What is this about?
Unlike usual blog posts, this is structured as an FAQ. I figured it would be more convenient for the readers to only go through whatever is relevant. It's easier for me too as there's a lot of information, which is quite difficult to structure properly. Even if I managed to do that, it would end up being a small-sized novel.
Great, but what is this blog post about?
Three of us embarked upon an ordeal, starting from September 14th to October 7th, 2019. The blog title mentions the major places we visited in our 7000+ km journey. Noteworthy is that we drove from Hyderabad to all those places and back, entirely in our own very dear car, Ford Figo (2012 model, diesel, titanium).
Pictures, please.
I thought I'll select a few but ended up with around 700 :) Here you go - enjoy.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WUuuuKTamSfMTZ6V8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WUuuuKTamSfMTZ6V8
Where were your night halts?
Narsinghpur MP, Sarahan, Kalpa, Nako, Kaza (2), Losar, Sissu, Leh (2), Hunder (2), Leh (2), Amritsar (2), Ludhiana (2), Sonipat, Agra, Narsinghpur MP.
P. S. The number in parentheses indicates the number of nights.
Complete details of the trip?
https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2019/10/details-of-kinnaur-spiti-ladakh-etc-trip.html
Complete details of the trip?
https://anandmiitm.blogspot.com/2019/10/details-of-kinnaur-spiti-ladakh-etc-trip.html
Which were the major attractions you visited?
That's a really long list! Assuming an average of about 2-3 per day, it comes to more than 50! To name a few that come to mind:
Few temples (Sarahan's Bhimkali, Jammu's Raghunath, Devi Talab, etc.), monasteries (Nako, Tabo, Dhankar, Komic, Diskit, Thiksey, etc.), gurudwaras (Amritsar's Golden Temple, Leh's Patthar Sahib, etc.), forts (Agra fort, Zorawar fort, Gobindgarh fort, Leh Palace, etc.), museums (Sri Krishna Kurukshetra, Hall of Fame Leh, Partition Museum Amritsar, Kurukshetra Panorama, etc.), lakes (Nako, Pangong Tso, Brahma Sarovar, etc.), high altitude passes (Kunzum, Zojila, Khardungla, Changla, Tanglangla, Barlacha, etc.), shopping in markets (Kaza, Leh, Ludhiana, Jammu, etc.) and several other attractions such as Taj Mahal, Hunder sand dunes and camel ride, Panamik hot water spring, Attari-Wagah border ceremony, Jallianwalabagh, etc.
Did you skip any places which you had planned to visit?Few temples (Sarahan's Bhimkali, Jammu's Raghunath, Devi Talab, etc.), monasteries (Nako, Tabo, Dhankar, Komic, Diskit, Thiksey, etc.), gurudwaras (Amritsar's Golden Temple, Leh's Patthar Sahib, etc.), forts (Agra fort, Zorawar fort, Gobindgarh fort, Leh Palace, etc.), museums (Sri Krishna Kurukshetra, Hall of Fame Leh, Partition Museum Amritsar, Kurukshetra Panorama, etc.), lakes (Nako, Pangong Tso, Brahma Sarovar, etc.), high altitude passes (Kunzum, Zojila, Khardungla, Changla, Tanglangla, Barlacha, etc.), shopping in markets (Kaza, Leh, Ludhiana, Jammu, etc.) and several other attractions such as Taj Mahal, Hunder sand dunes and camel ride, Panamik hot water spring, Attari-Wagah border ceremony, Jallianwalabagh, etc.
Yes, of course. Few which I remember we skipped were Chandratal, Gyu mummy monastery, Hanle, Chushul, Turtuk, Dha Hanu, Khangsar palace, Gemur monastery, Gondhla Fort, Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, Spangmik, Yarab Tso lake, etc. The list may seem long but we were expecting to drop a few places at the beginning of the trip itself. The ones which we're really concerned about were Chandratal and Tso Moriri since we tried our best to accommodate them in the plan. Also, we thought of going back via Rohtang-Manali route, but since we proceeded towards Jammu, we could visit Amritsar and other places in Punjab in the time saved. We also managed to visit the Taj Mahal (my second time, the previous visit was 10 years ago).
