Kerala to Ladakh in Maruti 800
A journey from 50ft to 19024 ft
A journey which was planned for 6 years.
A 34 day road trip spanning from the southernmost state to the highest motorable pass in the world covering 8 states and 2 union territories.
It was in around 2011-2012 that I first came to know about Ladakh and the challenging Leh-Manali highway through a tv program done by Lisa Kelly ( An American Trucker). After watching the shows, I started exploring more about Ladakh and really wanted to visit Ladakh sometime and also to experience Leh- Manali being a driving enthusiast. I have started planning since 2016 but couldn't make it happen due to either money or time shortage and sometimes both.
Initially planned with friends but as time flew, they too. Finally I decided to travel alone in my car.
About my car, it's a Maruti 800 carburetor which my parents bought when I was 10. I had driven many cars over the last 11 years, but I always felt that there is something magical about this beautiful machine.
Most of the time, I was criticized and even demotivated when I shared my plan to take my car to Ladakh. For me, more than I going to Ladakh, I want my car to be in Ladakh. I had watched countless youtube videos and articles around Ladakh road trips so that I could successfully complete this road trip without any issues.
Finally, in 2023, I started preparing for my dream trip. By April, my car and I were ready. On the 2nd week of August, I resigned from my job and on 28th August 2023, after so much planning and preparations, I started my dream trip to Ladakh.
As I had faced so much demotivation from many people, only a very few people except my parents knew about my journey. I never posted any photos till I came back home.
Me and my car (white tern) started our journey along the coast of Arabian sea on NH 66 towards Gokarna.
As I covered each state,I felt so proud. Everything was smooth till the 3rd day. On the 4th day I started from Pune to Dhule at around 4 in the morning and once I crossed the Pune city it was pretty dark. My car ran over a speed breaker and something happened to the slow speed. It was the time that I saw the other face of a solo road trip. It was pretty dark, all alone and I was standing at the roadside with an open bonnet. But lucky, the issue was only with the slow speed and nothing else. So I continued to drive and got repaired once I reached Dhule. The issue was with the slow speed jet in the carburetor. The same issue slow speed issue, I faced 3-4 times in the entire trip. Other than this, there were no issues at all. But there were severe powerdrop at high altitudes
There is one person who has really helped me on this trip, Mr Baiju. He owns an auto garage in Trivandrum and I knew him from my college days. Those days, I used to discuss this trip with him and he was always encouraging. He prepared my car for this Ladakh trip. Once I reached Srinagar, I started getting the fear of traveling alone as the coming places are very remote with almost no network connection. So I called him and asked him if he could join and finally he joined this trip from Srinagar till the way back to Chandigarh.
This was a 34 day trip. On going towards Leh, I drove around 300 kms per day and while returning from Leh, it was stretched to 400 - 500 kms per day and once I drove around 600 kms in a single day.
My biggest concern about the trip was taking my car safely to Ladakh and back to home.
This trip has brought so many new experiences. I have driven through many new places, new roads, met so many people..
I felt so proud after covering each state.
I didn’t have much time to explore other places than ladakh as I had to travel back to Manali by the last week of September.
