Itinerary For Trans-Himalayan Jeep Safari - Pls Assist/Advise

DEAR IMERs.,,

I have planned out an itinerary for a Trans – Himalayan Jeep Expedition in the month of July..
Please do let me know if this itinerary can be modified for a little more comfort without any change to the total time duration. It is an extremely tight THREE WEEK SCHEDULE plus addition of weekends..

FIRST LEG: TOUR OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

DAY 1: DELHI TO JAMMU BY TRAIN / JEEP
DAY 2: JAMMU TO SRINAGAR – Local sight-seeing in Srinagar
DAY 3: SRINAGAR – GULMARG – SRINAGAR – Local Sight-seeing in Srinagar
DAY 4: SRINAGAR – SONMARG – KARGIL
DAY 5: KARGIL – LAMAYURU – NIMMO – LEH

SECOND LEG : TOUR OF LADAKH

DAY 6: LEH TO NUBRA VALLEY
DAY 7: NUBRA VALLEY TO LEH
DAY 8: LEH – PANGONG TSO – THIKSEY – SHEY – LEH
DAY 9: Local Sight-seeing at LEH
DAY 10: LEH – UPSHI – SARCHU
DAY 11: SARCHU – SURAJTAL LAKE – MANALI

THIRD LEG : TOUR OF MANALI, LAHAUL- SPITI-KINNAUR, SHIMLA
DAY 12: Local Sight-seeing in MANALI
DAY 13: Local Sight-seeing / REST DAY in MANALI
DAY 14: MANALI – UDAIPUR – KEYLONG
DAY 15: KEYLONG – CHANDERTAL – KAZA
DAY 16: KAZA – KI – KIBBER – DHANKAR GOMPA -TABO
DAY 17: TABO – NAKO – SHIPKI LA – NAKO
DAY 18: NAKO – RECONG PEO – KALPA
DAY 19: KALPA – SANGLA – CHITKOOL
DAY 20: CHITKOOL – SARAHAN – NARKANDA – SHIMLA
DAY 21: LOCAL SIGHT SEEING IN SHIMLA
DAY 22: LOCAL SIGHT SEEING IN SHIMLA – SHIMLA TO DELHI BY BUS/ JEEP

My queries are as follows..

(a) Is it advisable to hire a single SCORPIO / QUALIS for the trip from Delhi and back.. or is the following break up of hiring recommended

JEEP 1: HIRE FROM JAMMU TILL LEH FOR LEG 1
JEEP 2: HIRE FROM LEH TILL MANALI FOR LEG 2
JEEP 3: HIRE FROM MANALI TILL SHIMLA FOR LEG 3

I somehow feel the drivers from Delhi may not have thorough idea of the full route .. correct me if am wrong .. I would gratefully appreciate if someone who is experienced on this circuit can give me the Phone or Mobile Nos of RELIABLE TAXI operators at Delhi, Jammu, Srinagar, Leh and Manali who hire out a SCORPIO / QUALIS…

(b) What is the maximum number of people who can be accommodated in a SCORPIO / QUALIS for these routes (especially the Lahaul – Spiti – Kinnaur Leg) ?? Some one told me TAXI chaps don’t take more than five tourists although the vehicle capacity is seven excluding the driver !!! Pls clarify /// Am keeping the Innova out due to low ground clearance, which could be problem in these routes..

(c) Is it OKAY to do the LAHAUL-SPITI-KINNAUR route ANTICLOCKWISE STARTING FROM MANALI ?? I have heard that most tourists do it CLOCKWISE STARTING FROM SHIMLA /// Wats the difference??/

Suggestions

Switch Day 9 with 6. The first day in Leh relax a bit to aviod AMS. Post that you can do Pangong So & Nubra the next 3 days.

One more option would be to reach Manali right away. Leaving Leh at 2am you should reach Manali by 6pm latest. This saves one day which you can use in Leh or elsewhere in the trip. Not much to do at Sarchu also its higher compared to Leh.

