Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Jitu, the roads have opened in june itself and will mostly be open till october (if the weather god doesnt have any plans otherwise ). also, one of my friends is currently riding to Leh and will be back by july 7th. He is going to give me the update on roads and weather. Lets just hope that our luck doesnt ditch us and we should be comfortable riding there in July.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Hello brother, I'm also planning to ride this July, from Nagpur to Leh. But many riders said that roads will be mostly closed due to snow. What's your plan?

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Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

thanks for the info that gives me some confidence

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

For distances and prospective times taken for this route refer to this


As far as fuel goes - last week we were able to get petrol in limited quantities in Sumdo (10 liters) We didn't check any other shop as the 10 liters sufficed for us. As per other tourers, petrol is also available in Pang.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

any one has done the leh--pangong tso--tso moriri--tso kar--leh route?? any information on the total distance and fuel availability would be of great help! thanks in advance

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

We traversed the Manali Leh route on bikes from 15th to 16th.

Manali - Marhi -- leave early or get stuck in jam
Marhi - Rohtang top -- Awesome
Rohtang top - koksar -- some minor slushy/gravelly patches and a few water crossings. Nothing challenging.
Koksar - Tandi -- Awesome with a few bad patches only.
Tandi - Keylong -- One water crossing which seems to be there every year. Was fun!
Keylong to Jispa -- Awesome roads apart from some initial bad patches.
Darcha to Patsio -- Initial bad patches (dusty) and a few minor water crossings. On the 390 I barely slowed down on those patches.
Patsio till Baralachla -- Good roads.
Baralach la to Sarchu -- This has definitely deteriorated compared to previous years. Bad roads.
Sarchu to gata loops - Awesome!
Gata loops to pang -- Bad patches which test the nerve. One major water crossing on kangla jal which was again fun on two wheels. 4 wheelers will have to be careful.
pang to tanglangla base -- Super roads
Tanglang la base to top -- Gravel road but one can easily do 50-70kmph.
Tanglangla to leh --- Marked improvement over previous years. Awesome roads.

Leh - Srinagar (21st/22nd)

Leh to Mulbekh --- Super roads.
Mulbekh - Kargil -- Some gravel patches which are primarily there due to road widening.
Kargil - Drass -- Absolutely heavenly road.
Drass - Zozila base -- Lots of bad patches.
Zozila -- Bad but nothing a bike cannot deal with. Be ready for some edge of the cliff action too if you want a quick getaway.
Zozila - Sonmarg -- Initial bad roads leading to nice n easy good roads.
Sonmarg - Srinagar -- Nice roads with very few bad patches.

I think that if you start early from Leh and don't plan for an extended stop at the Drass war memorial -- 1 day is good enough to reach Srinagar. Our riding time on this stretch (Leh to srinagar outskirts) was a total of 9.5 hours (This included a major traffic jam at Sonmarg. Add your breaks to this timing. Pace was reasonable)

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

how do you plan to send your bike to delhi? me and my friend are riding to ladakh in july end. was concerned about the bikes transportation from bangalore to delhi. private transports charge a lot and train is obviously a gamble when it comes to the bikes safety (physical damage). but still, i know i will have to chose either of the 2 options. so, which one would be better?

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same here my friend and i are planning to ride to leh in july end. travelling from bangalore to delhi by train. leaving from bangalore on 25th july and plan to start the ride from 27th july. would be taking the manali-leh route and return via leh srinagar highway. will be covering places like pangong lake, nubra valley, tso moriri, sonmarg, gulmarg, dharamsala and amritsar. its going to be a 3 weeks trip. would you guys like to join?

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

No need for metal sump guard just be careful when negotiating bad roads .
public transport does not offer adventure and will not stop on the way for photos.
be in your limits dont exced speed , ride carefully ,no thugs or robbers in spiti u will find nice people there particular after shimla. plan your rides in such a way to finish up in hotel before last sunlight. yes spiti can be done 1000rs but consider your stay options like pwd rest house or guest house u will find few good cheap hotels as well.carry enough cash because after rampur only ATM is at KAZA that too works only 3 months in a year. we were stuck at KAZA due to this ATM and had to transfer money through westernunion from me to myself .
All the above suggestions are from my personal experience on LEH and lahaul spiti ride.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

I know this is not quite the right place to ask this question, but i guess its better to ask it here than to start a new thread.

I am planning a solo ride to spiti valley in the coming weeks with 14-15 days in hand.
I own a ktm 390 and have been to jalori pass and munsiyari on it.
I have a few quick queries :

1. Do I need a metal sump guard ? I already have a ceat vertigo tyre at the back, which performed quite well in munsiyari.
2. Is it a better idea to go by public transport, considering that I want to create amazing pictures there, more than anything else.
3. Any tips for riding Solo as this will be my first solo ride. ?
4. And can spiti be done with thousand bucks a day budget ? excluding fuel.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Thats awesome news Thanks for updating Saquib bhai

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Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Latest update guys

Permits for Chushul and Marsimik La is readily available.
So one needs to carry some valid documents to show the Indian Nationality for places which are free from permit list and for above 2 places Permits are easily available.

A word of caution all riders should get a form, which has details like Name, Bikes No, DL number and Address of biker on that document.
Do keep multiple of copies of it and be ready to submit it at checkposts whenever ITPB guys ask it. Else you will be returned back(happened with 2 guys this time).

Courtesy fellow xbhpian who is on his ride.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Sarchu to Manali is one of the most scenic route you have on the entire Leh circuit.. Take as much time as you can for this and you still won't be disappointed..
Enjoy the Leh circuit, you can always visit the other places some other time... Just a thought..

All the best for your ride..

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

HI Jeevan

1) You can do Srinagar-gulmarga-sopore-kupwara-lolab-spopre-srinagar easily in One day including sight seeing food breaks and normal uncalled breaks with time needed to travel through these places and road and traffic conditions. For Bandipora and Mansal Lake I cant suggest as I havent been there but for that you will have to take internal roads and cant comment road conditions and how the terrain will be. But why do you wanna go Bandipora??? Sorry but i didnt found anything special there

2)Sarchu To Kasol all depends how you cover Sarchu to rohtang pass foot and rohtang pass foot to manali.
Sarchu To Jispa is like road on gravel and foot marks of tyres. The most time consuming pasrt of the route. Jispa to Keylong to Rohtang Pass is very breezeful and you will cover it very easily.
Now comes the Rohtang Pass. If you are lucky enough then you may cross it over easily in 3 hours max and an hour more to reach Manali.
Kasol is 75kms ahead and you may easily proceed there. But ya now roads will be good but daily traffic would be too much.

3)Same suggestion what Narendarji has given to you.

As mentioned All depends on how much time do you take to cover Rohtang Pass. Because by the time you reach Rohtang Pass you will be bit tired with the offroad section and then uncertain weather and terrain conditions of Rohtang.
If you are lucky enough then you can proceed to Kasol from Manali which is 75kms ahead of it. Be clear with directions while entering and exiting Manali.

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

I wanted an offbeat place and not a touristy place as I plan to spend a day here just lazing around So I planned for Kasol, I will probably decide based on the rain and time factors on the break point.

Can you please let me know on the travel time to Kasol from Manali and the road conditions so that if I have to stop at Manali, I can head to Kasol the next day?

G1

Re: Getting Leh'ed - 2014 Planner

Aim for breaking your journey at Manali and if you are able to cross Rohtang mess and reach Manali before 5-6 PM,you can still try to reach Kasol.
Its all depends your stamina and road condition at the moment.
But I believe Aug first week is a peak monsoon season and rain may delay you.
Prepare for any unseen delay.