[kartikv1]

Context
Early this year, I started planning for a trip to an unknown place which would make it worth while for 2 weeks.
We then started to ponder where shall we go –

Option 1 – Plan a trip down konkan coast – start with Ahmedabad, Mumbai, lonavala, mahabaleshwar, then towards goa, hampi, Mysore …. And as far as we can go. We had a bunch of friends with whom it had been ages since we met up. But this trip was always sounding like a filler for 2 weeks than excite us enough.

Option 2 – Ladakh! – Drive up to Leh, Nubra Valley, Pangong lake, and as much further as possible within the time limits we had set
Option 2 it was!, option 1 could be done anytime via flights – wouldn’t be as much fun we figured. We had planned Ladakh trip and cancelled it multiple times in the past due to numerous reasons, it seemed that the stars had aligned this time round for us.


Vehicle Considered

Nissan Terrano Diesel 85PS 2015 Make –
Has clocked 95k kms, has started to show its age, multiple components were identified to be replaced including –
Steering rack, tie rods, shockers, shocker mounts, brake pads, clutch assembly
All of these findings let me do a double check with my trusted mechanic – who confirmed the inevitable – he advised not to take the vehicle in its current condition, and I was not very enthusiastic to carry out these repairs as I planned to sell off this vehicle as soon as possible being in Delhi NCR.

BMW 330i Sport -
Bought in 2020 Dec, the car has clocked 30k kms, and has been a dream to live with. We have taken the 330i to places such as Chopta with snow all around, driven to Ahmedabad in a single day. This machine provided me supreme confidence in its capabilities. The only concern was the ground clearance but knowing that people have done this circuit in cars like Honda City 3rd Gen – 160mm clearance, I was confident I could navigate Ladakh – just that it would take more time and of course it carries with it higher risk in case the car broke down.
I had hardly used the BMW 330i this year – clocked only 8000 kms in last 12 months. Taking a flight simply didn’t appeal to me, not when I had the beast lying underutilized.
I decided to go ahead with 330i to stick to the touristy well frequented circuit of Leh, Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake. My wife anyhow saw little sense in going to Hanle or Tso Moriri (that’s for the next trip then!)

Vehicle Prepping

Car was due for service on Aug 1, serviced the car at BMW as part of the BSI package. Engine oil, Oil Filter were changed.
Wheel alignment and balancing carried out at Pirelli Performance Center in Malviya Nagar, I’ve always preferred them over the BMW service center – due to the stark difference in costs of ~4x. They have the data for latest cars updated and have excellent technicians. Got the tires rotated as well.
Kept the following items in the car for emergencies –
1) Tire inflator
2) Tire puncture repair kit
3) Torch
4) Anti Freeze wiper liquid
5) Wiper for cleaning the windscreen – I generally clean the windscreen 2 times a day if the day involves long drives

Plan and Route for the trip
Around 25th July, the Delhi Manali to Leh Route had suffered a lot of damage due to rain and landslides, based on this I ruled out this route for to or fro journey from Delhi to Leh to Delhi. And considering the low ground clearance of 330i – the only route that could be really taken would be the Srinagar Leh Highway.
Following was the itinerary planned –
• 7th Aug Delhi to Jammu
• 8th Aug Jammu to Srinagar, Picked up Wife and Kid from Srinagar Airport, stayed in CRPF Mess
• 9th Aug Srinagar to Sonamarg – stayed at Hotel Village Walk
• 10th Aug Sonamarg to Leh – stayed in The Saraha
• 11th Aug Leh Local
• 12th Aug Leh to Nubra Valley – stay at Nubra Sarai
• 13th Aug Nubra Valley to Leh – stayed at The Saraha
• 14th Aug Leh to Pangong Lake – stayed at Pangong sarai
• 15th Aug Pangong Lake to Leh
• 16th Aug Leh to Kargil
• 17th Aug Kargil to Srinagar
• 18th Aug Srinagar to Pathankot
• 19th Aug Pathankot to Delhi

We had kept one buffer day and it was not needed as we didn’t face any issues in our plan except not being able to go from Nubra to Pangong directly (Agham Shyok Road was flooded and hence closed)

[kartikv1]

Leg 1 – Delhi to Srinagar

We planned to leave early from Delhi, my father was to accompany me till Srinagar and fly back after meeting a relative.

