Ladakh: Four Idiots & One XUV500: Part-1. (Ahmedabad to Sonamarg)

I started planning the trip. I asked XUV owner to do necessary servicing and replacements in the car. XUV's tyres were 58000 km old and due for replacement. He replaced it and got a basic service checkup. We bought a tyre inflator, towing rope, jumper cable, some quantity of all kind of fluids ( coolant & oils). I took a 200km test drive of XUV to some of the hills in Gujarat. I was satisfied with the car. XUV was ready.

Stay arrangement and Advance bookings:

My idea of the budget trip means a trip without any advance bookings. We could reach the destination and search for possible stay options. In proper cities like Leh, Srinagar, Kargil, that's easily possible. We were four guys (average age 33), looking for an adventurous experience and not a comfortable luxury vacation. I proposed to consider dormitory stay options or hostels with four beds wherever its possible.

I googled for dormitory stay options and got an amazing deal at JKTDC Sonmarg, 200/- per bed.

I got in touch with Zaltak Guest House, Leh. We got a room with four beds with attached bathroom at 250/- per head.

This time, I wanted to stay at Merak village (Last village on the banks of Pangong Lake). I got in touch with a friendly Homestay owner (Peaceful Home Stay) at Merak and booked it at 1000/- per head( including food).

That was it. We were going to have 12 days long trip and booked for only three nights. My other travel mates were worried about that. I convinced them by saying, I would not let them sleep in the car. I assured them that they would get a soft bed, a pillow and a (or two) warm blanket at the end of every day.

Inner Line Permit:

I wanted to cover Tso Morir(Korzok) from Tso Pangong and Manali- Leh highway from Korzok Via Tso Kar.

There was lots of confusion going on at Leh for permits. Even locals were not sure about what is allowed for normal tourists and whats out of reach for them. I wanted to do Merak- Chusul-Loma-Nyoma-Mahe-Korzok route. I talked to the homestay owner at Merak. He told me that, if I have a stamp for Chususl on a permit, I can go to Korzok from Merak. I can go via Tsaga la but not from Kaksang la. It was all confusing.

I discussed the same with Zaltak Guest House owner Teswang Nurboo. He asked me to send him all the documents, within two days he sent me a permit.

Plan (Itinerary):

Our plan was hectic.

I knew we would be driving for more than 28 hours without any night stay. However, It was hectic only in plain terrain with well maintained six or four-lane highways. For Example, I proposed to drive all the way Ahmedabad to Pathankot or even Jammu without any stop in 24 hours. It was tough but surely possible with four proven drivers. After Sonmarg, my plan was very much moderate as far as driving was a concern.

Day 1. (11/05/2018) Start from A’bad at 2100. Keep driving. Night driving.

Day 2 (12/05/2018) Reach Pathankot (1350 KM). or Jammu

Day 3 (13/05/2018) Reach Sonamarg.

Day 4 (14/05/2018) Sonamarg to Lamayuru.

Day 5 (15/05/2018) Lamayuru to Leh.

Day 6 (16/05/2018) Visit local sites including Khardung La.

Day 7 (17/05/2018) Leh to Pangong Tso- Merak .

Day 8 (18/05/2018) Merak to Korzok.

Day 9 (19/05/2018) Korzok to Jispa.

Day 10 (20/05/2018) Jispa to Bilaspur.

Day 11 (21/05/2018) Bilaspur to Jaipur

Day 12 (22/05/2018) Jaipur to Ahmedabad

Distance Vs Time:

I created one more reference sheet to keep a close eye on distance vs time factor. I noted down google map suggested time between two points. Same way I wrote down my time, which included all kind of stops and time spent at toll plazas. I instructed other guys to keep a close eye on D&T sheet during the drive. It was very important to do so during initial days because reaching to Sonamarg on 13/05/2018 evening was very important for the entire plan.

Day 1 (11/05/2018): Start from Ahmedabad at 2000.

We were talking about this trip from almost last six months but real planning started after 05/05/2018. Three of us are family men with other commitments, so till 10-05-2018, we were busy with other stuff. I wanted one relaxing day before D-Day to get everything done. On the D-Day (11-05-2018) morning, I went to the market to buy some essential things.

Moreover, on 09/05/2018 I got sick with heavy fever and unbearable cough. My family physician asked me to cancel the trip and take rest. I clearly told him that it's not possible. I asked him to give tablets for two or three days.

So, finally at 1900 on 11/05/2018, we were ready to go. My bags were packed. I kept my SLR and weatherproof shoes in a small duffel bag which was very old. I decided to throw it away(duffel bag) once we get in XUV.

We are from Anand, other two travel mates are from Ahmedabad. Our XUV was at Ahmedabad. We were starting our trip from Ahmedabad. We asked one of my friends to drop us at Dastan Auto World Museum at outer ring road of Ahmedabad (Anand to Ahmedabad 70Km).

We reached outer ring road, Ahmedabad and started waiting for other mates with the vehicle.

