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Ladakh Roadtrip 2017 Travelogue
A big thanks to Yogesh Sir for his guidance on trip itinerary and tips.
Introduction
Who? : 1 Couple from Bangalore; 1 Couple from Mumbai
How? : XUV 500
When? : 21 June - 07 July 2017
Cost? : Rs. 20,000 per head all inclusive (Yes, that’s possible)
Expenses:
Food - 17,000 (Tip: Eat in dhabas, local restaurants)
Fuel - 27,000
General - 5,000
Hotel - 28,000 (Tip: Negotiate hard at the Guest houses. Don't do advance booking)
Toll - 4,200
Total - 81,200
The plan was to do Ladakh in June end. I’ve already been to Ladakh in 2010 but that was a short trip where I covered Leh, Pangong Tso using public transport / hired Enfield bike. The trip itinerary was something like this. But this changed in the last moment due to road closures etc.
Day Destination
1 Mumbai
2 Udaipur
3 Amritsar
4 Srinagar
5 Kargil
6 Leh
7 Leh
8 Leh
9 Nubra Valley
10 Nubra Valley (Sumur, Panamik)
11 Nubra Valley (Diskit, Hunder)
12 Pangong Tso
13 Tso Moriri
14 Sarchu
15 Manali
16 Chandigarh
17 Udaipur
18 Mumbai
19 Bangalore
Day 1: Bangalore - Mumbai - Vapi
Friends from Bangalore reached our place at around 9PM. We decided to drive as much as possible and find a hotel somewhere near Surat. Had a quick dinner on the Ahmedabad highway and decided to stay at Vapi for the night. Found a place for Rs. 900 per night.
Day 2: Vapi - Ajmer
We started at 7AM and our target was to reach Ajmer by late evening. Had some yummy Gujarati Fafda, Methi Bhajji and tea for breakfast. Did a couple of mistakes by going via Ahmedabad and by taking Udaipur / Ajmer route instead of Pali / Jodhpur route. This we realised while returning as the roads were much better and less traffic too. Booked Hotel Mahatma Inn (Rs. 500 per night) in Ajmer, which is in the middle of the main market. There was no parking facility and we had to park it on the main road. The rooms were good and clean. Rooms booked through Redbus app.
Fafda (Loved the chilly)
Lunch at roadside Dhaba
Day 3: Ajmer - Amritsar
Started off with some first of the Aloo paranthas for breakfast and chaaz. We did fill a bottle of chaaz for the road, which was quite helpful. The roads were State Highway in Okayish condition with a few railway crossings. We managed to reach Amritsar by around 8 PM. We booked hotel rooms through Booking.com app but the hotel refused to take us in as the rooms were full and were trying to fit us in another hotel. We decided to search on our own and found a place called Hotel RC Residency. Brokered a deal for Rs. 3,000 for two rooms. (Hotels in India works through Cash only if you go directly and don’t expect a tax bill)
We headed to Golden temple but it was way too crowded even at 10:30 PM in the night. We just roamed a bit and went to Brothers Dhaba for dinner. We found the food to be decent. Had Paneer, Dal makhni and Jeera Rice.
Breakfast at a Dhaba somewhere in Rajasthan
Late lunch at Haryana
Fields of Punjab
Mango Lassi @ Brothers' Dhaba
Dinner @ Brothers' Dhaba
Day 4: Amritsar - Srinagar
We started off early by 6AM. The roads till Pathankot is 4 lane highway. After Lakhanpur, the state of Jammu & Kashmir starts. The roads are highways till Samba and single lane shortcut to Udhampur (60kms). The mountain roads start from Udhampur onwards. We got stuck in a traffic jam near Banihal, near Anantnag and somewhere before Srinagar. On the way we were helped by a family who recommended another route to reach the city. When we were just in the outskirts of Srinagar, we witnessed stone pelting. But luckily they did not target the tourist vehicles. The main entry to Srinagar was closed and we had to wait in a petrol bunk to enquire about the situation and alternate routes. People there helped us in suggesting another route via the lanes. We were quite tensed as we were unsure about the situation inside the city. We reached Lal Chowk (main market area) and to our surprise it was all business as usual. We quickly checked into Hotel Kashmir International. Room cost Rs. 750 per night. We came down for a Kulfi (Kulfi with lime squeezed and honey - amazing taste) and went to Aman Dhaba for dinner.
