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Kolkata to Pangong Lake: A 5624 km road trip in my Hyundai Exter

25th July 2024, 16:02 by Brij Gawde

We bought a brand new Hyundai Exter SX and I immediately decided that I will be doing my dream Ladakh Trip in that car.

BHPian Elusive Enigma recently shared this with other enthusiasts

On the 31st of May 2024, we bought a brand new Hyundai Exter SX and I immediately decided that I would be doing my dream Ladakh Trip in that car so on the 8th of June 2024 we commenced our journey from Kolkata, West Bengal to The Pangong Lake, Ladakh.

And before I begin to write this travelogue I would like to mention @gearhead_mait because it was only after seeing his grand travelogue of Kolkata to Ladakh in his Eon named Sherdil, I got the inspiration that I could also do it in our un-named Exter

ODO before commencing the journey

We started around 9 AM and thought we could easily reach Varanasi by 10 PM because, on my last trip in 2022, I did in 10 hours the Varanasi-Kolkata part in which I travelled from Moradabad (my hometown) to Kolkata (my current dwelling place), but unfortunately due to the on-going Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway construction there were so many diversion and we could only travel around 490 kms and reach Aurangabad (Bihar)

Day 1- 490 kms
Stay at Saraswati Inn, Aurangabad (Bihar)
Room fare- 2500/-

On the 2nd day the story was pretty much the same, although taking the Purvanchal Expressway helped but still could not travel much due to the bad road conditions till Sultanpur and also because my youngest child (5 years old) was feeling nauseous because of the motion sickness, and yes I forgot to tell you that on this dream road trip, I was accompanied by my Wife and also our three kids (10, 7 and 5 years old)

Day 2- 510 kms
Stay at Hotel A-Aryan, Lucknow
Room fare- 1500/-

The 3rd day was quite good with exceptionally good roads, we were able to cover a good amount of distance with the help of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, then Yamuna Expressway, and then Eastern Peripheral Expressway which also helped in bypassing New Delhi altogether and we were also able to take the much-deserved breaks like a healthy lunch in Pahalwan Dhaba, Murthal, Haryana.

Day 3- 910 kms
Stay at Hotel Nagpal Regency, Ludhiana
Room fare- 4200/-

After covering approximately 2,000 kms with my Wife and kids, I felt a bit tired and because of that laziness we could not start early from Ludhiana, we were aiming to reach Srinagar that day but because of the long traffic jam just before and after Chenani-Nashri Tunnel we had to do a night stay at Banihal.

Day 4- 390 kms
Stay at Hotel Himalaya, Banihal
Room fare- 1400/- (including dinner)

On the 5th day of travelling I finally met in person, my Facebook friend of 9 years Rouf Reshi at his shop UU Kesar Company in Pampore. It was he who arranged for our night stay in a Houseboat on Dal Lake, Srinagar. And after spending the beautiful night in Houseboat we decided to go to Doodh Pathri the next day, and I must say that Doodh Pathri is definitely under-rated because I found it almost as serene and beautiful as Pahalgam but Pahalgam is a very popular tourist destination as compared to Doodh Pathri. On my last visit to Kashmir I visited Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Apple Valley, and the Mughal Gardens so on this trip I skipped all of them. So the 5th-6th days were spent sightseeing in Srinagar itself and on the 7th day we left for Leh.

My friend Rouf Reshi's Shop in Pampore

Relished Kashmiri Wazwan

Bedroom in Houseboat

Stunning view in Doodh Pathri

Beautiful Doodh Pathri

Stay on Houseboat, Dal Lake, Srinagar

Houseboat charge- 9,000/- (including dinner and breakfast)

It is said that the Srinagar to Leh Road is one of the most scenic roads in India and I whole-heartedly agree with this statement also going to Leh from Srinagar will be much easier and helpful in acclimatization because Manali-Leh Highway consists of 5 high altitude mountain passes namely (Rohtang Pass-13,060 ft [which can be skipped by using Atal Tunnel], Baralacha La-16,500 ft, Nakee La-15,547 ft, Lachung La-16,616 ft, and Tanglang La-17,480 ft) as compared to Srinagar-Leh Highway which has 3 high altitude mountain passes namely (Zoji La-11,649 ft, Namika La-12,139 ft, and Fotu La-13,478 ft).

Although the breathtaking beautiful Manali-Leh Highway is also one of the most difficult roads in India, treading on gives you an adrenaline rush, tests your driving skills and gives you a lot of beautiful lifetime memories.

After spending two fruitful days in Srinagar we headed towards Leh City, we reached Sonamarg around 12 PM and then took a 2 hours long break at Zero Point after crossing Zojila, it was pretty crowded at Zero Point and all sorts of snow activities were going on there and we also took a ride of snow bikes and really enjoyed playing with snow, took our lunch and then started towards Leh.

We reached Kargil around 6 PM and decided to stay in Kargil for the night.

