Intro. Road trips into the mountains and particularly into the Himalayan regions are meant to be pleasant fulfilling memorable yet challenging in order to get that satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something worthwhile. However right preparation is essential to ensure that the road trip does not turn in to something of a major disaster with unpleasant experiences and besides safety related issues. One of the critical area of preparation is preparing oneself and also the RIDE which will be facing a lot of adverse conditions. Hence your RIDE has to be prepared even better than you.
When I began going on road trips I was fortunate to read about them before hand through various articles spread all over the internet and hence I had a fair amount of idea as to what needs to be prepared for the same and then as the saying goes; experience is a great teacher and those road trips taught me a lot. One amongst that was the concept of carrying spare fuel.
I thought of reiterating the thought process between petrol pumps and their relation to the distances that need to be covered when moving between the various sectors in Ladakh. To go about this I would be dividing the Ladakh region into various sectors and then work accordingly using the mode of transport as a 4 wheeler.
Northern Sector
Leh > 130 > Turtuk > 160 > Panamik > 45 > Khalsar > 65 > Wari La > 30 > Sakti
Total distance: 430 km
Considering a consumption of 09 km/litre
Total fuel requirement: 48 litres
Petrol pump availability
Eastern Sector
Sakti >64 > Chang La >40 > Tang Tse > 47 > Lukung > 31 > Spangmik
Total distance: 182 km
Considering a consumption of 09 km/litre
Total fuel requirement: 21 litres
Petrol pump availability
Spangmik >9 > Maan >40 > Chushul >68 > Loma >57 > Hanle > 103 > Mahe >63> Korzok >85 > Chumathang >91 > Upshi >56 > Leh
Total distance: 572 km
Considering a consumption of 09 km/litre
Total fuel requirement: 64 litres
Petrol pump availability
Parabola Loop ride :
Sakti >109 > Spangmik >174 > Hanle >166> Korzok >232 > Leh
Total distance: 681 km
Considering a consumption of 09 km/litre
Total fuel requirement: 76 litres
Petrol pump availability
East to West Override
Sakti >109 > Spangmik >174 > Hanle >166 > Korzok >118 > Diebring >35 > Pang >74 > Sarchu >119 > Tandi
Total distance: 800 km
Considering a consumption of 09 km/litre
Total fuel requirement: 89 litres
Petrol pump availability
Western Sector
Leh >226 > Kargil >130 > Rangdum >117> Padum >247 > Kargil
Total distance: 720 km
Considering a consumption of 09 km/litre
Total fuel requirement: 80 litres
Petrol pump availability
I have covered the general routes and combinations that most of the travelers take, there are a few other routes which I have not factored, because they are very specific and need intensive preparation like for eg:
(a) Pangong Tso >> Chushul >> Kakasang La >> Hor La >> Mahe >> Tso Moriri
(b) Hanle >> Salsal La >> Chumur >> Tso Moriri
(c) Khalsar>> Panamik >> Siachen Base Camp >> Panamik
In case someone has specific queries would be happy to help in this regard.
That’s very methodical. But have you figured out what happens when your car breaks down? Where will you get your mechanics?
hi , well no once can predict when mechanical breakdowns can occur but yes the probability of the same can be reduced by undertaking a detailed pre trip servicing , understanding the terrain one is going , understanding the basics of car functioning internally and having certain items that are critical as spares , in fact i hv a article on this written down , let me send u a link
https://traveldreams.live/2017/07/23/how-to-prepare-your-ride-for-the-next-trip-into-the-mountains/
Wow. Ladakh sounds really wonderful. I would love the road trip there.
u should 🙂
Yup, long drives require extensive preparations. We do not want to be caught off-guard in the middle of nowhere, right? The Ladakh landscape looks stunning!