From our previous experience of Spiti Valley (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...-xuv500-3.html (Spiti Splendour - Delhi to Spiti in an XUV500)), we particularly took our shovel, which was essential equipment that could help to clear our way through water logs and landslides. The shovel came in handy to clear a mini-landslide at a narrow road enroute Pang - Sarchu.

After all this packing, our excitement was at its peak, and we did a brief meditation and deep breathing exercise to get a good night's sleep.

[vittal]

1-August-2019 Delhi to Katra

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day: 659 Km
Time taken: 15:30 hours (Start time: 05:30 am to 09:00 pm)
Route taken: Delhi – Ludhiana – Jalandhar – Pathankot – Katra
Places visited: Nil (only drive-through)


05:30 am: Though we left home at 05.30 am from Delhi, we had to retrace back as we had left a bag. Eventually, we left home at 05:45 am. We felt nostalgic about the place enroute, so we clicked pictures of Akshardham Setu (view of Nizamuddin Pull) and the Red Fort wall enroute to Delhi University.

















We had parathas at Pehalwan dhaba, Murthal, which was our usual stop for breakfast. Enticing parantha with a lavish dollop of freshly churned white butter lubricated the massive tandoori aloo parantha. We also had a bowl of dahi, which was thick as a cheesecake. We were too happy to satiate our tummies. We reached Ludhiana quite earlier than expected, by 10:00 am.














There was an initial water logging jam for 15 minutes and later for 5 hrs. There was a bottleneck and water logging (11:45 am to 02:40 pm) that was the cause of the jam.



















We had roti and dal makhani for lunch at Gujjar dhabha Jalandhar. We filled fuel at Indian oil COCO at Bhogpur. We reached Katra from Jammu, and there were about 3 long tunnels enroute to Katra which were newly made and were unlike the route we had taken a decade ago. Enroute, we were looking out for Lakhanpur toll gate, we reached a toll called Kathua, but the board mentioned Lakhanpur. But the person standing there asked us to pass by. There was no service on our JIO SIM after entering into J&K.

We reached Katra at 09:00 pm and checked into Vaishno Devi Shrine board's Niharika guest house at Katra. Although the rooms showed unavailable online, they were available when we reached the guest house, and the reception person mentioned that it was a lean period. We were not too hungry, but we had kadi chawal at the canteen at the shrine board. There was a local STD booth at the shrine board premises, where we learnt that no SIM other than J&K prepaid would work at Jammu. The new SIM connection costed Rs 300 with unlimited calling for 1 month, but on further enquiry. We understood that this was only valid for Jammu and not Kashmir and Ladakh. The BSNL postpaid was the only SIM that would work. So we made a local call like old times with the metered call, running at Rs 10 for a minute. We were relieved and had a good night's sleep - Ready for our morning trek to Mata's Bhawan.

[vittal]

02-Aug-2019 Katra to Vaishno Devi

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day:
Time taken: 16:00 hours (Start time: 07:00 am to 11:00 pm)
Route taken: Trek from Katra to Vaishno Devi and back
Places visited: Vaishno Devi

We started at 6:00 am. The Niharika complex has a counter inside that provides yatra registration and helicopter service counter etc. As we had our yatra registration on mobile, a print-out was necessary as they stamped the registration at the banganga entrance. So we had to take another yatra parchi at the office near Katra Bus stand. There was a long moving queue for yatra registration. We took our parchi and proceeded in an auto to Banganga entrance for Rs 50. The Yatra parchi was stamped, although it took longer for the gents queue. The auto driver also mentioned to us about the new route that is free to walk. But we decided to ascend via the old route as we were apprehensive.

We had tea as we trekked and decided not to have solid food until we reached the top. We trekked slowly at a comfortable pace, much slower than we did when we were younger. We were fortunate to make this trip after a decade. We reached Adhkuwari and took the plain route for the rest of the distance to Vaishno devi. There was a very long queue for the battery car tickets, and we decided to trek further. We found a Verka milk parlour before adhkunwari where we had milk and chaach as thirst quenchers.

