Pune to Ladakh & back in my Tata Hexa: An epic 4,800 km road trip!

It is not advisable to take young kids to such high altitudes. One should take their kids only after they have attained the age of 8+

BHPian sc15523 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I and my wife have been planning for a trip to Leh from Pune since COVID, but destiny had some other plans. Instead of Leh, we had road trips to Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Gujrat, Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the Konkan Coast. Finally in May’24 we decided that we will be going to Northeast (Our 1st to NE) in a 2 Week Holiday starting from 31st May – 16th June, mainly covering Sikkim, Arunachal & Meghalaya. But this time also destiny had some other plans. Due to heavy rain bashing Sikkim, NE Plan was cancelled, and we again were preparing to consider the old scrapped LEH Plan. My 2018 HEXA XTA was ready to conquer the challenge once again.

31st May: Pune to Navsari - We started our Journey from Pune with my 1.5-year-old boy. We took the Pune – Nashik Highway till Nashik and then took the road to Navsari via Saputara. The Road condition was great till Navsari. We took a night halt at Navsari on highway side Hotel. Had a Gujrati dinner on the go.

1st Jun: Navsari to Udaipur – Started early in the morning and we managed to reach Baroda by 11 pm. Then took the NE1 from Baroda to Ahmedabad. The road is still being one of the finest Expressways of India. After crossing Ahmedabad, we again followed the NH4. Roads were in great shape After being on this road for a decade, finally got a glimpse of the majestic Udaipur Bypass. We booked a homestay thru Air BNB. It was indeed a great place to stay. We parcelled the dinner and had it in the house.

2nd Jun: Udaipur to Ambala – Left Udaipur around 9 am. Roads are extremely smooth in Rajasthan. Crossing Jaipur was a tedious task. After appx an hour at Kotputli, left the NH4 and boarded the Trans-Haryana Expressway till Ambala. The expressway is in good shape but the last 30 kms before Ambala is still under construction. After reaching Ambala, we had the dinner in the famous “Puran Singh Ka Dhaba” at Ambala Cantt Station. There are lot of Dhabas with same name but with slight difference in texture. We halted at Ambala.

3rd Jun: Ambala to Udhampur - Started Ambala early in the morning but soon the journey came to pause when we reached the Haryana – Punjab Border. The border was blocked by the Haryana Police due to the ongoing Kisan Marching towards Delhi. We had to detour thru a small village, crossed some farmlands, full of dust & a small river. That’s when my Hexa XTA showed what it is capable of. It just crossed all the obstacles thrown at him. We had our breakfast in KHANNA and then we headed towards Pathankot. We crossed Pathankot by noon and then finally entered the dream destination of all Indians “Jammu & Kashmir”. After crossing the border, we stopped at a roadside dhaba to have lunch. The Hot Piping Rajma- Chawal was just amazing. It was around 4pm, after having our delicious lunch, we again started towards Jammu. There are lot of diversions due to ongoing construction activity of the “Delhi – Katra Expressway”. My Wife was browsing thru Facebook, then we came to know that there are scheduled hours when we can cross Udhampur & Reach Srinagar due to ongoing construction activity & landslide in the Ramban Area. So, we decided to skip Jammu and head towards Udhampur, so that we can start early in the morning. Fortunately, we got one hotel and concluded that day.