We started at 7AM eventually, had packed the car the previous night with the boot full to the brim. My wife and kid were not planning to check-in any luggage and hence I carried their luggage as well.

With just me and my father, we had very clearly planned our timeline and places to stop.

First stop would be Neelkanth Star near Panipat, after about 2.5 hours of driving.
Next would be Burger King at Jalandhar, then Nik Bakers near Pathankot before finally reaching Jammu well in time.

The roads were smooth, minimal highway construction on NH44, we reached Jammu in ~10 hours or so. Roads near Jammu were bad due to expressway construction in full swing and a detour required.

Stayed at Zone by the Park
Enjoyed a wholesome meal at a nearby restaurant, retired for the night.

Next day, we left early at 6AM to ensure we rush through Jammu to Srinagar, I was in no mood to get stuck at any of the checkposts or due to any landslides (the route had been affected a couple of days prior due to landslides and being closed through the day). Thankfully, nothing of the sort, road was in perfect condition for 1/3rd of the way, 1/3rd was under construction from T2 Marog, Cafeteria, Dalwas, etc. 1/3rd was good after Qazigund till Srinagar city.

We were able to breeze through the route within 5.5 hours. Minimal number of stops – no major eateries on this highway anyhow, just wanted to get through this one as quickly as possible.

Picked up wifey and kid from Srinagar airport at the end.


The boot of 330i full to the brim - this is for luggage of 2 adults and 1 kid, 1 bag still remained and had to be adjusted in the backseat in the leg space area!

Attachment 2496409
The 330i sitting proudly outside Burger King near Ludhiana


The 330i after crossing Jammu early in the morning, before Ramban. Stopped for a quick tea and capture some pics


Picked up walnut brownie/cake from Moonlight as we reached Srinagar. Were pleasantly surprised by the quality and taste! Highly recommended on your trip, they are located on Airport Road


The car sitting in the parking in Srinagar

[kartikv1]

Leg 2 – Srinagar to Sonamarg

Next day morning, left for Sonamarg around 10AM after dropping my father to airport.
Took the route bypassing the city, reached well in time around 2PM, checking into the hotel.

The hotel was uphill on a road with enough off-road, we slowly climbed our way up, through the gravel, the engine made easy work of the road and we reached up top. We then relaxed through the afternoon.

We then decided enough is enough, and my kid’s enthusiasm towards horses, we then went along on our journey towards the Thalwas Glacier trek on the horses.

I had initially thought that we will just need a single horse for my wife and kid. I had overestimated my capabilities to trek, just after 500 mts, I hired another horse and off we went.

The next 1 hour was spent trekking through the hill and forest, reaching close to the glacier and the lovely stream of water.
We took some photos, ordered maggis for us and the horse boys. Then went about shooting some videos and reels (courtesy of the boys who taught us to use some features on how to create some smooth reels on the iphone!)

It was an afternoon well spent, we then gathered courage to sit back on the horses and were led back to the hotel.

We weren’t sure as to when the traffic is let go from ZoJila towards Kargil and enquired from the locals. I had deliberately taken our halt as Sonamarg as we could cross Zojila as early as possible in the morning.

We retired slightly early as we had a long day of driving ahead of us.
Sonamarg had been nice to us, and we were glad we added it to the itinerary.


Somewhere between Srinagar and Sonamarg, there was amry at every 200mts. We slowly made our way to Sonamarg. Stopped at a couple of places for a quick pic. Kashmir is lovely and is one of the top destinations!


