The road across the Himalayas to Leh in Ladakh is breathlessness unsurpassed, thanks to both its altitude and scenic landscape. This month our drive originates in Delhi, goes north on Sher Shah Suri’s Grand Trunk road to Chandigarh, and then hits the Himalayan foothills as we enter Himachal Pradesh and the green Kullu valley en route to Manali. The Manali-Leh road leaves you overwhelmed, going through four mountain passes, the highest being 5328m. The sheer magnificence of the mountains, snow-capped peaks, and some patches of lush green make this a trip worth making. If you’re looking out for adventure, take the road to Leh.

Planning for Ladakh

Ladakh: High season Mid-June to end-September. Low season November to May.
Manali: High season April to June. Middle season July to October. Low season November to March.

The tourist season in Ladakh stretches from mid-June to end-September. The Manali-Leh road is opened for traffic in the beginning of June as the Border Road Organisation (BRO) begins clearing snow at the passes but it’s best to take this road during August and September.

Manali has two seasons — April to mid-June when honeymooning couples take over and August to October when foreign tourists descend on the Himalayan town.

If you’re going only as far as Manali during the summer months, light woollens should be adequate; warmer stuff is necessary during the low season when heavy snowfall is common.

For your trip to Ladakh do carry heavy woollens, more for your overnight stay at Sarchu than for Leh itself because the wind factor at the campsites is considerable. An absolute must is sun-block lotion to ward off the burning effect of the sun. Sunglasses also help reduce the harsh glare reflecting off the snow-capped peaks.

If you think you’ll have difficulty breathing in the rarefied air, take along bottled oxygen which is available in portable pressurised cans. Also carry plenty of water and eatables like fruits and chocolates as snack stopovers are few and far between.

As there are some really bad stretches on the 460km Manali to Leh road, it’s imperative that you take a car with high torque and high ground clearance. A four-wheel-drive vehicle like a Gypsy is an advantage, should you attempt off-roading. Exercise caution with cars with lesser ground clearance as there are places where you’d need to clear rocks to avoid damage to the vehicle underbody. Two-wheel-drive cars will take you there too but you need to take care.

T ake Murphy’s law seriously. Get your car thoroughly checked and rectify or replace anything that has the slightest possibility of packing up in the midst of nowhere. Check hoses, belts and other easily worn parts for wear and take along essential spares. A full tool kit is mandatory. Also pack in a spare tube and a foot-pump, if possible.

To carry extra fuel, try Delhi’s Saddar Bazar for army-spec metal fuel cans. The plastic ones often leak and the odour of petrol coupled with high altitude will definitely make you nauseous.

It makes sense to also pack an instant puncture repair can, which can inflate a tyre and seal a puncture for about 100km — a real asset if you suffer a ‘flat’ on a high mountain pass with no energy to change the tyre.

When you get the car tuned before the trip, remember your priority should be torque rather than top end. For the Gypsy, a timing of six to six-and-a-half degrees advance is good. The air-fuel mixture should be made lean by one-fourth turn of the screw to adjust to the thin air.

Carry Fuel Though your car may have a range of 400km on a full tank, carry at least 20 litres of fuel as fuel efficiency drops drastically by the demands made on the engine and the thin air.

Avoid night driving The Manali-Leh road is narrow and broken at places and the weather can suddenly take a turn for the worse.

Fuel en route While it is difficult to get fuel from the army, the tented accommodation fellows at Sarchu usually have some stashed away. The premium you pay depends on your bargaining power.

Right of way for upcoming traffic There are sections where two vehicles cannot pass side by side, so give way to upcoming traffic.

Shortcuts Dirt tracks, made by the army, cut across a loop of the road and are shorter (and steeper) than the regular tar road. If you attempt them, switch into four-wheel-drive mode or make sure your two-wheel-drive car has enough momentum to make it to the top.

Stranded motorists and bikers Extend a helping hand to these unfortunates — realise that the roles could easily have been reversed.

While the 250-odd kilometre drive from Delhi to Chandigarh is straightforward and good for high speeds, keep your eyes peeled for unwary pedestrians and indisciplined motorists.

The road through Punjab to the Himachal Pradesh border is sandwiched between verdant paddy fields and you would do yourself an injustice if you do not stop at an authentic Punjabi dhaba — the food is tastebud-tingling and the lassi heavenly.

The Mandi to Manali drive is pleasurable, the road going alongside the Beas river right up to Manali. Practise caution as blind corners and speedy super deluxe tourist buses abound. The final run upto Manali has roads lined with apple orchards that alternate with the hotels on the outskirts of the town.

A few kilometres after Manali, you get your first sight of the Himalayan snow as the road goes past Vashisht and the ascend to the imposing Rohtang pass begins with the conifers giving way to grasslands. The last fuel station comes up at Tandi from where the road veers north along the Bhaga valley to Keylong.

Then it’s Keylong-Darcha- Sarchu. The Baralacha pass comes up after Darcha. The road to and from Baralacha is miserable and the flat plains of Sarchu are a relief.

The next day’s drive has some even more breathtaking views in store as you come across the Pashima herdsmen tending their sheep and find yaks grazing in the pastures on the approach to the Tanglang Pass. After the final pass, the home run into Leh is pretty straightforward.