nepal, himachal pradesh, ladakh, zanskar, spiti in 5-6 months

ponderingloz

Hey guys, firstly, I know nepal isnt your speciality but its part of my itinary so had to chuck it in. Basically, i'd just like to tell you my plan and ask questions on the way about various things, timescales, transport etc

Ok....so

Firstly id fly into kathmandu in mid march, spend a couple of weeks seeing places their and in the kathmandu valley (where are the quick, must see places to see in nepal, besides kathmandu and chitwan?)

Then id find a local guide, do the annurpana circuit starting in april, finishing late april and then into india in late april, early may

Id then visit varanasi, on my way to delhi, then to amristar, chandigarh, mcleod ganj, and then to manali (how long do you think this should take, I was thinking a month maybe, or do you think longer? - i dont want to rush it)

The plan then is to find a trekking company in manali and do the hardcore darsha to lamayaru trek in june, is this feasible? is it easy to find a company?

Then id spend about 3 weeks or so in july in leh and around then down the manali leh road and turning left before i get to the rohtang pass, go into spiti in august. then id spend a few weeks their before flying back form delhi in late august

Anyway, if you could advise me on the length of time im planning to spend in each place places im going and feasibility would be great. Its my first travel ever (gap year) so im a tad apprehensive, but looking forward to completely throwing myself in in the deep end.

Thanks a lot

vistet

Starting with getting in : the Rothang opens normally in June, buses somewhere midJune, jeeps a bit earlier.. but the last years have been erratic. More snow than usual this year.

Check out the All about Ladakh thread for more background.

Best maps are made by Swiss mapmapmaker Olizane , not available in India.

nevilleb

Ladakh has ways of making the best of itineraries go out of the window...

nevilleb

__________________
Neville Bulsara Photography - India Photo Tours, India Photography Workshops & Expeditions to India & Tibet for the Discerning Photographer

IndyBoy

it sounds to me like you've got it pretty well sorted

I think you'll be rushing to fit in all the cities between nepal and mcloed ganj, and it'll be damn hot down in the plains then, so i guess you might want to move quickly!

You could easily just do a week in varanasi, two/three days in delhi, miss out chandigarh, and a few days in amritsar before heading back to the hills.

I reckon you'll want to stay more than a couple of weeks in mcleod ganj (p.s. head up to bhagsu village to find all the travellers, and go and stay in the caves at triund on the mountain behind), then its an easy trip to manali to chill for a bit before your trek.

Spiti is another amazing place, give it three weeks or so to get round the valley and visit the villages on the way round in the restricted zone (you need a special permit, but reckon you can get one in Kaza in spiti)

enjoy man, i'm wishing i was back there right now!

Matt

SHIMLA

Varanasi - 3 days.
Varanasi to Delhi overnight by train.
Delhi - 4 days.
Delhi to Amritsar - 6 hours day journey by Shatabdi Express superfast train.
Amritsar - 3 days, including day of arrival.
Amritsar to Pathankot - 3 hours journey, by early morning train.
Pathankot to Mcleodganj - 4 hours road journey.
Mcleodganj, Dharamsala and surroundings - 10 days.
Dharamsala to Chandigarh - best part of a day's journey by road.
Chandigarh - 3 days.
Chandigarh to Manali - best part of a day's journey.
Manali and surroundings - 7 days.

You are right, the above will take a month.

__________________
Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

ponderingloz

Thanks guys, this is really helpful. I suppose it might be a good idea to give myself more likie a month and a half between nepal and manali. Would definitely like to chill out in mcleod ganj for a good couple of weeks, im sure its crawling with tourists but I dont mind that. Could do with some good socialising before i wander off into Zanskar!

Thanks for the time-breakdown Shimla, and the tips from you Indyboy, its really handy to know how long people would spend in each place, guidebooks never tell you that stuff. Are their a few good short treks round Mcleod Ganj then? (got trekking on the brain)

Oh, and one last question. Theirs a possibility i might run a bit short of time so might have to decide between Ladakh or Spiti. So what do you reckon, im leaning towards Ladakh as im sure most would, but would Spiti be a better bet. So then... Ladakh vs Spiti

Cheers

kazintrepid

ponderingloz,

Yes there is good trekking around Mcleod Ganj you can do day trips or 3-5 days treks. Depending on when you will be in Mcleod Ganj it is quiet at the moment though will pick up in March for the Dalai Lama teachings from the 15-29 March. So if you will be there at that time then definately book accommodation ahead.

In deciding between Ladakh vs Spiti it depends what you are looking for. Lakakh trekking is medium and Spiti trekking is medium to hard. Spiti is much more remote, dry and higher altitude. Depending on the weather Spiti will open beginning to mid May.

If you are trekking in Mcleod Ganj and then heading up into Kashmir to do Ladakh then the best way to approach that is you take a jeep from Mcleod Ganj to Pahalgam, Kashmir 10 hours and then you trek from Pahalgam to Ladakh or Spiti.

If you would like a recommendation of people to trek with to compare to others you have heard of look at www.himalayafunandtours.com I have trekked with these guys and they are great.

Hope this helps.

kaushaldesai

june isnt the best of time to be looking at doing teh darcha lamayuru suggest you shud look at it july first week onwards....

if you do need some help on the trek feel free to give me a shout .....

cheers

Kaushal