Enter J&K
That's how you eat a Parantha
River Chenab enroute
Chenani - Nashri Tunnel 9 kms
Day 5: Srinagar - Kargil
We were warned by one of the locals that the roads were in bad condition and better to avoid Kargil route. But we enquired with a few bikers on the way and decided to proceed. The roads till Sonmarg were really good and scenic. Kashmir valley is heaven on earth. Sonmarg - Zojila - Drass were terrible. We had a late lunch at Drass in a place called Adil Restaurant. This place is run by a couple from Uttarakhand. They served basic food but it was very delicious. 6 kms ahead of Drass is the Kargil War memorial.
Had a gut feeling that the rooms in Kargil would be full looking at the number of bikers and tourist vehicles. We reached Kargil at 5 PM and found all guest houses to be full and others were expensive. We found one Snowhill Guest House for Rs. 750 per night. We headed to the market in the evening but by then the shops were already getting closed as it was eve of Eid. We had the worst dinner of the trip as we tried some Chinese food in Kargil.
Day 6: Kargil - Leh
The drive from Kargil - Leh was a breeze as the roads were simply amazing. The route was quite scenic and we stopped at each of the mountain passes - Namik La, Fotu La to take photos. We reached Lamayuru by late afternoon. Visit the monastery to get great views of the Moonscapes (moon like landscape). The restaurant outside the monastery serves good food too.
As expected, all the hotels / guest houses were full in Leh. We did not make any advance booking. We went to one Greenland Guest House but the rooms were without bath attached. They rang up Otsal Guest House and checked for rooms. Luckily, there was one room with attached bath and one common bath. Got the attached one for Rs. 1,000 and common for Rs. 600 per night. There are a line of guesthouses in Changspa road. Reaching here was a problem as the roads were dug up for cabling and drainage.
There are many restaurants too in the same road. We liked ‘Little Tibet’ restaurant so we kept going there again and again. Try the Chowmein, Pasta and Roti/Paneer.
Places to visit: Mulbekh Monastery, Lamayuru Monastery, Zanskar-Indus Confluence, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, Magnetic Hill
Mulbekh Monastery - Statue of Maitreya
View from Lamayuru Monastery
Moonscape view from Lamayuru
Enroute Leh
Day 7: Leh
First thing, we wanted to get the Inner Line Permit from DC office for Pangong Tso, Nubra Valley. Its a simple procedure. Go to DC office by 10AM. Get the forms, photo id photocopied from a shop nearby. Fill in the basic details and submit in the first counter. They will call out your name. Pay the fees and collect the permit immediately. Make sufficient copies of the same to give at several checkposts.
Cost: Rs. 400 per person + Rs. 20 per day Wildlife fee per person.
We visited Shey Palace, Zanskar-Indus Confluence, Hall of Fame museum, Shanti Stupa.
View from Otsal Guest House
Shanti stupa
View from Shey Palace
Little Tibet Restaurant
Little Tibet Restaurant
Little Tibet Restaurant
Day 8: Leh - Khardung La - Nubra Valley
The roads were decent till South Pullu. The roads worsen some 15kms before Khardung La. Our vehicle had got stuck in a couple of places but we somehow managed to pull it off without any trouble. There are frequent landslides, snow melting, stream crossings so do not expect any road at all. The BRO workers are there to clear the roads for you. Salute to them working in such extreme conditions. We reached Khardung La by early afternoon. It was way too crowded. Took a quick break and moved on. The roads were bad even after that for some 10-15kms. We did not face any severe AMS but we were all somewhat having little headache, dizziness, feverish etc. Had maggi, soup for lunch at North Pullu.
We reached Khalsar where we had to decide whether to head towards Diskit/Hunder or Sumur/Panamik. I decided that it would be better to go to Panamik as Hunder will again be crowded and possibility of finding a room will be remote.
Sumur is a must visit village when you’re in Nubra Valley. It is not much visited by Indian tourists yet. It is a very quiet and beautiful village with amazing landscapes. We stayed a place called Namgyal Villa (Rs. 750 per night). Food was served (Rs. 150 for breakfast & Rs. 200/300 for dinner).
