Kashmir & Ladakh

[Vaufi]

Anybody been out there lately? I reckon the Kargil - Leh - Manali part should be safe. But who has recent information about the Srinagar - Kargil stretch?

[ilesmark]

We drove Leh-Kargil-Srinagar in Nov 2007. Can't add much apart from making sure to check on the traffic times going over Zoji-La. It's controlled by the Indian Army and is open going 1 way for 12 hours, then the other for the other 12. If you get there at the wrong time, you'll have a long wait!

[ssa2]

Well we just flew out of Leh on the 31st. of Aug. so I guess that is pretty fresh. We rented in Manali and then drove the Spiti valley from Manali in a counter clockwise direction to Kullu, Recong Peo, Nako, Puh, Tabo, Kaza, Keylong, and then up to Leh. The road is still not open so you have to do a diversion and head east and come in a different way. The roads are passable but they are working on spots like always. Leh is still without electricity so places are running generators most of the time for only a couple hours a day. Most of the hotels and guest houses are closed as there is no one there. It is very sad as when the tourist do not come and they need the money. There is plenty of destruction and people working on still finding the missing. No one will ever know the number of dead or missing from all of this. It is a beautiful area to visit and ride motorcycle. We did Khardung La pass and that road is fine. People are recovering but it will take years for it to recover.

[ilesmark]

Thinking about this some more, if you are on bicycles you probably need to plan carefully when you go over Zoji-La. You don't want to find yourselves getting run off the (VERY narrow) road by crazed truck drivers and plummeting thousands of feet to your deaths. Suggest you make yourselves the last to go over before the pass is closed for traffic going in your direction.

[Vaufi]

Thx for the infos. Since travelling by pushbike is at fairly low speeds (except when going downhill ) it is quite easy to go for cover if a ruck comes along.

[ssa2]

Well when we were traveling we met up with a family from that was Mother, Father, girl that was 13 and then pulling a small trailer with a 2 yr old in it. We ended up staying where they did for 3 different nights and they were doing fine. I would not worry about the trucks as they seem to give motorcycles and bicycles plenty of room. We met several other groups of people on bikes as well and they were all enjoying every minute of it. My hats off to anyone that can ride on that crap with a bicycle.

[beddhist]

Larry,

When I travelled Leh to the bottom of the Rohtang Pass via Baralacha La I was under the impression that this is the only road into Ladakh. Is there another road? Can you show us where it is or, better still, do you have a GPS track?

[Vaufi]

Hi peter,

still on the road I presume. Hope, all is going well!

Next to Manali, Leh can also be reached from the west via Srinagar (Kashmir & Jammu). From this direction the first significant pass is the Zoji La (3,500m). The town of Kargil is the border between the two provinces as well as the tibetan and the muslim culture.

For cyclists I can imagine this approach might be easier, because it should be easier to get used to higher altitude.

Hans

[beddhist]

Originally Posted by Vaufi

Hi peter,

still on the road I presume. Hope, all is going well!

I'm afraid not. We finished travelling in Autumn here in NZ and are trying to put down roots. Unsuccessfully, so far.

Originally Posted by Vaufi

Next to Manali, Leh can also be reached from the west via Srinagar (Kashmir & Jammu).

I know, I did that route in 2006. However, Larry indicates there is a third route:

Originally Posted by ssa2

We rented in Manali and then drove the Spiti valley from Manali in a counter clockwise direction to Kullu, Recong Peo, Nako, Puh, Tabo, Kaza, Keylong, and then up to Leh. The road is still not open so you have to do a diversion and head east and come in a different way.

I'm interested which way Larry went, as it seems he went from Keylong to Leh, not over the Baralacha-La.

[Vaufi]

The way Larry went, it seems, was not from Manali over the Rohtang pass. but in a south-easterly direction, taking the NH22 right around the Great Himalayan National Park via Spiti. Just north of the Rohtang pass this route connects up to the road going to Keylong and eventually to Leh.

Anyway, good luck in NZ!

[beddhist]

Thanks Hans!

So, the way you read is that the road over the Rohtang Pass is closed and he went through Spiti. He seemed to say that you arrived in Leh coming from E, but I guess that's just my interpretation. I know the road, did it in reverse coming out of Ladakh. It was a great journey.

[ssa2]

Hi and sorry for the delay in answering your post. I was traveling back to the USA and recovering from the trip. Rotang pass is open but I did not go that way. It was in very bad shape and we knew the road to Leh was closed so we took the southerly route through the Spiti valley to give them time to open things up again. We did Recong Peo, Nako, Tabo, Kaza and up to Keylong where it rejoins the route to Leh. Then up to Jispa and north to Sarchu. Then the road does not show up on my map but it is north of Sarchu that the road is closed. It is a diversion that crosses the river and goes east. From Sarchu it is like 250 km to Leh but with the diversion it adds 120 Km to the trip. It goes east and then north and into Leh by a very remote road. There is only one town that you can find a place to stay and it is not listed on my map. The road is doable but I do not find it on any maps. We just followed the diversion and we only met like one guy on the road riding a motorcycle. We stopped and talked to him to make sure we were even on the right road. He had a map and said we were on the road and he was coming south from Leh. He told us where we could stay and said that was the only place he had come by. People just told us that is the only way into Leh. You can also go the western route but it is even longer and the political situtation is not good that way. We also went North out of Leh but only to the top of Khardung La pass. Trucks were coming in that way so I know the road was open. Hope this helps.

[beddhist]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the clarification. So, there IS a third road. Do you have a GPS track by any chance?

Thanks.

[ssa2]

I do not have a GPS track and like I said I do not even have a map that shows it. It crossed over the river where the diversion was and then did a circle back counter clockwise and then north up into Leh. I wish I could give you some more info. I remember from Sarchu to Leh was 250 K and this route added 120 km to it. So it made it 370 KM and a long ride and no good place to stay or eat. Larry

[beddhist]

Thanks Larry.