Less travelled roads in India : Srinagar - Leh - Manali

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Less travelled roads in India

Route 1 : Jammu - Srinagar - Leh - Manali highway

Day 1 : Jammu - Srinagar, 293 km
Day 2 : Srinagar - Kargil, 204 km
Day 3 : Kargil - Leh, 230 km
Day 4 & 5 : Leh - Manali, 475 km with Sarchu (Kashmir - Himachal State border)/Keylong night halt.
Day 6 : Manali - Chandigarh, 312 km, 10 h

The route is motorable only for 3 to 4 months due to snow. There is a direct bus from Delhi to Leh via Chandigarh, Manali, Keylong and Pang camp.

Jammu

Winter capital of the state, Dogra art gallery and Mubarak mandi palace, Ranbireswar temple, Raghnath temple, tombs, Bahu fort.

Vaishnodevi temple (1700 m) - Major Hindu pilgrim centre, 12 km trek from Katra (40 km from Jammu). It is a cave with a length of 30 m and a height of 1.5 m.



Raghnath temple, Jammu

PATNITOP (111 km on Srinagar route) - Hill station.



Jammu - Domel - Udhampur - Kud - Ramban - Banihal (2.5 km long Jawahar tunnel) - Qazigund - Anantnag - Srinagar (293 km).



Jawahar tunnel at Banihal, the door to Kashmir valley.

Amarnath cave pilgrim route

Amarnath Cave (3900 m) with ice Shiv lingam which waxes and wanes with moon, Pahalgam to Chandanwari by jeep, trek to Panchtarani via Sheshnag and then to cave (40 km), Return to Baltal in 4 days; Baltal (100 km from Srinagar) - Base camp for trekking to Amarnath cave (15*2 km, in a day) near Sonamarg. Season : July to Sept.



Pahalgam : Hill station, fishing, picnic spot. DACHIGAM wildlife sanctuary - season : April to October. Base for treks to Kalhoi glacier (5485 m), Amarnath cave etc.

Route : Anantnag - Pahalgam. Pahalgam to Aru (11 km, jeep), trek to Lidderwat (11 km, PWD rest house) to glacier (3350 m, 13 km). 35 km trek from Aru : 3 day. Lidderwat - meadows in forest and camping site.

Srinagar - Kargil road

Srinagar tourist places : Dal, Nagin and Anchar lakes, Sri Pratap singh Govt. museum, Mughal gardens - Chashmasahi, Nishat, Shalimar, Pari mahal, Shankaracharya temple on hill top (4 km, 300 m), Hazratbal mosque - Hair of Prophet Mohamed is kept here, Charar-i-Sharif (28 km) , Khir Bhawani temple (27 km, in marble); Wular lake (47 km) - largest fresh water lake in Asia, scenic beauty, fishing.

Gulmarg (46 km from Srinagar) - Meadow of flowers, winter sports : ice skating/ skiing, 2 km rope way to lift Ski enthusiasts, Tangmarg camping site (6 km), scenic beauty. Season : April - June.

Srinagar - Ganderbal - Wayul - Kangan - Gund - Kulan - Sonamarg - Baltal - Zoji la (3530 m) - Matayan - Drass - Kakshar - Kargil (204 km).

Drass, World's second coldest inhabited place, in 1995, - 60oC temperature was recorded.

Kargil war video

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Kargil to Padum (Zanskar)

Kargil - Sanko - Suru - Tongul -Gulmatungo - Zulidok - Rangdum - Pensi la (4401 m) - Kushol - Phe - Su - Padum.



Pensi la on the way to Zanskar (Padum)

Mt. Nun (7135 m) & Kun (7100 m) are very close to Gulmatungo. Mt. Kun base camp is 15 km away. The other mountains in the area are Pinnacle peak (6952 m), White needle (6600 m) etc.



Mt. Nun



Kargil - Leh road

Kargil - Lotsun - Shargole - Mulbekh - Heniskot - Lamayuru (monastery 80 km from Kargil) - Fotu la (4094 m) - Khalsi - Nurla - Saspul - Bazgoo - Nimmoo - Phey - Spituk - Leh.

Leh

Leh (434 km from Srinagar at 3512 m) - Leh palace, mosque, Mangyal Tsemo, Gompa Tsemo, Spituk monastery (9 km), Shey palace, Tiksey monastery - largest in Ladakh (15 km), Hemis monastery near Karoo (50 km) - richest monastery in Ladakh, Hemis festival is in June.

