Manali Leh mega post!

natasha chanda acharya

Disclaimer

#The word "spectacular" and "stunning" wil make appearences in my post with as much frequency as "amen" in the Bible. Please excuse.
#The distances are mostly accurate, plus or minus 1/2 km. here and there.
#The post reflects my personal preferences and perceptions. If they don't agree with you, please excuse.
#All money estimates are in Rupees. no apologies.
#All accounts are subject to - a. It applies for the months of Jun to August. b. I am Indian. If there are places which quote higher prices for foreigners, I wouldn't know.


My road map

Day One - 9 Aug - Chandigarh to Shimla - Total: 110km
Chandigarh to Panchkula - 12km, Panchkula to Kasauli - 36km,
Kasauli to Solan - 29km, Solan to Shimla - 33 km.

Shimla is charming. There is no other word for it. We arrived late,
fog shrouded mall was beautiful. There are hill stations and there are hill stations, and most of them are the same anyways, but Shimla has that something special and heartwarming with it's mall and christmas trees and colonial hangover.

Day Two - 10 Aug – Shimla to Manali - Total: 277km.
Shimla to Bilaspur - 81km, Bilaspur to Mandi - 86km, Mandi to Aut - 41km, Aut to Kullu - 29km, Kullu to Manali - 40km.

Give in to the temptation of stealing apples from the trees
and digging your teeth into them. Buying Kullu Shwals and Kullu caps are a must. More important - Apple wine, peach wine, Orange wine, and all other concievable wines made by the local industry. (Unfortunately HMPC is not that hot. Try other brands) Try and find an spot where you can treck down to the Beas and dip your feet for a bit.

Day Three - 11 Aug – Manali to Sarchu - Total : 226km
Manali to Rohtang - 60km, Rohtang to Keylang - 52km,
Keylang to Baralacha La - 82km, Baralacha La to Sarchu - 32km.

If you are going in June / July / Aug - there is no need to hire overcoats and snow boots and all that jazz. (Thankfully I didn't, but a lot of murgas did) Please! End of Myth one: It is not cold there this time of the year. There is always some amount of snow, but trust me, it's not cold. The mountains are beautiful. "Simply" enjoy.

Day Four - 12 Aug – Sarchu to Leh - Total : 171 km.
Sarchu to Tanglang La - 62km, Tanglang la to Rumtse - 29km, Rumtse to Upshi - 31km, Upshi to Karu - 13 km, Karu to Thikse - 17 km, Thikse to Leh - 19 km.

Spectacular! There is no other word for it. The greens dissapear totally and desert crawls in. The mountains are stoned, most of the drivers in that region are stoned, and in case you are not, just pray frantically that the driver doesn't fly off the cliff at the next bend. But more often than not you will be too distracted by the beauty around you to worry about your life.

Day Five – 13 Aug - Leh to Lamyuru & back – Total both ways: 200 km
Leh to Saspol - 55km, Saspol to Lamyuru - 45km & back to Leh.

Another spectacular drive. Zanskar meets Indus. At one point the mountain is split and the two cliff sides are so close together, light barely manages to reach the ground. Totally fascinating. I thought moonscape was a little hyped, but everyone in my car ooohed and aahed so I guess, it's good. But the landscape is stunning. It does feel like you could be on a different planet.
Lamyuru monastry is beautiful. You can fit in Alchi and Likir into a day trip along with lamyuru. Do not forget to pluck peaches from the trees this time. Trees laden with peaches and the most beautiful apple cheeked kids looking up to you and smiling. Out of this world.

Day Six - 14 Aug – Leh to Nubra & back – Total both ways: 260 km (approx)
Leh to Khardung La - 50km (approx), Khardung La to Hunder - 80km (approx), & back to Leh.

Double humped camels in Diskit won over the hot spring of Panamik. Wrong choice. There are a total of four sad looking undernourished camels waiting to be pictured by all tourists making a 120 km trip just to see them. The landscape is just as spectacular as the rest of Ladakh, nothing out of the ordinary except... At one point you come across nature's freak. There is desert, not just barren rock face, but actual sand (stone chips mixed with river silt) just beside the streatch of sand runs the river Shyok?? on the other bank is green pasture ground, beyong wich are rock faced mountains capped with snow. So in one frame, you have it all, sand dunes, river, grassland, and snow peaked mounains. Amazing. Don't forget to take pictues at Khardungla. And buy keychains and penstands with "highest motorable road in the world" writen on them for all family and friends.

Day Seven - 15 Aug - Leh to Pangong & back- Total both ways:260km (approx)
Leh to Thikse - 19km, Thikse to Karu - 17km, Karu to Pangong - 100km (approx) & back to Leh.

pngong has been much talked about and all of it is true. It is beautiful. endless aquamarine in the middle of a golden mounain desert. Spectacuar. Only the "endless" bit doesn't really hit you. You just know that it so bloody long and goes into China, you can even see Chinese peaks from there, but the enormity of it doesn't hit you. It could have been a reservoir and you wouldn't have known the difference. But all said, stunning.

