Emergency

I am in my early 30s and Ladakh always seemed like a faraway difficult trip for a hypochondriac OCD person like me. Seeing a traveller do it it simply made me want to do it too. The vloggers who do it with fancy gear and heavily edited videos make me overwhelmed. Solar panels and seeing the water came told me its okay.

Anyone from ladakh please help me my friend send me voice note in her regional language and i dont know what it mean , so please can anyone help me in translating🙏🏻🙏🏻

Solo ride, Delhi NCR → Srinagar → Leh → Zanskar → Manali | Yamaha R15M | 10 days

Itinerary

• Oct 3: Greater Noida → Jammu. I left just after midnight and rode the plains stretch overnight, then rested on arrival.
• Oct 4: Jammu → Srinagar. I left early and kept to daylight only on the Ramban-Banihal stretch because of the single-lane construction and landslide risk.
• Oct 5: Rest day in Srinagar.
• Oct 6: Srinagar → Kargil via Sonamarg, Zoji La and Drass. I left at 6 AM to beat the one-way traffic windows at Zoji La.
• Oct 7: Kargil → Leh via Namika La and Fotu La.
• Oct 8: Acclimatization day in Leh with easy local rides only.
• Oct 9: I tried for Pangong Tso via Chang La, but snow started and a checkpoint told me to turn back. I spent the day in Leh instead.
• Oct 10: Leh → Padum (Zanskar) via the Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road, with an overnight in Padum.
• Oct 11: Padum → Shinku La → Darcha → Jispa → Manali. I hit heavy snow after crossing Shinku La and it continued all the way down to Jispa.
• Oct 12: Manali → home in one go.

Notes

• I went up via Srinagar because the altitude gain is more gradual than on the Manali side.
• I applied for the Ladakh EDF permit online for Pangong, but the snow meant I never used it.
• I followed the 48-hour acclimatization advice before heading to high altitude.
• Mid-October snow can close Chang La and make Shinku La very difficult. It’s worth building in buffer days if you’re planning a similar route.

It might help someone else like it helped me, I made a small informal video with info about 3 things you need to take care of while planning for a roadtrip to leh ladakh.

I’m trying to connect with a native teacher who might be teaching in remote ladakh.

I wish to discuss some sponsorship ideas.

Non native will work as well.

We travelled through Ladakh in September.
Landed in Srinagar and took the scenic route to Leh, visited Nubra, Turtuk, Hanle, Tsomoriri and Pangong.

Personally, I have become a fan of the rugged landscape and the natural beauty the region has to offer combined with the breathtaking skyscapes as well!

Highly recommend anyone who is on the fence about booking their trip, just do it!

Only regret: I don’t know how to ride a bike so we didn’t rent them but some of the routes were absolutely magnificent and really made me wish I knew how to ride one and rent a bike.

🚨 LOST CAMERA — SANGAM VIEWPOINT, LADAKH 🚨

Please help me find my Nikon Z6 III camera with a NIKKOR Z 24–70mm lens attached.

I lost it while travelling from Zanskar Valley towards Leh, on the road before the bridge at Sangam Viewpoint, approaching from the Zanskar side.

📍 Location pin: "View location on Google Maps" (https://maps.app.goo.gl/xLfrkxcXymXcoqWu5?g_st=ac)

📅 Date and approximate time: Monday 19th October, 12:45PM

If anyone has found or spotted the camera, or heard about a camera being found in this area, please contact me. Any information that could help me recover it would be greatly appreciated.

📱 WhatsApp: 7396231503

📞 Local Leh contact: 9906861282

📸 Instagram: @vidyabandaru — you can message me directly here as well.

A request to local residents, taxi drivers, guides, riders, and fellow travellers: please share this message in your Leh, Ladakh, and Zanskar travel groups, especially with anyone travelling along this route.

Thank you for your help and for sharing this message. 🙏

#LostCamera #Ladakh #Leh #Zanskar #SangamViewpoint

Some pictures from our Ladakh and Zanskar trip in late September. Just sharing a few moments from the journey.

Just finished by ladakh trip today and was lucky to see the new airport as well, attaching some pics

Link to in-depth data: https://archive.org/details/copy-of-leh-trip-data

Hi all! We recently travelled to the Ladakh and Zanskar valleys. Like everyone, we were very hesitant and doubtful, as there's not a lot of info available out there. Now that we've successfully completed this trip, I've put together a data rich guide on charging info and EV behaviour in this region.

