Leh to Srinagar

coleridge

Hello!
Next summer I am planning a trip to Ladack, and we are thinking of exteding it to Kashmir.
The question is: by road, how long would it be from Leh to Srinagar? Two days with an intermediate stop will be enough? Is the road so hard as the Manali - Leh one?
And finally, is it possible to fly from Srinagar to Delhi, isn´t it?
Thank you a lot!

rubsen

Flying from Srinagar to Delhi is no problem. Afaik there are daily flights.

Yogesh Sarkar

Srinagar - Leh is an easy road with low altitude can be done with ease in couple of days. Like Rubsen said, there are daily flights from Srinagar to Delhi.

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Indizen

It takes around 18 hours by road from Leh to Srinagar.

vistet

The Srinagar-Leh road is a lot lower than the Manali-Leh road.


If you are doing both , why not start from the Srinagar end and have the advantage of a lot easier acclimatization process ?

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coleridge

So you recommend me starting in Srinagar?
My idea was the following: Delhi - Amritsar - Dharamsala - Manali - Leh - Srinagar - Delhi.
If I did it the other way round, I should fly to Srinagar from Delhi... Would there be problems of acclimatation to altitude? Because my intention was driving by road to Leh because I had been told that this way was better for acclimatation than flying!
Thanks!

vistet

The glib answer to the first part (flying to Srinagar ) is that if you can handle the flight .. practically all planes have cabin pressure that is lower than Srinagars, the Airbus A320 for example equals 1830 meters.

This is partly misleading , because of your position in the plane. Oxygen saturation in the blood will always drop in horizontal position.

Acclimatization also involves a threshold level : oxygen saturation needs to drop below a certain level to effect changes . Srinagar is too low to start this process , so the acclimatisation value rests almost completely on the night in Kargil , at 2693 meters.

You have some fantastic spots to break off the journey before Leh , but most of them after Mulbekh is higher than Leh : as a driver I would avoid it. On the other hand there is Saspol , very nice location , an interesting "cross-section " collapsed mountain ridge exposing old monastic caves , and two guest houses, which sits 400 meters lower than Leh. Passed thru , haven´t stayed there.

As for the Manali-Leh road : everyone who has hit 3000+ within the last two days will match the norm for home oxygen treatment for COPD patients, so getting past the high sections without problems relies on getting down to Leh´s altitude before the effects pile up. Plans will often vaporise and once you go past Darcha , the halfway point at around 3400 no one can guarantee if you will spend the next at 3500 or 4500 , or stuck near a 5000 meter pass. This is a serious concern if you haven´t spent serious time acclimatizing even as a passive object , I´ve experienced a fellow passenger going thru an interesting sequence of symtoms before going unconscious. As a driver ... well, some of the things that are affected by hypoxia are balance , vision and judgement - not the first qualities you want to go out the window on these roads.

coleridge

WOOOOOW!!!
Thank you for the information!!!
So, summarising, you would recommend me starting the trip in Srinagar, isn´s it?

vistet

If you want to do both , definitely start from the Kashmir end , yes. Try also to keep an ear close to the ground , so to speak , for developments in Kashmir : the BBC South Asia (RSS feed ?)and The Tribune´s J&K section are good starting points.