Which high altitude places did you visit?
Several! Post office in Hikkim, Restaurant in Komic, Petrol pump in Kaza, Motor-able road/pass in Khardung la, Monastery in Komic, Wildlife sanctuary and gompa in Kibber, Pangong Tso lake, etc.
How were the roads?
Treacherous in Lahaul and Spiti valley region. Otherwise somewhat okay. The roads were terrible at all high altitude passes, Chang La Pass being the worst. There was a notice board at the side of a road in Spiti Valley saying we were driving on the world's most treacherous road. That wasn't wrong at all. It was really bad. To give a sense of how bad it was, it took us 10 hours to travel from Losar to Gramphoo, which is a distance of about 80 km. I wouldn't even call that a road. It's just a dirt track, as many vehicles went that way and created a path.
What about the vehicle?
A vehicle with good ground clearance would be preferable, and we were traveling in one of the most unsuitable vehicle (Ford Figo) on that route. In some places, people and animals were going/walking faster than us. Even with such slow speed, we scratched and bumped many stones (easily a few hundred times, as we once saw the under-body of our car to check for any issues) even at an average speed of less than 10 km/hr. We had to replace one of the shock-absorbs since it was completely leaking. The most terrible roads in Hyderabad are far better than the roads there.
Which vehicle would you recommend in the Himalayas?
Based on what we had observed, Bolero is the best. Otherwise, any SUV with good ground clearance is fine, such as Innova, Pajero, Isuzu, Thar, Creta, etc. If that's off-budget, then any low-end Maruti Suzuki car such as Alto, 800, Swift, WagonR, etc. should be fine, but I'd recommend at least a compact SUV such as Duster, Ecosport, Brezza, etc. If you have enough patience, any vehicle will do. Ours is the best example! Without patience and good driving skills, even the best vehicle will have a tough time. Having an understanding of the vehicle and excellent driving skills is most important. You need to travel at the right time of the year too.
Have you seen others facing any problems with their vehicles?Yes, of course.
A Maruti 800 had broken down on their way up to Zojila pass. Apparently, they needed engine oil. We wanted to help but we did not have any spare, so we apologized and moved on. I realized later that they most probably were not getting their vehicle serviced regularly.
An Ecosport was stuck in the sand somewhere on the way from Nubra valley to Pangong Tso. They tried to avoid going on stones by going into sand. We advised them to go in reverse, back onto the stones. However, since the vehicle was not moving, either way, we advised them to wedge stones on both sides of the tires. With that and manual push, the vehicle was back on to stones. We passed on the Gyaan given to us by the uncle in Horcho Guesthouse to never go on sand.
A lorry was stuck on a pin bend on their way up to Kunzum pass. I thought they were over-confident since one of its tires was stuck between boulders half its size. We were stalled for more than half-hour because of them.
And there were several times we saw vehicles parked at the side of roads. It just shows how difficult the terrain is.
How about your experiences? Did you get stuck anywhere?
No, but I recall 5 difficult incidents we faced.
The first one was just after Kalpa on the way to Nako. There was an active ongoing landslide. It was not how I imagined a landslide would be. Small stones were rolling down from the left. However, it was slow and random. A person, perhaps army, was clearing the way. He had to not just clear but also flatten the path when he saw our car since he perhaps realized we have lower ground clearance. We showed him a thumbs up thanking him for the assistance.
The next one was on the same day, on the same route. We had to drive over a huge heap of gravel. I suspect we lost a mudguard there because of the flurry of stones hitting it.
Perhaps the most difficult water crossing, between Kunzum pass and Gramphoo. The water had cut through the path, so we had to drive 3 feet down, navigate lots of stones in running water, and then drive up a steep 3 feet again. Luckily a few people from other vehicles who were also crossing that path helped us.