At Thalwas Glacier, the trek is worth it and I Highly recommend it whenever you visit Sonamarg! I imagine it would be even more beautiful during winters


View from our hotel - Hotel Village Walk


Hotel Village Walk - highly recommend the hotel. It is one of the top hotels in Sonamarg

[kartikv1]

Leg 3 – Sonamarg to Leh

This was the actual start of the trip in reality.
Crossing Zojila was going to be the highlight, but it turned out to be something else.

We had been warned by enough people till now, that we need to be careful at Zojila, too much height, too much water, too much bad roads, too much traffic, and what not.
We had a light breakfast and then left the hotel, stuffing our bags back into the Beemer. Slowly climbing up the hills, the tarred roads started turning bad, with enough craters to put the likes of Faridabad and Gurgaon to shame. We decided to drive as slowly as possible over these, and had decided that – if we found the going too tough, we will not hesitate to turn back.

Despite all the hype, Zojila turned out to be a rather easy pass, as we climbed slowly and steadily, the craters then turned to tiles (thanks to the administration), as the roads leading up to Zojila from both sides were tiled to endure the rough conditions up top.

We crossed over from Zojila and the scenery started changing, we passed through towns of Dras and Kargil in a jiffy and then the mountains began to paint a mesmerizing scenery which made us stop every 5 kms for a picture!

We visited Kargil War Memorial and spent ~1 hour there, reading through the sacrifices made by our martyrs. This place is a must visit on the way to Leh.

We also started feeling the altitude sickness to a short degree as we approached Lamayuru, we ended up taking so many breaks as we weren’t able to focus on the road.

The Diamox that I had been taking for past couple of days was starting to show its effect – I was having trouble concentrating on the road (one of the symptoms). We drove slowly and kept pushing, and now it was all about just reaching the hotel and crashing on the bed.

We had a sumptuous dinner and reimagined the way we had been through!
We spent the next 36 hours in Leh to acclimatize and relaxed over dinners and lunches.

Tried out some of the restaurants – the Tibetan kitchen for local Ladakhi cuisine, Tsas by Dholkar and were pleasantly surprised by the options available in Leh.

Parking was a nightmare as they had closed the Polo Ground for 15 Aug event preparations.


At Zoja La pass, the pass has been laid with tiles all throughout the top area.


Customary pic at the first major pass - Zoji La


Entering Ladakh region - before Kargil town


kargil War Memorial


Kargil War Memorial


Scenery close to Lamayuru


We kept pausing the capture the natural landscape and one can just sit and paint nature anywhere!


Stupas along the road - we find these every few kms in ladakh


We stayed at The Saraha - Mr Stanzin the owner is a charm and the hotel provided us good services at a reasonable price. Highly recommend the place.


Food at the Tibetan Kitchen - a popular joint in Leh


Pizza at Tsas by Dholkar - this is a premium hotel with a great restaurant, it was located close to the Fort Rd. If you're looking for continetal and modern indian food - this place is apt.


Modern Indian Tacos at Tsas by Dholkar


Found a car wash and got the car cleaned - but there is really no point i felt. The roads are so dusty right now, that you will get the car dirty in no time.

[kartikv1]

Leg 4 – Leh to Nubra Valley – Leh

After 2 days, now it was time to proceed on our journey towards Nubra valley. We had been contemplating not taking the 330i, and getting a taxi, but this just didn’t appeal to me. I was confident to be able to take the car to Nubra as I had enquired with local drivers (mind you their benchmarks are another level compared to us lowly plain dwellers). They had said, barring a couple of spots where I need to be extra careful, the 330i will manage.
We started our drive, packing in all the luggage back to the bimmer (here is where I miss the big boot of Terrano which would have swallowed everything), for bimmer – we need to constantly optimize and manage space.