We reached Bhawan by 1 pm. It started raining heavily as we reached Bhawan. We decided to proceed to the lockers even if it meant getting drenched. We kept our items in the locker and had lunch (kadi chawal) at the shrine board canteen. The queue for the darshan was almost a Km away. We walked into the darshan queue, which was easy and quick. The darshan was over in 30 minutes. According to the Tamil calendar, it was Adi Friday month, considered auspicious to have Devi Darshan.

As we proceeded after having darshan, we saw a long queue for the cable car for Bhairon Baba Darshan. We stood in the queue that moved faster than expected as each cable car accommodated about 50 passengers on standing capacity. We reached Bairon temple in 3 minutes in the cable car. The cost of the cable car is Rs 100 to and fro Bhairon Mandir.

We started our descent at 04:00 pm. On reaching Adhkuwari, we decided to take the new Tarakote marg that was free from kacchars and palkis. The road was 20 ft wide and clean with good views, and parks made yatris to have a pleasant climb. The policeman at Adhkuwari mentioned that it is only 1 km longer than the old route. But as we walked, we realized it was longer than the traditional route, easily by 5 km. We rested and kept walking. We finally reached Katra at 10:30 pm. We took the auto to the Niharika Guesthouse (Auto charges were Rs 205, and Rs 5 was collected for some local purpose from auto drivers). After reaching the hotel, we washed our tired feet with warm water and rested for the day. The health app on our iPhone showed a whopping 37 km for the day.

[vittal]

3-Aug-2019 (Saturday) Katra to Palampur

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day: 333 Km
Time taken: 09:30 hours (Start time: 08:30 am to 06:00 pm)
Route taken: Katra – Udhampur – Khud – Pathankot – Kangra – Palampur
Places visited: only driving

We woke around 07:00 am as we were exhausted from the previous day's trek and needed rest. We left after a hot water bath that soothed our limbs and muscles. We decided to relax and not have an early morning start on this day. We had puri chole for breakfast at the Vaishno Devi Shrine board Bhojanalaya. We left the Niharika guest house at 08:30 am and started to drive towards Tikri, Udhampur, and Patni top via Srinagar Highway. We found it a bit odd without a SIM and our google maps. We had to ask for directions from locals and also follow signboards to proceed further. We kept clicking pictures and drove along the 4 lane road on the Srinagar highway.









We were stopped at Khud by a barricade and 6 policemen, who did not permit tourists and other vehicles except localities. Due to grave security reasons in Kashmir Valley, we were stopped at the check post near Kud (after crossing Udhampur), and the security personnel deployed advised us to return back. Tourism was affected in Srinagar, Kashmir valley and the devotees who had come for Amarnath Yatra were all returned back. We were informed that the Army was deployed at Srinagar. We were asked to return back, and upon further enquiry, they mentioned that there was no problem via the Manali route and Leh.




The route from Katra to Leh via Srinagar – Kargil is 672 Km as compared to via Palampur - Manali - Sissu – Pang is 1,027 Km. We had to travel via Manali to reach Leh, which is a longer route and rougher due to the steep climb in altitude leading to AMS.


Map of our initial plan to reach Leh from Katra – Srinagar – Kargil – Leh (672 Kms)





Map of our revised plan from Katra – Palampur – Manali – Sissu – Pang – Leh (1027 Km)





We retraced back and decided to travel to Leh via the Manali route rather than our original plan of traveling from Katra via Srinagar to Leh. We did not want to miss another chance of visiting Leh as this was our 2nd attempt. Enroute, we stopped at the famous Prem sweets in Khud; here, we had a taste of Patissa.











What is Patisa?
Patisa is another famous recipe across the northern part of India. It is made from sugar, wheat flour, ghee and can use cardamom (ilaichi) for fragrance. Some people have an opinion that patisa and soan papdi is same thing, but actually, both are different in taste, colour and texture.

We drove down to Lakhanpur/Kathua, and after Kathua we had to reroute the way via Himachal Pradesh. Our SIM resumed service, and we had the help of our Google maps to be able to plan our onward journey. We bypassed Pathankot to go via Mamoon. Here we had Amritsari Nan topped with butter, chole and pyaz chutney. The cost was just Rs 30, which is so good about local food. The lunch was so authentic to the region with original taste and flavour.