Zero Point, Zojila

Stay at Hotel New Ladakh, Kargil

Room fare- 1400/-

The next day after doing photography at Moonland, Lamayuru, and Sangam Point which is the confluence of River Indus and River Zanskar we comfortably reached Leh in the afternoon on that day we did not do anything, just took rest in our hotel room, allowed our body to acclimatize and then in the late evening went out for a little stroll in the main market of Leh, took a late dinner and were also late to go to bed but we decided to go to Khardung La the next day and asked the hotel manager to arrange for an Inner Line Permit, which he did in a matter of few minutes.

Moonland, Lamayuru

Sangam, Confluence of River Indus (left) and River Zanskar (right)

Leh, Main Market

We got up quite late the next day, quickly had our breakfast, and left for Khardung La around 12 PM within two hours were on the top of Khardung La, as the air was really thin on Khardung La we took precautionary measures and drank a lot of water to keep our bodies well hydrated, took Diamox 250 in advance and also bought a portable Oxygen Cylinder for extra safety.

Ancient Silk Road en-route Khardung La

Karakoram Range seen from Khardung La

Myself on The Khardung La Top

It was a wise decision to take a portable Oxygen Cylinder

It is my humble advice to all the people going to high altitude passes be it Khardung La or Umling La etc., once you reach the top please do not get over-excited and do not exert yourself by playing with snow, running around in the snow and jumping, taking off your shirt for that macho-man selfie and in the process suddenly exposing your upper body to such harsh weather conditions and cold strong winds, it does not matter if you have well acclimatized your body or you are super healthy but by doing this kind of activities you are actually inviting AMS to yourself, in fact, try not to spend more than half an hour to any pass which is above 16,000 ft.

Stay at Hotel Tsaskan, Leh

Room fare- 1500/-

So the next day was special because it was the day of Eid-ul-Adha falling on the 17th of June 2024, I got up early and got ready for my Eid prayer and offered my Eid prayer at Eidgah of Leh. It was only because of the Eid prayer that we had to cancel our visit to Nubra Valley because we were planning to go to Nubra Valley via Khardung La and do a night stay at Nubra Valley and then head towards Pangong Tso directly from Nubra Valley without coming back to Leh, but because of the Eid prayer we could not execute that plan and we had to come back to Leh from Khardung La itself and then the next day after offering Eid prayer at Leh we left for Pangong lake and reached there by the evening.

Jama Masjid of Leh City

Now comes the date of the 18th which has always been special for Me and my Wife, although we never planned anything and we do not believe in numerology a lot of great things happened to Us on the 18th, and here is the list:

We were betrothed on the 18th
We were married on the 18th
Our first child was born on the 18th, on our 1st Wedding Anniversary
I bought my house on the 18th
I bought my first bike on the 18th
Visited Pangong Lake on the 18th on our 11th Wedding Anniversary

Beautiful Riverbed

Road to Pangong Tso

Myself and The Pangong Lake

Our kids, Ma Sha Allah

Souvenirs from the 3 Idiots movie

West Bengal registered car, proudly parked at Pangong Lake

Beauty and serenity at the Pangong Lake are just ineffable, I don't have the words to describe the feelings but I must say that you have to visit this heavenly place in order to feel that calmness of the water, the harshness of the wind, the greatness of the mountains and the vast wilderness of the landscape and all of them coming together to create a soothing melody of the nature.

Stay at Pangong Lake, Ladakh

Cottage Camp fare- 3000/- (including evening tea, dinner and breakfast)

The next day, after capturing some beautiful pictures at Pangong Lake and creating some lifetime memories we headed towards Leh-Manali Highway and were aiming to reach either Jispa or Sarchu by nightfall.

Before I move forward here's a small piece of advice to newbie drivers/bikers, it is highly possible that a person can get excited just by watching videos, seeing beautiful pictures, and reading daring yet interesting travelogues about Ladakh and can make abrupt decision of visiting Ladakh without planning properly, if you do so you're really going to regret your decision because a trip to Ladakh requires thorough planning, a reliable vehicle, a knack for exploration and a bit of daring mindset too.

Also be reminded, that if you're going to Manali from Leh then Karu has the last petrol pump and if you're going to Leh from Manali then Keylong has the last petrol pump which was recently opened, earlier Tandi has the last perol pump, so there is NO petrol pump for almost 325 kms. If you're travelling in Ladakh it is always advisable to fill up your fuel tank whenever possible, although Petrol is available with Dhaba walas in the black market at places like Debring, Pang, and Zing Zing Bar you'll have to compromise on the quality and the price of the fuel, they sell around 150-200 rupees per litre of Petrol.

Scenic view on Leh-Manali Highway

The vast wilderness in Ladakh is just mind-blowing

Manali-Leh Highway although quite challenging it surely is more beautiful than the Srinagar-Leh Highway and the presence of so many high-altitude passes just makes it more exciting. So speaking about the passes reminds me that it's usually the Baralacha La and Tanglang La around which people get stuck and the same happened with us.
Going to Manali from the Leh side I easily covered the first three passes, Tanglang La, Lachung La, and Nakee La without any difficulty at all, also took a lunch break at Debring and managed to reach Sarchu around the time of sunset or may be slightly before it and thought while there's still plenty of sunlight why not head towards Jispa, and I must say this was clearly a mistake on my part.

