Noida-Ladakh Trip Itinerary - Aug'18

[Jason Byrne]

I plan to do a 10 day road trip with my wife in an XUV500 from Noida to Leh and back in August 2018 and have prepared the below itinerary.

Day 1 - Noida-Manali (RefuelAt Manali)
Day 2 - Manali-Sarchu
Day 3 - Sarchu-Leh(Tank Up At Leh)
Day 4 - Leh-Warshi (Stay At Warshi) - 7-8 hours of driving
Day 5 - Warshi-Turtuk-Hunder (Stay At Hunder) - 9-10 hours of driving (Refuel At Diskit)
Day 6 - Hunder-Merak (Pangong Tso) - 7-8 hours of driving (Refuel At Tanste)
Day 7 - Merak-Karzok (Tso Moriri) via Chushul - 7-8 hours of driving (Refuel At Nyoma)
(Alt Route) - Merak-Karzok via Chumathang - (Refuel At Chumathang)
Day 8 - Karzok-Sarchu - 8-9 hours of driving
Day 9 - Sarchu - Manali
Day 10 - Manali - Noida

As you may have noticed, this is planned more as a road trip than a relaxed vacation where we are trying to see as many places as possible. Most of our time will be spent on the road. My queries are-

• Are the driving times reasonable? Any day where the driving time will exceed the estimated time?
• Are the refueling pitstops fine? Am I refueling too many times given that the XUV has a 70 litre tank?
• On Day 7, if the Chushul route is closed/permit not given, how much time will it take to cover the alternate route?
• I am not able to book a stay online at Warshi (Day 4) & Karzok (Day 7)? Are there reasonably priced hotels/homestays/tents available which I can book on arrival? I'll be carrying my own tent also just in case.
• Any destination worth visiting which I have missed out inadvertently? I am not keen on taking the Srinagar route as it may need another day, do advise.

Thanks in advance
Jason

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

This is an extremely hectic plan and the driving time you have mentioned are I guess taken from Google? If yes, then please forget about them, they are short by as much as 20-30%!

Also, you will face rain between Noida and Baralacha La since August is peak monsoon season and that means a high chance of landslides and delays en route.

First off, do not stay at Sarchu, it is an open invitation to Acute Mountain Sickness. Read our Ladakh AMS Survival Guide and if you’re taking the Manali – Leh Highway, stay at Jispa and start next day around 5 am and after around 11-12 hours, you will reach Leh.

You will need to keep some time aside in Leh to get the Inner Line Permit. Permit office opens at 10 am on a weekday, closed during weekend and public holiday.

There is no accommodation available at Warshi at max you might find a small homestay. In all likelihood, you will have to come back to Panamik for a stay.

Hunder to Merak is certainly doable (8-10 hours), but the last 20 km are off-road, so you wouldn’t prefer to do it at after dark.

Merak to Korzok will take 10 hours if taking Upshi – Chumathang route, it will take 12 hours or more.

There are no fuel pumps apart from at Leh, Diskit, and Tandi, Fuel availability in Ladakh and Zanskar. So you will be covering 740 km without any fuel pump en route and will have to either carry spare fuel or buy in black.

Considering the amount of time you have, you’re already stretch to the limit. If anything, I would recommend skipping Warshi and Turtuk, and instead spending a day in Leh.

 

[Jason Byrne]

This is an extremely hectic plan and the driving time you have mentioned are I guess taken from Google? If yes, then please forget about them, they are short by as much as 20-30%!

Also, you will face rain between Noida and Baralacha La since August is peak monsoon season and that means a high chance of landslides and delays en route.

First off, do not stay at Sarchu, it is an open invitation to Acute Mountain Sickness. Read our Ladakh AMS Survival Guide and if you’re taking the Manali – Leh Highway, stay at Jispa and start next day around 5 am and after around 11-12 hours, you will reach Leh.

You will need to keep some time aside in Leh to get the Inner Line Permit. Permit office opens at 10 am on a weekday, closed during weekend and public holiday.

There is no accommodation available at Warshi at max you might find a small homestay. In all likelihood, you will have to come back to Panamik for a stay.

Hunder to Merak is certainly doable (8-10 hours), but the last 20 km are off-road, so you wouldn’t prefer to do it at after dark.

Merak to Korzok will take 10 hours if taking Upshi – Chumathang route, it will take 12 hours or more.

