All About Ladakh

ladagspa

Hi,

The vehicle from Shimla can drop you at Leh.
And any travel in inlands of Ladakh has to be in a one from "Ladakh Taxi Union".

As for the booking, You will not have much problem in Leh.
And from there on you can look around for the Taxi and the booking for other places.
If you want to camp in "A class Camps" in Pangong, Nubra, Tsomoriri etc. its better you book it first.

And thanks a lot for sharing the info about Outlook Map. I am rushing off to get my copy.

Ladagspa

Alan D

natasha

Just from reading the large number of posts on this forum in recent times, I get the impression that Ladakh is going to be pretty crowded this season.

We were there in the second half of August last year and many of the hotels and GH's in Leh were full - a distinct contrast to when we were there a few years earlier. Also the other places you mentioned have limited accommodation possibilities.

You seem to be well organised and have probably planned your itinerary and know where you are going to stay and how long, so I would say try to book your accommodation in advance.

Not that I think you will have to sleep out under the stars, as people will find somewhere for you, but you may find the hotels, GH's or camps you have chosen are already full when you arrive.

__________________
What a long strange trip it's been!

natasha chanda acharya

about the crowd, do you think it is worth changing my plans and actually make the trip in first week of July instead. From what I understood, the tourism buses and all the mass crowd will descend on the place after the official date of 15th July. So it should be less crowded before that. Or am I wrong?

acco in Shimla and Manali, I will hunt IM for recomendations and make bookings. but suggestions are welcome.

Before I ask more acco related questions, let me tell you a little about the kind of acco i prefer. As a rule, we go in for govt. guesthouses. They mostly are on good property, and even if they are no luxury outfits, everything is mostly clean, attached clean loos. and the cost is mostly in the range of 300 to 800 bucks which suits me fine. srtictly suitable for family type. isn't there something like Jammu and Kashmir tourism development corp or laddakh tourism dev corp?

I realise that in laddakh, many of the acco will be camp style, which is perfect. We love camping.

Now...

Keylong - any recomendations? I think there should be plenty of acco
available here.

Sarchu - parachute tents just beyond the bridge and check point are
recomended. Where do I book? (this question is going to be
repeated a few more times. )

Leh - guest houses in Tukcha?? - Ashoka, dorje, yartsa?? which?
or ti sei, deluxe, padma guest houses - near Fort Road ?? which?
AND Where do I book?

Lamyuru - the monastry. If we can do that. Do we need to book?

Nubra - should it be Diskit or Panamik? I think diskit is closer and the road
will be better. But which has a better view? And once we are there,
which are the acco places? Where do I book?

Pangong Tso - Map shows acco only in Spangmik. Do you get acco in Man
or Merak, too? Where do I stay? Where do I book?

Tso Moriri - Only one log hut in Karzok, by the look of it. Where do I book?

All vehicle questions cleared. So no more doubts about that. Thanks.

amitdave

hi natasha
the latest issue of outlook traveller you mean is of may issue i guess.
secondly how are you planning to go by road through your own vehicle or by air. coz as you have read taxi,s from himachal wont be allowed in leh so whats your plans. iam planning to go around 15july though not able to decide how to go by air or by road.

have you shortlisted some hotels in leh or can you suggest some hotels in leh for ard 600-800rs per double room per night. and also for camps at pangong tso and nubra valley.(iguess thats the only option of staying there)for camps budget ard 800 per person.
also how to book these esp the camps at lake sites.
if you have any information can you pl share it .
amit

kailash35

I have the same interrogation points as Natasha.

But I'll reach Leh sooner, round July 10-12.

Alan , do you think Leh will be crowded at that time and do you think GH booking in advance would be wise?

natasha chanda acharya

Amit, I have asked the same questions as you have. I haven't got any answers so far. Lets hope someone answers.

latest issue of Outlook should be May. You can just open the mag and check if it has the map.

Alan D

I can't answer some of the questions posted above as I haven't been to some of the places mentioned.

What I said in my previous post was based on the number of people visiting last season, the amount of posts about Ladakh on this forum in recent times, and the fact that there is now another route open through Kinnaur and Spiti. The coverage in Outlook Traveller will doubtless encourage others to make the trip. As I also said, I'm sure you will always find somewhere to stay - it's just that if you have decided where you want to stay it might be a good idea to try to book it.

MANALI - there should be no problems here, it's a major resort with hundreds of hotels/guest houses for all budgets.

KEYLONG - I would recommend the HPTDC's hotel Chander Bhaga/Keylong which is just beside the main road. We stayed there on the way back from Leh last year. It's a fairly new place, nicely furnished and well managed. Worth booking I think.