Perhaps the next most difficult water crossing was Bharatpur Nala. It was a long stretch of loose stones, so we had to negotiate carefully. Luckily there was no water flow, so it was not as much of a challenge. A few people from other vehicles helped and guided us get past it.
Finally the worst. Chang La Pass. Our car was stuck, unable to move forward on the way up to the pass. It was very steep. Even after the other passengers had got down, arranged stones to reduce the slope, etc. the car didn't have enough power to move forward and climb up. Thankfully, a couple of people from a truck nearby got down immediately noticing our situation and pushed our car.
Overall, we faced issues due to lower ground clearance rather than anything else. I too got down a few times to clear the way. Our slow speed between Losar and Gramphoo was partly because of the time we took to clear the path.
An Ecosport was stuck in the sand somewhere on the way from Nubra valley to Pangong Tso. They tried to avoid going on stones by going into sand. We advised them to go in reverse, back onto the stones. However, since the vehicle was not moving, either way, we advised them to wedge stones on both sides of the tires. With that and manual push, the vehicle was back on to stones. We passed on the Gyaan given to us by the uncle in Horcho Guesthouse to never go on sand.
A lorry was stuck on a pin bend on their way up to Kunzum pass. I thought they were over-confident since one of its tires was stuck between boulders half its size. We were stalled for more than half-hour because of them.
And there were several times we saw vehicles parked at the side of roads. It just shows how difficult the terrain is.
How about your experiences? Did you get stuck anywhere?
No, but I recall 5 difficult incidents we faced.
The first one was just after Kalpa on the way to Nako. There was an active ongoing landslide. It was not how I imagined a landslide would be. Small stones were rolling down from the left. However, it was slow and random. A person, perhaps army, was clearing the way. He had to not just clear but also flatten the path when he saw our car since he perhaps realized we have lower ground clearance. We showed him a thumbs up thanking him for the assistance.
The next one was on the same day, on the same route. We had to drive over a huge heap of gravel. I suspect we lost a mudguard there because of the flurry of stones hitting it.
Perhaps the most difficult water crossing, between Kunzum pass and Gramphoo. The water had cut through the path, so we had to drive 3 feet down, navigate lots of stones in running water, and then drive up a steep 3 feet again. Luckily a few people from other vehicles who were also crossing that path helped us.
Perhaps the next most difficult water crossing was Bharatpur Nala. It was a long stretch of loose stones, so we had to negotiate carefully. Luckily there was no water flow, so it was not as much of a challenge. A few people from other vehicles helped and guided us get past it.
Finally the worst. Chang La Pass. Our car was stuck, unable to move forward on the way up to the pass. It was very steep. Even after the other passengers had got down, arranged stones to reduce the slope, etc. the car didn't have enough power to move forward and climb up. Thankfully, a couple of people from a truck nearby got down immediately noticing our situation and pushed our car.
Overall, we faced issues due to lower ground clearance rather than anything else. I too got down a few times to clear the way. Our slow speed between Losar and Gramphoo was partly because of the time we took to clear the path.
Which were the longest stretches you drove?
14th September, Hyderabad to Narsinghpur MP. 800 km, 14 hours.
15th September, Narsinghpur MP to Sarahan HP. 1350 km, 28 hours.
22nd September, Losar to Sissu. 100 km, 12 hours. An unforgettable one.
22nd September, Losar to Sissu. 100 km, 12 hours. An unforgettable one.
29th September, Leh to Jammu. 700 km, 17 hours.
7th October, Narsinghpur MP to Hyderabad. 800 km, 15 hours.
It seems like you didn't sleep a couple of nights? Did you drive that all by yourself?
Of course not! My Cousin brother, Karthik, drove a few stretches. However, I drove from Delhi onward until we reached back to Delhi. Karthik drove the Yamuna Expressway from Agra to Delhi and back. He also drove a few stretches in Telangana, MP, and UP. So he drove a few times in the first 3 days and last 3 days. I slept in the back while Karthik drove, which was how we managed to go the distance on the second day without halting. In all, I would have driven about 6500 km and the remaining 600 km by Karthik (this is an approximation and obviously not 100% accurate).
