05/04/2016
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Delhi-Manali-Leh Road/Route Essential Informative Guide For Bikers:-
Total Distance:- 1280.5 Kilo meters. Via NH 1, NH 1A, NH1D
Route: Manali – Rohtang Jot - Gramphu - Kokhsar - Tandi - Keylong - Jispa - Darcha – Zingzingbar - Baralacha La - Bharatpur - Sarchu (state border) - Gata Loops - Nakee La - Lachulung La - Pang - More Plains - Tanglang La - Gya - Upshi - Karu - Leh
Mountain passes on the highway:
The highway crosses some of the highest mountain passes in the world, including Rohtang La 3,978 m (13,051 ft) in Pir Panjal range and three passes in Zanskar range that separate Zanskar valley from Leh valley, namely, Baralacha La 4,892 m (16,050 ft), Lachulung La 5,059 m (16,598 ft) and Taglang La 5,328 m (17,480 ft). The Rohtang La pass and Baralacha La receive more snowfall than the Taglang La, but all three passes are blocked in the winter . The road crosses the More plains between Lachlung La and Taglang La.
Geography and Condition:
The average elevation of Leh-Manali highway is more than 4,000 m (13,000 feet)[1] and its highest elevation is 5,328 m (17,480 ft) at Tanglang La mountain pass. It is flanked by mountain ranges on both sides featuring some stunning sand and rock natural formations.
The highway crosses many small streams of ice-cold water from snow-capped mountains and glacial melts without a bridge and it requires driving skill to negotiate fast-flowing streams. The landscape changes immediately after getting past Rohtang Pass and entering into Chandra river valley in Lahaul region that lies in rain-shadow. The greenery on the southern side of the mountain pass disappears and the mountain slopes on the leeward side become brown and arid. However, the mountain peaks are covered in snow and shine brightly in sun.
Leh-Manali highway is generally two lanes wide (one lane in either direction) without a road-divider but has only one or one and a half lanes at some stretches. It has over a dozen bailey bridges and most of them are in dilapidated condition. The highway has many damaged stretches and under-maintenance portions where even a little rainfall can trigger landslide making it very dangerous to cross that stretch of the road. The riding quality is not good at many places and fast speeds can cause discomfort.
Travel Time:
The Leh-Manali highway consists of generally bad stretches of roads, snow crossings, water crossings due to glacial melts and occasional landslides. It transverses high passes at over 5,000 metres. Travel time is unpredictable due to uncertainties of weather that can turn inclement any time and play spoilsport. The journey along the road normally takes at least two days if done in a rush, or more days depending on the condition of the road and vehicle (though minimum three days are advised for ordinary tourist because the real fun and pleasure is in the journey itself and not in reaching the destination). Tourists and travellers make overnight stops at Jispa and tented camps such as Sarchu. Alternately, overnight stops can be made at Keylong town.
The peak travel season is during May and June when a lot of tourists visit Rohtang pass. Most of the domestic tourists return to Manali and do not cross Rohtang pass towards north. Much of Rohtang pass remains covered by snow even during summer. Public buses start from Manali towards Keylong and onwards early at 4 am and after every two hours or so until 12 noon. The noon bus is the last one. The time taken until Keylong is 4 to 10 hours depending upon the condition of the road (that sometimes turns into a slush or becomes too slippery to travel because of fresh snowfall or melting of snow) and traffic jam that occurs at Beas nallah near Marhi and then at Rohtang pass. It is advisable to cross Rohtang pass before 8 am. Private four-wheel drive taxi are available. Share taxi are cheap as they charge per person but should be avoided by tourists as they are overcrowded with local residents and do not allow a good view of the outside. The fun in the journey is lost while travelling cramped in share taxi. Moreover, they cannot be stopped at will at any place. Some tourists travel from Manali to Leh and other places in Ladakh on motorcycles, generally in a group.
Altitude sickness :-
Owing to the rarefied atmosphere (low air pressure) at high altitude, less oxygen is breathed in and many travellers experience altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness. Before beginning the journey on the highway towards Leh, it is advisable to stay at the starting point Manali (altitude 1,950 m (6,400 ft)) one night and minimum one night at either Keylong, Jispa or Darcha to cope with the high passes and plains after Darcha. It is strongly advised not to sleep in Sarchu or Pang on the upward journey (towards Leh) as it can cause acute mountain sickness: headache, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. There have been deaths from AMS as well. The safe option is to camp at Leh or higher altitude after getting acclimated to lower oxygen levels. It is also advisable to carry chocolates, glucose or other high energy food on the journey and spend only a little time at the high mountain passes.
Accommodation along the highway:-
In India, a dhaba is a road-side eatery with low prices and no frills. It is not a motel. Such dhabas or eateries are found at some otherwise uninhabited places along the highway. Dhabas generally allow drivers to lie down and rest for a while. An occasional dhaba may provide a dormitory bed (without any associated facility) to a tourist at a low price.
Manali city has many hotels to suit all budgets.
Kokhsar village has only one guesthouse.
Sissu has a hotel and PWD rest house. Sissu has a beautiful waterfall on the other side of river Chandra. Sissu has a helipad for helicopter service from Manali during winter.
Tandi village is situated at the confluence of the Chandra river (flowing down from north) and Bhaga river (flowing from south and east), which merge to form the Chandra-Bhaga river that is known as Chenab River downstream.
Keylong town is district headquarters and has proper hotels including an HPTDC hotel and PWD rest house.
Jispa village at the junction of two nullahs with Bhaga river has one luxury hotel, a guest house and tented accommodation (Swiss cottage tents and standard tents).
Darcha has temporary tented accommodation run by some local residents.
The steep ascent to Baralacha La (elevation 5,030 m (16,500 ft)) starts at Zingzingbar (elevation 4,270 m (14,010 ft)). There is a stream (from a glacial melt) flowing across the highway just after Zingzingbar. It is advisable to cross the stream before noon because the flow of ice-cold water increases as the day temperature rises. If the flow of water in the stream is too powerful for a vehicle to cross it or if the weather turns ugly en route to Baralacha La, turn back to Zingzingbar where dhaba tent basic accommodation is available quite cheaply. Or one can go back to Darcha.
There are a few tents at Bharatpur which offer only basic accommodation. Bharatpur is not a village; it is set up only for tourists during tourist season and is a collection of tents after descending from Baralacha La pass.
Sarchu has only tents but with quite a few choices from cheap accommodation in Dhaba tents which cost Rs.50 (US$ 1) per person to luxury tents (Swiss cottage tents) costing thousands of rupees a night.
Pang has tented accommodation available, although choices at Pang are less than the choices in Sarchu.
Upshi has a few guest houses along the Leh-Manali highway. Upshi is reached after crossing Indus river. It has a Customs and Excise taxation check post before crossing the river and a helipad after crossing the river. An ancient trading road heads to the east from Upshi towards Tibet.
Karu has guest houses.
Leh is the capital and tourist hub of Ladakh and has many accommodation options to suit all budgets.
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