4th Jun: Udhampur to Srinagar – Now the real excitement started. We started around 8 am from the hotel and soon we were on the Jammu – Srinagar NH. The view was just awesome throughout. The 4-lane highway is extremely smooth. We soon reached India’s Longest Tunnel “Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel”. The tunnel is really a man-made marvel. 9.28 km long, its huge. Then we had to cross famous Landslide zone in Ramban. Saw a lot of tunnels are being constructed which will streamline the future journey to the valley. After crossing the under-construction zone, we reached the next giant tunnel “Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel”. Our vehicle was stopped by the security forces, and we had to wait for the oncoming convoy to cross. Then our convoy was allowed to cross the tunnel. As soon as we crossed the tunnel, the landscaped just changed. We finally reached the valley. Then came the area which is famous for manufacturing cricket bats (just before Srinagar, I guess). As we reached Pulwama, we remembered those heroes, our jawans, who were martyred on 14th Feb’2019. By 5pm we reached Srinagar. Checked into the hotel and after freshening up, we immediately went to Dal Lake for a Shikara Ride. After completing the Shikara Ride, wifey did some shopping and then we headed towards the hotel. On the way, we planned for dinner and then we saw the famous “WAZWAN” board. It’s just Yummy. In fact, my 1.5-year-old baby was fond of the seekh kababs.

5th Jun: Srinagar to Kangan – Today we headed towards URI to see the “KAMAN AMAN SETU”. The road from Srinagar to Uri is a 2-lane highway (4-lane under construction) with lot of diversions via Baramulla. After Crossing Baramulla, driving along with Jhelum River on the right side and the majestic mountain on the left is just mesmerizing. After reaching URI, we went to Army Check Post to get the permit to visit the famous “Kaman Aman Setu”. This Setu is the border between India and POK (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Bus used to ply on this Highway and lot of trading use to take place). Just before reaching the “Kaman Aman Setu”, we were stopped at one of the check post for verification of the permit. At that time, we came to know that the Mountain next to Jhelum River falls into the POK Territory. After reaching the Kaman Post, an Army Officer briefed us about the importance of the place. We saw the immigration counter where the bus passengers used to have their stampings on the passport. We were being watched by the POK Army (rather Pakistan Army). After clicking few pictures & spending some quality time there, we started our return journey towards Kangan (Srinagar – Leh Highway). On the way back the right rear tire got punctured. With the help of Portable pump, we somehow managed to reach Kangan and decided to repair the puncture in the next morning. So decided to stay the night in Kangan (Homestay).

6th Jun: Kangan to Mulbekh – We resumed our journey at around 9 am after getting the puncture repaired. Now here for the 1st time during our trip we saw heavy traffic as were moving towards Sonmarg, mainly the local taxis were not following the vehicle que. But most of the traffic were till Sonmarg only and very few continued towards Kargil. We were continuously moving on the banks of the mighty Indus River and here we 1st encountered SNOW in the trip. Now here comes the most famous “ZOZILA Pass" at a height of 11575 ft. The weather completely changed, and it was getting chilled, even temperature fell to 1 deg. Hats off to BRO Engineers, the way they are maintaining the highway, its just fantabulous. We encountered heavy traffic mainly because of heavy vehicles (mainly Oil Tankers) on the way down towards “Zero Point”. Here also we managed to cross Zozila Pass within the stipulated timeframe. After crossing Zozila Pass, we arrived at Dras (2nd coldest place of the world after Siberia) and went to the Kargil War Museum. After paying respect to the Martyred (during Kargil War), we continued our journey and passed the historic town “Kargil”. We decided to continue our journey till Mulbekh and planned to halt for the day. We stayed in a small homestay just in front of the Mulbekh Monastry. The temperature dropped to -1 deg and the wind flowing was damm chilled. Till Mulbekh, baby boy didn’t have any issues with the heights, so we were relaxed & happy, but that was short-lived.

