Road trip from Bangalore to Ladakh and back by Akash Mohan in September 2023

Sharing the experience of my September 2023 drive from Bangalore to Ladakh and back (via Delhi, Kashmir, Manali, Chandigarh) in a Mahindra Thar (Diesel). 

Day 1 Bangalore to Nagpur - 17 Hours 

Day 2 Nagpur to Agra - 16 Hours 

Day 3 Agra to Delhi - 2.5 Hours 

First day was all in all pretty good. Wide empty roads and we cruised along fairly easily. Special mention to the hyderabad ORR. Probably the best stretch of road on the trip for me.

Second day was pretty terrible. I expected the biggest problem to be cattle so was prepared for that but I didn't expect the roads to be so bad, relatively speaking. Very bumpy ride, potholes big and small and varying levels of frequently. Not really sure why it's so bad. Either way this was a real energy snapper and we barely limped into Agra without bumping into any cattle. Better roads and we'd have made it all the way to Delhi. 

There's a real shortage of good eateries on the way. Carry plenty of foodstuff. 

Delhi to Ladakh: 

Stopped at Patnitop and went from Patnitop to Sonamarg directly. There's construction work ongoing in places but if you leave early there should be no issues. Beyond Qazigund it was smooth sailing all the way till Sonamarg. 

Hello guys - I recently completed my Bangalore to Ladakh road trip. Reached Delhi today and will be traveling back to Bangalore over the next 3 days. Thought I'd note down a few points that might help others from a road point of view. 

1. Sonamarg to Leh stretch had excellent roads all through barring small stretches on the Zoji La descent. The Kargil to Namik La climb stretch is just stunning.

2. The old route from Nubra to Pangong is washed out. The new route is via Rongdo village. When coming from Diskit side take a left immediately after the IOC petrol pump, go for another 1-2 kms where you will see a board directing you to take right towards pangong. The new Road is pretty much 95% offroading until Tangste. There is basically no roads. You are driving on gravel, rocks or river beds. The road is good from Tangste onwards. 

3. For people exiting chushul, I'd suggest taking the Kaksang La route even if it's longer (while going to Hanle at least). It's very steep but fulled tarred throughout. Absolutely amazing drive with the added bonus of 2 stunning lakes on the way. 

4. While going to Tso Moriri, it's completely offroad from Sumdo onwards.

5. While I myself got lucky with my timing, while traveling from Kullu to Mandi theres a place where vehicles are let through one way only. This may include waiting times of more than an hour depending on your timing.

6. I drove the Thar diesel. Happy to report i had no DPF issues that's been an issue with BS6 cars. As a precaution I tried wherever possible to keep above 1.5k RPM without being reckless.

Courtesy: Akash Mohan, Workplace - Bangalore, Hometown - Mangalore.