Haridwar-Leh, late April

Will the roads be open through Manali?
What about through Jammu to Srinigar?


Thanks-
Josh

Hi josh
The Road from Manali to leh will definately br closed until end may or first week june. This is for this year.

Hope this is of help to you.

Regards

Mani

road to leh will not be open for another couple of months, usually the army will open up roads from the srinagar side in may. but it will depend on the weather

mani what date do u approximately expect the road s to open up by ?
i mean the manali leh road by that
regards
saajan

The road to Leh from Manali (via Rohtang La) opens only late may , mid june.

nevilleb

neville

have u done this by road ? from manali side i mean via the rohtang pass

i am planning to do it this year

self driven qualis from mumbai

send me ur useful input s

regards
saajan

Last year, the first government bus of the year from Manali to Leh left on 1st July. Shared jeeps were a little earlier. You can't hurry the snow!!

Tim in Ireland

hi saajan...

even m planning LEH by bike this year...

plz PM me bro.. as soon as u get any info..

thnx

Hi saajan_20,

Yes, I have travelled the road to Leh from Manali via the Rohtang La. Took me three days (you can do it in two, but I was quite busy photographing all the way, so I stopped over at Keylong / Keylang the first day (after crossing the Rohtang La) to acclimatize a bit. The next day saw me traversing Baralacha La and stopping over at Sarchu, followed by pressing on to Leh the day after that.

I plan to be doing the same towards the middle of July this year again. Will be taking a vehicle from Delhi in that regard.

I will post full details of what to expect on the road by morrow night, as am a bit tied up right now.

I've also driven all the way to Manali from Bombay (though on that trip I didn't press on to Leh as I didn't plan to go there, and, the passes hadn't opened up beside). One can comfortably get as far as Udaipur on the first day, press on to Delhi (and beyond) on the 2nd day (I got lost in Delhi and took two hours to get out of Delhi), stopping enroute to Chandigarh. Day 3 press on towards Manali. Make it a point to start early in the day; night driving is not something to look forward to on our highways.

Cheers,

nevilleb

Neville - Wow we wish we could do the same.

Sajjan - Envy You.

Will be in Manali in may for 3-4 days going by train and then the Bus from delhi.

Will probably try the drive some time in the future.

We checked with the HP tourism people in Mumbai and they tell us that Rohtang pass will not be open in end may when we are there. I was planning to get to Leh from Manali but have to leave it for another time.

What dates are you planning your trip, since we will be in Manali and will go up to Rohtang pass and can try and find out for you then.

Best of luck

hey neville thanks pal i have driven from mumbai to manali too!!!!

and that was in 2001 feb and that s when i frankly came to know about rohtang pass and road till there u see i knew that ladakh was a state of our country but never knew the drive from manali was full of so many sight s smell s and sound s

i did a fly in and fly out trip in sept 2005 but that was a spoil sport it was just to get the feel of the place

and after 5 planning and pondering years i have decided to drive up from manali to leh
infact my search for leh brought me to indiamike for which i am so happy to meet like minded people !!!!

do post me ur detail s of the road trip from manali to leh whenever u find time

regards
saajan

Ok, here's the dope on getting from Manali to Leh.

On day one, begin the ascent to the Rohtang La (3978 meters). You may choose to stop for a cuppa tea at Marhi (17 km from the top). Don't linger too long atop Rohtang; while the pass is not too high by Himalayan standards, the weather can turn on a dime and you could literally freeze.

From Rohtang, you will descend into the Chandra valley; drive on to Tandi, onto Keylong. You could choose to stop here for the night, or press further on.

You will then pass Jispa and reach Darcha. Ramshackle huts here, and you could stop for "Thupka" - tibetan noodle soup. Beyond Darcha is Zingzing Bar and the Baralala La; crossing the latter enroute to Leh brings you to Sarchu. You have to stay here for the night, accomodation is in tents.

Note that by now you may be experiencing the onset of HAS; drink lots and lots of water (at least three liters a day). It can get pretty cold at and beyond Sarchu, make sure you are well covered. Wear a broad hat and put on some sunblock - the sun can be a scorcher at the altitudes you are going to be in.

From Sarchu, as you press on you will pass the Lachungland La (5019 m) before reaching Pang and the Moray Plains - a 45 km plataue. Keep your eyes peeled for the local nomads with their herds.

As you press further on, you will reach Ushi and then Karu before finalluy reaching Leh.


nevilleb