We started towards Khardung La and were there in no time, with some bad patches of roads but largely the BRO had built good roads to last, with tiles near the top of the pass.
We spent a good 10 minutes at the pass, clicked some pics and off we went. Before we had realized, we had crossed the 2nd or 3rd highest motorable road in the world!

We kept on chugging along the road, with perfect stretches of tar in between followed by some rough patches. 330i made light work of the road and we had reached the Sangam of Shyok and Nubra River. The Shyok river is muddy and one can hardly make out that it’s a river.

We travelled across the road parallel to Shyok river and reached Nubra Sarai. The infrastructure at Hunder is again of basic nature. Though the tents have all the facilities, we relaxed having late lunch and then proceeded towards Hunder Sand Dunes.

The Hunder Sand Dunes was really mesmerizing – the whole vibe was fun as we drove through the rough road towards the dunes and parked our vehicle and then hurried across for the ATV ride. My kid thoroughly enjoyed the ATV ride and that led to my wife also trying it out, it was a unique experience where you can bounce the ATV around on the sand dunes, having complete control.

We then proceeded towards the double hump Bactrian camels and enjoyed a 1km ride, clicking pictures. Then we just lay on the sand ending the evening, pondering over our thoughts.

The next day, as we were deciding whether to go directly to Pangong or go towards Leh, a driver at Nubra Sarai volunteered to help us along the way and go directly to Pangong. His benchmark for road quality was very different I suppose.

As we saw the Maitreya Buddha (Diskit Monastery), we then proceeded towards Agham via the road under construction from Sumur to Rondhu village then towards Agham. This was the worse road we had seen in Ladakh and we just kept on going with our will power, driving at speeds of 10-20kmph, slowly chugging along. We understood this was a wrong decision. When we reached Agham after going on this road for 2-3 hours, we were told that Agham Shyok route was flooded and closed for traffic, anyhow I would not dare take the bimmer on a flooded road.

We had no choice but to go through Wari-La, there was no internet in the phone since last 2 hours, we proceeded towards Wari-la, stopping each and every vehicle to ask how the roads were. I got 3 different answers when I spoke to 3 different people. We proceeded along, road to be honest was much better than previous 3 hours, we managed to reach Wari-La – but being a lesser frequented route, the road up-top was not in good condition, kind of off-road. We took solace in the fact that there was an army ambulance following us and we would wave to them if we got stuck or faced health issues.

Now somehow, we crossed Wari-la – made a few videos, photos, finally reached Sakthi (intersection point 1 hour away from Leh where the route for Pangong also starts). We crossed a couple of water streams (about 8 inches max height), having no option of turning back (having invested over 5 hours already), we went through it without any trouble. Also I had recently on my previous check up of the car enquired the water wading capacity maximum – the answer I got from the SA was – should be below the kidney grill and need to be really slow through it, he said issues happen typically when people rush through the water and it splashes inside the engine bay and air filter, Also just to confirmed he said that Air filter is not located at the bottom of the bumper as is a misconception.

We stopped by a dhaba, which had a wonderful location with a stream flowing right through it and treehouses were there to go sit in and eat in.
We then realized we were close to Karu and Hemis monastery – we had heard great things about this particular monastery and decided to check it out. It was a peaceful evening – where we spent the next 2 hours at Hemis and saw the templates, monastery, museum and bought some souvenirs.
Had a good relaxing evening early snack at 6pm and thanked our stars that we were back from Agham in one piece and relaxing.
We then contemplated to not take any decision till next day, when we could proceed to pangong.

Another thing to add – this route was probably the most scenic route of our trip and we loved the beauty all along. And the adventure just added onto our experience and we wouldn't have it any other way in hindsight.


We started our climb towards Khardung La


330i in alien surroundings


At Khardung La


Customary Pic at Khardung La

[ATTACH=IMG_4332.JPEG]
Khardung La!

