Inspired by the various write-ups and information on the websites I decided to make a trip to Ladakh by road with my Maruti

Wagon R. I planned the trip for the first week of august basis the information on the web and as the road from manali to Leh is open only during the summer months between the June to Mid October. Considering the long journey that would take me over 2500 odd kms, I needed a partner who could drive and accompany me on my trip. By natural choice, I asked my brother Pushkar if he could accompany me on the trip. Without much success as he would not be free from his official commitments until the mid October, I started my hunt for another partner. It was then my wife pitched in. Though she had a valid driving license, I did not dare to give my precious Wagon R in her hand on the highways. I yet longed for a driving partner. Despite persistent efforts, I could not manage one however, a partner of mine Mishra pitched in to join me on the trip. Now at least I had another male member in case we were stuck up somewhere. Here came the time when I had to compromise on the dates of the trip we had to pre-pone the trip to the 10th July 2005. By this time, I had already amassed a lot of reading material and information on Leh and planned my route via Ahemedabad, Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Chandigarh, Manali, Keylong, Sarchu to Leh. Then came the floods of Gujarat for a few days we thought that our plans would be thwarted however, the floodwaters subsided and we were back on our initial schedule. I had my car serviced through Automotives at Nerul. I got good guidance and help on high altitude driving from the works manager Nikhil Chavan. We then made up a brief

list of the other gadgetry that we would need on our way along like sleeping bags, pans, wax burner stoves etc. However, I searched for a good towing strap could not get one and ultimately decided to do without one, which later on in the journey proved a big mistake. Sunday, 10th July 2005 We started the journey on the 10th at 5 am and targeted to reach Udaipur some 850 kms away by the evening. The stretch from Mumbai to Surat was pleasant, no sooner we crossed Surat the road was riddled with potholes yet we managed to get on the Baroda Ahemedabad highway by 1200. After a brief halt at the Reliance petrol station on the express highway for lunch, we proceeded ahead for Udaipur. Once again, our pace slowed down due to the unruly traffic around Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar until Himmatnagar. Once we reached Himmatnagar the drive till Udaipur was a thorough driving pleasure we reached udaipur by 1800 having time at had as we had decide to make maximum use of the day light for the driving we skipped the halt at Udaipur and headed off to nathdwara which we made up by 1930. Our first overnight halt was at Nathdwara at hotel Utsav, which was comfortable hotel at reasonable rates. Monday, 11th July 2005 Our second day started early at 530 with a short visit to the Nathdwara temple which was closed for ritual so had to skip the darshan and we headed off for Delhi via jaipur. Barring a few bad stretches of road, the drive to Delhi was reasonably comfortable. Once in Delhi at 1430, we had initially planned an overnight halt here at our office guesthouse, which we once again

skipped as we had lot of driving time ahead of us. On starting from Mumbai, we had carried limited cash and had planned to withdraw cash from Delhi, which we did at the subhash place and headed off, to Chandigarh. No sooner, we hit the NH1 for Chandigarh I stepped on the gas pedal. I must have crossed not more than a few kilometers and was booked for over speeding (at merely 80KMPH) by the Delhi police. Without much haggling and paying up the fine we continued further through Sonepat , Panipat, Kurukshetra onwards to Chandigarh. The roads were exceptionally good and with reasonable traffic we made it to Chandigarh at 2100 hrs. The driving until here was absolutely stress free and never did I have a passing thought that I was driving all alone. Tuesday, 12th July 2005 On the morning of 12th, we started for manali early at 6 am. It was drizzling while we started and feared if the ghats would be closed due to rains. However that did not happen and we continued our journey uneventfully. It was here that I felt the need of the second driver as traces of fatigue had started to creep in the form of aching shoulders while maneuvering the curves. To countermand that we made frequent halts after about every hour to ease out ourselves. We reached Manali after a solid 10 hours at 1615 and settled ourselves for the overnight halt at hotel Chandermukhi. We made our reco sortie to the local market and spoke to local people on the route that lay ahead of us until leh. Due to heavy rains in the region a week before our arrival there were numerous instances of land and

mudslides. We were told that the roads are open and the traffic is plying normally. However several people were at awe when we told them that we are taking the road on in our Wagon R and not in any 4 x 4-wheel drive vehicle. We were wished good luck by all those whom we spoke to considering the vehicle we planned to take. The hotel manager at Manali brought us a vital piece of information in the evening that we would encounter several mudslides and snow covered roads and hence should take a shovel along. Taking his advice seriously and considering the weather at Manali as it was raining considerably, we headed off once again to the market to buy a shovel and got one. Wednesday, 13th July 2005 We had planned to start from Manali early at five in the morning. We were just loading our luggage in the boot when it started to rain heavily. Starting in such rain was just not possible so we delayed our departure for an hour later. Even at six it was raining considerably however we decided to start. As we