There are no fuel pumps apart from at Leh, Diskit, and Tandi, Fuel availability in Ladakh and Zanskar. So you will be covering 740 km without any fuel pump en route and will have to either carry spare fuel or buy in black.

Considering the amount of time you have, you’re already stretch to the limit. If anything, I would recommend skipping Warshi and Turtuk, and instead spending a day in Leh.

Thank you for all the suggestions Yogesh. I have modified my itinerary to include them -

Day 1 Noida-Manali
Day 2 Manali-Jispa
Day 3 Jispa-Leh
Day 4 Leh-Panamik
Day 5 Panamik-Warshi-Hunder
Day 6 Hunder-Turtuk-Hunder
Day 7 Hunder-Merak
Day 8 Merak-Karzok
Day 9 Karzok-???
Day 10 ???-Keylong
Day 11 Keylong-Manali
Day 12 Manali-Noida

• I have tried to restrict distance covered in a day to 150kms, broadly <=8hours of driving. Is this a fair estimate?
• I have increased the itinerary by 2 days to 12 days, excluding the additional day in Leh.
• Is the additional day in Leh necessary for ILP? Can I request my hotel to arrange the ILP, I don't mind paying slightly extra for that, will save 1 day.
  
• Alternatively, does Day 6 feel like a waste to just cover Turtuk? If there's nothing much to see in Turtuk, I would rather use this day in Leh for the ILP+sightseeing.
• I can carry approx. 40 litres of fuel with me, so a full tank and additional 40 litres from Disket should get me through the 740 kms.
• Lastly, can I break my journey from Korzok to Keylong at say, Pang? Or are Sarchu/Jispa the only options from Korzok?
• Kept 2 more days as a buffer to account for any adverse weather conditions/landslides etc.

How does this sound?

Thanks again.
Jason

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

You can get the ILP through a hotel in Leh or a travel agent in advance. However, running on every day, not experiencing Leh or seeing the sights in and around Leh would be a major downer according to me. You can easily use the day in Leh to head to Sham Valley (along Leh – Srinagar Highway) and cover places like Hall of Fame, Magnetic Hill, Indus, and Zanskar Confluence along with several beautiful and ancient monasteries. In fact, if you add days there, you can cover Sham Valley, Dah, Hanu, and Batalik.

You can do Leh – Warshi – Panamik/Sumur, next day you can do Panamik/Sumur – Turtuk – Hunder to save days.

From Korzok it will take around 12 hours to reach Jispa with a brief stop at Tso Kar. It will take you another hour or so to reach Keylong.

 

[Jason Byrne]

You can get the ILP through a hotel in Leh or a travel agent in advance. However, running on every day, not experiencing Leh or seeing the sights in and around Leh would be a major downer according to me. You can easily use the day in Leh to head to Sham Valley (along Leh – Srinagar Highway) and cover places like Hall of Fame, Magnetic Hill, Indus, and Zanskar Confluence along with several beautiful and ancient monasteries. In fact, if you add days there, you can cover Sham Valley, Dah, Hanu, and Batalik.

You can do Leh – Warshi – Panamik/Sumur, next day you can do Panamik/Sumur – Turtuk – Hunder to save days.

From Korzok it will take around 12 hours to reach Jispa with a brief stop at Tso Kar. It will take you another hour or so to reach Keylong.

Thanks again Yogesh. You've been a great help. I have included your suggestions and kept the additional day for the sights around Leh.

On hotel accommodation, would you suggest booking online or on the spot. I'll be travelling in mid-August and the current online rates are between 3-4K per night. Will I get it cheaper if I book on the spot at that time?

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Thanks again Yogesh. You've been a great help. I have included your suggestions and kept the additional day for the sights around Leh.

On hotel accommodation, would you suggest booking online or on the spot. I'll be travelling in mid-August and the current online rates are between 3-4K per night. Will I get it cheaper if I book on the spot at that time?

You can book it on the spot, unless travelling through Manali on a long weekend, in which case, I would suggest you to book hotel at Manali. In that case, also make sure to get the beyond Rohtang Pass permit in advance as well.

 

[jagmohan sethi]

You can book it on the spot, unless travelling through Manali on a long weekend, in which case, I would suggest you to book hotel at Manali. In that case, also make sure to get the beyond Rohtang Pass permit in advance as well.

Sorry to intrupt. Is it worth going up to Siachen Base Camp. Is it allowed.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Sorry to intrupt. Is it worth going up to Siachen Base Camp. Is it allowed.

Unless you have contacts in MoD or Army, you can't go there.