[/ATTACH]
Enjoying a Maggi after descending from Khargung La - sitting by a small stream (these are plenty)


Scenery


We stayed at Nubra Sarai. Had a pleasant stay here with good food! We enjoyed the hospitality provided by the team - including Keshav


Enjoyed the apricots plucked from the hotel's farm! Apricots are plenty in ladakh and they use to create oils which hydrates the skin in this arid climate


Scenery from Nubra Sarai


Enjoying the ATV ride at Hunder Nubra Valley - highly recommend this experience @1000 bucks - its totally VFM, we thoroughly enjoyed bashing the dunes with this.


The Double Hump Bactrian Camels! They are lovely creatures! Enjoyed the ride through the desert - 1Km round is enough - you will thank me later especially if you have lower back issues


Scenery at twilight


In the desert parked near the dunes. Its a blissful experience!


Maitreya Buddha


Filled up the car at the Fuel station in Diskit - there was a long line to fuel up especially for people wanting to go to Pangong Tso via Agham Durbuk.


Road from Sumur to Agham! This is one crazy road - the condition is like this or worse for 15 kms straight!


The cafe at Agham which brought some respite seeing other fellow travelers in taxis and bikes


At Wari - La


At Wari - La


Descending from Wari - La


At Wari - La, this pass is most neglected i would say - road is non-existent at 18000 ft with rocks in the middle.

Attachment 2496468
I kept reducing the pressure as we climbed khardung la and then Wari la

[kartikv1]

Leg 5 – Leh to Pangong Lake – Leh

Considering we had arrived fairly on time in Leh from Nubra valley, we got some good rest and were all rejuvenated to start our journey to Pangong Lake.

We again packed the bimmer and started our journey. After covering the deadly Sumar to Agham to Wari la to Sakti road yesterday, we thought we and the car were invincible. We decided to take a chance. We proceeded onwards, the initial few kms as we climbed towards Chang-la were good, perfect tarred road and we were joyous. Then once the tarred road ended, the road turned bad to worse and near the Chang-la top, we faced multiple delays due to road-tiling effort going on and traffic getting stuck from both sides.

Finally we were at Chang-la, conditions were really windy and chilly, didn’t spend a lot of time here and proceeded onwards to Pangong Tso, roads were slightly better after Chang-la. We reached Dubruk and took a quick lunch break – nothing fancy - just a dal, rice and curry. We then proceeded onwards thinking the roads would be nicer but the definition of nicer is the issue in Ladakh, your benchmark keeps changing depending on who you talk to. After some nicely tarred roads, we were stopped to pay the Eco Fee at Pangong of Rs 10 per person, we assumed the roads would be “nice” from here, but to our dismay, the roads were pretty bad. Based on a discussion with a relative who is posted in Leh, we understood that the road used to be decent till last year but they dug it up and were in the process of widening it to 60 ft, but somehow they were delayed and were not going to finish the work before winter sets in and the project is going to be deferred to next year.

The place that Pangong Tso is, the popularity it has gained, I just couldn’t fathom the condition of the roads we faced. Roads were sprayed with stones/bajri, to be rolled in, before being tarred, we have to drive on bajri for 20kms with no end in sight.

The rough road patch ended after an hour and then we saw Pangong Tso’s first glimpse! We immediately forgot the tough road conditions we had braved for past 5 hours. We just went silent looking at the lake, stopped the car and just looked.

We then drove past, rolled down the windows (16 degrees outside), just soaking in the view, driving at 30kmph. We drove till Man, where we had booked the stay at Pangong Sarai.

We then took some time to relax then headed back to the lake to get some higher quality shots using the DSLR and spent a good 30 mins clicking photos. The weather had become rainy suddenly and we could see that there was snowfall possibly just at the peaks near Pangong Tso. There was a moment where we saw 2 rainbows at once and captured the moment.
Then just sitting and relaxing by the Pangong Lake, we enjoyed our stay, had dinner.

