Travelling alone by bus or shared jeep - possible?

I would be travelling alone in july..still to decide between spiti and ladakh.I can't figure out whether it's easy to travel in ladakh by bus/shared..if so then i would go for Ladakh.
I am interested in the following places-pangong tso, tso moriri, hunder,alchi and thiksey gompas.

Definitely you would get better sharing prospects in Ladakh than in Spiti but in the expense of peace and tranquility according to my experience. Spiti is just like a Ladakh but without the crowd and ofcourse the noise. Thank God Spiti doesn't have an airport yet, else it would have been messed up by now.

The places you mentioned are connected by bus and local cabs but bus timings are quite infrequent, like for Pangong, you would get a bus on Sat and Sun only, so may just be manageable but for Tsomoriri it was like funny, the bus runs on 10th/20th/30th of every month. Car can take at max 6 persons and costs are quite high, like for a Pangong round trip it would cost 6000+, so per head you have to spend 1000+ and its more for Tsomoriri, almost same for Nubra, slightly lower for Lamayuru circuit. So if you are considering the economics by sharing, do the math and see if its better in Ladakh or in Spiti.

Pangong/Tso Moriri is the reason i'm considering Ladakh,nothing else.
I would get a shared cab for pangong and alchi for sure,right? Buses dont seem to be an option at all looking at the schedule.
And is cheap accom available at Pangong and Tso Moriri?
And the same question that i asked for Spiti-which are the greener areas in ladakh? And any riverside stays? (along the indus specially).
And i would get shared cabs for Alchi and places close to leh?
And is Nubra really "valley of flowers" and worth going?

Ashwin,

Pangong/Tsomoriri is definitely worth going but as a nature lover, it may be possible you won't like so much crowd in a place like Pangong/tsomoriri, rather you would like the ambience of Dhankar or Chandratal. I would highly recommend visiting this Changthang platue but possibly in September when rush would be much less, July would be the pick of the season there.

Alchi and places close to Leh can be easily done by bus. Even if you can plan a saturday for Pangong, you can do it in bus, leave early from leh on Saturday bus and return on Monday bus (that starts from Leh on Sunday).

The link here would be very helpful for you if you want bus/shared cab details.

JKSRTC schedule's pic is also uploaded it seems.

Nubra and Tsomoriri is having homestays and you can surely get something in budget, only worry again is it's the peak season, so prices may shot up.

Nubra is worth visiting from getting a feel of cold desert than of flowers as I have seen it, not sure if in July it would be greener, but I have noticed the main green patches are along the Indus as you rightly mentioned, but accommodation availability, I am really not in a position to answer. If you like green, a trip to Suru Valley might interest you, it's on the way to Zanskar, start from Sankhoo upto Rangdum. JKSRTC guest houses are available at cheap rate but again getting public transport might be difficult.

Have a wonderful trip!!

Ashwin you have got the best advise from Priya and Kshil
One more thing that i found out to be funny about JKSRTC is that they have frequent strike and once hit by strike then no choice. Dont know whether they still have this problem or not. In contrast HPSRTC is better.
You just cant miss both the region the Leh-Ladakh and Lahol-Spiti. Both have the charm of their own it is mesmerizing.
Kshil must have cleared all your queries.
If you really want to enjoy then a humble advice to you, just do it by at least a bike if you can mountain bike or motor bike or four wheeler, any of your choice, i prefer the first two. I have done HP and JK once by mountain bike then rest times by motorbike and four vehicle. May be this season i wish to go that entire region again by motorbike, my bullet. Once again i would like to do it by cycle too.
The basic difference i found in the first two against the last one is that when you are going by the bike, is that you actually feel one to one with mother nature, you live all those lovely moments when you pass by the route which is missing when you are seated and covered on top.
This is my personal perspective, others may or may not differ, including you.

Biking would have been great...but i'll leave it for some other time.I agree sitting in a car you dont get to absorb the surroundings as much.
The link kshil gave was amazing...but do ou reall get shared taxis from leh to nubra for 300?

Finally i've made a rough plan:
day 1- Arrive by flight from delhi and rest.
2- visit shey and thiksey(how far are they and how do i get there?)
3- Go to alchi.stay.(there should be shared jeeps,right? and how much time would it take?)
4- return to leh. Or is it possible to do this in one day?Or can i add lamayuru to this plan?
5-go to hunder(how? and how much time would it take? and any other place i can add?)
6-return to leh.
7-to pangong tso.
8-return.
9-return to delhi.

IS Alchi the best place to stay besides the Indus?
And what about huge plain with snow peaks behind them? Is Hunder good enough?
Suru valley and lamayuru seem to be too far.

@ ashwinnaagar

I plan to visit Ladakh in Aug. If you can change your timing, we can team up and do the whole Ladakh circuit together.

Shey, Thikse, Alchi -- go by bus. There are not standard shared taxis for Alchi. Better to stay over there, and good to see a village and not Leh anyway. If you add Lamayuru you will be spending your entire trip in vehicles, not that much fun. Better stay in Alchi and wander round a bit. Or walk from alchi back to the highway 7 km, see the crude prehistoric rock carvings on stones in the desert on the way, and take any passing bus.