You shouldn't have driven so much. Wasn't it hectic and frustrating to drive on such roads?
Thanks for your concern. But I preferred doing this. We considered going with a travel agency and even got a quotation. However, I would like to have the freedom to pick and choose, keep budget in complete control, customize on the fly, go to places as per our schedule/convenience, and most importantly not have to depend on someone else (driver, agency, etc.). I like to drive too. I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed the trip if someone else drove (based on some past experiences). So it was very a conscious decision.
Were you scared?
Of what? Driving in the Himalayas? Ghat roads? Narrow stretches along mountains? High altitude passes? Slow driving? Terrible roads? Difficult weather? No. It was actually fun. I believe my driving skills have improved due to this trip. Also, people are extremely helpful in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, so there's no need to be afraid.
Weren't you affected by the recent Article 370 change?
That only mattered in the Kashmir valley. That is, from Sonamarg to Anantnag, via Srinagar. We traveled through that stretch in the night as advised by several people. One person in the tourist office in Leh suggested we touch Srinagar at 2 AM, and absolutely avoid Kashmir valley at any time of namaz. Apparently, due to curfew, there were incidents such as stone pelting since people had nothing to do. We were also warned not to cross Sonamarg in the morning due to landslides and rolling Stones. That's why we planned our journey the way we did. The mistake we did was to not make a hotel reservation in Ramban.
How was the weather?
Normal until MP. Rained a few times till we reached Agra. Then normal until Chandigarh. Raining till Solan HP. Cold from there onward until Srinagar. Coldest in Losar, the night temperature was around -4 C. Then hot and humid from Jammu to Nagpur. Raining again in Telangana.
Which was the best food you had?
Butter Chicken, in “Baba Chicken” restaurant in Ludhiana. Every other butter chicken we had until now in our life is nonsense.
There are several other foods we liked. Few noteworthy ones are Amritsari Kulcha, Momos in Ladakh, Chaat in Agra, etc.
What about the availability of food?
At a bare minimum, Maggi is available almost everywhere. It's pricey but understandable given the situation. Except for a very few places, there were no issues finding restaurants that served hot or fresh food. Taking packaged food for just 2-3 days would have been sufficient but we carried 3 bags full that we brought back. There were people traveling with almost no luggage, indicating that there's no dearth of places to eat, rest, etc.
Did you suffer AMS, aka altitude sickness?
Not really. We gradually gained altitude, so we weren’t affected. However, we had one victim among us due to high sensitivity to altitude. Also, we all experienced minor nose bleeds a few times but it wasn’t serious. We took Diamox on days we were going above 4000m altitude.
How did you prepare the itinerary, hotel bookings, etc?
We didn’t plan much in advance. We just went with the flow, ad hoc decisions, etc. We roughly knew which places we wanted to visit and the route. Thanks to my friend, Kalyan, in providing us the outline, route plan and most importantly boosting our confidence that it’s possible. We went through several blogs, YouTube videos, etc. for details. Google Maps was our constant companion. Offline Maps was our savior. We always had a full plan for the next day at least, if not the next few days.
How did you pick and choose the places, restaurants, etc?
We almost entirely relied on Google maps ratings. Not the rating itself, but the number of ratings. For example, the Taj Mahal had more than 160000 ratings, Amritsar's golden temple had more than 82000 ratings, etc. We chose restaurants too in a similar manner. Kesar-da-Dhaba in Amritsar had more than 12000 ratings, for example.
Didn't you face any phone network issues? Such as no signals and/or internet?
Yes, of course. Only the BSNL phone network worked in Lahaul Spiti valley. That too only in large enough villages or towns. Airtel postpaid worked in Leh. Otherwise, there's no signal in Ladakh. All networks were fine from Punjab onward. Only phone calls worked in most places, i.e., mobile data was not functional. Having a BSNL postpaid connection would have been ideal for this trip. Jio was laying cables, so perhaps in a year's time, Jio too may have good connectivity.
How about luggage?