In regards to hire a taxi, you will need to break it up As for local sightseeing in Leh outside Taxi's can not be used.
So you could use a Delhi Taxi to reach you to Leh and then onwards to Manali but within Leh you will need a local taxi.
I suggest you opt for taxi as you go instead of hiring one to save on cost.

In Leh for your local travel you could talk to Gyatso 9906999135 of Vajra Voyages !

Have a great trip !

Switch Day 9 with 6. The first day in Leh relax a bit to aviod AMS.

TAHNKS A LOT FOR THE SUGGESTION AMAR //

But since we are travelling from Kargil side , we would have already got acclimatised rite ??

and more over since we are on a tight schedule i have planned NUBRA first , PANGONG second and LEH SIGHT SEEING last to cater for weather problems and flexibility of plans ..
if i already finish local sightsseeing on DAY 6 then am stuck if the weather goes bad for the next two days ..
whereas if theres weather problem on DAY 6 / DAY8 then i can alter my plans for NUBRA / PANGONG TSO and do local sight seeing ..

DONT U AGREE ??
awaiting ur opinion //

U HAVE UPLOADED A VERY INFORMATIVE REPORT - AWESOME PICS TOO ..

REGARDS
IVB

Well the day you reach Leh you will need 1 day for the ILP too.

During my trip i had a one guy along with me who did have little problems the next day, so its better taking it slow the 1st day. I suppose the weather would not be such a big problem during your visit.

The single day trip to Manali would be a good option for you. This way you get a buffer day.

Point Taken //

How Many People Are Generally Accomodated In A Qualis / Scorpio For Leh - Nubra Leh - Pangong And Leh - Manali Trips ??

Thanks
Ivb..

Max should be 2 front, 3 middle and 2 back - So in all 7 + Driver. OR just one in front. Depends.

If you looking for shared trips you might need to wait out a day extra to get company... esp within Leh

Coming from the Kashmiri side is the softest way to land in Leh , but no one arrives fully acclimatized in Leh , it takes a lot longer than that.Amarshah is spot on in this , you really need that day.

Best case scenario : your breathing capacity tops on day three , and you have more red blood cells on day five , days meaning nights between 2000-3000. This is best case , the interval for the change in breathing capacity is two to five nights : a good comfort rule is to stay three nights around three thousand before moving higher ( in sleeping elevation , perfectly ok to go over the Khardung La or visit Pangong Tso ).

If you don΄t want to just sit out days acclimatising , re-organise your run from Shimla , where you have positive altitude effects right from your starting point , as opposed to Srinagar. Good stops here are Sarahan (2200-ish) , Kalpa (2800), Tabo (3265) .

You΄ll find some pics Shimla to Chandra Tal on my travel blog, the Srinagar-Leh road is covered here.



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Can Someone Advise Me Regarding The Following ...

1. Cost Of Hiring A Scorpio / Qualis From Srinagar To Leh For 2 Days With Stop Over At Kargil

2. Cost Of Hiring A Scorpio / Qualis From Leh To Manali For 2 Days With Stop Over At Sarchu

IVB,

1) Cost from Srinagar for full Qualis for 2 days is 15-16k from Srinagar TRC
2) Should be more or less similar not 100% sure though ...

IVB,

1) Cost from Srinagar for full Qualis for 2 days is 15-16k from Srinagar TRC
2) Should be more or less similar not 100% sure though ...

That seems pretty exhorbitant .. even operators on the Manali - Leh Route charge only 12000 ..

Thres a guy offering a QUALIS from SRINAGAR TO MANLAI FOR 8500 .. IS IT OK or is sumtng fishy ??

Read Leh For Manali In My Prev Post

IVG you mean he will drive the car fro Srinagar to Manali via Leh or directly via Chandighar ?

amar ,, sorry i confused u a bit //

the cost of 8500 is for a qualis from Srinagar to Leh with overnight halt at Kargil

ivb