7th Jun: Kangan to Leh – After having breakfast we started in morning at around 9 am from Mulbekh towards Leh. Everything was great till we reached at the starting point of Fotu La. Now Fotu La pass at the height of 13478 ft (highest pass on the Srinagar – Leh Highway). Just as we started the climb towards the pass, my little one started crying by holding his stomach. Initially we thought he might have developed acidity due to milk in the morning, but later realised that was due to AMS. I and my Wife now were frightened & confused what to do. Shall we continue the journey till Leh or return to Srinagar. And while all this was going on in our head, we were continuing the climb. Finally, we were at the top of Fotu La but couldn’t got down to capture pics as the bay was still crying. Then the descend started and we saw that my little one was now in a better shape. That’s when we were confirmed about AMS hitting him. We were tensed on the one side as the baby might have some tough time at Leh but on the other side quite excited that we made it till Leh. Just before entering Leh, we crossed the “Gurudwara Shri Pathar Sahib” & the very famous “Magnetic Hill”. We already had booked our homestay in Leh for 2 nights, so headed straight towards the homestay. We reached at around 3 pm in our homestay. On reaching, we had some snacks, and I immediately took my Hexa for a complete wash as it was full of dirt. In the evening, we visited the Leh Market had some time & returned to homestay. After having full course dinner went straight to bed as it was a long day considering the AMS for my little one.

8th Jun: Within Leh – It was an acclimatization day for all 3 of us. Hence, we went for sight seeing in Leh. We visited the Shanti Stupa, Thikshe Monastry, Shey Palace, Leh Palace, Leh Main Market, Druk White Lotus School (3 Idiots School). We returned to our homestay in the afternoon and rested the remaining day. Now the mental preparation started for the next leg of journey from Leh to Pangong Tso.

9th Jun: Leh to Whiskey Nallah – I can’t forget the date: 9th Jun’2024 throughout my life (a day full of tragedies). We got up early in the morning and after having breakfast we started early so that we can avoid traffic at the mighty “Khardungla Pass”. We also picked 3 portable oxygen cylinders in case of any breathing issue due to high altitude. We started our climb towards Khardungla at around 10 am after securing the ILP. During one of steep turns, My Hexa just lost power. The vehicle came to a complete standstill. The RPM meter was hovering around 500 rpm only. No power even after pressing the accelerator. I applied brakes & waited for 1 min. Then engaged the reverse gear and immediately changed to “D” Mode and the vehicle started pulling easily. I realised due to high altitude & extreme low temperature; diesel engine is struggling. Things were ok till here but then my little one again started crying. And now the vehicle movement stopped completely due to heavy traffic enroute to Khardungla Pass (pass was hardly 500 mtrs from where we stopped). Then finally I and my Wife decided to head back to Manali as we were now fully concerned with the little baby. I took an immediate U-Turn and started to descend towards Leh. By the time we reached Leh, my baby was also doing fine, and we were relaxed that we took a good decision not to continue the journey beyond Leh. It was around 1 pm, we crossed Leh and headed towards Manali. By 4 pm we again started the climb towards “Tanglang La Pass”. We managed to make our bay sleep before the climb, so that he doesn’t get any pain. During the climb atleast in 3 – 4 turns, the vehicle lost power but somehow, I managed to cross the Pass. After crossing the pass, we reached the More Plains. Wow! What a road at an elevation of 15575 ft. BRO really has done stunning job. After covering 40kms, finally the road vanished. As it was getting dark, we were again started our climb towards the 2nd pass of the Leh – Manali Highway, “Lachungla Pass”. The road for this pass is in terrible shape with full swing of construction activity going on (Hopefully in my next trip will be on a pitch-black tarmac). After the descend from “Lachung La” by 7 pm we reached “Whiskey Nallah”. There were hardly 7-8 shops (in tents) with few trucks halted. We saw a traffic jam on the top of mountain towards Manali. On seeing the 1.5-year-old with us, people were perplexed. The locals suggested us to stay there for the night and continue the journey in the next morning. I too enquired with few vehicle drivers who had just reached “Whiskey Nallah” and they said that the traffic jam may take 5-6 hrs to clear as the road conditions is not great. Hence, we decided to stay in one of the tents (provided by the locals). That night was of the toughest night we ever had. Temperature was -6 deg, elevation height 16000 ft appx, Lack of oxygen at around 1 am midnight and the tent were a normal one (not the luxury tents). The entire night 3 of us couldn’t sleep. The baby was crying continuously because of extremely cold, and we were praying to God somehow make this night to pass quickly, so that we can resume our journey.

