I am coming to Delhi in July and want to go to hills (Leh and Ladakh). What is the best way to travel from New Delhi to Leh and I know its very high in mountains so there are good changes of altitude sickness so please consider that too. Please advice if someone has done it before. Second, I am trying to find treks in Leh and Ladakh are so it would be great if you can advice me on that too. Thanks
The best way to travel from Delhi to Leh is by road, but as you are concerned about altitude sickness so you can take a direct flight from New Delhi to Leh, there are 4-5 flights from Delhi to Leh everyday and it takes just 2 hours from Delhi but be assured that you will miss 50% of the fun if you go by air. The average elevation of Leh Manali highway is 4000 m (13000 feet) and the highest elevation at the Tanglang la mountain pass is 5328 m (17480), which is same as Everest Base Camp. If you are not very tight on budget, then take a bus from Delhi to Manali and hire a Jeep from Manali to Leh, its around 480 km one side trip, but it is full of amazing and breathtaking views, totally worth every single penny
Roads can close for days together some times due to land slides and even accidents because it takes a long time to clear roads. Snow would not be a problem in July but my personal view is that taking a flight is a lot more safes and you get more time at your destination. No doubt the journey is full of views and what not but it is a long drive by any standards.
Easiest and quickest way to get reach Leh is by air, if you don't mind the long drive and getting the advantage of get some amazing scenic views then hire a taxi or if you enjoy driving them take your car there.
If you are driving to Leh, it is strongly recommended that you either stop over in at least three places or have at least two people taking turns to drive. What kind of treks do you want to do, easy or moderate or difficult?
You will be spoiled by choices as there are many ways of doing it. You could just take a direct flight from Delhi to Leh if you are on a tight schedule. You could take public transport and there are two ways (many actually but mainly two) of doing this. You could take the Srinagar route or the Manali route which ever you choose. If you want to go Srinagar way you have better train options that would reduce your road/bus journey as there are trains upto Jammu direct from Delhi but for Manali route just take a direct bus to Manali and take a halt there then take a bus for Leh from Manali. I would advise breaking down your bus journey and taking plenty of stops Both the routes are tiring and take a long time. Another option you have is to go by road driving yourself or in a taxi. This can also be done in two ways just like mentioned above. Manali Leh road trip would be more scenic as compared to Srinagar Leh route. What all you need to prepare for this road trip is all mentioned by Deb in the Leh Ladakh - The Ultimate Guide to Tourist Attractions, Transportation & Accommodation Options thread that covers all aspects of traveling to Leh Ladakh.
It looks like another exciting ride by bus this time. But that 480 kilometer distance would surely take a lot of our time. Since we go on a 4-day vacation only, I think we would forgo with Leh and just settle for some other places near Delhi. The more I indulge in this site, the more I learn about India. Truly this site is worthy of an award for promoting the country that used to be unknown to me as a traveler. Now I am having this notion of going to India next year all because of this informative site.
