Monday, 3 August 2015

How to travel to Ladakh alone?

How do I travel to Ladakh alone? What is the cheapest possible way?


I want to travel to Leh Ladakh via cheapest possible way and of course I want to make the trip a ...






Aman Nikhil Mehta

Aman Nikhil MehtaWandering and wondering!


Your traveling expense can roughly be divided into 3 parts- Transportation, Accommodation, Food and Water.
  1. Transportation- Wherever you live, you know the cheapest way to come to Delhi. From Delhi, you have a number of bus options to reach Manali. The fare of AC Volvo buses (2+2 seater) is comparable to Non-AC government buses. There is always some bus offers in these sites redBus.inand Paytm. I booked through one of these and my Rs. 825 bus ticket was slashed to Rs. 475. If you can stick to your plan, you can book the return tickets as well. Choose your bus such that you can reach Manali early morning. A tip: Carry your food from Delhi. You won't want to empty your pockets in in a dhaba which has tie-up with the bus operator. No bus runs non-stop from Manali to Leh. There is a stop in Keylong. Go to the bus stand in Mall Road and inquire about the last bus to Keylong. It's probably around 12:30 PM and the fare is Rs.170. If they can do advance booking, do it. Have a hot water bath and refresh yourself in Sulabh Complex in Manali. Ask a local where to have a good reasonably priced meal. Buy some snacks and a water bottle for the journey to Keylong. You will reach Keylong by evening. Again, inquire about the bus to Leh next morning. The fare from Keylong to Leh is Rs. 525. There is dormitory near Keylong bus stand which you can book for just Rs. 60. Have a plate of Momo/Thukpa in dinner. Again, buy a couple of water bottles and some snacks for the journey. For commuting in Ladakh, the only option you have is to hire a shared taxi/van. You will get more information about booking in New Bus Stand in Leh. Interact with the locals to know the cheapest way to travel. You may alternatively try hitch-hiking. I hiked 4 vehicles near Leh in a single day. People of Ladakh are very hospitable and they will be more than happy to help you out.
  2. Accommodation- You can get accommodation in Leh from Rs.100 to Rs.10,000. It is not always wise to choose the cheapest accommodation if its bathroom is too dirty to use. Take your time, research a bit and ask the locals to get a nice cheap accommodation. There is a dorm above the Namkha Restaurant neat the bus stand which has beds for Rs.100. Ask for the room with a clean bathroom. You can get better places if you try little harder. While away from Leh, you can stay in tented accommodation.
  3. Food and Water: If possible, refrain from eating in tourist places. Eat where the locals eat. In that way you will save money, as well as experience the local cuisine. Sometimes, you won't even get snacks and water at MRP. When you get, buy some extra. Fill your bottle with public drinking water wherever you can. Taste some local fruits.
If you are disciplined, you can easily complete this trip(10-15 days) in 7k-10k.

P.S- I backpacked to Ladakh alone in July 2015. Here's my experience: Aman Nikhil Mehta's answer to What is it like to travel alone?


Anshuman Katoch

Anshuman Katochengineer, traveller, reader


there is a delhi to leh bus by HRTC you could use it, I believe it haults at keylong or jispa at night and takes 36 hours. This will set you back about 1500 rs but isnt the most comfortable means of travel. If youve travelled to kaza via HRTC, you should feel at home on the leh-manali highway. The buses are the same.
you could try something like this
1)delhi-manali
2)manali-jispa
3)jispa-leh
4)rest/leh sighseeing
get a shared cab and permits
5-7 visit pangong tso, hunder via khardungla, Tso moriri whatever you can squeeze in. while there are buses to some of these places, they return the next day and hence are not recommended in your time frame
8-9 leh to srinagar via bus JKSRTC with hault at kargil
10 srinagar to delhi 2000 rs flight currently.
Leh Bus Service - 2015 : Buses to and in Ladakh - Vargis Khan

No comments:

Post a Comment