Travel tips in Ladakh

My 2 daughters are travelling to Ladakh for 3 months from end Feb 2006. Any travel tips on how to get there from Dharamsala at that time of year? No-one seems to know when the road from Manali opens.

The road will definitely not be open in February. Usually doesn't open till late May or June. Almost all guidebooks explain this, so I'm surprised you haven't seen it. You'll have to fly in from Delhi or Chandigarh. And it will be quite cold in Ladakh if you are arriving in February. What are you planning to do there for 3 months?

yes, I know what the guidebooks say, it's just that I have been told that our clinic will go overland from Dharamsala to Leh via the Manali road. That's why I was confused.
I'm going out as a guest of the Tibetan Gov in exile as a medical volunteer, although at the moment we may not be going at all as there is a lack of BCG vaccine in the UK and my children haven't yet been immunised. Ridiculous that the hospital suggested I get it done in India:
1. because it takes 12-16 weeks to be effective
2. because my job will be working to immunise local children against TB

Anyway, still having fun deciding where to go in the time off.

Are your kids required to have the BCG vaccine because you'll be working around people who have TB? Will the kids be exposed? Who is requiring that your kids get the innoculation? The TGIE? The Indian Govt? UK?

What department of the TGIE is sponsoring the clinic? They should give you some more travel particulars - there's just no way they can be planning on taking you over the Manali-Leh road in February!!! I can't believe it! There must be some misunderstanding. Maybe they plan to take you to Chandigarh for a flight, or maybe they have a charter flight going out of the Kangra airport at Gaggal???

Do you have your Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj accommodations yet? What kind of place are you looking for? The best "high end" place in town, in my opinion, is Chonor House, run by the Norbulingka Institute (check out the website at www.norbulingka.org - it has info on Chonor House), which is wonderful but may cost a lot more than you want to spend. Pema Thang is also nice but it's also not a "budget" place. Actually, I've never stayed at any inexpensive "backpacker" type places in McLeod Ganj, so I can't make any recommendations for budget accommodations there. If you're traveling with your kids (ages?), you might want to stay at a somewhat nicer place anyway - especially one where you get your own bathroom!

What about accommodations in Leh? I hope the clinic is providing you a place to stay - and that it has heat! Will you be staying in Leh itself or in the Tibetan settlement?

All in all, it seems like a weird time of year to bring someone in to do an innoculation clinic, because it's going to be so damn cold!

Being a Road traveller myself and after covering up most of the roads in himachal - I do not see any way for you to go across to leh at end of Feb'06. Roads at this time of the year are disconnected from the rest of the country. At the most you can do is to take a flight and spend your time and come back the same way.
But since you are with kids I will personally suggest you to keep yourself exploring the places in and around himachal pradesh - there are beautiful places to go to. I dont thing any of the roads to leh will be open before April-may. Though the Army does all the effort to open the roads as early as possible but still it takes enough of time to clear those loads and feets of Snow...

If you are staying longer then you possibly might have an option of going to leh via Jammu\Srinagar highway, But still not before April\May if it opens any sooner.

Happy time in India
-birdie-

Roads to Leh Via manali are open during June as it all depends on the kind of snowfall that happens in winters.

Usually roads are accessible to leh via Manali by month of June.

You probably never should have sent the Dali Lama's representative a check

Personally, I want the girls to be immunised against TB as the chances of exposure where we will be (and at the school they will go to at TVI) will be about 90%. Actually, about the same as living at home here in Tooting!
I didn't think Dharamsala was that much colder than here at the end of Feb -5 at worst. Depends what you're used to. We have cold and wet rather than crisp cold.
If only I had the money to send the TMAI a cheque!
Budget is all I can afford, I won't be paid and will be funding the trip by writing articles for UK newspapers and posting them back via internet.
I did try the Chonor house but they haven't replied to my email yet. TMAI keep telling me they can't book til Jan. but I'm anxious to have an address before I leave as we arrive on the 26th Feb and it's bound to be heaving.
The Leh part of the trip is a bit odd, I agree. I think I made the mistake when I originally replied of saying I'd like to go there. Still looking for accommodation there as I don't know what our itinerary is yet. I think that's a case of wait til I get to Delek.

So, I'm confused now. Is the immunization clinic in Dharamsala or Leh? Dharamsala won't be much colder than England in Feb - probably pretty similar weather, actually, cold and grey, damp and maybe snow - you'll feel right at home! When I said it would be extremely cold, I was talking about Leh - a very different story from Dharamasala. Leh is more like North Dakota or the Canadian prairie (or Antartica!!) Very dry cold and -30 or - 40 Farenheit not unusual. Those conditions, plus the high altitude can make breathing difficult. Some people have enough trouble with the breathing even when it isn't bitter cold. I'm also confused about where you plan to spend your three months - mostly in Dharamsala or mostly in Ladakh. From your first post, I thought you were just briefly visiting Dharamasala and then moving on to Ladakh, but now I'm not sure. And what is "TMAI"? Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute?