The night was very chilly, the heater stayed on till 1030PM in the night, post that once the heat dissipated, it became one chilly sleepless night. I was constantly monitoring my kid – to ensure he is comfortable and hardly had any sleep myself. The next morning – we wanted to get up early and leave back to Leh as we had heard that water flow can increase in a couple of places, and given the car that we had brought – made us leave slightly early – around 8AM. Had a filling breakfast (considering the remote areas these are), we made way towards the car, packing and started our drive back.
Drive back was uneventful and that really helped us understand how the locals are able to manage the roads without any frustration. Only the second time we were crossing these roads and we had become really comfortable with the way, bad roads, taking the right detours, having more patience.
We slowly got back to Leh where we spent the next 24 hours relaxing at a relative’s place in the Army area in Karu. Got a good breather and relaxation before we were to begin our journey back.


On way from Leh to Pangong Tso


Scenery on way


Climbing Chang La


Reached Pangong Sarai - couldn't stop clicking pics


The weather depended on where you looked towards, at up top it was probably snowing


Double Rainbow! First time


Yours truly with the 2 blues!


At Pangong sarai camp


Pangong Tso!


Wifey with the blues


On way back from Pangong Tso - at Chang la pass- Jawans and tourists were celebrating independence day! Loved the feeling here!


One last click with the mighty Pangong Tso

[kartikv1]

Leg 6 – Leh to Delhi

This time we decided to break our journey at Kargil – which should have been the choice for ongoing journey too but that ways we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy Sonamarg and Thalwas Glacier trek as much as we did – doing it at a leisurely pace.
Road to Kargil is strenuous in terms of changing altitudes but the roads are perfectly tarred. We were tired as we reached Kargil by 4PM and relaxed and slept early. Next day we left for Srinagar where our plan was to reach by afternoon and spend some time shopping and boating in dal lake. We spent a good 4-5 hours by the dal and then shopping at Kashmir Government Arts Emporium and retired to our rooms after a good dinner.

We stopped by Pathankot during our journey from Srinagar to Delhi at a relative’s place. Enjoyed a ride of the tank and explored one of the latest tanks. Not adding any pics due to security reasons. But all in all – a good evening where my kid loved riding on the tank – he had little to remember from the last couple of days in Pangong and Leh considering little action and he’s 4.5 years old only.
Ride to Delhi was uneventful and we left Pathankot at 8am and reached by 5PM to our house.


Last scenery as we exit ladakh


Cup of tea at place of stay in Kargil


Zoji La once again, till next time


One customary pic in the shikara at Dal

Overall Comments –
This is one of the toughest trips I feel which one can do in India, ofcourse the level of difficulty will go up as you add destinations like Tso Moriri and Hanle. It is tough to understand what’s so difficult without going through the trip yourself. And, the trip is equally rewarding!
I thank my wife and kid who put up with my crazy idea of going to Ladakh in a 330i! I could just not get myself to board a flight to this place. Having done the trip now – I have the following takeaways for people who are planning on a similar journey.

• The roads are amazing, it is totally worth going by road and enjoying this trip in the comfort of your car! The scenery is breathtaking.
• Biking would be another level of fun in these mountains – I want to do the circuit by renting a bike next time when I can find a couple of buddies interested in the idea. We could see all kind of bikes, people of all ages and nationalities on bikes, even cycles for that matter.
• Roads are going to be even more amazing in another 1-2 years – (read perfect tarred) for the touristy destinations as we saw the kind of work that is happening right now. You would be able to reach Jammu to Srinagar in 3- 4 hours, Leh – Nubra in 4 hours, Nubra to Pangong another 4 hours. It is going to get much easier and more touristy.
• Sedans can do this trip much easier after another 1-2 years.
• Bring a car that is <5 years old – we saw a lot oh vehicles which are older and not able to do the climb, running out of steam.
• Bring a car that is powerful enough, our car which has 255 bhp, was hardly pushing 40% of that at 18000 ft. The car should be in perfect shape as there is no margin for error in these mountains when it comes to mechanicals of the car and help is right now not easy to find.
• Stop and enjoy the drive! The fun is the journey rather than the destination – the destination is just the icing on the cake, journey is your cake!
• Air pressure changes at the height and will increase – please monitor it and reduce it- the roads will be less jarring, ride will be easier on the car, your tires will live longer
• Cross Jammu Srinagar highway at the earliest possible time in the morning before traffic builds up – we crossed it in 6 hours starting at 6AM.
• Fuel is available via modern outlets in most of the places – even in Nubra Valley (near Diskit), Tansgte – so there is no need to carry extra fuel if your car can do 500-600kms on one tank, and if you’re sticking to touristy circuit (Nubra and Pangong)