Shared taxis leave from Leh to Nubra early every morning, about Rs 400 I think. Hundar is right after Diskit and you might find a car going to Hundar; otherwise it's easy to get there, walk or find a ride, from Diskit.

Pangong, I'm not sure. The shared taxis generally go to Tangtse and maybe you'd get a local taxi from there to Pangong. Or find other Indian tourists to share a taxi with -- almost all Indian tourists in Ladakh go to Pangong so ask any that you see.

I would have loved to travel wit someone but july 1-12 is the only time when it's possible for me.If you dont mind changing to 3rd-11th july we could travel together.

NonIndianResident
While returning from all these places(diskit,alchi and pangong )will i get taxis in the morning or in the afternoon-evening?
Also alchi does not seem to be on the main road..buses would be going to Saspool,right?Then how do i get to alchi from there?
And do you think i need to visit any other place in nubra other than hunder?

I have to cut short my trip by a day..
so the new plan could be:
1-acclimatisation
2-shey and thiksey
3-alchi and back.
4&5- hunder and back
6&7- pangong and back.

Is that ok..i mean 1 day for alchi. Os should i go for this one:
1-acclimatisation
2-shey and thiksey
3-alchi
4-lamayuru
5-back to leh
6&7- pangong and back.

So it's lamayuru Vs Hunder.Which one would you guys suggest?
I also want to know how far does the bus to pangong drop? And how do i get to pangong from there?

So i've finally decided to go for the lamayuru-alchi circuit.
I need a few pointers on:
1.Buses to alchi-are there any? Or do i have to get down at sapsool/sapsul? And then look for some way to get there?How much is the distance from the highway to alchi.
IS it better to stay at sapsool or alchi?

2. How do i get to lamayuru from alchi? Will i get some transport in the morning?

3. Is lamayuru worth spending a whole day?

4.Os should just go to hunder and diskit and spend 3 days there instead of alchi and lamayuru? I guess only 1 of them is possible.

I have gone by a cab and most toruists do so but bus service seems to be there and with a village near by homestay should be possible.

Read the blog here, seems public transport (bus) is available between leh and alchi and in that case you need not spend night in Saspool. Infact the blog mentions guest house accommodations are also available in Alchi.

I have no concrete info on this but as far as I understand the public transports are mostly between Leh to different point, so if need to go to lamayuru by a public transport either you need to come back to Leh and waste a day or if you can get detail bus info and timing can comeback to main highway and get a bus to lamayuru. But better enquire in Alchi if any service jeep or such kind is availble towards lamayuru/kargil side from Alchi. But as far as I know, going to Lamayuru from Alchi directly by a public transport would not be easy.

Yes very much, the monastery is nice one and beautiful is the landscape what is commonly called as moonscape. But as you have time constraint and you want to travel by public transport, choosing either of Alchi and Lamayuru would be better for you.

Spending 3 days is a Nubra valley may be little too much unless you plan to visit turtuk apart from Hunder and Panamik. My take would be the day when you would acclimatize, check with local travel agents if you find sharing with a group who are taking Tsomoriri- Sarchu-Keylong-Manali route. That takes usually 3 days to reach Manali from leh. If you cut short Alchi and Lamayuru completely (may be taken up later when you come back from Srinagar side or during a Zanskar visit), you can easily manage a Nubra/Pangong/Tsomoriri and the best part that is Leh-Manali drive in your trip. I am not asking you to cancel your Leh-Delhi flight now, but you can do that if you find the altenatives of Leh - Manai via Tsomoriri works in share basis. I am sure in July you would find lots of car for tsomoriri and getting a shared vehicle may not be that difficult.

I would try my schedule in following way:

Day1- Acclimatization
Day2&3- Hundra back
Day4&5- Pangong Back
Day6&7&8- Tsomoriri-Keylong-Manali
Catch Night bus from Manali on Day8 and reach Delhi on Day 9 morning.

Most likely your trip would be increased by a day but it would be a more complete trip when you are going that far. But ofcourse the feasibility depends on getting a shared cab for Day6/7/8.


The bus that goes to Spangmik must go by the shore of the lake from Lukung to Spangmik. Try to get the bus that goes to Spangmik. The bus that goes to Tangtsey won't take you to lake. Last part (not too far may be an hour by car, so far I can remember) you have to arrange for some other transport.

Is lamayuru on the way to kargil? Then there would be good availability of buses/taxis,right?
I might sound funny,but where do i get these views?
http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgur...w=1280&bih=685

If i manage to get a shared cab for manali i might consider it..lets see.
And any place you would recommend for gorgeous views and good sunset/sunrise views and places having blue-green river flowing through?

Yes Lamayuru is on the way to kargil and definitely getting chance of shared car is higher.

The first view what you are refering is of Leh valley, can be seen very well from Shanti Stupa or from Thiksey Monastery. Check the snaps in the link here from Thiksey.

Second snap seems to be somewhere in Chumathang valley, if you like green, travel to tsomoriri and towards lamayuru might give you good opportunity. Nubra Valley is also having some touch of green.

Last snap is from Nimu where Zanskar and Indus meets, you get this on the way to Lamayuru.

Yes consider the drive back to Manali, from Darcha onwards the valley would start becoming greener and you would get exactly what you want, Lahaul valley is awesome!!