SARCHU - I agree about HPTDC's tented camp here - it seems to be starved of investment, with old tents and one toilet for everyone. We only stayed here as it was included in the bus fare. Much better to stay in the private camp a little further on. I doubt if they have a booking system.

LEH - Plenty of hotels and especially, family run GH's, though if you have a definite preference, probably a good idea to book but not all seem to have a phone line and very few have email.

NUBRA - I would recommend the Snow Leopard GH in Hunder, just a few K's West of Diskit, rather than staying in Diskit or Panamik which also both have GH's, especially Diskit. We also had a look at the camp in Hunder which seemed very overpriced for the facilities provided.

I hope someone else can help out with the other locations.

Personally, we're always willing to take a chance with transport and accommodation, we very seldom book in advance for anything but we usually don't have a tight schedule. For a group or family, travelling with a set itinerary, I think it makes sense to do as much planning in advance as possible.

natasha chanda acharya

Thanks, Alan. I spoke to Mountain Girl at length last night. She gave me a few insights. And now, you've given me some good links. Lets me rehash all my schedules and get back with any problems that I come up with. Best of luck to me!

kiranlal

it is so exciting i all ready boocked my tickets to delhi to reach leh
i think a lot of people are going there , it will be use full to get seme information about
where to stay and preferable places to visit and the distance etc
i will be in leh in the third week of june for couple of weeks or for more .
i like to share the travel cost in case of a car from Manaly to leh . (i prefer bus )

neeltje

Hello all,

I have a rather silly question, but I'll ask it because you never know and I love my husband very much and it might make him happy, although chances are very slim.
My husband and I are planning to do a short trek in Spiti and one in Ladakh (both in July). My husband lets me figure out where to go and usually likes all plans I make, but this time he asked whether it wouldn't be possible to climb a mountain, i.e. a peak, rather then just trek over passes. I told him probably peaks are too high and difficult for us in Ladakh, as we are no mountaineers and the passes are around 5000m already. But I thought I could ask on this forum anyway. If we want to do a short trek (3-5 days) or a day hike, is there any peak we could walk up to, not too far from Leh (no more than say 6 hours by bus)? And would it be a waste of time because the known treks (e.g. Lamayuru-Alchi) are much more interesting?

And another question: I have a map that shows a walking trail from Stok to Spitok. I thought if we don't manage to find horses, guide etc this might be a walk we can easily do by ourselves, in a day, without having to carry a tent. Has anyone walked this trail and how was it?

Last question: if anyone wants to share a jeep from Kaza to Leh in the middle of July, please let me know!

I hope once I come back from my trip I can help other people on the forum...

AvidTrekker

Stok Kangri is the highest of the four "trekking peaks" in India. It is 6000m plus in altitude. Since it is a favorite among foreign trekkers [ONLY becuz permits are easy to obtain] many agencies in Leh organize the peak. You will require five days to do it comfortably.

googling on "stok kangri" will give you more info than you can digest.

Happy trekking!!

__________________
The Universe is an ellipsoid?... or a Spheroid?? If the sphere smiles... it becomes an ellipse. This IS Creation.

saajan_20

hey the outlook issue has a map of jammu and kashmir no much help as all of us planning a trip from manali to leh that s from hp
amit dont b a spoil sport flying in leh is useless it needs to be done by road and i know about ur roller skating idea even i have such weird plans we a group of 4 freinds have deciced 2 drive from mumbai to leh but as of now all the other guy s have quit and look s like i am the lone soldier handling the post

natasha chanda acharya

Didn't I mention that it is a map of J&K and of Ladakh and around. No, you won't have the map of manali Rd leading to Sarchu in it because that is in Himachal Pradesh.
The manali to leh map is there in Outlook Traveller hill destinations, of course. The reason I didn't mentioned the manali map is because it is easily available. ladakh map is not easily available, and I am sorry, but I still think it's a really good map. And I am saying that after having looked at at least 20 other maps of ladakh from various sources. Too bad you didn't find it helpful.

amitdave

hi sajan well i didnt got any partners for the leh manali road and thats why i had to book by air..even i waqnted to travel by road coz thats the whole beauty abt the trip..but unsure road condition, lack of parteners and carrying two females (wife n sis) made me opt for air...
also by road the taxi cost for leh excursions dont apply and that does takes a burden off ur pocket not to mention the enjoyment driving ur car to highest motorable road....
abt the map ladakh map is really helpful in ladakh if u r taking ur car for you wont find anywhere routes to tsomoriri or alchi or nubra valley..it is nicely explained.for manali leh route outlook traveller book on hills has given that map.also lonely planet has it i guess..
when r u going to leh..as of now iam going on 6 july and returning on 13 july..

dhananjay

Hi,
A good picture and map link to Ladakh ...

http://www.koausa.org/Ladakh/

Cheers,
dhananjay