Day Eight - 16 Aug - Leh to Sarchu – Total: 170 km
Leh to Upshi – 50 km, Upshi to Tanglang La - 60,
Tanglang La to Sarchu - 60.

Bidding goodbye to all. The highest morotable road in the world, some of the highest passes in the world, the most beautiful women in the world, the most adorable children in the world, the amazing dedication of Border Roads Organisation, and the Indian Army, some of the most hilarious road signs, peach laden trees, stoned drivers and most of all the most spectacular mountains in the whole wide world.

Day Nine - 17 Aug – Sarchu to Manali - Total: 226km.
Sarchu to Keylang - 114km, Keylang to Manali - 112km.

No, More Plains has not shrunk in width from the time you saw it last.
No, Himachal has not suddenly grown extra trees and grass and become greener in the time you were away.

Day Ten - 18 Aug – Manali to Chandigarh – Total 330 km.

It's a lost cause now. Anything below 10,000 feet cannot be considered a mountain anymore. they are hillocks for kids. Oh, look at that little waterfall falling into the Beas. Whatever! What the **** is taking so long to reach Chandigarh?


Warnings

Steer clear of presumptious advise givers.
"You will feel sick at such a high altitude" - Not true. Well, as true as "Don't cross the road, you will be run over by a car!"
"you cannot drive 300 kms of mountain roads in a day" - Not true
"Have garlic. It helps with altitude sickness" - Maybe true but you don't want to burp garlic all day. Trust me on this one.
"On your way from Chandigarh to Shimla - see Pinjore gardens and Timber Trails" - ?? If I am going to Leh, What makes you think I will be interested in Rope ways and Rose gardens? Give me a break!
"it is freezing. Prepare for sub Zero temperatures" - Anytime between May to August - not true. I didn't even wear a wollen most of the time I was there.
I am not asking you not to carry wollens. Weather is unpredictable. But on an average, It's like winter in Calcutta.
"Local Leh tea (pink and buttered) is delicious." Yeah, sure, over my dead body.

Suggestions for High Altitude preparedness.

My father in law is 65 years old. My mother in law is 58 years old. My hubby is 34. I am 30, overweight, have a narrow wind pipe, I choke even if I laugh too hard, I pant like a dying dog after climbing a flight of stairs. I am, in short, extremely unfit. NOTHING HAPPENED TO ME EVEN AT 18380 FEET! What effected me during the trip much more than altitude was overpowering deisel fumes. That's something I have been averse to since childhood. You don't have a choice, though. Most vehicles there are deisel run.

Anyway, so moral of the story, don't worry. You are definitely not going to die of breathlessness up there. There are however a few simple things that you should take care of. 1. Don't go galavanting around the place. Take it easy. Try and minimise your movements. 2. Don't eat too much. Don't eat at all, if you are not hungry. 3. Drink lots of water. 4. Keep sucking on candies to prevent your throat and lips from drying up. 5. Breath softly and easily with your mouth open.

IF you DO feel breathless at any time, wash your face, drink water, and sit still for a few minutes. You will be as good as new.


Must Carry on this road trip.
(the operative word in this region is "DRY")

1. Sunblock - (In India Biotique has SPF 75)
2. Moisturiser - heavy duty
3. Shampoo & conditioner
4. At least one camera roll for each day - if you are trigger happy
5. half the clothes you planned
6. double the money you've budgeted
7. common medication
8. water and candies
9. shades and a hat
10. a positive attitude


My Accomodations

Shimla: Hotel dreamland (500/-)

Manali: Beas Hotel (HPTDC) (500 - 700)

Sarchu: There are approximately 3 to 5 luxury tent camp units. 1000/- to 3000/- inclusive of dinner and breakfast. They have attached toilets and very comfortable beds and quilts.
There are 3 to 5 economy tent camp units. 500/- to 1000/- inclusive of dinner and breakfast. They have a common toilet in one corner and fairly comfortable beds and quilts. Stayed in the luxury ones while going - very nice. and the economy ones while coming - fairly decent. All these tents are on the same stretch of road within a 1 km area, after crossing the bridge at Zing Zing Bar. Beyond this there are dormetory like matresses on the floor in Dhaba tents in Pang for much cheaper. Probably 50 bucks a bed. I don't know.

Leh: Wisdom Holiay Home (500 to 700/-)
The hazzard of staying here, of course,
is that you will fall in love with a little girl called Stanzin.
She is the most amazing child that I've ever met.
Thanks, Vinay, for recomending the place.


