delhi-manali-leh-srinagar-delhi oct 09-need advice

devlin swain

hi all,

Me and my girlfriend are planning a trip in the beginning of oct. We will be catching and over night bus to manali and thats about all for our plan so far. We would love to do this trip by motor bike. We have done a few short trips in india by bike already, but i think the conditions in this area are a little more extreme.

1. I am not a novice bike rider, but im not the super experienced rider either. Is this trip for expert riders only?

2. We would like to hire the bike from manali and drop it off in srinagar or leh(dont know how far we want to go by bike). Is this possible?

3. Are we too late this year in terms of the weather. Will the roads be unrideable?

Appreciate any advice, thanks

mridula

Maybe this would be of help?

Delhi -Manali-Leh-kargil-Srinagar by bike in August

On second thoughts, maybe this is more useful information-

http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/lada...-ladakh-t1211/

Welcome to Indiamike!

PS. I saw that you have posted the same thing twice, which is against the forum rules. But then I moderator would close one of your threads. Happens all the tme with new members.

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Mridula

Travel Tales from India

Dimitrz

Hi Delvin

welcome to India


1. I am not a novice bike rider, but im not the super experienced rider either. Is this trip for expert riders only?

Not exactly but good experience in driving on harsh high altitude weathering roads can mean the difference between life and death to put in simply.

Dont risk it - if you have even a slightest element of doubt - from the way you asked this question I make out that you have not been exposed to Himalayan mountain roads- which I believe is an essential.



2. We would like to hire the bike from manali and drop it off in srinagar or leh(dont know how far we want to go by bike). Is this possible?

Thats not possible if you hire any bikes from Manali you have to bring it back or pay for someone to go to Srinagar to get it and drive it all the way back - at the most some agencies will let you drop off the bikes in Leh ( still stay clear of renting a bike in Manali)

My advise would be to go down to Leh in a shared taxi or private taxi and once in Leh if you feel comfortable you can hire bikes there ( advantage of this is that atleast by then you will have a good idea on wether you can drive in those roads or not - anways roads in and around Leh are in much better condition )



3. Are we too late this year in terms of the weather. Will the roads be unrideable?

well since you are going in the first week of October it should be okay - only worry is the access pass into Ladhak getting closed at Manali (HP) and Sonmarg (Kashmir)

On the whole you might be able to just pull it off - but have couple of days buffer incase of road clourse and weather related delays (another reason why you should avoid renting a bike and driving it to Leh)

If you are so keen and feel as if you can do it- on your return trip you can rent bikes from leh and drop it off in Manali

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devlin swain

thanks for the advice. I think now upon dimitrz advice ill just take a taxi to leh and do some shorter day trips from there on a bike if i feel comfortable. Any ideas how much that should cost by the way(the taxi)? Thanks again guys

devlin swain

oh and sorry about posting the same thing twice, i didnt know.

Dimitrz

If you take share Taxi then about Rs1200 to Rs 1800 depending upon your seat - window and front seats are towards the hirer side.

Share Taxi's usually are a cannonball run which starts around 2 or 3 am and reaches Leh by nightfall ( Pro - you will reach leh faster Con : very little chance for sightseeing , photography and stretching - also the cab might be crowded to full capacity ( 7 to 8 person depending upon the type of cab)

If you are sharing with other tourists then you might be able to break the journey at Pang or Sarchu



Private Taxi - would be totally dedicated to you and your partner should cost around Rs12000/-

labrol

If you can afford a private taxi, you will be rewarded with fabulous views along 2/3rd of your journey.
At Leh the taxi union rates are fixed. However you can ask the taxi union or even the internet cafe near Hotel Singge palace to team you up with other tourists.
I may be a bit out dated on this but for an idea. Pangong Tso is Rs.5000 same day return. Khardung La is about Rs.2500. Local monastery tour Rs.1200. These are not rue figures for thye present but give you an idea on budgeting. Nubra valley extension from Khardung la will add more. Tso Moriri was close to 10000 with night halt. food and stay not included.

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