Best Travel Routes to Reach Leh-Ladakh for a Road Trip

Are you planning to travel to Ladakh by bike? To help you along in this pursuit, we have articulated some of the important information about the most-used highways to Leh-Ladakh in this blog. Here are some of the most renowned routes that you can take to reach your destination. To make the choice easier for you, two major routes lead to Leh, Ladakh: one starts from Srinagar, and the other is from Manali.

Srinagar-Leh Highway, Route 1

This route is not used as regularly by the majority of the riders as the other one that starts from Manali; travelling from Srinagar to Leh, Ladakh would require you to cover a distance of about 434 kms. This route would pass through tourist spots like Sonmarg, Zozi La, Drass, Kargil, Mulbek, Lamayaru, Saspol, Leh, etc.

Manali Leh Highway, Route 2

Due to the amazing sightseeing opportunities this route provides, it has been the most preferred and used route for a long time. Although this route is slightly longer than the Srinagar to Leh route at 490km compared to the 430km of the other route, If you opt to travel through this route, you would pass through Manali-Rohtang-Gramphu-Kokshar-Keylong-Jispa-Darcha-Sarchu-Gataloops-Nkee Laa, and finally to Leh.

Manali To Leh , Route 3 ( New ) 

The third route is part of an overall incentive of the Indian government to ease the transit to Leh Ladakh with association with the Border Roads Organisation. This has been done with the aim of facilitating easy mobility of troops within the area. The new route goes along Nimmu-Padam-Darcha Link creating the shortest path to Leh Ladakh. The road would add to the strategic advantage in reaching the critical areas of Leh Ladakh swiftly with its total length being only 298km. The entirety of the project has taken about two years to be completed. If you use the following route you would be able to reach Leh Ladakh faster and with much more ease.  In case you want to take a commerical vehicle to Ladakh you would need a inner line permit, read our blog on how to obtain Inner line permit.

Accommodation on Routes. 

Thanks to the popularity of both routes, you would be able to find accommodation along these routes easily and without any challenges. Srinagar, being a popular tourist destination, offers a great deal of accommodation and night-stay hotels. Up ahead in Sonmarg and Drass, you would be able to find hotels and nightspots at reasonable prices as well. The route from Kargil to Leh provides its travellers with plenty of accommodation options as well.

Accommodation along the Manali-Leh Highway. 

Although this route offers many accommodations, as you move closer to Jispa and Leh, you will find fewer options. So, if you are planning to travel through this route, ensure that you ride in such a manner that you can stay overnight before reaching Leh and then find a hotel or overnight accommodation. Local providers also provide night-stay camps.

If you are an adventurous soul and want to explore beyond the norm, you can plan your night stays in these camps. These camps provide all the basic amenities one could expect from a night's stay along the way. You can get decent enough food to sleep a good night's sleep and carry on in your travel pursuit.

Petrol Pumps on the Manali-Leh-Ladakh Highway 

There is a scarcity of petrol pumps along the Manali Leh Highway, so if you are planning a trip along this route, do carry pairs of jerry cans since there aren't that many petrol pumps along the highway. 

Manali has a lot of petrol pumps, so if you are planning to travel ahead, get a full tank in Manali, and then the next available fuel station would be at Tandi, which is at about 110 km from Manali. So we would recommend that after a full tank refuel in Manali, you can easily refuel here to reach your destination with ease. You can also find fuel at Pang or Sarchu.

Petrol Pumps Along the Srinagar-Leh-Ladakh Highway

Along this route, you would find petrol stations at Nagbal, Ganderbal, Kargil, and Khalsi. Although there are many petrol stations along the way from Srinagar to Leh, it's possible that when you reach them, they might be inoperable.

So in such cases, fill your tank up at the fuel stations that are nearby your location, and then once you have a full tank and you have a range of about 100 km, you can easily refuel and top up at any fuel station that you might find along the route. This would help you increase your range while being en route.

Permit Requirements Based on Ownership of The Vehicle

In case you are travelling with a bike that is registered in your name or anyone's who has a blood relation with you like your father or Mother, it would be fine. But in case you ride to certain other locations beyond Ladakh with a rental bike, then you would require an inner line permit. Getting an inner line permit is not as difficult as it used to be; you can now apply easily online and get the benefits of getting the permit remotely and being prepared before your arrival at Leh.

In case all these details, as well as the lack of a vehicle, have been overwhelming you and discouraging you from planning this trip, you can easily opt for Leh Ladakh tourist packages. These packages follow a fixed itinerary that would easily help you travel around the different speciality locations in the Leh-Ladakh area, without any hassles. You can easily opt for one on RenTrip. Our package has been designed keeping the diverse locations of the Leh area in perspective, and hence you will be able to visit the diverse areas of Leh with ease. Book our tour package today with RenTrip.