Some other guesthouses in Dharamsala you might try: Kongpo Guest House, Kashmir Cottage, Cheryton, Ladies' Venture. Some Tibetan friends of mine lived long-term at Kongpo Guest House in the 90's while working in "Dhasa." Kashmir Cottage is owned by the younger brother and sister-in-law of the Dalai Lama. I thought you were going to be in Dharamsala for Tibetan New Year and then moving on to Leh toward the end of February, but if you aren't going to be arriving in Dharamasala till February 26, that will be after Losar this year, so there probably won't be that much trouble finding a place to stay (unless the DL will be giving a teaching at the time). If you can afford it and your budget will cover it, I wouldn't give up on Chonor House. It's really a great place. Lots of their rooms have three beds and would be perfct for a mother and two kids - check out the website I gave you. The "Wild Animals of Tibet" room is a sunny room on an upper floor and has a balcony looking out toward the Dalai Lama's main temple complex and is very cozy!

I thought Losar was 27th Feb this year? That's what I was told by Delek and TMAI!
We arrive in Dharamsala on the 26th, spend New Year and the first 3 weeks there and then move on with the clinic to Ladakh. Flights from Chandighar (after much pushing on my part following the earlier post). Apparently I'll get more details (like if they still need me?!) when I turn up at Delek on the 26th!
I will try phoning around today for acommodation and plan B - another hospital in the area that might need me.
I guess we can just take a holiday if it all goes pearshaped.
thanks for all the info.

You're right about the date for Losar this year (and TMAI would know!) I had been told by someone that it was going to be the end of Jan and early Feb this year, but that was wrong - oops!

I know someone who has a cousin who is married to a doctor at Delek Hospital and will try to get the name for you and will PM you. Even though you already have "contacts" there it might not hurt to have more of a personal "in." I'll also send you some more names, 'cause I know someone at TIPA and some people at the Norbulingka Institute. Since you'll be in Dhasa for 3 weeks you'll have plenty of time to sightsee and hang out. Visiting the Norbulingka Institute is a "must" and they may also need/want an immunization clinic. Also, Dolma Ling Nunnery is right next door to the Norbulingka Institute and might also welcome some medical attention. I have a contact there, too, as well at at the Upper TCV School. We can PM about all this.

If you want to get a "flavor" of what it's like in McLeod Ganj - a picture that goes beyond the usual stereotypical tourist view - I recommend a book called "Echoes from Dharamsala" by Kiela Diehl - she's an ethnomusicologist at Stanford University and lived in McLeod Ganj for about a year researching the role of music, especially contemporary music, in the Tibetan exile community and the book is a fascinating picture of life there.

I'm glad you got the info about the flight from Chandigarh - sheesh! You'd think they would have told you that already! I have a good guidebook on Ladkah somewhere around here but the name and author escape me at the momet. I'll dredge it up and send you the info. It's really a trekking guide, but it has good, detailed general info, too. It'll still be cold in Ladakh in March, but what the heck, it's such a fascinating place and you'll be seeing it out of tourist season!!! Mountaingirl and vistet, who are amoung our most eminent IM Ladakh experts, have some really good posts on Ladakh on this site - check them out!

hello
ladakh in feb
BRRRRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
i was ther in sept and it was cold then 2 do keep us posted when u reach ther in feb !!!
provised u get and internrt connexiion !!!!!!!!!
all the best
regards
saajan

I didn't think the immunization was effective. I was warned off of it as it would generate false positives on tests..

the BCG is effective in children, which is why the WHO is trying to get all children immunised against it. It is far less effective in teens/adults, which is when it is usually given in the UK.
Hep B gives a positive result if you have been immunised against it (which I have been told can cause problems with healthcare work in the USA), don't believe that TB does.
Good news is that after a 250 mile round trip (twice!) they are now both immunised and we now have to wait the 8 weeks for the vaccine to become effective. Just in time, phew!

Well, as has been said, the passes won't open till June at the least.

Ok, answering the other part of your question -- how to get from Dharamshala to Ladakh (specifically, Leh!)...

You'll have to take the road down from Dharamshala to Mandi (via Palampur, Baijnath, Jogindernagar...). Once at Mandi, turn north, heading towards the Kulu valley. That'll take you all the way to Manali.

From Manali, cross the Rohtang pass, pressingon to Leh via Tandi, Jispa, Darcha, Sarchu, Pang. etc. this in itself is a two day trip at the least; expect the onset of HAS on this lap.

Have a safe trip.

nevilleb

Neville Bulsara
Travel and documentary photographer