Couple of years back when I went to ask my German Boss Andreas Funk to get leave for Switzerland trip he immediately asked me “Mahesh have you visited Leh Ladakh ?” I said “No Sir” … He said “I have visited Leh Ladakh three times in last five years !! and it is more beautiful than Switzerland and instead of visiting it why you are going to Switzerland which is costliest place in Europe ?” …. Now after visiting Leh Ladakh I can surely say what he said was 100 % correct 🙂 …
I felt proud Indian when I was crossing Khardungla pass which is the world’s highest motorable road … I felt proud of our Military who takes care that this most beautiful part is protected from enemy attacks .. Who stays there in -35 degree Celsius temperature … Who has sacrificed since ages for our country … my Salute to all the Javans on Indian Army for that !! I was really at tears when I visited the Kargil War Memorial …
Wow … Just mesmerizing nature … Great Himalaya mountain ranges … Tough roads … Kind people of Ladakh … Expert drivers … Unpredictable nature …. and amazing mountain ranges of mighty Himalaya !! Just go for it ..
Since this is the first post of my Leh Ladakh series I shall begin with my travel plan and budget estimation .. Mind it I could do comfortable and tailor-made journey with unlimited water consumption, quality stay, luxury travel, houseboat stay, variety of food, flexible 11 nights 12 days travel plan in just 55,000 INR per person including flight from Pune 🙂 just compare it with famous tour operators who ask you double money and they stuff in 6 persons in one Xylo or Innova vehicle (whereas we traveled 4 persons per vehicle) So being on your own has its benefits in terms of flexibility and cost too 🙂
Below is my original plan which I prepared from internet study, however you will understand how this plan was changed by me depending upon the situation of traffic and natural situations … Somewhere it took us 9 hours for journey of just 160 kms where in normal circumstances it takes only 4 hours !! I will give updated plan again when I write in details about each place I visited and how the plan changed … There are many learnings for me …
I would also write guidelines on what to wear, what to eat, how to maintain Oxygen levels, what to buy and shopping budget too 🙂
| Day | Date | Dep. / From | Arrive / To | Programme | Stay At | |
| 1 | 5/6/16 | Pune 5:25am | Delhi 7:35am | Getting to Srinagar experience & tips | House Boat, Srinagar | |
| 5/6/16 | Delhi 10am | Srinagar 11:20am | Houseboat stay & Shikara Ride in Dal Lake | |||
| 2 | 6/6/16 | Srinagar 8am | Pahalgam |
5 hrs | ||
| 3 | 7/6/16 | Srinagar 8am | Kargil 2pm | 205 km 5 Hrs | Via Sonmarg -Kargil via Zoli la Pass & Drass. War Memorial | Hotel Siachen- Kargil |
| 4 | 8/6/16 | Kargil 8am | Leh | 234 km | Mulbek and Lamayuru monestry | Hotel K2 Continental Skara Road, Leh-Ladakh – 194101, J&K +91 1982 252999 |
| 5 | 9/6/16 | Local sight seeing – visit Hall of Fame Musium, Magnetic hill, sindhu Sangam and Gurudwara Pather Sahib & Shanti Stupa | ||||
| 6 | 10/6/16 | Leh | Pangong Lake | 85 km 2 Hrs | Pangong Lake – changes its colour 4-5 times a day. 3rd World’s hightest motorable raod thr. Changla Pass. | Nature Nest Camp, Pangong |
| 7 | 11/6/16 | Pangong Lake | Leh | 85 km 2 Hrs | Local Sighseeing & Locak Market Leh. | K2 Continental Leh |
| 8 | 12/6/16 | Leh | Nubra Valley | 138 km 4 Hrs | Numbra valley of flowers. Diskit Village & Camel ride on Sand dunes. | Habib Guest House / Royal Camp / Nes Nubra Valley |
| 9 | 13/6/16 | Nubra Valley | Leh | 50 km | Leh – Sangam , Sunset at Shanti Strupa | Hotel K2 Continental Leh |
| 10 | 14/6/16 | Leh | TurTuk | 128 km | Sightseeing and beautifull Mountains & Hill | |
| 11 | 15/6/16 | Local City of ladakh & Market White Water Rafting (Optional) | ||||
| 12 | 16/6/16 | Leh 6:45am | Mumbai 10:45am | |||
| 16/6/16 | Mumbai | Pune | Back to Home (Pune) |
Just rough cost breakup per person is as follows
| Air tickets (Pune to Srinagar & Leh to Mumbai) | INR 20,000 (Best air price you can get it 18,000 Rs if you book well in advance) |
| Total package of land travel including stay (MAP), tempo traveler (travel from Srinagar to Leh and local Phelgaum trip) + Xylo (4 persons per vehicle) + entry taxes | INR 31,000 (including taxes) |
| Misc expenses (additional food, tea, water, lunch for all days, entry to monastery, driver tips) | INR 4,000 |
| Total trip expenses | INR 55,000 |
Shopping expenses were few thousand rupees … I will detail it out in shopping post .. but just to say .. Pashmina shawl ~2K, Sweters 1K~2K, thermos flask 0.7K etc etc … Oxygen cylinder 2 mins pressure can 450 INR (if returned you get 350 Rs back) .. all these details will be in my Ladakh shopping guide page …
I tried all sort of local food including Thentuk, American chopsy ! momos (veg & nonveg), noodles, mutton soup and so on … again details will follow …
So I shall begin the trip from Srinagar and end at Leh airport … feel free to ask questions (like you all did for my Switzerland tour blog) …
Cheers !!
pangong lake transparent water & pebbles
Wonderful article, dear Mahesh.
Keep travelling & keep writing…!!!
Superb sir.excellent info and writeup.you have superb skill of writing.
Great ,waiting for next blog??
Nice blog! Very well explained and detailed description.
Just one question – How do you select/narrow down your hotels/resorts name? I mean I really struggle to do so. I see the hotels selected are quite good and decent in terms of affordability and comfort. Would love to have your valuable tips if you can share:). Thanks
Hi, Thank you for the appreciation and question. I study the places to visit, check offers by the standard tour operators, check which hotels they provide, then get quotations from 2~3 local small travel companies which I know of. Study of all these and reviews on internet provides guidelines for selection. However things can still go wrong ! ha ! ha !! btw for Leh I have checked a homestay which is cheap and newly opened. if you wish to get details, just drop a mail to mahesh[at]trekbook.in