10th Jun: Whiskey Nallah to Sissu – In the morning around 5 am, I immediately started my Hexa and the vehicle responded instantly. With temperature at -5 deg, we immediately started our journey towards Manali. There was no traffic but the stream, potholes everything was freeze due to minus temperature. We managed to climb “Nakeela Top” at 15500 ft, smoothly and then headed straight towards Gata Loops. There was very minimal traffic in the morning hours. We crossed the J&K – Himachal Border and after completing the entry formality, we took breakfast break at Sarchu. After the stopover we again resumed towards Manali. At around 12 pm the climb towards the mighty “Bara-lacha la Pass” at 15900 ft started. We again made our little one sleep to avoid discomfort. The pass was completely full of snow. It was just like Vanilla Ice-Cream. The climb was tough with very bad sections, but the Hexa managed like a cakewalk. We were lucky to witness the frozen “Suraj Taal” Lake. This pass also had a heavy traffic jam due to tourist enjoying the snow. But somehow, we manged to cross the pass in 2 hrs and then we reached “Zing Zing Bar”. The 130 km drive from Zing Zing Bar to Pang is always the toughest part of the journey on the highway and a nightmare. From Zing Zing Bar, the roads were really in great shape. We also saw the “Deepak Taal” on the way to Sissu. At around 2 pm we reached Sissu and decided to take the night halt. Finally, we were extremely happy that our little one was absolutely fine, and I was proud of my Hexa in spite of having few power losses due to extreme height, it guided us through one of the toughest journeys of my life.

11th Jun: Sissu to Kullu – We started in the morning after having our breakfast towards Manali. We reached the “Atal Tunnel”, another man-made marvel. An amazing engineering marvel. After some snaps at the Atal Tunnel, we headed towards Manali. Crossing Manali itself is a gigantic task. The roads were crowded by the tourists and many parts of the roads were severely damaged to the recent rains that hit the complete area. Before we reached Kullu, my wife suggested to pay a visit to the Gurudwara in Manikaran. I immediately obeyed the orders from the high command and took the left turn from Kullu. The roads were in mix conditions, few sections were good, but few were in extreme bad shape (due to recent rains). Crossing Kasol was another nightmare of this trip. Full of tourists. I think it took appx 1.5 hrs to cross Kasol. Finally, we reached Manikaran at around 4 pm. We visited the Gurudwara & the Shiva Temple, headed back to Kullu. Reached Kullu at around 9 pm, hence decided to take a night halt.

12th Jun: Kullu to Gurgaon – As this was our last leg of the journey so the entire excitement was down. The roads are in good shape except few patches. We had the chance to see the Anandpur Sahib Gurudwara (sadly from outside) due to extreme heat. We continued our journey and reached Gurgaon at around 8 pm in the evening.

13th Jun: Gurgaon to Pune – The last leg of our journey. I decided that we won’t take any halt and will straight continue till Pune. We started around 12 pm in the afternoon (at 48 deg). Just 2 days back the temperature was -6 deg. It kept me wondering how the Global Warming is impacting. Anyways we started from Gurgaon and soon we were on the Delhi – Mumbai Expressway. After covering 260 kms till Dausa, we left the expressway and had a detour of appx 100 kms (thru Kota) and again redirected on the Delhi – Mumbai Expressway (till MP – GJ Border). We left the expressway at around 10 pm and headed straight towards Baroda. By the time we reached Baroda, time was 7 am and we halted for a short nap break. I again recharged myself with some hot Tea and started towards Pune. I followed the same route till Pune (Baroda – Surat – Navsari – Nashik – Pune). Finally manged to reached Pune at around 8 pm in the evening.

Few Highlights of the Trip:

Total Distance Covered – 4800 kms
No. of States Covered – 9 states
Total Journey Time – 15 days

One Lesson Learned:

It is not advisable to take young kids to such high altitudes. One should take their kids only after they have attained the age of 8+

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