Road clearance before Khardung La
Sumur village
Sumur
Sumur - Namgyal Villa Home garden
A big thanks to Yogesh Sir for his guidance on trip itinerary and tips.
Introduction
Who? : 1 Couple from Bangalore; 1 Couple from Mumbai
How? : XUV 500
When? : 21 June - 07 July 2017
Cost? : Rs. 20,000 per head all inclusive (Yes, that’s possible)
Expenses:
Food - 17,000 (Tip: Eat in dhabas, local restaurants)
Fuel - 27,000
General - 5,000
Hotel - 28,000 (Tip: Negotiate hard at the Guest houses. Don't do advance booking)
Toll - 4,200
Total - 81,200
The plan was to do Ladakh in June end. I’ve already been to Ladakh in 2010 but that was a short trip where I covered Leh, Pangong Tso using public transport / hired Enfield bike. The trip itinerary was something like this. But this changed in the last moment due to road closures etc.
Day Destination
1 Mumbai
2 Udaipur
3 Amritsar
4 Srinagar
5 Kargil
6 Leh
7 Leh
8 Leh
9 Nubra Valley
10 Nubra Valley (Sumur, Panamik)
11 Nubra Valley (Diskit, Hunder)
12 Pangong Tso
13 Tso Moriri
14 Sarchu
15 Manali
16 Chandigarh
17 Udaipur
18 Mumbai
19 Bangalore
Day 1: Bangalore - Mumbai - Vapi
Friends from Bangalore reached our place at around 9PM. We decided to drive as much as possible and find a hotel somewhere near Surat. Had a quick dinner on the Ahmedabad highway and decided to stay at Vapi for the night. Found a place for Rs. 900 per night.
Day 2: Vapi - Ajmer
We started at 7AM and our target was to reach Ajmer by late evening. Had some yummy Gujarati Fafda, Methi Bhajji and tea for breakfast. Did a couple of mistakes by going via Ahmedabad and by taking Udaipur / Ajmer route instead of Pali / Jodhpur route. This we realised while returning as the roads were much better and less traffic too. Booked Hotel Mahatma Inn (Rs. 500 per night) in Ajmer, which is in the middle of the main market. There was no parking facility and we had to park it on the main road. The rooms were good and clean. Rooms booked through Redbus app.
Fafda (Loved the chilly)
Lunch at roadside Dhaba
Day 3: Ajmer - Amritsar
Started off with some first of the Aloo paranthas for breakfast and chaaz. We did fill a bottle of chaaz for the road, which was quite helpful. The roads were State Highway in Okayish condition with a few railway crossings. We managed to reach Amritsar by around 8 PM. We booked hotel rooms through Booking.com app but the hotel refused to take us in as the rooms were full and were trying to fit us in another hotel. We decided to search on our own and found a place called Hotel RC Residency. Brokered a deal for Rs. 3,000 for two rooms. (Hotels in India works through Cash only if you go directly and don’t expect a tax bill)
We headed to Golden temple but it was way too crowded even at 10:30 PM in the night. We just roamed a bit and went to Brothers Dhaba for dinner. We found the food to be decent. Had Paneer, Dal makhni and Jeera Rice.
Breakfast at a Dhaba somewhere in Rajasthan
Late lunch at Haryana
Fields of Punjab
Mango Lassi @ Brothers' Dhaba
Dinner @ Brothers' Dhaba
Day 4: Amritsar - Srinagar
We started off early by 6AM. The roads till Pathankot is 4 lane highway. After Lakhanpur, the state of Jammu & Kashmir starts. The roads are highways till Samba and single lane shortcut to Udhampur (60kms). The mountain roads start from Udhampur onwards. We got stuck in a traffic jam near Banihal, near Anantnag and somewhere before Srinagar. On the way we were helped by a family who recommended another route to reach the city. When we were just in the outskirts of Srinagar, we witnessed stone pelting. But luckily they did not target the tourist vehicles. The main entry to Srinagar was closed and we had to wait in a petrol bunk to enquire about the situation and alternate routes. People there helped us in suggesting another route via the lanes. We were quite tensed as we were unsure about the situation inside the city. We reached Lal Chowk (main market area) and to our surprise it was all business as usual. We quickly checked into Hotel Kashmir International. Room cost Rs. 750 per night. We came down for a Kulfi (Kulfi with lime squeezed and honey - amazing taste) and went to Aman Dhaba for dinner.