[helterskelter]

Great job! You have given inspiration to 330i owners like me to take our car to more adventurous locations. The maximum I had travelled till now in my car was till Mcleodganj but no comparison to Leh.
If you don’t mind my asking a few questions :-
1) did you face any issue at all with the car or was it smooth sailing all the way?
2) did you carry a full spare tyre or just the space saver?
3)did the car bottom out at any of the stretches or the ground clearance was good enough?

I have generally noticed that driving the car in sports mode in the mountains gives it that extra oomph while driving uphill and it really makes it all the more easier.

My biggest fear in these trips is usually not the ground clearance but the water wading. The fact that your SA was ok with water till just below the kidney grille is interesting. That’s much higher than I thought the car would be able to handle without stalling.
Would love your inputs.

[kartikv1]

Hi Helterskelter,

Thank you for your kind words!

1) did you face any issue at all with the car or was it smooth sailing all the way?

- let me answer this for each leg of the trip

• - Jammu to Srinagar - here 1/3 of the road is under construction - but no major hurdles - smooth sailing - you may need to slow down in some places where a SUV would just glide over
  
• - Srinagar to Sonamarg - easy again - perfect tarred roads
  
• - Sonamarg to Leh - Zojila - road is bad in some places, a couple of minor water crossings, our target was to cross the passes early in the to ensure we have to cross in minimal water flow. But road is not worse than anything we haven't seen in Gurugram!
  
• - Leh to Nubra Valley - roads are ok for 75% of the distance, a couple of small water crossings. One thing to keep in mind - in Nubra valley the roads are bad in the village, so I was extra careful to ensure i go really steady and slow. And frankly G20's ground clearance is enough - around 160-165mm.
  
• - Nubra Valley to Agham - here the car scraped once, I had my windows rolled down already and would get down to check, reverse and then change my trajectory, but this route could have been avoided. Ideally one should go back to Leh and then do Pangong separately - if you don't have 4x4 or a good size SUV. Of-course there are going to times where you will be confused as to where you can take the car through when a rough road/crater presents itself. I had to calculate for the first few times then became accustomed. After Wari-la, there was a water crossing where the water was a good 6-7 inches high - which we crossed slowly. Again the air intake is not low in G20 is my understanding and if one goes slow - it can manage - nonetheless it is always with a risk. - anyhow avoid this route of Wari-La. Go back from Hunder to Leh and then proceed to Pangong.
  
• - Leh to Pangong Lake - roads are in bad shape, 6-7 places where it was tricky to get the car without scraping but once you get down from the car, you can identify the best path and go. That was the fun part i would say!
  
  

2) did you carry a full spare tyre or just the space saver? - only space saver, with a tire inflator and tire puncture repair kit (was not needed), I must say the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s have really impressed me on this trip. They saw the worst roads and no damage at all. Of-course I was super careful throughout the trip.

3)did the car bottom out at any of the stretches or the ground clearance was good enough? - bottom out at exactly 1 instance

While on Sumur to Agham - This road is under construction and really bad - it scraped a little, I got down and looked below, backed a bit and changed direction slightly and all good. When i checked at the service center - it was an aluminum plate guarding the silencer - so it was a lucky break.