climbed higher the rain gradually ceased. We passed Rohtang pass, which is a good 71 km drive, and for that matter a full uphill climb with ease. The Wagon R was taking the hills with a perfect ease. After a brief halt at Rohatang for good hot welcoming glass of tea we started our descend to Khoksar. An hour

later we reached Khoksar it was 10 then. We

made a stop at the Police check post registered ourselves and the vehicle for the onward journey. This stop marks the entrance into the Lahul and Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh. All foreigners need to register themselves with the police. A trekking route to Chandratal leads from here along the river Chandra which later in the valley converges with Bhaga to form the river Chandrabahaga or the Chenab. After a brief halt and a plate of noodles down our hungry stomachs we started ahead for Keylong. The road became noticeably tougher once we were out of Khoksar. The tar-paved roads gave way to mud tracks and rubble. The tracks were getting narrower by each passing turn. One had to keep a watch on the road ahead for over two turns ahead and give way to any upcoming traffic along narrow intermittent berths along the road. We were making slow progress over the road taking each turn with caution taking care not to be stuck with our two-wheel drive in the soft slushy mud patched stretch formed by the heavy rains and the oncoming heavy traffic. We along with the car were doing very well on the road when we came across a considerably wide stone filled stream across the road and a soft muddy patch

at the start with a hillock on the right blocking my view of the oncoming stream. To avoid being stuck in the slush I shifted to a lower gear, made a steady approach through the mud, and crossed it successfully when I had to step up on gas to cross the rubble-filled stream. No sooner, I did that I got a first hand view of what I was getting into. As soon as my front wheels were on to the rubble I felt the front wheels loosing grip and the car skidding off course and in a fraction of second the front of the car was engulfed with a soft mudslide with rolling rocks that were floating on the soft slushy liquid. Sensing trouble I immediately reversed the car and stepped on gas but to no good use. I was stuck with my car in the mudslide. With the mud getting all around my car and with no control over the car the only option for me was to get my team out from the car. With each of us tossing our shoes in the car we got out with the keys in my pocket. Within seconds the mudslide was almost knee high and the car had become afloat. Moments after we got on hard ground I could see the floating stones get beneath the car and getting block against the chassis. The mudslide was at its worse pushing the car to its left towards the river. Mishra and myself reached frantically for help to the traffic behind me, which by now had formed a serpentine queue behind the mudslide spot. This was the time when I was looking out for a towrope to tow out my car with the help of a truck but I had none. I had not carried one and I desperately regretted it. Thankfully for the stones that had been stuck beneath the chassis of my car, blocked the mudslide for a few moments and the mudslide found a new course just ahead of the car. The car had

stopped skidding leftwards towards the Chandra river. A ray of hope appeared and unexpectedly, a Tata 407 truck driven by a sardarji came to my rescue. He lent us out the flimsy rope that was available with him. In a fraction of a second I grabbed the rope that my friend Mishra handed over to me and waded through the knee-high mud to secure the rope to the after towing ring of the Wagon R. My naval background helped me tie a secure knot and with the help of the truck and local drivers around managed to clear the stones and tow the car back to safe grounds!! A very narrow escape for my car. We had to spend the next two hours waiting for the mudslide to recede before we could make our move ahead. Even if the mudslide stopped it would be impossible for me to cross the stretch with my two-wheel drive and lots of soft slush mud almost covering the half of my tires. The road had to be done up before we could pass at least any non 4 x 4 wheel drive vehicle. On the opposite bank was a convoy of army jawans who were being relieved from their posts at leh and were stuck. They started putting in smaller stones to raise the level of the road but to no use as the residual force of the mudslide was washing of the stones. A bulldozer of the army appeared at the site after they received information of the mudslide, which I presume must have been given by the passing army

convoy over vhf sets. The bulldozer in three to four quick movements of its blades made the situation back to normal and we all crossed the stretch without any problems. I had anticipated that with the situation that we had faced my wife and my friend Mishra would stop me for going ahead through the same stretch but to my astonishment all were in reasonable high spirits when I made my approach to the stream. With the incident at the back of our minds we were trying to concentrate on the road ahead. Mishra was back to his normal duty of the navigator guiding me across the sharp bends and bad patches of roads and my wife asking us to play the music loud. I was frantically biting on the gum that I had popped in my mouth before crossing the stream to fight out the stress. The road got a bit easier for a short while after which again there were sharp bends and rushing streams across the roads, which we navigated safely with brisk movements of the steering wheel and good legwork between the accelerator brakes and clutch as we had to shift gears frequently to adjust to the conditions of the road. We reached Tandi the last petrol pump for the next 350 kms at about three in the afternoon and topped up the fuel tank. We did not bother to fill up extra fuel as we were already carrying a jerry cane full of fuel from manali as spare stock. We had anticipated low mileages in the mountain terrain and had taken care of before starting from Manali. An hour and half later we reached Keylong. Tired with the hard drive we decided to take a break and camp for the night. A chat with the local hotel manager we were informed that the rainfall in past few day was a sort of record breaking rainfall in

