Ladakh in October

jpoddar

jpoddar

Member
Hi..
I'm planning for a Ladakh trip this year in October with my family. Planning to start on Oct 10 and will return on Oct 21. The dates and duration are kind of fixed due to constraints like leaves and school holidays.

I've two kids, 8 & 5 years old. I already did Spiti and North Sikkim (in December) with them.
Will use local transport or try to book a taxi for the entire duration. Need advice on that.
Planning to take ILP online.
Following is my tentative itinerary. Please let me know if this is doable and whether any modifications are required.
Also please let me know whether a tour operator may be helpful. Please pass on contact nos. of reliable taxi operators if possible.

Day1- Fly-in to Srinagar before 8. Move to Sonmarg. Do local sightseeing.
Day2- Start early for Suru Valley. Night stay at Panikhar.
Day3- Visit Rangdum, come back to Kargil or Mulbekh for night stay.
Day4- Visit Lamayuru, Alchi. Reach Leh and stay at night.
Day5- Night stay at Leh. Local sightseeing.
Day6- Start for Nubra valley. Night stay at Hunder.
Day7- Buffer day, will visit Turtuk and come back to Hunder.
Day8- Start early for Pangong Tso through Shyok or Wari La.
Day9- Buffer day. Will visit Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
Day10- Reach Tso Moriri via Chusul
Day11- Reach Leh via Tso Kar
Day12- Fly-out of Leh by noon
 
Yogesh Sarkar

Yogesh Sarkar

Administrator
Better bet would be to hire a taxi from Srinagar to Kargil (Srinagar taxis cannot do sightseeing in Suru Valley or Ladakh), then for Suru Valley and drive till Leh. From Leh hire another one for the rest of the duration. In case of Leh, get in touch with Inder (+919906971501).

Even if you’re applying for ILP online, you will have to go to the permit office in Main Market to get it stamped (unless the rules have been changed recently.) Just about any tour operator or hotel will get the permit arranged for you, for a fee.

Don’t keep a buffer day at Pangong; keep it in Leh towards the end. In any case, if you’re expecting a wildlife park like Corbett, Kanchendzonga etc. you will be disappointed. That entire plateau you will be traveling through is part of Chumathang Wild Life Sanctuary.
 
jpoddar

jpoddar

Member
Hi Yogesh, I booked with Inder as you suggested. He wants to send an Aria instead of Innova and said high GC is the reason. I'm pushing for Innova for the comfort factor. Do you think one is better than the other? Or it doesn't make any difference?
 
Yogesh Sarkar

Yogesh Sarkar

Administrator
jpoddar said:
Hi Yogesh, I booked with Inder as you suggested. He wants to send an Aria instead of Innova and said high GC is the reason. I'm pushing for Innova for the comfort factor. Do you think one is better than the other? Or it doesn't make any difference?
Click to expand...
Innova is a bit more comfortable, but has comparatively less ground clearance. Having said that, Innovas ply on all the routes without any major issue.
 
jpoddar

jpoddar

Member
Came back from an October trip around Kashmir and Ladakh. Traveled with my wife and two kids (8 years and 5 years).
Could not do Suru valley due to time constraint. Couldn't do Turtuk as well.
Highlight of the trip was beautiful Autumn colors all around. Mountain peaks capped with fresh snow added to the majestic views.
It was cold, but if you can endure it, October is the best time to visit Ladakh IMO.
Thanks Yogesh for all your suggestions.

We took a cab from Srinagar. One of my colleagues' relative, Shabir Ahmed, drove me from Srinagar to Leh. We went to his home and enjoyed legendary Kashmiri hospitality. Had a wonderful time traveling with him. He has a number of vehicles to choose from.
Contact: +91 88038 00602, +91 94190 13667

From Leh we traveled with Inder, as suggested by Yogesh. Again this was a wonderful trip. I'd recommend Inder (aka Tsweng Dorjey) any day. He is warm, helpful and a very good driver.
Contact: +91 99069 71501.

The itinerary that we could manage:
Day1- Fly-in to Srinagar before 8. Move to Sonmarg. Do local sightseeing.
Day2- Crossed Zojila and reached Kargil. Night stay at Kargil.
Day3- Visited Humbuting La and Batalik, come back to Kargil for night stay.
Day4- Visited Lamayuru. Reached Leh and stay at night.
Day5- Night stay at Leh. Local sightseeing.
Day6- Started for Nubra valley. Night stay at Sumur.
Day7- Visited Warshi and Panamik. Night stay at Hunder.
Day8- Started early for Pangong Tso through Shyok. Stayed at Merak.
Day9- Went to Tsomoriri via Chusul. Stayed at night.
Day10- Reached Leh via Chumathang.
Day11- Rest day at Leh.
Day12- Flew out of Leh before noon.
 
jpoddar

jpoddar

Member
Alright.. this is going to be my first stab at writing a travelogue. I do travel and take lots of photos, but never wrote a travelogue before, so bear with me.
I'm still processing my photos, so it will be a little slow..
 
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