Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Yeah.. You could do Leh-Nubra(wherever you drop anchor)
and then next day (wherever you drop anchor)-Pangong (using Wari La or Agham Shyok route)

Also, saw your dates. I would advise you not to be anywhere near the Kashmir valley on 14th/15th Aug this year. This year the valley has been angry and you could easily lose a day or two due to any untoward situation. In case your dates are frozen - stick to main highways and preferably not do pahalgam. My thought is that pahalgam is primarily a diversion from Anantnag. In case there is some protest you could be holed up there for a day.
Alternatively, If you stay in a prominent hotel on the outskirts of Srinagar - atleast you can make an exit before any stone pelting/curfew situation and also cross Ganderbal quickly.
Best would be if you can reach Sonmarg on 14th (2.5 hours ahead of Srinagar. Jammu to Srinagar is around 8/9 hours)

Apologies if I sound a bit dramatic. We faced some scary situations this time so would want others to be extra careful

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Mik as of now your itenirary looks perfect f
to me . I am trying to squeeze in Nubra as well since I have around 16 days and I will be flying back from chandigarh instead of Delhi .

Thanks again.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

You will get accommodation, but the situation can get pretty crazy sometimes (hopefully not anymore).
As you said, start for Srinagar on 16th.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Alternatively I may start riding at sunrise on 15th and head to Pahalgam spend the night there and then start riding towards srinagar on 16th , the idea is to avoid srinagar on 15th as there might be protests etc . On 16th I can head towards Srinagar spend some time at Dal lake in the morning and head straight to sonmarg . From 17th onwards I can follow my usual itenirary. Does it sound good ?

15th jammu-pahalgam
16th pahalgam -sonamarg
17th - sonamarg -kargil
18th- kargil - rangdum
19th rangdum -padum
20th padum - rangdum
21st - padum kargil
22nd kargil - Leh
23rd - leh
24th leh - nubra/hunder via Khardungla
25th nubra - leh
26th leh - pangong/spangmik
27th - pangong - hanle
28th - Hanle- Tso moriri ( if possible)
29- 30 -31 reach chandigarh

This is just a tentative itenirary .
I am not sure which route to take and what to do on the last 3 days . I will be flying back on 31st from chandigarh.

Please let me know how feasible this itenirary is , I dont want to rush to places , I dont mind skipping a few if I have to Enjoying the journey is the priority.

Thanks
Tariq.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

I hope that you have a great trip up north. I would like to tell somethings my friend told me who just got back yesterday.

1. It is obvious that u'll be carrying spares but there is one specific part that u must carry. It is the wiring harness. Apache have a single electrical harness and if one of your components got short your bike will come to a standstill. My friend also took an apache and had a shot luckily he was in mandi and got a replacement but you don't take risk.

2. There are heavy rainfall in the keylong region so plan your trip accordingly and the road was also closed two days back due to landslide.

3. If you are carrying a DSLR well enough if not then go to a mechanic and get a bike charger installed as battery drops 2% EACH KM after rohtang.

And my condolences to a rider who died in front of my friend's eyes who lost control in a stream and went downhill

I hope you have a safe journey and mesmerizing memories.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

So, no chance of getting accomadation in Srinagar on 15th ? In that case I will arrive jammu on 15th and start riding on 16th morning .

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Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Make it 16th or 17th.. As on 15th Aug, Kashmir valley will be closed (security bulls**t) and you would be reaching Srinagar in the evening.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Thanks Nadeem , I am riding from Jammu on 15th August, will surely check the situation before leaving.

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Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

The situation here in J&K is a bit tensed right now. Today is strike in Jammu and in Kashmir also, there was strike for 2-3 days continuously. This is due to the incident at Baltal (Amarnath Yatra stop-point)
People going through this route should first confirm the situation before coming.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

15-16 ex Jammu are pretty sufficient for entire Ladakh circuit if everything go well.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Looks good , Thanks Mik .

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Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Jammu- SRI
SRI-Kargil
Kargil-Rangdum
Rangdum-Padum
Padum-Kargil (Long day)
Kargil-Leh
Leh-Khardung La - Leh and time pass around Leh -- (Dropping Nubra tentatively -- Compared to Hanle etc Nubra is not that awesome)
Leh-Pangong
Pangong - Hanle (Permits are an issue as of now. Lots of people being stopped)
Hanle - Tso Moriri
Tso Moriri - Tso Kar - Pang
Pang - Koksar/Keylong
Keylong/Koksar - Mandi/Bilaspur
Mandi/Bilaspur-Delhi

14 Days! If all goes well. If it doesn't just keep dropping a few places here and there. Most riding days are only 6/7 hours. So you can easily recover time in case you lose a day somewhere.

Hi Nagoo . thanks for your suggestion and concern I did take rains and all other unforeseen situations into consideration, I have decided to give it a go. I know passing zojila and rohtang would be daunting task but I am up for it . I am hoping I wouldnt face any problems in Ladakh but then you never know and thats the beauty of it all . I cant wait till september its gonna get colder. So mid of August is what I have decided. I have been on many solo rides,including a 3000 kms round trip from Kolkata to Bhutan ( you may check out my travelogue ) but still Ladakh is a different ball game alltogether . Lets hope for the best

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Hi mik , I dont think riding from kolkata is a good idea , if I had enough time in hand may be I would have done that . I would want to be in the best of physical conditions for Ladakh, So
I would be riding from Jammu .
17 days including travelling from Kol- Jammu ( flying) and Delhi- Kol ( Rajdhani)

I havent prepared any itenarary yet, will write down a rough one , I dont like sticking to an itenirary , thanks to so many people who have done the ride , we have so many iteniraries and maps with distance and time avaialable.So grateful to all these people who took our time to do it.
So I would have around 15-16 days from Jammu , what do you say ?

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Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

17 days from Kolkata or from Jammu ? Maybe if you post your researched tentative itinerary, that can lead to better answers. Hanle/Tso Moriri/Pangong/Zanskar are all unmissable if you have the time. All of these places should be covered comfortably in 17 days if its a Delhi-Ladakh-Delhi trip. Also, don't be too stuck up on a very tightly coupled plan. Nature is freaky and you never know where you lose time. You can easily drop/add places on the fly. No reservations are required and places to stay abound at all major tourist points. Just have all the info in place and ride safe. Have a great trip :-)

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

sorry to disappoint you here, but i advice against it.
first of all you said your planning solo ride, which always risky [in case any breakdown/accidents], and august as said by gentleman above is peak rainy season.
there will be lot of landslides and you might miss your planned days or even some of the areas such as pangong lake will be blocked.
riding in cold wet is not much fun in that high altitude.
as per me best time is june/july as almost all places are accessible.

so if possible postpone it to june/july else if you really wants to go then take care of your planned days and even worst condition in to consideration