vardhan.harsh
Member
As I sat in a dhaba in Rangdum, a village in the middle of nowhere, drinking Cognac with a bunch of strangers, talking about nothing in particular, happy and at peace with myself, I couldn’t help thank God for bringing me on a road trip to Zanskar.
Ever since our visit to Ladakh last year, we had every intention to return to the land of high passes. The beauty of the vast Changthang plateau haunted us, and we’d planned to visit it again this year. However, as this year’s trip came closer, doubt crept into our minds.
Although there was no questioning our love for Changthang, visiting it again this year might make our trip too similar to the last one. Chanthang was not going anywhere, and we could always go back to it later. We decided that this year we would explore another part of Ladakh - the wild wild west.
The plan was to restrict ourselves to everything west of Leh - explore under-construction roads, trekking routes with motorable/ jeepable tracks, and most importantly, the remote Zanskar.
The following is the itinerary we followed.
Day 1: Delhi to Manali. 580 km in 12 hrs
Day 2: Manali to Jispa. 140 km in 14 hrs (surprised?)
Day 3: Jispa to Panginagu. 260 km in 13 hrs
Day 4: Panginagu to Leh. 220 km in 9 hrs
Day 5: Leh. Friends, dinners, and permits
Day 6: Leh. Hospital, medicines, and rest
Day 7: Leh to Lamayuru. Sham Valley Tour
Day 8: Lamayuru to Kargil via Batalik. 150 km in 6 hrs
Day 9: Kargil to Juldo. 150 km in 10 hrs
Day 10: Juldo to Padum. 140 km in 8 hrs
Day 11: Around Padum. End of Road - Zangla and Stongde. 130 km in 7 hrs
Day 12: Around Padum. Dzonkhul, End of the road beyond Reru. 135 km
Day 13: Padum to Kargil. 230 km in 11 hrs
Day 14: Kargil to Srinagar. 230 km in 10 hrs
Day 15: Around Srinagar. Wular lake and Gulmarg
Day 16: Srinagar to Jalandhar. 475 km
Day 17: Jalandhar to Delhi. 400 km
Ever since our visit to Ladakh last year, we had every intention to return to the land of high passes. The beauty of the vast Changthang plateau haunted us, and we’d planned to visit it again this year. However, as this year’s trip came closer, doubt crept into our minds.
Although there was no questioning our love for Changthang, visiting it again this year might make our trip too similar to the last one. Chanthang was not going anywhere, and we could always go back to it later. We decided that this year we would explore another part of Ladakh - the wild wild west.
The plan was to restrict ourselves to everything west of Leh - explore under-construction roads, trekking routes with motorable/ jeepable tracks, and most importantly, the remote Zanskar.
- The Travellers: Aarti & Harsh
- The Machine: Our very own wild ass - Tata Safari 4x4 - affectionately called Kiang
- Total distance covered: 3850 km.
The following is the itinerary we followed.
Day 1: Delhi to Manali. 580 km in 12 hrs
Day 2: Manali to Jispa. 140 km in 14 hrs (surprised?)
Day 3: Jispa to Panginagu. 260 km in 13 hrs
Day 4: Panginagu to Leh. 220 km in 9 hrs
Day 5: Leh. Friends, dinners, and permits
Day 6: Leh. Hospital, medicines, and rest
Day 7: Leh to Lamayuru. Sham Valley Tour
Day 8: Lamayuru to Kargil via Batalik. 150 km in 6 hrs
Day 9: Kargil to Juldo. 150 km in 10 hrs
Day 10: Juldo to Padum. 140 km in 8 hrs
Day 11: Around Padum. End of Road - Zangla and Stongde. 130 km in 7 hrs
Day 12: Around Padum. Dzonkhul, End of the road beyond Reru. 135 km
Day 13: Padum to Kargil. 230 km in 11 hrs
Day 14: Kargil to Srinagar. 230 km in 10 hrs
Day 15: Around Srinagar. Wular lake and Gulmarg
Day 16: Srinagar to Jalandhar. 475 km
Day 17: Jalandhar to Delhi. 400 km