Nubra valley to pangong road; reality or myth?

i am eager to hear from any first hand user of the said 'Nubra valey to pangong lake road. There are conflicting reports about whether its open or not.

thanks in advance.

myself have not done the route but recently some rider friends have done it... will get more info from them asap... but yess the route is open

I did that route more than a month back. Not for faint hearted. And now I have heard that it has been washed off.

thnx SA, i was indeed referring to you that you have done it recently over to you

According to a reliable info on another forum, the road has been washed off for a considerable length, and it is less likely that it is going to open for this season at least.

i was planning to do this route in early September but since it has been washed away its highly unlikely it will be repaired in a months time as i am not sure if this road has any strategic importance.

what vehicle you are planning on taking there ?

i ride a pulsar 220.

If you are doing it solo, I would not recommend it. Make sure you have 2-3 riders with you, and have adequate back or spare parts and rations.

Nubra to Pangong route does exists.
Actually there are two routes.One is via wari-la and the other route is via shayok.Route gets seperated nearby Agham.
But these routes are complete nightmare.
Wari La route i am not that sure.But i have done the Shayok route recently in June.Which is all bolders..sharp stones and sand.This route cuts from Dubruk junction and ends at agham.

If you wanna know more about this route.Feel free to ask.

Cheers
Biru

Hi Beruoist,

Would appreciate any details on this route. Will be traveling with my in-laws (60 +) my wife and two kids (11 and 13) in one jeep around the 26th of May. My contact in Leh tells me the route is open and should be fine this early when snow-melt hasn't happened. We plan to go from Nubra directly to Pangong Tso. The 5-6 hour route you mentioned would be just perfect.

Thanks in advance.

Do double check with Agham-Shyok route, Biru was one of the few luckiest person who was able to manage the route, the route opened just last year only and opened only for the month of June. On July 1st week, I knew a person who tried and found completely wahsed out route and since then the route was closed for the rest of the year. It's expected they would start the route again this year.

The greatest advantage is you don't have to pass through any high pass like Khradungla/ Warila / Changla and can reach from Nubra to Pangong in 5/6 hours but it's even a nightmare for local cabs and they normally don't want to take this route as it's very unstable, all sharp rocks/boulders, very less frequently travelled and extremely slideprone.

Wari La is more reliable but would take almost double time between Nubra and Pangong.

@Holi - I would not recommend it, not with family. That route is for hardcore enthusiasts and adventure seekers, the probability of something going wrong is very high.

The safest option is to Go back by Khardungla, as there is enough traffic and support there.

Hi Shashank and Kshil,

I guess the message is pretty clear. I suppose I'll get a better idea once I am in Leh and talk to the cab guys. You are right, doesn't seem worth the risk with family with me. Unless I hear some extremely positive things in Leh, I intend to stay clear.

Holi you are spot on, it's the best approach to talk to the cab driver and if they recommed, don't hesitate to go, couple of my friends with families has travelled this route in last June without any issue, there are much worse mountain roads you would find in North Sikkim or Arunachal, Agham-Shyok is much better comparing them, best part is it saves your time. But again don't push the drivers if they don't want to go. I have a plan to cover this stretch in end Sep this year and with my family and again the strategy is same, would listen what the driver would suggest. Don't go with any postive or negative bias on the route.