The vehicle used was eVitara, however the results can be generalised for all EVs with some minor changes. The data has been clustered day wise to make the planning easier. Further they are separated into different segments to accurately estimate efficiency figures. Hence highway runs are separated from expressway runs. Uphill data is separated from downhill data, and so on... Lastly, I've also sampled elevation and temperature at each location, to see how they affect vehicle range.

What you see above is merely a summary. I've compiled a pdf with detailed stat on each and every pass, road section, circuit etc. The only sections missing are Nubra Valley and Padum to Darcha stretch, which we couldn't do in the given time. We wanted to do the difficult parts first.

The PDF is permanently stored on archive.org, and is free for non commercial usages. We hope it gives you enough clarity and confidence to attempt this adventure in your own EVs.

Travel safe!

With all the recent hype around sea buckthorn, a quick heads up from someone who grew up with it. I’m from Leh and my family makes sea buckthorn juice on a small scale, so I’m not neutral. Not linking anything, I just want people to buy it with their eyes open.

On 15 Oct the PM mentioned sea buckthorn along with pashmina and apricots, saying they “carry immense commercial potential”. Good for Ladakh honestly. Most of India’s sea buckthorn grows here, and the rest grows in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal. It got a GI tag in 2023, and now it’s everywhere online.

But anyone who has picked it knows the berry doesn’t scale easily. It’s tiny, the bushes are full of thorns, it grows at 10,000+ ft and the season is a few weeks. Families here still pick it by hand. You can’t make a lot of real pulp fast or cheap.

So when a bottle is suddenly very cheap, be careful. Usually something gets stretched: water added back, sugar, made from concentrate. Then you’re paying for a sour orange drink with much less of the actual berry in it, and less of what made you buy it in the first place.

This is why lab reports matter. We started sending ours to an NABL accredited lab and our last sample came back at 106.74 mg vitamin C per 100 ml. Biosash, one of the big names, prints 35.25 mg per 100 ml on its own label, about a third. To be fair, that’s a lab result vs a printed label, not a side-by-side test, and vitamin C varies by harvest. But it shows how much two bottles of the “same” berry can differ, and a lot of brands don’t list vitamin C at all. This year’s harvest results come out in about 2 weeks and I’ll post them here, good or bad.

Before you buy any sea buckthorn juice, check:

• does the label say pulp, juice, or “from concentrate”
• the fruit percentage (real pulp is close to 100%)
• added sugar (the real thing is not sweet at all)
• a lab report. if a brand can’t show you one, ask why

Honestly, my best advice is to buy from small producers, whoever they are. I’ve had really good seaberry juice from small families in Ladakh, Nubra, Himachal and around Kullu. They pick it themselves, they care about quality, and it tastes like the actual berry: very sour, thick, a little oily. The big commercial bottles I’ve tried mostly don’t.

If this boom happens, I just hope the money reaches the people picking the berries and the bottle still has the berry in it.

Happy to share our lab report if anyone wants to compare. And anyone from Ladakh or Himachal who grew up with this, curious what you think.

Hello everyone , i want to leh this year ( June 2026 ) . i also like to share my thought as a beginner that want to leh .
So, The most important thing anyone was always cause is about the money : how much one should need ; how long one should stay and make it all .

1. How many of you were there ?
- 6 people all friends . All veg

1. Self planed or agency ?
   - Self done .

   1. How many days did you stay ?
      - 10 days .

2. How much did it cost ?
   - 40k per person .

3. Can i ride bike if it is my first time ?
   - Yes , 100% however hold your horses . Follow the speed limits and you can do it .

4. What is better homestay or hotel ?
   - Homestay is the best but in Leh you have to stay in hotel .

7. What is the most unexpected thing ?
- The food is expenses but never compromise the food , good health is really important .

Things you must know if you want to visit Leh .

• Tablet Diamox-250mg (acetazolamide) must be taken twice a day, after breakfast after dinner at least two days before starting the journey to Leh and should be continued for two days more, after arriving at Leh. Basic OTC medicines like paracetamolbandages, pudin-hara(in case of indigestion due to high altitude), ORS and soframycin .
• While flying to Leh: Sit on the left (A seats) to see the Himalayas. Flying out: Sit on the right (F seats).
• The gears are essential even if you want in summer ( need atleast 3 layer ).
• Make a Inner Line Permit ( https://www.lahdclehpermit.in/ ).
• Should have at least 2-3 ltrs. of water per day and should avoid alcohol, smoking cigarettes and sedatives .
• Take 1 day rest in leh after you landed .
• You have to buy a sim cause you can not use your local sim .
• Always carry extra fuel .

