Tips For Travelers to Leh: Leh via Manali Budget | Sightseeing Package | Rafting | Leh via Srinagar

Budget for Visiting Leh via Manali (excluding excursions, only local sightseeing)

• 1100 INR per person from Delhi to Manali via Volvo
• 500 INR Manali hotel stay and food per person
• Manali to Leh transfer 3000 INR per person via Tata Sumo, Mahindra Scorpio, Toyota Qualis, or Toyota Innova.
• 600 INR per person for Sarchu Camp Bed
• 600 INR per person for guest house, you can either hire Jigmet Guest House Leh or Raku Guest House in Leh.
• 1000 INR per person for sightseeing in Leh including Khardung La, Stok, Matho, Stakna, Thiksey Monastery, Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace (you can walk in town), and Sankar Gompa.

Total package budget is approximately 6800 INR only till Leh and sightseeing. If you come back by road, you have to 2500 INR extra and would cost approximately 11000 INR per person till Delhi.

1. If you plan to go from Delhi to Manali booking a seat in Volvo (1100 INR per person) overnight journey 1800 hours to 0800 hours covering 565 kilometers including hilly terrain. Total time of travel in Volvo bust will be 14 hours.
2. Manali local sightseeing places will include Hadimba Devi temple, Van Vihar (very beautiful place, Naggar District Kullu, Vashist Hot Water Springs, and you can also enjoy rafting in Beas river but you have to come down to Kullu, also Manikaran is just 85 kilometers from Manali and you need to hire a separate cab for that (I hired an Alto), plus you can visit Solang Valley for adventure and fun activities, it is just 13 kilometers or so from Manali (a very good place). But you cannot cover all these in one day.
3. Manali to Sarchu covering 220 kilometers in 10 hours of drive, over Rohtang Pass (3958 meters above mean sea level) and Baralacha La at 5100 meters.
4. Sarchu to Leh 255 kilometers for 7 hours of drive through Morey Plains (amazing 45 km straight road) and over tanglang la mountain pass at 5360 meters.
5. Leh local tourist spots like Stok, Matho, Stakna.
6. Leh local excursion to Khardung La pass.
7. Leh local trip to Shanti Stupa, Shankar Gompa, and Leh Palace
8. Leh - Sarchu/Manali (sometimes could be done in one day, if you are fortunate to get a vehicle returning back to Manali) takes 16 to 20 hours.
9. Sarchu to Manali drive.
10. Manali - Delhi overnight journey via Volvo bus

Also you can check for bus to Leh from Manali which starts early at 0400 hours and reaches Leh at 2000 hours at www.hrtc.gov.in, fare was 500 INR and cannot be found at website. You need to confirm this via phone calling at Himachal Road Transport Corporation contact numbers in India 0177-2658032, 01772658031, 01772650911, 01772804016, and 01772624582. If you will take a Sumo, Scorpio, then it takes 15000 to drop you at Leh in 1 night/two days, stopover Sarchu. If you add it to the cost on a daily basis, it will cost you around 3000 INR per person, but no use as the vehicles from Manali or somewhere out are not allowed to undertake sightseeing in Leh, so it is double expenditure for you. If possible take an excursion to Pangong Tso (155 kilometers South East of Leh, is a beautiful lake that gets totally frozen in winter months).

When you will reach Manali, try to visit a few hotels around there where you can inquire about vehicle. Ask them for any cab which is returning to Jammu and Kashmir with Leh License Plate. There are many of them and they generally stand at small hotels across Manali and not at taxi stands.

Budget for Visiting Leh via Manali (including excursions and local sightseeing)

On reaching Leh, you will have a leave an entire day to get acclimatized due to the high altitude. Some people who are very impatient and could not resist the surroundings have to pay for it later so keep some patience and acclimatize your body to the high altitude ranges.

There are many travel agencies that can be found in Leh market who could arrange sightseeing and adventure for you, but please don’t try and make any trips on your own because you need permissions to go anywhere in and around Leh. The travel agencies will take care of the permissions part. The following are a must do here:

Khardung La Pass - Nubra Valley: You could hire a Sumo or a Safari for this, will cost you approximately Rs. 1200 to 1700 per Sumo. You can club Khardung La Pass and then also visit Nubra Valley, the deserts and take a ride on the two humped camels. Also take a look at Dalai Lama’s Palace on the way. If possible, ask the travel agent to get you permission to visit the Siachen Glacier Base Camp. This one is totally awesome and out of this world.

Pan Yoong Lake: This would take an entire day, would pass through Chang La Pass.

Rafting and camping by the Indus River: You can opt for a 3 to 4 hour raft on the Indus and the camp by the river side overnight. This can be arranged via the travel agencies again at RS 1200 to 1500 INR per person (cost includes transfer from Leh to the rafting point, lunch at the camp after raft, campfire, dinner, breakfast, tents, sleeping bags.

Your vacation to Leh will definitely be an experience of a lifetime, but remember please give yourself time to get acclimatized to the new climate and weather. Wear very warm woolen clothing. Also, you will need to do the bookings once you get to the Leh market. Approximate prices would be as follows:

• Rafting plus camping (overnight): Rs 12000 to 1500 per person
• Hiring a Sumo or Safari for Khardung La/nubra valley/Pang Yong Lake: Rs 1200 to 1700 per person per day

Leh via Srinagar Route in India

Some people are interested in visiting Leh via Srinagar route, so here is some information for them. Although the distance is approximately 90 kilometers from Zoji La Pass to Kargil via Dras (the Gateway to Ladakh), it is really tough since the roads are in very bad shape, You can cover a lot of places like Sonmarg and Lamayuru Monastery on the way. In case you are traveling by your own car, keep extra fuel in cans since there is no petrol pump between Sonmarg and Kargil. In fact, there are only two fuel stations between Kargil and Leh town, distance of approximately 230 kilometers which are mostly closed. Please avoid traveling on this route on Mondays since the road from Sonmarg to Dras via Zoji La pass is closed for weekly repairs. One should always check from the army person, the weekly day on which the traffic is stopped either in Kargil or Sonmarg.