Other mates arrived after 15 minutes. We stuffed our bags in XUV. Thanks to XUV's 700ltr boot space (after folding last row seats). All the luggage accommodated in the car nicely.

Let me take the chance to introduce my other travel mates.

The Guy in Pink tee is Dilesh.

The person in the black tee with glasses is Vicky.

Grey tee with the writing "life is short to stay mad" is yours truly.

I think we already met Joy in another photograph with luggage.

So there we were.

We started out drive sharp at 2000 from Ahmedabad to ...?

Well, Let's see...

Ahmedabad to Pathankot or maybe Jammu or maybe Sonamarg...Without a night stay.

Brave! ain't We?

Once we were in the car, we had nothing to do. We made some odd rules.

The guy sitting at co-pilot seat cannot sleep.

Each one should drive at least 300kms at one go.

Other guys seating at back seat can do anything. Including Boozing.

Driver and co-driver should be a predefined pair. They"ll have to remain at the front seats for minimum 600km.

We started driving from Ahmedabad. I wanted to cover maximum distance during the night. I started cruising on the well-maintained road to Jaipur. We were enjoying our favorite music and excellent roads. Backseat guys bought some booze from Gujarat - Rajasthan border.

After a while back seat guys slept. We had some very small stops for tea and smoke. The drive to Jaipur was event-less without any problem. XUV was amazing.

Day 2(12/05/2018): Jaipur to Udhampur.

Early morning at 0600, we reached Jaipur.

We took bypass for Delhi/Rohtak got out of Jaipur and stopped at a small dhaba. It was time for some tea, bio-breaks and if possible, a bath at dhaba.

After a quick break, we started from Jaipur. We wanted to avoid the crazy rush of Jaipur- Delhi highway and reach Rohtak as soon as possible. We kept driving and faced some oddly overloaded tractors.

We were maintaining our distance vs time ratio. After a while, I came back to the relaxing room of the car (back seat). Dilesh and Joy took the responsibility of cockpit.

The back seat means that I could do anything. After all, I drove my share of the day, A'bad to Jaipur 799kms in the entire night, so it was time for me to chill in the back seat. We are from Gujarat, so we always take the opportunity to booze when we get out of Gujarat. We bought some booze Rohtak.

After some booze, I slept for more than three hours. I was feeling hot in the backseat, that woke me up. Dilesh and Joy were enjoying lassi at some dhaba. We were at the outskirts of Ambala. It was another driver replacement stop. I checked the distance vs time sheet. We were on time. We were doing great, exactly as I planned.

We started from Ambala at 1500.

I was optimistic to reach Pathankot on time. We kept moving towards Ludhiana. The road was amazing. We were enjoying the drive.

After one hour of driving at 1600, it started getting dark. It was strange. We were approaching Ludhiana and It was getting dark like dusk. After some time it started raining.

My plan of driving till Pathankot or up to Jammu was purely based on the availability of daylight. We are familiar with night drive on Ahmedabad to Jaipur stretch. Jalandhar-Pathankot-Jammu was a new territory for us.

At Jalandhar, we lost all the Sunlight. It was just 1730. I knew we could make it up to Pathankot (that was the plan) but then Pathankot to Sonmarg (next day) could be a long and tiring run for us.

I was talking to myself and calculating Kilometers. I didn't want to stop for the night. I wanted to make it up to Jammu or Udhampur. But then after 24 hours of driving, asking others to remain in the car for 24 hours more was not practical.

At 2200, we were somewhere 25km before Jammu having our dinner at a Veshno dhaba.

We were good, exactly as per our time and distance ratio. We were tired and our best course of action at that time was to get a room at Jammu and call it a day.

I was having tasty Zeera rice and Dal Makhani. Food was excellent, but my over-enthusiastic and somewhat greedy mind was talking to me...

" You made it to Jammu, WOW. Why not Udhampur?".

I was scared of other travel mates and their reaction. I asked Dilesh, how was his mood and proposed to drive 100km more to reach Udhampur. All of them listened to my proposal and to my surprise they said...

Chalo.

We finished the dinner.

I got on the wheel and started driving.

There was only one thing going on in my mind.

Udhampur...Udhampur...Udhampur...

We decided to stay(yes finally) at Udhampur.

We stopped for a while at Katara Tunnel and kept moving.

The Idea of stopping for a night raised our spirits.

We crossed Chenani tunnel and welcomed by the amazing views of mountains with clouds. Someone tried to wake me up but I wanted to sleep. They kept driving.

Before starting our trip,

I briefed my travel mates about some of the bad known and ugly traffic jam stretches. Ramban to Banihal is one of those. We were approaching Ramban. We stopped at small tea stall some 20km before Ramban. The road was empty. Vicky and Joy tried to tease me by saying where is that "bad known" traffic jams. I kept mum and let them enjoy their early morning tea.

We finished our tea and bio breaks. I started driving. All three of them were making fun of me and my statement of "bad known" traffic jam stretches. First time in my life, I prayed for a traffic jam.

I wanted to prove my point and the god of roads and vehicles listened to my prayer. After Ramban, there was a long queue of trucks and taxis.