the last 20 years or so in that region, giving us a reason to worry of the roads ahead. Thursday, 14th July 2005 On the advise of the hotel manager we started off for Sarchu relatively early at 0500 hrs. Merely a kilometer ahead of the hotel we came across a mountain stream with a strong water flow but with help of Mishra gauging the road, water and its force with a walking stick in way of the water flow we successfully crossed the same. We trudged ahead kilometer by kilometer to reach Darcha about 65 Kms from keylong. At Darcha, we registered ourselves with the local police at the check post and with a cup of tea down our stomachs headed off for Sarchu via Patsio. The road to Patsio was more or less a dirt track riddled with holes and stones. It was a tough drive. We had crossed barely about 40 kilometers when we came across another mountain stream. The sight of the stream was horrifying. We saw stones about 10 to 12 inches in diameter being washed away with the water. The stones were floating as if they were made of thermocole chunks. With help from a few shepherds around the place, we gauged the depth of the water in the stream and noticed that the water was well above three feet at its deepest. However, a relatively shallow depth it was treacherous with the water flowing along stones and a deep ravine at the other side of the road. A truck following us crossed the stream and we saw that the tires of the truck were totally immersed in the stream. The stream was too deadly for our small Wagon R to cross. We decided to return and make a second attempt the following day. We returned to Keylong and were told that

the weather had further deteriorated in the hills and the roads from Manali were shut for traffic following a landslide. Anticipating bad roads, we decided to drop our car at the hotel at Keylong and continue our journey by a local bus. The thought of not able to make on the entire journey by the car was a bit disheartening. However with no buses plying from Manali our hopes were minimal to make it to Leh on the 14th July 2005. During our visits to the local market to enquire of any available transport we made friends with a few foreign tourist who too were stranded at Keylong for want of any transport. Friday 15th July 2005 The roads from Manali were yet shut for traffic and we were stranded at Keylong. We took the break to rest our selves and admire the scenic beauty of the place.

The mountains were just mesmerizing with the play of the shadow and lights through out the day due to the prevalent weather conditions. Finally were told by the local bus controller that a bus for Leh would leave the next morning at 5 and we managed to get tickets on the same. Saturday 16th July 2005 We took the bus for Leh at 5 in the morning. To our astonishment, the bust left Keylong at sharp 5 in the morning with all 40 passengers stuffed in like sardines. Though the bus had 40 seats earmarked for each passenger they were

too uncomfortable to sit on to. The passage to Leh was to take 12 or more hours depending on the condition of the roads!! Whilst we were crossing over from Darcha to Patsio, I made it a point to note the water levels of the stream from where we had returned and I thanked my self for taking a decision of not taking the car all the way to Leh on a second attempt. The water levels had risen much more than what we had previously seen. The small car would have been easily washed away with the torrential force of the water though several 4 x 4 vehicles were seen making the stream in a diagonal pattern, however a few of them with relatively inexperienced drivers were seen veering towards the ravine at the slightest of loss of control. The journey took us through rough terrain of Lahul and Spiti and the

17th 18th and 19th July 2005 Three days in Leh, I personally felt were too small a duration to see the place. However we made it to Hemis, Thikse, Shey, Stok, Liker and Alchi monasteries on the 17th and 18th and to Pangong Tso on the 19th. The landscape at Leh is very

diverse. One can see the tall snowcapped mountains with deserts in the valleys. Event the desert valley has diverse vegetation. Tall lush green trees on one side and an arid desert land scape on the

Zanskar valleys. It was amazing to see small tent teashops at Bharatpur and Sarchu miles away from the nearest civilization and the Tibetan and Nepali shop owners greet the incoming tourists with unusual warmth and a loud Juley (a Ladakhi greeting for welcome or namaste). The tent shops offer the tourist clean beds for an over night stay if the need be. We made it to Leh after 14 grueling hours in the bus.

other. Overall, the place was enchanting. The Gonpas as the monasteries are locally called are a lovely place to see. One can even stay in one of the Gonpas and have a spiritual treat. The visit to Pangong Tso was a memorable one with the road winding over snow-capped roads and through the third highest motorable pass of Changla. Though we had a strong desire to visit Khardung La we could not as we were hard pressed for time. Any which way we needed a reason to return to this mystic place once again.

Our return trip was equally memorable with the road taking its own ways due to weather and stranding us on two occasions once enroute to Keylong and once enroute to Manali however that was minor as compared to the Pagal Nala that we encountered after Rohtang pass. The Wagon R performed exceptionally well without any break downs or even a puncture through out the journey. It took to the rough roads with ease. The suspension was specifically great as we did at no point of time feel the rigors of the rough roads. I am sure to revisit Ladakh once again and all the way driving. A bit of advice, the road is treacherous but not impossible. If you are taking a small non 4 x 4 vehicle be sure you have a good luck on your side and of course good weather (for me the weather was totally against). The next time I go, I intend to go up via Manali and descend via Srinagar if the situation there calms down and that too with my Wagon R.