We started to drive down inside towns of Himachal, and enroute we saw a mela that was actually devotees performing a naga devata puja during that week. We bought mango fruit that was a smaller version of the chaunsa. We crossed Dharamshala and stayed at Palampur. The Hotel Ashiana OYO room (2 Km from the main highway) deserves a good star rating and has a good view from the balcony. We spent a few hours here with a hot cup of tea and took some good photographs. As the sunset, it started to rain heavily and continued till late in the night. We also had dinner at the hotel. Simple roti and subji and retired for the day.

[vittal]

4-Aug-2019 (Sunday) Palampur to Sissu

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day: 287 Km
Time taken: 12:20 hours (Start time: 06:30 am to 06:50 pm)
Route taken: Palampur – Mandi – Kullu – Manali - Sissu
Places visited: only driving


06:30 am: We left our Hotel Ashiana at Palampur, as it was daylight. After about 7 km, we stopped at a Dhabha to have aloo parantha and chai. We felt a bit nauseous because of the winding roads, so we stopped for a few minutes (10 min) to recoup. We reached Mandi and felt nostalgic as we had stayed overnight during our Honeymoon 25 yrs back.

We drove further down to Kullu and took a print-out of our Rohtang pass permit. Since it was Sunday, the market shops were all closed so that we could drive freely across the valley. We drove through a very crowded fruit market, where we bought fresh pears and apples.

We had lunch at Kullu and drove down to Manali, about 37 km from Kullu. The route drive was a delight with the sound of the white beautiful river Beas beckoning us. We were filled with memories that we had spent 25 years ago at the same place.

We paid a green tax of Rs 300 and drove further to Rohtang Pass. There was a bottleneck near the Manali Rohtang route, which held the traffic for a long time. Many army trucks needed a place, and on the opposite side, traffic had to wait. We witnessed a lot of paragliders on the sport on the cliff tops.

There were too many winding roads on our ascent to Rohtang pass. We crossed Rani Nala, which was still covered with snow. We had a bun with chole that was served hot by a vendor for Rs 50. We further went through many loops up the hill to reach Rohtang. At Rohtang, there was a heavy gust of wind. There was, however, no snow spread out. At Rohtang, we met a fellow Team-BHPian who came in a nano from Himachal Pradesh. We clicked pictures together to post in the forum. It was extremely cold and windy at Rohtang, and I found it difficult to stand for a photograph. Our mobiles were out from the service network a few metres after Rani Nala.

There was a road diversion during descent, and it was a bad stretch upto Khoksar checkpost. We reached Sissu (10000 ft) as we drove along with the tiny villages of Lahaul. At 06:50 pm, we checked into the hotel Peak view, which had a view of the peak as well as the river. We had fruits and poha for dinner and retired cosily with warm dohars. We slept by 09:30 pm. We met a few boys from Delhi who were cooking their own food at the hotel and had to return from their trip because of tyre issues with their Hyundai Verna.


Rohtang Pass:
Online permit for the Rohtang pass can be obtained by paying Rs50 from https://rohtangpermits.nic.in/ and the payment can be made by debit/credit / net banking. The mobile app is also available to obtain the Rohtang Pass. We took a print-out of the pass booked online, just to make sure that we were not sent back due to lack of a print-out. When enquired at the security check, they mentioned that the booking via an app is also accepted (that is no need for taking a print-out of the permit).