Fortunately, that traffic jam was moving slowly. It took us three hours to get out of that traffic jam and cross small Banihal town.

At 0800, We were at Jawahar tunnel.

We crossed Jawahar tunnel.

Kashmir Valley welcomed us with amazing views. Officially we were in Kashmir valley. All of us were excited.

Jawahar Tunnel or Banihal Tunnel is a 2.5-kilometre tunnel, situated on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, linking Jammu to Kashmir Valley. We had a small stop just after Jawahar tunnel.

We had a small stop and a quick photo session just after Jawahar tunnel.

I checked our distance & time sheet. We were on time. If we don't face any unavoidable circumstances crossing Srinagar, we could be in Sonmarg before 1600.

After some time we reached the famous Titanic Point after Jawahar tunnel, which offers an amazing view of Kashmir Valley.

We stopped there and ordered some Maggi. It was time for some tea, Maggi and briefing. I was keeping a close eye on all the news of civil unrest and stone pelting at Srinagar and surrounding area. We were going to approach that area.

Yes, We were approaching one of the most beautiful valleys on earth at the same time that valley is bad-known for civil unrest and separatist movement. I clearly instructed other guys that we are not going to stop even for a bio break in Srinagar. We"ll have to keep driving and cross Srinagar city as fast as possible.

Our briefing session was going on with tea and Maggi. One of the peddlers approached us with some woollen caps. I personally brought three woollen caps with me but Dilesh and Joy didn't have any warm cap with them ( some people never listen to pre-trip advice). We all bought warm caps from that peddler.

We started from Titanic point to Srinagar.

I called up one of my local friends to check the status of Srinagar City. He told me everything is fine and advised us to visit Dal lake. He wanted to meet us at Dal Lake.

Srinagar's Dal lake...WOW.

It was a tempting offer. This was my third trip to Srinagar but I never been to Dal lake. I have never seen a single houseboat in my life. I started thinking about a quick visit to Dal Lake.

...But after crossing some 50km from Banihal, we noticed a very strange thing. There was a heavy presence of military at each and every crossing. They were stopping all the local vehicles with young guys and asking something to them and checking their vehicles. They (army) didn't even bother to notice a Gujarat vehicle. That raised an alarm in my mind and I dropped the Idea of Dal Lake.

I instructed other mates not to stop anywhere but some people never listen. Our youngest travel mate(Joy) was hungry. It was 1100, just before 3 hours we had Maggi and tea at Titanic Point. I asked Joy to keep calm and wait for some more time. We were 20km far from Srinagar. Army guys were everywhere and this guy wanted to eat something.

We had to stop at a small stall.

Joy rushed ahead and bought some wafers. Before I could say something to anyone, Dilesh and Vicky also got out and started eating that wafers.

Dilesh and Vicky Joined Joy.

I was getting out of the car and three army guys approached me. They asked me about where are we going and why were we stopped? I explained to them that we are on our way to Sonamarg and stopped to buy some food. They instructed us to keep our camera inside the bag and cross Srinagar as fast as possible.

My brave "wafer eater" friends listened to my conversation with those army guys. They immediately got back in the car. Once again, I made myself clear "no more stop till Gund". We started moving ahead and kept our SLR in its bag.

We kept driving at a slow pace. We were having fun. We crossed Srinagar and reached Ganderbal. We didn't stop at Ganderbal, which is one more bad known place for stone pelting. Locals were surprised to see a Gujarat Vehicle in their part of the area. After all, we were some of the firsts.

Of course, we had very small stops for water and bio-breaks. I talked to some of the locals and they were cooperative with their guest who came all the way from Gujarat. However, we wanted to get out the danger zone.

We had a brief stop after 40 km from Srinagar. It was a beautiful small town named Gund.

We reached Gund at 1400.

It was our first stop after Srinagar. We were 25Km far from Sonamarg. We were about to finish an epic journey from Ahmedabad to Sonmarg. It was an amazing feat for all of us. We stopped at a small viewpoint and spent 30 minutes, admiring amazing views and celebrating our success. Yes, We were 25 km far from Sonamarag. So What, We knew we would reach Sonamarg before evening.

My distance vs time sheet was asking me to celebrate. Those beautiful mountains were welcoming us with a big smile and glacier tongues.

We finished our quick celebration and moved ahead. We were in good mood and enjoying the nature.

At 1530, We were just 4kms far from Sonamarg.

So finally on 13/05/2018 at 1600, We were at Sonamarg.

Thanks to my other travel mate's co-operation. My over-enthusiastic and greedy plan worked. Our distance vs time calculations worked.

Yes, we spent one night in the car, one night at a dhaba and almost 44 hours on roads. But after all of that, the reward was amazing.

We were at Sonamarg as per plan. in fact 4 hours early.

We covered 1750kms (Ahmedabad to Sonamarg) in 44 hours without any night stop (in a hotel). That was an amazing achievement.

Link to Part 2 :

Ladakh: Four Idiots & One XUV500: Part-2. (Sonamarg to Lamayuru)