We were over-prepared. We took too much food (biscuits, chocolates, muesli, flakes, protein bars, dry fruits, etc.) but didn’t complete even one-third of the stock. We also took sleeping bags, Jerry Can and a few other items which we didn’t use at all. We ended up cramping ourselves with overflowing luggage in the rear seat since the boot was full. Those items might have been useful in case of emergencies but luckily we didn’t face any.
How much did your trip cost?
Leaving out shopping and other personal expenses (such as donations in temples and monasteries) it cost us about INR 1 Lakh in total, i.e., 35k per head, (including fuel, food, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses such as entry fees, tickets, etc.). That's for the entire trip. The quotation we had got from a vendor earlier was a similar amount, but for a week! So we definitely saved a lot by traveling on our own, although it wasn't our primary intention. We got to know later after our tour that taxis generally charge more after a trip by charging customers for additional expenses even for unforeseen circumstances or overtime (which is almost always the case) - for example, someone who was quoted INR 9k for 2 days had to pay 17k because they extended by a day due to bad weather.
Would you go again?
Unlikely we'll go to the same place again since I generally try to visit places I've never been to before. But if you meant whether I would drive in the Himalayas or challenging roads, then I wouldn't mind. I enjoy an adventure. However, we would perhaps plan better next time and travel in a different vehicle.
Did you keep GPS track of your journey?
No. This should give you an idea of our route
What next?
Don't know. First, we'll sell the car and buy a new one. Perhaps replace the bike too since it's now 9 years old. But no plans or even any thoughts until mid-2020. We've been reviewing BS6 models in the first half of 2020, starting from basic Brezza to top-end Harrier.
There are typos/mistakes in this blog post.
Please inform me about any corrections, I'll try to promptly update them.
It seems like you didn't sleep a couple of nights? Did you drive that all by yourself?
Of course not! My Cousin brother, Karthik, drove a few stretches. However, I drove from Delhi onward until we reached back to Delhi. Karthik drove the Yamuna Expressway from Agra to Delhi and back. He also drove a few stretches in Telangana, MP, and UP. So he drove a few times in the first 3 days and last 3 days. I slept in the back while Karthik drove, which was how we managed to go the distance on the second day without halting. In all, I would have driven about 6500 km and the remaining 600 km by Karthik (this is an approximation and obviously not 100% accurate).
You shouldn't have driven so much. Wasn't it hectic and frustrating to drive on such roads?
Thanks for your concern. But I preferred doing this. We considered going with a travel agency and even got a quotation. However, I would like to have the freedom to pick and choose, keep budget in complete control, customize on the fly, go to places as per our schedule/convenience, and most importantly not have to depend on someone else (driver, agency, etc.). I like to drive too. I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed the trip if someone else drove (based on some past experiences). So it was very a conscious decision.
Were you scared?
Of what? Driving in the Himalayas? Ghat roads? Narrow stretches along mountains? High altitude passes? Slow driving? Terrible roads? Difficult weather? No. It was actually fun. I believe my driving skills have improved due to this trip. Also, people are extremely helpful in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, so there's no need to be afraid.
Weren't you affected by the recent Article 370 change?
That only mattered in the Kashmir valley. That is, from Sonamarg to Anantnag, via Srinagar. We traveled through that stretch in the night as advised by several people. One person in the tourist office in Leh suggested we touch Srinagar at 2 AM, and absolutely avoid Kashmir valley at any time of namaz. Apparently, due to curfew, there were incidents such as stone pelting since people had nothing to do. We were also warned not to cross Sonamarg in the morning due to landslides and rolling Stones. That's why we planned our journey the way we did. The mistake we did was to not make a hotel reservation in Ramban.
How was the weather?
Normal until MP. Rained a few times till we reached Agra. Then normal until Chandigarh. Raining till Solan HP. Cold from there onward until Srinagar. Coldest in Losar, the night temperature was around -4 C. Then hot and humid from Jammu to Nagpur. Raining again in Telangana.
Which was the best food you had?
Butter Chicken, in “Baba Chicken” restaurant in Ludhiana. Every other butter chicken we had until now in our life is nonsense.
