Manali to Leh

Going to India this summer, for 3 weeks.
I have thought of going from Manali to Leh in the end of June, but my guide books says it's not possible until mid July.
Does anyone have expirence with going this route earlier than mid July?

you may find this thread useful:

all about ladakh

I haven't travelled this route, but this year the Rohtang Pass opened far earlier than usual, so I suppose it will be possible to use this route at the end of June.

This link provides some interesting information on travel by car between Manali and Leh:

http://http://www.indiacar.com/index.../drv_sep01.htm

There is no easy answer to this question - it all depends on the weather.

If it's a heavy monsoon the road can close at any time. The section between Manali and Kyelong is the most exposed to heavy rains and whole sections of the mountainsides can slide.

There's a possibility you may be stuck in Manali for a few days while the road is being cleared. As you have only 3 weeks this could be a frustrating experience. You can either chance this or fly into Leh.

HI,
Unusually the road opened very early this year ..... so it is possible to go to leh from Manali however as reported three days ago the bridge at Darcha has broken and will take a month and a half to get back ... however they are using the old bridge and charging 200 rups to cross that on jeep .....so i guess no buses right now .... by end june I pray it should be back in place ....
agora

Thanks for that information agoramaniac - it looks as if travellers won't be faced with having to make the decision about whether to take a bus or jeep to Leh in the next few weeks.

not my picture (I have never travelled to Leh by bus) but gives you a pretty good idea what the journey looks like:

one bus at a time, please!

Wow. Fantastic picture. I want to go to Leh....but after seeing that photo I may have cold feet. I'm not sure if I would feel safe on such a road.....anyone have any statistics of buses falling off the mountains...or would it just be mine that would be the first. Who has taken the bus??? Was it really like that ALL the way?

Very good picture, thats exactly how it is. In 2001, I made this trip by jeep in the last week of May, and in 2002 in the first week of June, but as Alan says, it all depends on the weather. I don't know anything about the bridge.

greatest journey you'll ever take...Period!
Get yourself on the roof on top of the bags wrap up well and lie back. ...Simply phenomenal the landscape the road the burnt out truck at the bottom of a similar hillside the comaradrie

56 hours of pure delight and a sore a**e a couple of rolls film new friends and a lifetime experience ...Priceless

BTW Great pic Volga ... I really need to get the scanner working to post some of my pics of this route ...

I complea agreetly with Bryan about it being the greatest journey, nothing else I have done is in the same category! I did the trip last summer and it made for many of the best and worst moments of my trip. I will never forget looking down a cliff and seeing that exploded petrol lorry or when we scraped the cliff on one side and a petrol lorry on the other while passing.

Anyone have photos of sunrise at Keylong, Sarchu or Darcha?

Yes, the Darcha bridge is gone and there is a landslide near Zingzingbar.

I don't know about the old bridge - but the jeeps are being towed across the river by tractors - if you are prepared to dole out some cash. If the towline breaks then your jeep will be filled with water - another day wasted!

Mr. Andersen, if you ask me - a 'safe' period is between 15 June to 05 Sep - before and after which the road is a bit unpredictable. However don't let that deter you from taking this fascinating trip!

You will always remember the trip if u have an extraordinary incident - isn't it?

Yes great picture volga_volga.
Brought back memories of how even the road upto Manali once looked in places.
I was going there one time and there had been a landslide, quite a long stretch of road had slipped away, the buses going up drove up as far as they could, passengers got off with their luggage and then had to scramble up the side of the mountain, across above the landslide, and down to the other bus which had come down the valley, it reversed/turned around and the journey continued,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DianeN, there are flights to Leh from Delhi, Jammu and Chandigarh; so you can still make it even if you want to avoid the road.

this is my picture now, not from Himalayas, but taken at a place where Seven Years in Tibet was filmed:

uspalata valley

there i had my first driving accident, accelerated too much on the descent. if the speed had been a fraction too high there would have been no volga_volga on this forum

i think the main risk in the mountains is slippery road.