Things to Take:
Winter Clothes - From Decathlon
Toiletry Kit
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Cloths
Cap
Pepper Spray - https://amzn.to/3Qwckbc
Water Pump - https://amzn.to/4b7C327
Medicines
Oxygen Can
Water Can
Dry Fruits
Boot
Flask
BSNL and Jio PostPaid SIm
For Car:
Fluids for top up (Engine oil, Gear Oil, Coolant and Brake Fluid)
Toe Rope - https://amzn.to/4aFw7fT
Tyre inflator - https://amzn.to/44s87v0 (Bergmann Typhoon)
Jumper Cable - https://amzn.to/452hkdY
Puncture Kit - https://amzn.to/44qaKNS
Microfiber Cloth - https://amzn.to/45koVVv
Ratchet Set - https://amzn.to/3V1UYoi
Spanner Set - https://amzn.to/4bFWiUR
M seal - https://amzn.to/4bFWiUR
Spare Fuses
Wheel spanner
Hazard Triangle
Cotton waste
Car shampoo
Head torch
NoteBook
Pen
Dash Cam (4k) - https://amzn.to/4aCpkUd
GPS Tracker - https://amzn.to/4aCpkUd
Steering Lock - https://amzn.to/4aCpkUd
Tie - https://amzn.to/4aJVL2U
Happy to share my photos at:
https://www.instagram.com/white__tern/
If you have any queries regarding itinerary or planning, feel free to connect on instagram page
https://www.instagram.com/white__tern/
For a detailed video of the things which I have taken, please watch the below video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhQ8b8eJ614
Car Preparation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0e9qumi4gY
Expenses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t1b54tvCx4
Few tips I want to share with everyone so that it might help people who are planning their trips:
Take care of your car, it will take you to places.
Modern cars are designed to drive continuously for longer distances but I used to give breaks after every 100-150 kms. Take care of your car, clean the glasses daily, keep it clean, consider it as a fellow traveler, It will definitely take you to places. It will be your home for the entire road trip.
Starting early is the key.
Since the car is non-ac, I used to start mostly by 4:30 - 5:00 am and reach that day's destination by max by 12 noon. This has helped a lot in avoiding traffic as well as reducing driving fatigue. On returning from Leh to Kerala, I had started late for 1-2 days, being lazy to get up and had experienced a lot of traffic during those days.
Also was able to experience amazing sunrises along the highways, another perk of starting early.
The earlier you start, the better you can enjoy the trip. It is better for the car as well.
We faced an issue due to starting late in Ladakh. We started by 9 from Leh to Khardung La and reached Khardung La by 11. It was so crowded there and even after waiting for around 20 mins, we couldn't even take a proper photo and had to leave with huge disappointment. But on the day of leaving Leh, we again went to Khardung La in the early morning and took the photos.
Routine check up of the Car: Every night after having dinner, I do check the engine oil, gear oil, coolant and the wiper washer level. I did that the previous night so that the next day I could hit the roads early in the morning without much delay.
Carrying Water : I had a 20L can in my car. But as I reached Srinagar, it was empty. I had searched a lot for Bisleri 5L or 10L cans, both at Srinagar and at Leh and was not able to find them at both places. Eventually, I had to buy a few bottles which I really wanted to avoid but couldn't.
Hotel Bookings: I was very particular that the hotel should have an in permise car parking. This can be checked by searching the keyword "parking" in the google review. You can have a look at the reviews and decide upon. I made a mistake of booking hotels at city centers which took a lot of my time in reaching the hotel from highways.
To reduce the fatigue, I used to have ORS water.
Google Maps: For Leh and nearby places, I had already downloaded the google maps.
Petrol Bunks: I used to fill the petrol fuel the previous night so that the car is totally ready for the ride the next day. A few places, I didn't do it and eventually I had to spend 15-20 mins searching for a bunk. Some of the bunks which showed 24 hrs in google were closed early in the morning.
Acclimatization
The entire experience of Ladakh depends on how well your body gets acclimated to high altitude. We used to have a lot of fluid intakes in every 15- 20 mins interval and used to travel very slow.
Travel with less luggage
If you are traveling by small car to Ladakh, it's better to avoid lots of luggages. The car will be facing power drop due to shortage of oxygen at higher altitudes. So traveling light will be really helpful.
Buffer TIme
The weather at Ladakh is not so predictable. In between you may face several blocks on the way. So while planning, keep a buffer time of 2-3 days.
For first timers, it is always better to travel to Leh from Srinagar than Manali. The rise in the altitude is gradual if you are traveling from Srinagar and this helps in Acclimatization.