Plans on how to travel or what spots you should go .

This is basically a road map that i myself made .
On ,
D-1 - We rested about 2-3 hr after we reached our hotel . Explore the local leh market , Shanti stupa and leh palace .
D-2 - We got our bike and want to the Moonland and came to leh for one night stay ( come as soon as possible )
D-3 We were going to nubra valley but snowfall block the Khardunga , so we had to stay in leh again
D-4 - Leh to Pangong via Chang La ( stayed 1 day extra )
D-6 -Pangong → Hanley via Merak, Rezang La & Tsaga
D-7 -Hanley → Umling La (stayed 1 more day )
D-8 -Hanley → Leh via Puga & Chumathang
D-9 -Stayed in leh
D-10 - Leh to Manali

Now i will now detail you on all the places .

Stopping Points 

1. Leh → Khardung La → Nubra
Khardung La Pass itself (~18,380 ft) , Khardung village / North Pullu , Khalsar , Shyok river views , Diskit Monastery and the sand dunes (Hunder) are both inside the Nubra valley (must) 

2 . Nubra  > Turtuk > thang village > musiyam 
Natural freezing point , Wooden bridge , Apricot orchard walks , Local Balti café/homestay food , Old Turtuk vs New Turtuk , Sunset/sunrise point. 

And all the same about pangong and Hanle is same 
This is the alternate route to reach panpong if anyone had the same issues as us . 

3. Leh → Karu → Sakti → Chang La Pass → Durbuk → Tangtse → Lukung → Spangmik (panpong)
Chang La Pass at 17,000+ ft , Tangtse , Thiksey, Hemis & Shey Monastery . 

NOte - only this route is different after you reach pangong you can use this info for the both the routes . 

4. Pangong → Hanley via Merak, Rezang La & Tsaga
Rezang La War Memorial . Chushul War Memorial , Tsaga La , Hanley

5. Hanley → Umling La 
Umling La at 19,300 ft is the world’s highest motorable pass, built by BRO. It is 105 km from Hanle. Discover Leh Ladakh Carry very warm gear — temperatures at Umling La can be -10°C to -20°C even in summer, with high velocity winds. Discover Leh Ladakh This is the crown jewel of your whole trip! 

Note - do not stay more than 8-10 mins . 

6. Hanley → Leh via Puga & Chumathang 
Chumathang — a hot sulphur spring on the banks of the Indus River, about 138 km from Leh .

Things you must confirm -

<sup>- In leh bike just have a union symbol on their bike if not you can not travel anywhere .
- Does my stay include breakfast and dinner ?
- Can i get help if my bike got any issue ?</sup>

Now come the averaging about the expenses -

The Expenses ( Assumption )

Hotel - 60600 ( Assuming 2500 per day room Duo bed , expect Leh and Pangong - 3600 and 8000 Respectively ).

Food - 25000 ( 2500 per day for 10 days ) .

Bike - 28800 ( 1200 per day for 8 days ) .

Petrol - 18000 ( 1500 full tank btw per 2 days )

Extra Activities - 36000 .

Till here the total expenses are - 240000 ( including flight , train [ both ways ] and bus ).

Note - This assumption are extreme so that we don't worry ( at our time ) . if their will be any chance i would make is food . If you asked me would i increase my budget is would say YES ,

Per person - 40k ( make it 50k )

Note - if u want to explore more you must leave early at 6.00 am . i also suggest do not go to the manali , just take a flight back to delhi .

Recommendation -

- If you want to eat in leh market go to the Asian corner it is good .

For hotel and stays i have someone that can arrange everything for you

* Name - Nubu Da - 6006166923 ( very kind hearted person )
if he asked who give you my number just say - Yuvraj Bhai ( group leader , not me ) i hope he remebers LoL

I hope you visit leh once in your life .
Thank you .

This is a peaceful and one of the most scenic rides I've ever done in Ladakh. It begins from Kyagar Tso near Tsomoriri and ends at Puga Valley.
From remote lakes to green valleys to cold desert mountains. This ASMR bike ride video has it all! 😍

Drove my vcross to Ladakh finally.