The hire vehicle Mystery Unravelled

1. From Manali to Leh / Leh to Manali. (with night halt at Sarchu)
Do not try it in one day. It is totally life sapping and just not worth it.

Standard rates as of 2005: of course, subject to bargaining capacity.

Hire full vehicle - seating capacity 6 to 9:
6,000 to 8,000/-

Pay for seats only in vehicle - seating capacity 9 to 10:
Front seats beside the driver (2)- 1500 - 1200/-
middle seats (3 to 4) - 1200 to 1000/-
seats at the back (4) - 1000 to 800/-

Bus tickets:
800/- per person.

2. DAY TRIPS from Leh. (Yes, they can be done in a day. I not only did it, but had enough energy left in the evenings to shop with my MIL in Leh like headless chickens!)

The rates are fixed. Ask to see the Taxi Union rate chart.
If the vehicle is organised by your travel agent or by the hotel you are staying in, they will arrange for at least 10% discount on the printed rates. If you are negotiationg for the vehicle yourself, again, they will agree to a 10% discount on the chart rates. The rates apply for hiring the entire vehicle not individual seats.

Tips: Rather than depending on Travel agents to get you Inner line Permits, you can walk up to the DC's office and get it yourself. Takes all of 15 mins and is free of cost. Do not forget to carry ID cards, and a few passport size pictures.

(I am giving approximate rates)
Leh to Lamayuru with Alchi and Likir on the way and back: 3100/-
Leh to khardungla + Diskit & Hunder and back: 5000/-
Leh to Khardungla till Panamik and back: 5000/-
Leh to Pangong Tso and back: 5000/-
Leh to Tso Moriri (night halt at Karzok) and back: 6-7000/-

All possible permutation combinations are there as to where you want to go and how many days you want to spend there. It's all there in the rate cards. Wanted to Xerox it and bring with me, but finally didn't get around to it.

Road conditions

Excellent: tarred roads without undulations
very good: tarred roads with undulations
good: tarred roads with potholes here and there
average: tarred roads with potholes here and there and there and there
bad: loose stones or dirt roads
very bad: no road visible. Make your own road.
Terrible: Can only fly to that place!

Shimla to Manali - very good
Manali to koksar (After Rohtang) - good
Koksar to Keylang - bad
Keyland to ZingZing bar - good
ZingZing bar to Sarchu - very bad
Sarchu to Leh - very good
Leh to Lamayuru - very good
Leh to Hunger - very good
Leh to Pangong - very good

Beyong Pangong - Spangmik etc... : very bad (anyway tourists can't go)
Upshi to Mahe to Karzok: Don't know
khalsar to panamik: don't know but probably very good
Tso Kar to Karzok - When you are coming from Leh, there is a signboard 30-40km before Pang on your left which goues to Tso kar. The first 10 km is a dirt road but flat and decent the the rest of the road is tarred.


My thrills

1. The mountains, more mountains and more mountains.
2. Khardung la - the highest motorabe road in the world.
3. Beautiful women, adorable kids
4. the only other indian tourists in all of 10 days were more bengalis!
5. Driving through water falls on mountain roads
6. tight roap walking (actually metal bars) to cross the broken bridge over Indus at ZingZing bar
7. Taking short cuts, nose diving through the mountains between loops.
8. praying to God when the stoned driver was sleeping through his drive.
9. Stumbling on mountain dears near Alchi. Totally out of the blue. Amazing.
10. Chasing wild horses in More Plains. (Can't wait for the pictures to come!
And YES, they WERE wild.) It's THE high point in my life till now, with elephants in Waynad coming next.


My lows

1. Shopkeepers don't give you the time of the day unless you are a foreigner
(There is a tourist rate and there are normal rates for everything)
2. Food. Was it just me, or the food in Leh is nothing to write home about. I was so looking forward to momos but even they were stinking.
3. couldn't make it to TSO MORIRI
4. my camera roll ran out just after I took 3 shots of the wild horses running. Couldn't take more shots.
5. couldn't make it to panamik
6. couldn't make it to TSO MORIRI
7. didn't have time for river rafting / para-gliding
8. soumya didn't get to "drive"
which was the entire reason for planning the trip in the first place.
Moral of the story: Go in your own car or get F***** or Fleeced or all things F'ed.
9. couldn't make it to TSO MORIRI
10. couldn't adopt Stanzin.

Three cheers!

1. Border Road Organisation
2. The Indian Army
3. The copy writer from Border Road Organisation for the impossible road signs. after reading through many like "Darling, I like you, but not so fast"
we decided the best prize had to go to "Don't be a gama in the land of the lama. Take it easy!"