There are several other foods we liked. Few noteworthy ones are Amritsari Kulcha, Momos in Ladakh, Chaat in Agra, etc.
What about the availability of food?
At a bare minimum, Maggi is available almost everywhere. It's pricey but understandable given the situation. Except for a very few places, there were no issues finding restaurants that served hot or fresh food. Taking packaged food for just 2-3 days would have been sufficient but we carried 3 bags full that we brought back. There were people traveling with almost no luggage, indicating that there's no dearth of places to eat, rest, etc.
Did you suffer AMS, aka altitude sickness?
Not really. We gradually gained altitude, so we weren’t affected. However, we had one victim among us due to high sensitivity to altitude. Also, we all experienced minor nose bleeds a few times but it wasn’t serious. We took Diamox on days we were going above 4000m altitude.
How did you prepare the itinerary, hotel bookings, etc?
We didn’t plan much in advance. We just went with the flow, ad hoc decisions, etc. We roughly knew which places we wanted to visit and the route. Thanks to my friend, Kalyan, in providing us the outline, route plan and most importantly boosting our confidence that it’s possible. We went through several blogs, YouTube videos, etc. for details. Google Maps was our constant companion. Offline Maps was our savior. We always had a full plan for the next day at least, if not the next few days.
How did you pick and choose the places, restaurants, etc?
We almost entirely relied on Google maps ratings. Not the rating itself, but the number of ratings. For example, the Taj Mahal had more than 160000 ratings, Amritsar's golden temple had more than 82000 ratings, etc. We chose restaurants too in a similar manner. Kesar-da-Dhaba in Amritsar had more than 12000 ratings, for example.
Didn't you face any phone network issues? Such as no signals and/or internet?
Yes, of course. Only the BSNL phone network worked in Lahaul Spiti valley. That too only in large enough villages or towns. Airtel postpaid worked in Leh. Otherwise, there's no signal in Ladakh. All networks were fine from Punjab onward. Only phone calls worked in most places, i.e., mobile data was not functional. Having a BSNL postpaid connection would have been ideal for this trip. Jio was laying cables, so perhaps in a year's time, Jio too may have good connectivity.
How about luggage?
We were over-prepared. We took too much food (biscuits, chocolates, muesli, flakes, protein bars, dry fruits, etc.) but didn’t complete even one-third of the stock. We also took sleeping bags, Jerry Can and a few other items which we didn’t use at all. We ended up cramping ourselves with overflowing luggage in the rear seat since the boot was full. Those items might have been useful in case of emergencies but luckily we didn’t face any.
How much did your trip cost?
Leaving out shopping and other personal expenses (such as donations in temples and monasteries) it cost us about INR 1 Lakh in total, i.e., 35k per head, (including fuel, food, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses such as entry fees, tickets, etc.). That's for the entire trip. The quotation we had got from a vendor earlier was a similar amount, but for a week! So we definitely saved a lot by traveling on our own, although it wasn't our primary intention. We got to know later after our tour that taxis generally charge more after a trip by charging customers for additional expenses even for unforeseen circumstances or overtime (which is almost always the case) - for example, someone who was quoted INR 9k for 2 days had to pay 17k because they extended by a day due to bad weather.
Would you go again?
Unlikely we'll go to the same place again since I generally try to visit places I've never been to before. But if you meant whether I would drive in the Himalayas or challenging roads, then I wouldn't mind. I enjoy an adventure. However, we would perhaps plan better next time and travel in a different vehicle.
Did you keep GPS track of your journey?
No. This should give you an idea of our route
What next?
Don't know. First, we'll sell the car and buy a new one. Perhaps replace the bike too since it's now 9 years old. But no plans or even any thoughts until mid-2020. We've been reviewing BS6 models in the first half of 2020, starting from basic Brezza to top-end Harrier.
There are typos/mistakes in this blog post.
Please inform me about any corrections, I'll try to promptly update them.
More details, please.
Please let me know what more info you need so that I may provide the details and further expand this blog post.
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