Driving through the tunnel




- Bright welcome by the shining sun at the end of the tunnel






Picturesque Himachal- kullu

















Pears were fresh sold at Rs 15 a kilo -unbelievable





Rani Nala - visited after 25 years - nostalgia











Hot and steaming chole with bun at Rani Nala




Rohtang Pass











Rohtang Permit check point






Rough Terrain enroute Palampur - Manali - Sissu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJcD7_54NFY

Hotel Stay at Sissu

[vittal]

5-Aug-2019 (Monday) Sissu to Pang

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day: 213 Km
Time taken: 13:30 hours (Start time: 06:30 am to 08:00 pm)
Route taken: Sissu – Keylong – Jispa - Bharatpur Nala – Sarchu – Pang
Places visited: only driving


We left Hotel Peak view at 06:30 am to a beautifully hued sky. The lush green farms bore a look of a painting and gave us all the energy needed for the day. Enroute, we reached Keylong. Our sparingly used Airtel SIM worked, and we could provide a quick message to our dear ones. Tandi, the last petrol pump at Himachal, was our next stop as we filled our tank with fuel to suffice until Leh. We crossed Gamur village, Darcha, and as we descended, we saw the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga Rivers and joined to make Chandrabhaga (we were happy to see ChandraBhaga at the hills and had the feeling that Pandharpur was with us there too). Chandrabhaga actually is Chenab River. We noticed the Surya Tal enroute. We ascended to Bharalacha la mountain pass (16000 ft). We reached a village where we stopped at a sleep cum restaurant for lunch. We had a group of 18 Italian bikers who were also driving parallel with us. We felt slightly dizzy and tired. We were informed not to lie down in such cases and eat less. The tent inside felt warm and well insulated. Even if the sun was shining bright, it was the cold winds that made it very cold.

Paving our way through Ice Mountains

https://youtu.be/R61aNsU2Qlw

We shared a plate of dal chawal costing Rs 100 and started to drive. As we drove 200 metres, we realized we had left our SLR at the tent. We drove back and were happy to find our camera. After Jispa, we reached Bharatpur Nala, a very wide river bed with stones.

Bharatpur Nala or water crossing:
We noticed lots of people standing on both sides of the water crossing. As we drove along, we noticed vehicles trying to cross the Nala that was filled with water by that time. When I approached near the Nala, we found an Innova who was struggling to cross this Bharatpur Nala. An Innova was stuck, and the BRO workers were helping it out with a tow rope. 4 to 6 people, including 2 of the BRO helped the Innova to cross with a towing rope. Bikers could not cross and needed a helping lifting their wheels.

The 15 Kiwi bikers were next to cross the Nala. I walked upto the Nala to find the place from where I should drive through (avoiding the big boulders / big stones blocking the passage). With this initial investigation, the heavy gush of water and speaking to the local drivers (next in turn to me), I took the plunge (one of the lorry drivers cautioned me to be careful while crossing this Nala). My turn to cross was after the 3 lorries. My adrenal level peaked while crossing this Nala; driving in 1st gear, avoiding the boulders, I managed to cross this Bharatpur Nala. The onlookers and Kiwi bikers cheered me as soon as I crossed the Nala. While I was busy manoeuvring the XUV 5OO to cross this Bharatpur Nala, my wife took this video. This was one of the toughest water crossings that I have faced on the mighty Himalayas.

With keen observation, we managed to drive through the Nala. Fellow bikers encouraged us after our crossing with thumbs up.

https://youtu.be/Ocz4Q6JQryE

As we drove down, we found many difficult roads and Nalas that led to Patsio, a small village.

We drove past Sarchu (13000 ft), usually a preferred stay place for fellow travelers. There were several tent stay options at Sarchu, but we decided to drive further as it was still bright. We drove along about 10 km, and there was a broken bridge being repaired, which caused us a delay of 3 hrs.

We made friends with fellow travelers, bikers from Kerala, and an estate owner from Nilgiris who invited us to the coffee estates.

We were allowed to pass through the bridge at around 05:30 pm. We drove, and after a few Kms, the 21 km stretch of Gata loops began; it was an enjoyable ascent with steep hairpins all along while my wife chanted Om Nama Shivaya. We drove along the lap of the mighty Himalayas, which were constantly protecting us. This ascent led us to Nakeela (16000 ft), a high mountain pass that connected Lahaul with J & K. We saw a pile of plastic water bottles and the gata loops that really pained our minds.