On the way to Tanglang La

Tanglang La Top

Sandstorm at Debring

When we were heading towards Baralacha La initially everything seemed all right but as soon as the Sun went down everything changed. Those beautiful and scenic views suddenly transformed into a frightening darkness with almost no signs of human existence, no petrol pumps, no hotels, no electricity, no connectivity even other vehicles were seldom seen. Nullahs were overflowing and the rocky terrain of this treacherous pass was extremely slippery somehow we managed to reach the top of Baralacha La around 9 PM, but the trouble was yet to come while going down from the Baralacha La I checked the temperature and it was -1°C and exactly at that very moment our car got stuck in a slippery overflowing Nullah and no matter how much I try to cross it, the torque of the car was just not enough to cross that slithery and rocky surface of the Nullah. After 6 failed attempts to cross that Nullah we were all really panicked, praying wholeheartedly to get through this hurdle. After waiting for a few minutes a truck approached and the truck driver helped us to drive our car in the reverse gear for a few meters then on the 7th attempt we were able to cross that Nullah because finally, the car had gained some momentum to get through that slippery road. I asked the truck driver to get ahead of us and we strictly followed behind that truck till Darcha and I again checked the temperature at Darcha and it was -8°C, next day we came to know that on the 18th of June 2024, there was fresh snowfall on the Baralacha La and that explains the overflowing of Nullahs and the sudden drop in the temperature. Finally, around 10:30 PM we reached Jispa and thanked Allah! that we successfully overcame that ordeal on Baralacha La.

Lachung La Top

On the way to Baralacha La

Day 11- 495 kms
Stay at Hotel Zheyul, Jispa
Room fare- 3000/-

On the 12th day of our dream journey, I was planning to reach New Delhi but the weather and road conditions and the frequency of traffic jams hardly favors you in reaching your desired destination on time, and same was the case with us, from Jispa we headed towards Manali and being an extremely popular tourist destination, calling Manali as over-crowded is simply an understatement because we found hours long traffic jam in Manali, at Mandi we took a lunch break and headed towards New Delhi but unfortunately due to heavy rainfall there was a landslide at the other end of the Thapna Tunnel so we again got stuck in a traffic jam for another two and a half hours. When the obstruction at Thapna Tunnel was removed we were able to cross it but it was raining like cats and dogs almost throughout the Punjab and instead of reaching New Delhi we could only manage to reach Mohali.

World's Highest Tunnel at 10,075 ft

Day 12- 375 kms
Stay at Hotel Blue Sapphire, Mohali, Punjab
Room fare- 3300/- (including breakfast)

From Mohali, we drove towards Sonipat, Haryana, as we wanted to take EPE, and since New Delhi was barely 300 kms so I decided that we would go to Agra and visit the Taj Mahal the next day and then we would take the Agra-Lucknow Expressway but soon that plan completely changed because en-route EPE I read on an exit sign board that Moradabad was just 140 kms and I felt a sudden urge to visit my native town and immediately decided that Shahjahan and Mumtaz can surely wait till our next visit to Agra and I happily headed towards my hometown Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Day 13- 390 kms
Stay at my own House in Moradabad

After spending a day in Moradabad, I got my car washed because it was super dirty after facing a torrential downpour in Punjab and then after taking our lunch, we left for Lucknow around 4 PM. We reached the City of Nawabs around 9 PM and after checking in at our hotel in Aminabad we immediately left for our dinner in the famous Tunday Kababi and tried Galouti Kabab, Biryani, Chicken Malai Tikka, and Kheer and everything tasted absolutely delicious, Lucknow was the only city in which we halted twice because of the great food availability.

Day 14- 350 kms
Stay at Hotel Heera Grand, Lucknow
Room fare- 1800/-

On the 15th day of our journey, I was feeling a little bit dull because our great journey to Ladakh was about to end in a day or two, and every time when I visited the mountains after that when I had to come back to the plains I always feel slightly unhappy because I love mountains a lot. So we started early from Lucknow and headed towards Purvanchal Expressway and by mid-day we had already crossed Varanasi, took a lunch break in Zamania, Ghazipur, and at night around 10 PM reached Chauparan, Jharkhand.

Day 15- 600 kms
Stay at Hotel Parijat Regency, Chauparan
Room fare- 2500/-

Since this was going to be the last day of our dream road trip we got up a bit late, took our breakfast in Chauparan, and despondently left for Kolkata, while I kept driving heartlessly, images of the beautiful landscapes of Ladakh were still lingering in the back of my mind and even though it has been a month since we visited Ladakh, every day I look at those pictures we captured just to refresh those sweet memories.