Sarchu to Leh seemed to be the toughest drive. Not only the road was bad but was narrow and gave little chance for two cars to cross at one go. Since the weather was bad we encountered snow fall on the way which in a way was good as there were lesser vehicles on the road. My travel partner was suffering from AMS and we had to stopover often for him to vomit.
I was in double minds as to turn back since he wasn't feeling all that good but then this trip is fraught with such eventualities. Leh weather can change as and when it wishes to and one has to keep warm. i guess the challenge is not to think of the weather and be on top of it.
Our planning had gone well and we were prepared for all problems that we might encounter on the way but then we hardly stopped on the way to leh except to admire the natural beauty of places one can only dream about. Each mountain we crossed opened a new place and soon we hit the plains of ladakh.
the drive was now comfortable and by evening we had hit Leh. The final toll was paid and while an average ladakhi is nice, it is the other locals one should avoid communicating with as i found them to be rude and a trip spoiler.
A good decent room in ladakh would cost around 2500 Rs / night and the hotel we checked in was right in the heart of the travel district of ladakh so there was ample opportunity to communicate and share experiences with fellow travelers.
Ladakh is one of those places that opens up for a few months of the year so it is important that one respects and pays them what they ask for. i didn't find things to be overtly expensive and one should keep in mind that this is their bread and butter. It is important for one to understand that they also have a living to make and it is only during this season they get an opportunity to make some money.
the ladakh tee shirts are a must buy. At 350 Rs it is a steal as it is hand embroidered and for 400 Rs they can even write what you desire.
Eating places are plenty and cheap. there are no taxes on the food, so you pay what you see on the menu.Although i would suggest one should be courteous as ladakhi's dont like to entertain snobs and a couple of incidents did occur, where people who were trying to bargain were given a cold shoulder.
The trip thereon is good and a visit to Pangong tso lake is a must. A word of warning - the road is extremely bad so it is advisable to start in the morning if planning to come back the same day. It is not advisable to drive any where in the night as there are no signboards. Please do take the inner line permits that are easily available and register your vehicle at appropriate check posts. No one will stop you if you don't but makes sense in case there is a emergency.
The way back from ladakh is via Srinagar and the only times that we got stuck in traffic was at Zozilla right before Sonmarg. The road here is extremly bad and truck drivers are rude so forget ladakh. You are in Kashmir and be ready for some R'n R with the rude drivers.
Although it is suggested you stay in Srinagar for a day,we continued to drive and drove for almost 32 hours straight. Perhaps we had a rather bad experience with the drivers. You will miss your small car here. At times we hung precariously on ledges at convoys went past.
A must see is the Kargil war memorial and wearing shorts to this place is a strict no- no. However pay respect to the martyrs and not click pictures. I found that people were only interested in clicking pictures and not respecting the supreme sacrifice made by our soldiers. Avoid in case you don't want soldier's memory being disrespected.
The road from Jammu is NHI and is a six lane highway. It took us less than 10 hours to reach Ambala once we had reached Jammu.
The trip was something to remember and while as we slept in our warm beds, it was time to look back and dream how we had conquered the trip they all journey- once in a life time.
I was in double minds as to turn back since he wasn't feeling all that good but then this trip is fraught with such eventualities. Leh weather can change as and when it wishes to and one has to keep warm. i guess the challenge is not to think of the weather and be on top of it.
Our planning had gone well and we were prepared for all problems that we might encounter on the way but then we hardly stopped on the way to leh except to admire the natural beauty of places one can only dream about. Each mountain we crossed opened a new place and soon we hit the plains of ladakh.
the drive was now comfortable and by evening we had hit Leh. The final toll was paid and while an average ladakhi is nice, it is the other locals one should avoid communicating with as i found them to be rude and a trip spoiler.
A good decent room in ladakh would cost around 2500 Rs / night and the hotel we checked in was right in the heart of the travel district of ladakh so there was ample opportunity to communicate and share experiences with fellow travelers.
Ladakh is one of those places that opens up for a few months of the year so it is important that one respects and pays them what they ask for. i didn't find things to be overtly expensive and one should keep in mind that this is their bread and butter. It is important for one to understand that they also have a living to make and it is only during this season they get an opportunity to make some money.
the ladakh tee shirts are a must buy. At 350 Rs it is a steal as it is hand embroidered and for 400 Rs they can even write what you desire.
Eating places are plenty and cheap. there are no taxes on the food, so you pay what you see on the menu.Although i would suggest one should be courteous as ladakhi's dont like to entertain snobs and a couple of incidents did occur, where people who were trying to bargain were given a cold shoulder.
The trip thereon is good and a visit to Pangong tso lake is a must. A word of warning - the road is extremely bad so it is advisable to start in the morning if planning to come back the same day. It is not advisable to drive any where in the night as there are no signboards. Please do take the inner line permits that are easily available and register your vehicle at appropriate check posts. No one will stop you if you don't but makes sense in case there is a emergency.
The way back from ladakh is via Srinagar and the only times that we got stuck in traffic was at Zozilla right before Sonmarg. The road here is extremly bad and truck drivers are rude so forget ladakh. You are in Kashmir and be ready for some R'n R with the rude drivers.
Although it is suggested you stay in Srinagar for a day,we continued to drive and drove for almost 32 hours straight. Perhaps we had a rather bad experience with the drivers. You will miss your small car here. At times we hung precariously on ledges at convoys went past.
A must see is the Kargil war memorial and wearing shorts to this place is a strict no- no. However pay respect to the martyrs and not click pictures. I found that people were only interested in clicking pictures and not respecting the supreme sacrifice made by our soldiers. Avoid in case you don't want soldier's memory being disrespected.
The road from Jammu is NHI and is a six lane highway. It took us less than 10 hours to reach Ambala once we had reached Jammu.
The trip was something to remember and while as we slept in our warm beds, it was time to look back and dream how we had conquered the trip they all journey- once in a life time.
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