Unbelievable area of plains at such high altitudes

https://youtu.be/skQ3v-48yOE

After we crossed Nakeela, we drove along the Brandy Nala, and ascended to Lachalung la, another mountain pass. It was dark, and Raja was unwell dizzy and had a sick feeling. We drove along, and as it was 07:30 pm, we finally reached Pang (a village at an altitude of 15700 ft). It was an awful experience reaching there. We were in intense prayer for help from the Almighty as our breath, digestive system, and head were not cooperating. The AMS had taken a toll on us, and we spent the night in a room keeping our heads erect in a sitting position. We were too sick to have dinner, and it was too cold for us even to think straight. That night was indeed a nightmare for the two of us. The night passed with much difficulty and less sleep. We were up in the morning, brushed. My wife had tea to feel a bit warm, and I just didn't dare eat anything after the previous days experience. My wife started on her pranayama and Sudarshan kriya breathing yoga which made a big difference to her state and helped her cope with AMS.

[vittal]

Baralacha la





The famous and notorious Bharatpur Nala










Bridge under repair

[vittal]

Cheetah magnificant






Cut Mountains but connect hearts





Darcha Vehicle Registration








Gata Loops starts





Hotel Peak View Sissu

[vittal]

Indus River and Ladakh





Jespa




Lachung La




Nakeela






Patsio Sarchu




Roads water logging




Sarchu




Short cuts may cut short your life





snow capped mountains drive thru




Tandi - The last Petrol Pump








Tanglang la




Upshi




Virgin Nature of Ladhak





Water crossing enroute Sissu - Pang







Welcome to Leh




Welcome to Paradise of India - Juley






Wifey on the wheels

[vittal]

6-Aug-2019 (Tuesday) Pang to Leh

Summary of the day:

Distance Travelled during the day: 177 Km
Time taken: 05:15 hours (Start time: 07:15 am to 12:30 pm)
Route taken: Pang – Leh
Places visited: Zorawar Fort, Shanti Stupa

What a drastic change in temperature (day and night) between Pang and Leh which is 177 Km away. From freezing cold to hot place, from 15,280 ft altitude to 11,480 ft altitude.

We started around 07:15 am to drive towards Leh. We descended from Pang and were too happy to enter Moore plains. Moore plains is a 39 km stretch of beautifully laid out roads that were complete plains with Kms of lad stretch on either side of the road with a 360 deg view of the Mountains. It was an incredible drive along these plains, and my wife was keenly looking out to see Marmots, mountain squirrels found in a few regions of Ladakh.

https://youtu.be/j_hGfTTklic

We drove at complete peace without any thoughts of speed or hairpin bends, which relieved us after the long stretch of Gata loops. We crossed Debring, which was the village after the Moore plains. I was nauseous still and handed over the steering to my wife. I could hear her stop along the villages from Debring to Leh in between my tired head. We also crossed another high altitude mountain pass, the Taglang la (17000 ft). My wife was driving, and she stopped to click a picture at the pass. As we stepped out of our car, a group of elderly gentleman in a yellow board Xylo showed great respect and literally saluted my wife for having the guts to drive in high pass regions. We clicked selfies of the beautiful scenery, streams and colourful mountains along the villages Gya, Meroo upto Upshi.

The villages from Debring to Upshi was incredibly beautiful, and it was a lovely sight to see the little children play, and local women engaged in morning chores.

We were happy to be near Leh and successfully crossed all 5 mountain passes (Rohtang la, Barachar la, Nakeela, Lachung la and Taglang la). We reached Upshi, where the river Indus welcomed us with a pleasant sound of water gushing along the gradients, the flow of water mixed with the brown sand it brought along gave it a golden hue.

At the Upshi checkpost, I was woken up by the sound of some passersby and check post official. Vidya continued to drive along to reach Leh via, Thiksey, Shey, and Chogmalsar.

The road was all along the river Indus. We reached Leh by afternoon, and we went searching for chanspa road, where most of the hotels and guest houses were situated. We checked into Munna palace guest house, which was on easy reach as we were too tired to go hotel shopping. Munna palace offered good parking and a very comfortable room to stay in. It was a very hot day at Leh, and the room felt very warm without a fan. Upon enquiry, we realized that no fan/A.C. was used there.









































Tanglang la approaching




Tanglang la