Enter J&K
That's how you eat a Parantha
River Chenab enroute
Chenani - Nashri Tunnel 9 kms
Day 5: Srinagar - Kargil
We were warned by one of the locals that the roads were in bad condition and better to avoid Kargil route. But we enquired with a few bikers on the way and decided to proceed. The roads till Sonmarg were really good and scenic. Kashmir valley is heaven on earth. Sonmarg - Zojila - Drass were terrible. We had a late lunch at Drass in a place called Adil Restaurant. This place is run by a couple from Uttarakhand. They served basic food but it was very delicious. 6 kms ahead of Drass is the Kargil War memorial.
Had a gut feeling that the rooms in Kargil would be full looking at the number of bikers and tourist vehicles. We reached Kargil at 5 PM and found all guest houses to be full and others were expensive. We found one Snowhill Guest House for Rs. 750 per night. We headed to the market in the evening but by then the shops were already getting closed as it was eve of Eid. We had the worst dinner of the trip as we tried some Chinese food in Kargil.
Day 6: Kargil - Leh
The drive from Kargil - Leh was a breeze as the roads were simply amazing. The route was quite scenic and we stopped at each of the mountain passes - Namik La, Fotu La to take photos. We reached Lamayuru by late afternoon. Visit the monastery to get great views of the Moonscapes (moon like landscape). The restaurant outside the monastery serves good food too.
As expected, all the hotels / guest houses were full in Leh. We did not make any advance booking. We went to one Greenland Guest House but the rooms were without bath attached. They rang up Otsal Guest House and checked for rooms. Luckily, there was one room with attached bath and one common bath. Got the attached one for Rs. 1,000 and common for Rs. 600 per night. There are a line of guesthouses in Changspa road. Reaching here was a problem as the roads were dug up for cabling and drainage.
There are many restaurants too in the same road. We liked ‘Little Tibet’ restaurant so we kept going there again and again. Try the Chowmein, Pasta and Roti/Paneer.
Places to visit: Mulbekh Monastery, Lamayuru Monastery, Zanskar-Indus Confluence, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, Magnetic Hill
Mulbekh Monastery - Statue of Maitreya
View from Lamayuru Monastery
Moonscape view from Lamayuru
Enroute Leh
Day 7: Leh
First thing, we wanted to get the Inner Line Permit from DC office for Pangong Tso, Nubra Valley. Its a simple procedure. Go to DC office by 10AM. Get the forms, photo id photocopied from a shop nearby. Fill in the basic details and submit in the first counter. They will call out your name. Pay the fees and collect the permit immediately. Make sufficient copies of the same to give at several checkposts.
Cost: Rs. 400 per person + Rs. 20 per day Wildlife fee per person.
We visited Shey Palace, Zanskar-Indus Confluence, Hall of Fame museum, Shanti Stupa.
View from Otsal Guest House
Shanti stupa
View from Shey Palace
Little Tibet Restaurant
Little Tibet Restaurant
Little Tibet Restaurant
Day 8: Leh - Khardung La - Nubra Valley
The roads were decent till South Pullu. The roads worsen some 15kms before Khardung La. Our vehicle had got stuck in a couple of places but we somehow managed to pull it off without any trouble. There are frequent landslides, snow melting, stream crossings so do not expect any road at all. The BRO workers are there to clear the roads for you. Salute to them working in such extreme conditions. We reached Khardung La by early afternoon. It was way too crowded. Took a quick break and moved on. The roads were bad even after that for some 10-15kms. We did not face any severe AMS but we were all somewhat having little headache, dizziness, feverish etc. Had maggi, soup for lunch at North Pullu.
We reached Khalsar where we had to decide whether to head towards Diskit/Hunder or Sumur/Panamik. I decided that it would be better to go to Panamik as Hunder will again be crowded and possibility of finding a room will be remote.
Sumur is a must visit village when you’re in Nubra Valley. It is not much visited by Indian tourists yet. It is a very quiet and beautiful village with amazing landscapes. We stayed a place called Namgyal Villa (Rs. 750 per night). Food was served (Rs. 150 for breakfast & Rs. 200/300 for dinner).
Road clearance before Khardung La
Sumur village
Sumur
Sumur - Namgyal Villa Home garden
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