Manali to leh - a must on 4 wheels. Review on Manali

If you want to visit Leh... never, NEVER take the flight from New Delhi to Leh... instead hire a sumo/jeep/car and drive to leh from Manali... cost: Rs. 10,000 for a full Sumo or Rs. 1500 per head (total 7 passengers)... its an overnight trip with a halt at Pang or Sarchu. The best thing abt the drive is the view.... dont take the state bus... if you have your vehicle then u can stop & shoot at your own will... and u will need to stop & shoot, trust me. Also because u r driving up, ur body gets acclimatized with the change in altitude and so u need not panic... also as soon as you baralacha pass or even if u think u will fall ill... then at manali itself pop a disprin... this will save you from splitting head-aches when u stop over at night... have another pill before u go to sleep, so that u dont get up all woozy and feeling sick... back to the drive... you pass thru 5 passes... and the sights of glaciers and the arid mountains will make anyone happy... the scenery changes from green to bare and then arid as you enter the More Plains - a stretch of 42 kms of arid flatland where you can jam the accelerator and leave a dust-trail behind... its phenomenal... the mountains are in different hues from brown to light green to even purple... and best of all the sun is out till 8pm (i was there last month - i'm sure it changes with the season)... the overnight halt at Pang valley saw us camping it out in tents owned by local Ladhakis... who serve u supper & breakfast and provide u with quilts and bed... it gets freezing in the night... so carry warm stuff... the wind-chill factor is pretty high... tho at rohtang the temp was only 10 degrees centigrade, becoz of the wind it felt like -3!! the route is like this - manali -madi (grt aloo paranthas)-rohtang pass-koksar-tandi (the last petrol filling station for the next 365kms!!)-Darcha (lunch-point - avoid non-veg food - it will hamper digestion and cause acidity that might lead to a whole other ball-game)-baralacha pass - night halt at sarchu or pang - the next morning you hit the more plains - then the steep climb to the 2nd highest motorable pass in the world - taghlangla (its this climb that seeps you out) - the air is very thin... there have been cases of HAPE & HACE but mostly to people who cycle up or climb to fast... so carry medicines as precaution... and remember that the only cure for altitude sickness is to get down to a lower altitude a.s.a.p - and also DON't PANIC!!! at taghlangla (foto attached)it's a grt photo-op and remember walk/move slowly... you are not at sea level so every move will exhaust you... after taghlangla it's a straight 42 km descent into Leh city... it is one of the most beautiful drives of the world... and all you VTs out there shd do it... carry cartons of water - lots of it... u will need to sip thruout as it is dehydrating... also carry a lot of biscuits & chocolates for energy... and also the road route is only open for 6 months of the year April to Sept... the rest of the year the passes are all snowed out, and only flights are available from Delhi... hope this has been of some use to people wanting to do the trip. Bon Voyage.