Leh via manali by santro car/Planning and a memorable trip

Hi;
Can any body explain to me, comprehensivly, that the trip to Leh via Manali by Santro Car with family, (wife, a child, and a driver)is a viable thought. I would especially like those to advice me who recently have been there in their own car.
Thanks
MAS

A trip to Leh via Manali by car is a great idea. A santro is not a car, though. Don't even think of getting into this in anything that is not a sturdy SUV. If you don't get stuck at the first turn, then the first bus will wipe you off the road without even noticing that you've been there. Plus, a fully loaded santro will never get you up there in the first place.

I have been to Leh on bike and own a Santro in a city. I would not recommend taking Santro on that kind of road and terrain. Its not that Santro cannot do it, issue is how much risk you are willing to take? I would rather ask you to think about going to Leh via Srinagar, Kargil which is a better road.

Though I have not visited ladhak on santro, but I have visited spiti with my santro. Road conditions are similar in both the places. I have visited up to Surajtal Lake at baralacha pass on my santro. Though u can do the trip with santro but ur car will pay heavily. Ground clearance is the only problem not the power of the car. So if u doesn’t mind rocks hitting the base of your vehicle u can do this trip.

Few things you need to keep in mind if you are planning to do this trip:

1. Drive carefully and cautiously and always be on the lookout for undulations in the road.

2. Always drive well within limits of your car.

3. Be ready to get out of the vehicle for supervision if the road is too slushy or the water crossing is quite deep.

4. Don’t think you will come back with a scratch less car, there will be few underbelly scratches and suspensions etc. will get a good workout and there will be wear and tear. How sever would depend on the age of the car, payload, road conditions and how you drive.

Apart from that, you will make it to most places without too much fight.

I personally know people who have done the Manali Leh drive in their Omni vans, but I have to go with the others who advise against low-slung vehicles. I've seen pictures of those same Omnis getting stuck in rapids running across the road (if u go, u'll know what I mean - some mountain nalas come down vertically and just flow across the road). Sometimes the depth is enuff for small tyres to be almost submerged, and none of the small vehicles have the power to drive thru. Those 2 Omnis above took a total of 1 hour to be pushed and pulled thru.
The road in the Ladakh section is a lot worse than in Lahaul-Spiti. Suraj Tal and Baralacha La roads are first-class highways in comparison.
If u cannot be talked out of going by Santro, follow Yogesh's advice closely. This is a RVO (rugged vehicles only) route.

Hi:
Recently in June, 2007 I visited Ladakh with my family in my Santro car. The Whole visite was very thrilling and full of adverntures. Almost evryone adviced me not to go in the Santro car when I asked the people on this website and on many other such sites. But, my natural instinct for some adventure pushed me to go ahead with my plan. Although, the trip was extremely enjoyable and memorable for the rest of our lives but on many occasions I recalled how correct the people were in their advice. Never go there in low ground clearance car. Particularly, with your family. In this way, too much luggauge becomes inevitable.
In addition, there are many very steep slopes and if the car stops on them it wont move ahead even in first gear. The necessity of four wheel drive car is realised on such occasions. Thirdly, the Acute Mountain Sickness, particularly in case of the children become a great concern on high passes. Sometime in night it cause too much problem. Remember, if nothing fatal happens to someone does not imply the same for all.
You can read my whole review of my trip on the following website. There are many photographs inserted in the text.
http://triptoladakh.blogspot.com
MAS

thanks for such a nice blog

Congrats for doing this trip and thanks for putting the blog. I agree with you that Jozilla seems to be more formidable than Manali-Leh road, though most of the times people only talk about Manali-Leh as difficult one.

Dear Abhay,
Thanks for your appreciation.
M.A. Suhail

Thanks for sharing the thrilling experience.

MAS, thanks for sharing this. It's a amused trip.

I know the Zojila is worse when compared to Manali-Leh Road but Zojila is for few kms while for Manali-Leh road, entire stretch from Manali to Sarchu is in extremely bad condition. So you can't actually compare Zojila and Manali-Leh.

Manali-Leh is indeed more tough than Zojila.

Hats off for doing this trip. I met a similar family from Rajasthan who have been driving around hills for 13 years in a modified Maruti Zen with 2-3 kids. I met them before Zojila when the road was being cleared by bulldozer.

Dear bfk,
In my review article I have mentioned the reason why Zojila is more dangerous as compared to Manali-Leh route. Please, go through it and then let me know whether do you agree with me or not.
http://triptoladakh.blogspot.com
Thanks
MAS