[commander.sri]

Great Travelogue! Fantabulous clicks!

Been there in May '23 choose a machine with two boots though - a BS6 RE Himalayan 411 to please the off-road junkie rider in me. Super adventurous it was!

Looking at your clicks, fun definitely is not only limited to riders with a set of rubbers but also extends to machines with two pairs of boots as well. Keep rocking.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by kartikv1

Context

• 13th Aug Nubra Valley to Leh – stayed at The Saraha
• 14th Aug Leh to Pangong Lake – stayed at Pangong sarai
• 15th Aug Pangong Lake to Leh


We had kept one buffer day and it was not needed as we didn’t face any issues in our plan except not being able to go from Nubra to Pangong directly (Agham Shyok Road was flooded and hence closed)

Excellent Travelogue.

Good you choose to retun to Leh from Nubra. It would have been pretty tough to take the Shyok road(adjacent to Shyok River) to Pangong even during the dry season for sedan types. The path was full of boulders during my September 2021 journey.

[Kkumar]

A wonderful travelogue that brought back memories when I had gone to these places about 10 years back. Nice to see great improvements in the infrastructure. Those days there used to be only one petrol pump in Leh and no where else in the entire region. A friend of mine once did the same route in a Ford Fiesta and on his way back from Pangong Tso to Changla, the car’s bottom scraped a rock in one of the bad stretch resulting in the engine stalling. He had to abandon his car and he was brought back to Leh by the Army. He could recover the car only after 6 months. So one has be extremely careful while undertaking similar trips.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by kartikv1

2) did you carry a full spare tyre or just the space saver? - only space saver, with a tire inflator and tire puncture repair kit (was not needed), I must say the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s have really impressed me on this trip. They saw the worst roads and no damage at all. Of-course I was super careful throughout the trip.

Just amazing, I salute you. We have the identical 330i Sport variant and already mind is buzzing with plans (hopefully not stillborn).

helterskelter has already asked my questions and you've answered them too. I am assuming you've changed to Michelin PS4 tubeless in the stock Sport size of 225/50/17? I have the same tubeless set, hence asking.

What pressure did you maintain on the plains with that full load, and roughly how much did you maintain at those high altitudes? Did you think of carrying a full size spare - no space of course though!

In summary, a superb travelogue for armchair travellers like me.

[kartikv1]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Just amazing, I salute you. We have the identical 330i Sport variant and already mind is buzzing with plans (hopefully not stillborn).

helterskelter has already asked my questions and you've answered them too. I am assuming you've changed to Michelin PS4 tubeless in the stock Sport size of 225/50/17? I have the same tubeless set, hence asking.

What pressure did you maintain on the plains with that full load, and roughly how much did you maintain at those high altitudes? Did you think of carrying a full size spare - no space of course though!

In summary, a superb travelogue for armchair travellers like me.

Thanks for the kind words!

Yes, stock size for Michelin PS4s tubeless.

Pressure - basically the tire pressure will keep changing with height, and the car keeps providing the recommendation. We tried to stick in the range with slightly higher at the back (won't recommend this though - led to slightly higher wear). My recommendation is - always stick to what idrive says.

34 in front, 40 in back (while we were in plains) - would recommend 36 in back ideally given the wear i saw. But these numbers keep going up and down with altitude. I had to reduce air because the ride quality became jarring at the passes - the pressure in back went up to 48.

Didn't think of carrying a full size spare - its frankly going to eat all space. I had a good experience with Michelins till the trip and hence had no reason to doubt them. Had contacted a couple of tire shops in Srinagar who could help source the tire in case of emergencies.

[ARAY]

I must say this is a brilliantly written and well composed thread. It is mesmerizing to see a beautiful sudden on such grand landscape. Thanks for sharing this gem of a thread with all of us.