Manali-Keylong-Leh or Leh-Sarchu-Keylong-Manali?

serengeti256

Hello,
I am off to Leh in a week and am having a tough time deciding between the two trips to or from Manali. I want to spend a day at Sarchu so am leaning towards the return leg when I'll be properly acclimatised after spending a week or more in Leh. Any ideas are welcome!

Also,
Is it difficult to get Leh-Manali buses and jeeps compared to Manali-Leh?

swamis1971

Either route is possible as buses are there.

Manali-Leh would be better recommended. But then choice differs. Technically there is no issue.

Acclimatisation need to be done at Manali if going Manali-Leh.

Either ways you lose out time, as if you fly into Leh, you end up wasting 1-2 days in acclimatisation.. so you could do so in Manali/enroute as well

Yogesh Sarkar

If you are planning to take the land route for going to Leh and coming back, then for acclimatization purpose I would suggest Srinagar - Leh and on the return trip, Leh - Manali.

In case you are planning to fly in/out then my suggestion would be to do the Manali – Leh route and then fly out of Leh.

As far as buses go, you won’t face any problems. J&KSRTC and HRTC have regular bus service between Leh - Manali.

__________________
My Travelogues | My Blog | Ladakh Travel Guide

vistet

Well , I´ve never had any problems getting out ... they run in both directions , and you can step off where you like. Getting on a jeep from Sarchu is not something I would count on , though, they tend to be packed with people going all the way to Manali. Count on using a bus from there.



Starting acclimatisation in Manali is ok , but of limited value : a single night in Keylong is worth a lot more than any number of days in Manali... and will not make you feel good but less worse if you get snagged around the high sections of the road , between 4000-5300.Not too uncommon , I´ve been in that position twice

As for the concept of wasted days , the only days I feel can be described as wasted are the days you feel wasted - and the solution to that seems fairly obvious : stick as close as possible to safe ascent rates , and you have the best shot at making every day count.

__________________
high road to ..