Delhi to Ladakh in Early august .. Fly or train/bus etc? ..

Kia Ora,

My name is Grace. This is my first post. I am from NZ and will be embarking on my first trip to India on August the 7th .. Arriving into Delhi on August the 8th. I will be in India for six months. I am initially wanting advice about what to do when I first get there - I;m a bit nervous about it! ..... I have already arranged a volunteer job in Ladakh ( from info on this site thanks!) .. My loose plan of what I want to do in my first couple of months is to go to Ladakh and volunteer for a month and then travel to Rishikesh vis Dharamasala and anywhere else anyone recommends ..Once in Rishikesh I intend to stay there for at least a month to study some yoga abd dance etc.

SO .. what I am initially wanting advice about is ... How long should I stay in Delhi, and should I fly to Ladakh or travel overland?.... My initial unresearched feeling was to fly mainly because I feel a bit nervous about my first week and thought Ladakh maybe less intense then other areas.... What do you think?

Also what would bethe best route for me to take to get from Ladakh to Rishikesh? ..
Hope this post isn;t too long!
Really appreciate your time to read it ..
namaste
Grace

Welcome to Indiamike. Acouple of days in delhi should help you with your jetlag and getting to know how things work here as well as overcoming any cultural shock one does have. You have the choice of bus/taxi, train (till two-thirds of the way), or by air. Going by air would be the best choice under these circumstances. going to Rishikesh can be done by road or a flight back to delhi followed by acombination of rail/road.

Yes, Ladakh is a lot less "intense" than other parts of North India so is easier that way. Delhi-Leh flights look really expensive this year so you might like to go by road. Manali road is higher so it's good to spend an extra day or two in Keylong on the way. Srinagar road is not very high so it's much easier altitude wise, but you don't want to go to Srinagar alone or with a tout in Delhi who says he will organise a prepaid trip through Kashmir for you. You need to go with an experienced India traveller. So better splurge on the flight or plan a leisurely trip up through Manali and Keylong.

Hi Grace,

Let me try to answer your questions...

Answer 1:- Once you land in Delhi, let the jet lag wear off, spend a 2-3 days getting around Delhi, do some sight seeing, and spend a night at Agra, to see the Taj Mahal.

Answer 2:- I would not recommend flying TO Leh. Its recommended on the way back to Delhi, but while going I would strongly suggest a road trip starting from Srinagar.
One option is to fly to Srinagar [tickets for less than 90 USD] do some site-seeing and then book/share a taxi to Leh.
Its a 475 km journey which would include night halts at Sonamarg and Kargil.
Because of the tough terrain and winding roads, it would take that much time to get to leh without getting too exhausted.
Srinagar-Leh will be a fantastic Road trip, I assure you.

Answer 3 :- Leh, Rishikesh and Dharmashala are located in completely different directions.

See here...

http://maps.google.co.in/maps?f=d&so...,16.907959&z=7

This is just to give something to think about...
since this is the end of my work-day, I will elaborate tomorrow

The first part of the journey can be done by train.
I.e Delhi to Pathankot by train, then a short bus ride to Dharmshala.

Last leg can be done partly by flying, i.e Leh-Delhi by flight and then a train ride to Haridwar, close to Rishikesh.
Hope this helps

Personally,I'd disagree with the last post & say if you are nervous then avoid the hassle that is Agra & fly straight to Leh from Delhi,it's the best time to go since it will be monsoon time in India but not Ladhak. Then take a share jeep overland to Manali from where you can travel to D'sala or Rishi depending which you want to do first.KK

I had phrased it wrong, Agra was just an "example"

I agree about the Monsoon, not a good time for road trips, sorry I completely overlooked that.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I really appreciate the help. Sorry it's taken me so long to acknowledge.. I;ve been in the middle of finishing a yoga diploma and working full time and have been totally overwhelmed with assignments and clients.

I will be in Delhi for three days and then have a flight booked to Leh. I have just found out though that my travel agent misguided me about Visas and apparently I can't actually go to India for 6 months - so I now think I;l have to go to Nepal for two months in the middle of my trip. I have some questions about this whole situation but not sure if this is the right place to post so will just go and figure that out. THanks again. It's so great to have access to the wisdom of all of you who experienced india travellers. :-)

hi there!

i am also trying to decide how to get to Leh from Delhi. I am female (26) travelling solo, and have done the cities of Rajasthan and Agra etc and I need to get out of the hassle now ;-) But I dont know how to get to Leh. I can fly but am nervous about the altitude sickness...I could go by road but being solo (haven't yet anyone yet who is going in my direction) I am nervous of this too.

Any suggestions? Thanks so much!!

PS I will also be in Nepal for 2 months later and spending much of Aug in Leh Ladakh D'sala etc, see you there maybe!

Hi Green,

Greetings for the day...!!!!

I would be traveling to leh starting on 27th July from Delhi...would you be interested? if yes do contact me as we got just 3 days to go......i would be traveling in my car....i have two seats vacant...

Regards
Vinod Bhakuni

Kia Ora Green,

I decided to go with the flight because I wasn;t sure what it would be like travelling by car/bus train during the monsoon and high temps.. Also I got varying advice re AMS... some people said it was better to fly and others drive to avoid it..

I'll be travelling on my own also so let me know if you'd like to meet up.. I m going to stay in Ladakh for about a month before making my way to Dharamasala, and then Rishikesh and will then be going to Nepal for two months from mid october..

Goodluck with your trip!

Green,
Fly there and take rest if you dont want to risk a road trip in the Monsoon.
We went there in end of August, we encountered a bit of rain, but nothing scary like Landslides etc.

What we did is to fly to Srinagar, took a taxi to Sonamarg & spent a night there.[3k Rupees for a full Taxi] and then next day headed off to Kargil [another 3k] .
Spent the night at Kargil, and from there shared a Taxi till Leh [500 rupees a seat].
Not cheap but you'll get fantastic views on the way.
Kashmir and Ladakh are a lot safer than the rest of the country for single female travelers. So no need to worry.
Those cab drivers are native kashmiris and they are the nicest people you'll meet.