The D-Day Experience
On 19th September 2023, we started early from Hanle to Umling La. My car had issues while climbing Khardung La due to lack of oxygen. So I was worried if the same would occur on the way to Umling La. But my car was so smooth while climbing Umling La. Maybe after a week, he was well adapted to the mountains. Reached Umling La by around 8 am. I don't know how to explain that feeling. I was so excited that I didn't feel the cold. All my efforts for the past 6 years, let it be the planning for the trip or saving money or driving all the way from the most southern part of the country, have all been worked out. I never felt so happy before.
We found baralacha and the road from Nubra Valley to Pangong , the most difficult routes.
Conclusion
Over the past 6 years, there were few questions revolving around my head and I have answers for these after the roadtrip.
Is Kerala - Ladakh possible in a Maruti 800? Yes
Will a carburetor Maruti 800 reach Umling La? Yes
Is Leh - Manali highway doable in Maruti 800? Yes
I started this trip with my dream of taking my car to Ladakh. I would say the people I met on this trip made me more happy than the beautiful Ladakh, the mountains, roads and all the places which I drove through this entire trip. They made this trip so memorable.
I am grateful to all the people I had met in this road trip
The retired Army officer whom I met at a petrol pump in Punjab invited me to home,
the soldier who bought food for us,
The joy of waving hands each other, encouraging each other,
The hospitality and kindness of people of Ladakh,
The doctor who has treated me at Tangste when i had a slight dizziness,
The small chit chats and sharing of food on road blocks
All my fellow traveler whom we encouraged each other,
the BRO workers who have helped to pull the car out of the sand,
the lorry driver who patiently waited for about 5 mins as we were struggling to climb Baralacha
and many more.
Road Trips are a mix of many emotions: joy, fear, excitement.
Route
Payyanur → Gokarna → Kolhapur → Pune → Dhule → Indore → Kota → Jaipur → Chandigarh → Patnitop → Srinagar → Kargil → Leh → Manali → Chandigarh → Jaipur → Udaipur → Dhule → Pune → Belgaum → Kerala
Itinerary
Day 1: Kerala → Gokarna
Day 2: Gokarna → Kolhapur
DAy 3: Kolhapur → Pune
Day 4: Pune → Dhule
Day 5: Dhule → Indore
Day 6: Indore → Kota
Day 7: Kota → Jaipur
Day 8: Jaipur → Chandigarh
Day 9: Stayed at Chandigarh (I got fever)
Day 10: Chandigarh → Patnitop
Day 11: Patnitop → Srinagar
Day 12: Srinagar → Pahalgham and back to Srinagar
Day 13: Srinagar
Day 14: Srinagar → Sonamarg
Day 15: Sonamarg → Kargil
Day 16: Kargil → Leh
Day 17: Sightseeing at Leh
Day 18: Leh → Khardung La → Hunder
Day 19: Hunder → Pang and back to Hunder
Day 20: Hunder → Tangste
Day 21: Tangste → Pangong → Chusul → Nyoma → Hanle
Day 22: Hanle → Umling La and back to Hanle
Day 23: Hanle → Leh
Day 24: Leh → Khardung La → Leh → Lato
Day 25: Lato → Sarchu
Day 26 Sarchu → Manali
Day 27: Manali → Chandigarh
Day 28: Chandigarh → Jaipur
Day 29: Jaipur → Udaipur
Day 30: Udaipur
Day 31: Udaipur → Dhule
Day 32: Dhule → Pune
Day 33: Pune → Belgaum
Day 34: Belgaum → Kerala
My Inspirations to travel
Mohana & Vijayan - A Tea Seller Couple from Kerala Who traveled The World
Lakshmi ML - A solo female rider from Kerala who traveled Kerala to Ladakh on pulsar
Tiruppur Mohan - Traveled from Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu to Ladakh on Maruti 800 with family
Brutha Car Tech - Traveled Kerala to Ladakh on his old model Maruti Zen
My Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@whiteTern-M800
Courtesy: Sachin Gopalakrishnan
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