Markha valley trek - Karoo to Chogdo via Marchelang and then to Nimaling via Kongmaru la (5100 m) : 14 km, views of Kang Yaze (6400 m). It snows even in summer and nights are chilly.

Leh - Nubra Valley road

Leh - South Pullu - Khardung la (5602 m) - North Pullu - Satti - Hundar - Kharu.

Khardung la (5600 m, 40 km) video : world's highest motorable road. Camel Safari in Nubra valley. Double humped Bactrian camels (video) can be found at Hundar. Satti - Thirit - Sumur - Panamik, the road head to Siachen glacier, world's highest battle field (6700 m).

Siachen glacier : In 1984, Indian Army take the control of the area. Around 1000 army personnel are stationed here. For keeping the area, India is spending more than $ 2 million per year!. Indira Col is the northern most point of India lies in the glacier. The temperature of minus 53 Celcius are common. A visit permit will take 6 months for getting sanction.

Pangong Tso lake

Pangong lake (4267 m video) & Tso Moriri are high altitude lakes. Visit need inner line permit due to Chinese border.

Leh - Choglamsar - Thiksey - Stakna- Karoo - Darbuk - Tangtse - Spangmik - Pangong Tso lake. Or Upshi - Mahe - Demchok - Pangong Tso lake.

Tso Moriri lake is oval shaped and ice plateau at 6000 m. The lake has 150 km length and half is in China. Polongonka monastery is nearby.

Dablong (on Upshi - Manali road)/ Mahe - Puga - Kazrok - Tso Morriri lake.

Hanle : World's highest Astronomical Observatory is at Hale (4500 m, 10 h drive from Leh near Chinese border) and is remotely operated by IIA from Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is a small village in Ladakh with a population of 500. It has Hanle monastery.



Changthang - Hanle road to meet Changpas (Nomadic tribe of the Ladakh Plateau) video . The road further leads to China (Tibet) border and is closed. If it opens will be helpful for the easy access of Kailas Manasarovar pilgrims.

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Leh - Manali road, 475 km

One of the world's highest roads over Tanglang la (5300 m) and Lachlung la (5100 m) : 2 days hectic high altitude travel.



Tanglang la on the Leh - Manali road at 5300 m.

Karoo - Martselang - Upshi (NH 21 up to Chandigarh) - Gya - Killingsarai - Baralacha la (4,890 m)- Zingzingbar - Patseu - Darcha - Jispa - Keylong - Rohtang pass (3970 m) - Damphug - Palchen - Manali.

Lahaul

Chandra Taal trek route begins at the base of Bara-lacha la and reaches the roadhead at Batal at the base of Kumzum la (4500 m) on the Manali - Gramphu - Chatru - Batal (90 km from Manali) - Kumzum la - Rangrik - Spiti - Kaza road.

Kaza - Lingti - Poh - Tabo - Chango - Khab (NH 22 up to Shimla) - Puh - Morang - Reckong Peo - Wangtu - Rampur - Narkhanda - Theog - Shimla.





Rohtang pass on the Keylong - Manali road : The best place to see and feel snow.

From Darcha on Manali - Leh road to Zanskar Sumdo (25 km) and to Pulu over Shingku la (5100 m). Trek further to Padum : 12 days.

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Manali (1928 m) : Hadimba temple by trek, Dunagiri temple, Vasisht hot bath (3 km), Jagatsukh trek (6 km). Solang to Tentu pass trek (5000 m, 17 km*2, 2 day). Solang (15 km) is popular base for skiing, snow clad mountains and mountaineering (Mt Manali at 5670 m, 15 km from Solang, Friendship peak etc are good for beginners).

Manikaran (1700 m) : 45 km from Kullu, famous for hot sulphur springs. Base for Pin parvati Pass trek (5230 m) and then to Sangam (100 km difficult trek, 9 days).

Kullu (1219 m, Located 40 km from Manali) : World's largest Angora rabbit farm, Raghunath temple famous for the Dussehra festival, Roerich's museum at Naggar (30 km).



Hadimba temple, Manali

Manali - Kullu - Mandi - Ambala. Ambala is well connected to New Delhi by train.