Ideal Itenenary for the RUSHED road traveller to LADAKH:

Day one: Manali to Sarchu
Day two: Sarchu to Leh
Day three: in and around Leh (optional)
Day four: Leh to Lamayuru & back
Day five:Leh to Panamik & back
Day six: Leh to Pangong Tso & back
Day seven: Leh to Karzok
Day eight: Karzok to Leh
Day nine: Leh to Sarchu
Day ten: Sarchu to Manali
(OR - if not on own vehicle - on day nine: fly back from Leh.)

You can expend on these days according to the time you have on hand.

Last but not the least
thanks, dhananjay, mountain girl, Alan D, Vinay and all the others for helping me plan this trip. Thanks a ton! You guys are the best.

Paagla Dashu

Lovely post! So thats where you were!

What do you mean by "Soumya did not get to "drive" which was the entire reason"......???????

Rob_The_Pom

Cool post! I'm glad you enjoyed what I consider to be one of the most beautiful and incredibly parts of the whole world.

But, care about the comments on altitude and altitude sickness please. I've had to rush a friend down from 3400m (lower than Leh) to 2800m because he became extremely sick and had spent the whole night vomitting solely due to the altitude. If we had not taken him down I'm fairly certain he would died the following night - his condition was deteriating very quickly.
Equally, another friend one the same trip didn't have even have a headache. It can be different for everybody.

Cheers

RTP

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natasha chanda acharya

Thanks, Rob the Pom. I agree it differs from person to person. I also have a feeling it depends on which time of the year you're going there. Winters I'm sure are much more difficult. Also, as I said, you have to be economise activity to prevent it from happening in the first place. Last but not the least, a positive attitude really helps.

PD, hi again. Yes, thats where I was. "Aabar aami aashichi phiriya."
Soumya has driven in himalayan rallies before. This time we couldn't take our car, can't lug it all the way to manali from Bangalore, so we were hoping to convince one of the car hire guys to let him drive, they agreed initially, but finally it didn't work out. There is obviously a huge difference between driving yourself thru those spectacular roads as opposed to back seat viewing.

steven_ber

Great thread Natasha.

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somnath

Excellent tour and a great post!!!!
Thanks for such a detailed post, road map and distance, fare, accommodations almost everything is covered.

3. couldn't make it to TSO MORIRI
6. couldn't make it to TSO MORIRI
9. couldn't make it to TSO MORIRI
- Never mind, tso moriri is not going away. We are waiting for the photographs, Natasha.

And regarding high altitude sickness, it is unpredictable. Physical structure or fitness like a gymnast do not matter there, it is something else. You have a nice experience in high altitude but precaution must be taken before you start. Anyway, waiting for the next part and the pix.

- Somnath

ddutta

Excellant post Natasha.

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freemanx

might change my plans now and head to the mountains instead of going to the south

thanx a lot Natasha for this great post

ona

Interesting post. Agree with Rob about altitude sickness. We spent 1 night at Tso Moriri (4 400 m) and the altitude affected both of us - short of breath, slight headache, irregular heart beat at times and just a general uneasy feeling. And that was after we'd been in Leh for a few days, plus travelling there from Srinagar (3 days).

I've read afterwards that it's best not to increase the altitude at which you sleep by more than 300m per night. That's probably why we were feeling fine during the day - it was only the night that was a bit too much.

lonelyaztec

Nats,

I have waiting for this post.

Nice one.

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Bigzero

Wonderful post, natasha! you broke a few myths there, makes it much more accessible to a sit-in-a-chair-all-day-and-no-exercise guy like me!

hoping to hear more interesting anecdotes from you!

cheers

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MeCasa

Very nice and a good sense of humor

SHIMLA

I agree ! And there's far more to it than just the Mall and Ridge.

Shimla gets into your blood and never leaves !

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natasha chanda acharya

Thanks all you guys!
I got my pics!!!!!!!!!
Now someone tell me how to upload them!
BigZero helped me upload the Hampi pics.
This time I have to do it myself!
The scan was Reeeeeeeeeealy sad!
So its all very gainy!

machadinha

Go via Front page >Photo Gallery >Upload Photos >[Follow instructions].

There are limitations to (byte) size of your pics; using a tool like Paint Shop you can trim them down to size. What I do (in Paint Shop Pro) is open picture then >Save as >Save as type: Jpeg/Jfif compliant* >Options >[adjust compression factor here until you have the right size. Save. Check the size in your folders and repeat the process until you get it just right]. If the dimensions as such are still too big I go via >Image >Canvas Size** >[adjust to appropriate dimensions, save again]. Will work differently in other photo editors but you get the idea. Hopefully. Your editor's help file will normally offer some instructions.

*You can use other formats but with my limited knowledge I've found using Jpeg gives the best resolution and size ratio. I.e. a Bmp file for instance will be much bigger by default.

**Resize is another option but you have to know the exact dimensions ratio and I don't. Canvas size will mess with the proportions however. Anyway this only pertains to including pics in messages I believe, see next post further down.

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