Tag: srinagar

The Great Escape : Maps and Facts, 2400 Km in 5 Min

Jul. 13 The Great Escape no comments

Facts

 Approx. Altitude(feet)
Delhi — 820
Manali — 6720
Rohtang Pass — 13050
Keylong — 11000
Darcha — 11150
Baralacha La — 16050
Sirchu — 13950
Pang — 15200
Moore Plains — 15450
Tanglang La — 17600
Leh — 11500
Chang La — 17000
Pangong Tso — 14100
Khardung La — 18380
Diskit — 10100
Srinagar — 5700
Jammu — 1000

Route

 Day No. | Route | Distance | Avg. speed(excluding breaks)
Day 0, Noida -> Ambala, 225 km, 63 kphDay 1, Ambala -> Chandigarh -> Ropar -> Bilaspur -> Sundernagar -> Mandi -> Kullu -> Manali -> Solang Valley, 370 km, 45 kphDay 2, Solang Valley -> Rohtang pass -> Khoksar -> Sissu -> Tandi -> Keylong -> Jispa -> Darcha, 140 km, 24 kphDay 3, Darcha -> Baralacha La -> Sirchu -> Nakee La -> Lachang La -> Pang, 160 km, 26 kph

Day 4, Pang -> Tanglang La -> Rumtse -> Upshi -> Karu -> Leh, 175km, 35 kph

Day 5, Leh -> Karu -> Chang La -> Tangtse -> Pangong Tso, 150 km, 35 kph

Day 6, Pangong Tso -> Tangtse -> Chang La -> Karu -> Leh, 150km, 38 kph

Day 7, Leh -> Khardung La -> Khalsar -> Diskit -> Hunder -> Diskit,140 km, 35 kph

Day 8, Diskit -> Khalsar -> Khardung La -> Leh -> Lamayuru, 240km, 39 kph

Day 9, Lamayuru -> Kargil -> Drass -> Zozila Pass -> Sonmarg -> Srinagar, 320 km, 36 kph

Day 10, Srinagar -> Anantnag -> Patnitop -> Udhampur -> Jammu,300 km, 43 kph

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3e7nHtGk4o&feature=player_embedded

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The Great Escape : DAY 10, Srinagar – Jammu

Jul. 13 The Great Escape 1 comment

13th July

This was the last day of our trip and not an easy one. We had to courier our bikes back to Delhi and catch a train at 7:45 pm. We wanted to reach Jammu latest by 5 pm, so we left Srinagar early by 8 o’clock. As nothing was open at that time, we could’t have breakfast. Despite of the curfew, we didn’t have any trouble in crossing Srinagar. After 1 hour, we stopped at a dhaba for breakfast.

Scenery was green and roads were almost straight for the first 60-70 km after Srinagar.

After that roads were all around the mountains. We crossed Jawahar tunnel, which is ~ 2.5 km long. It was completely dark inside the tunnel. The width was just enough for a truck to pass.

Driving experience till Patnitop wasn’t very exciting because of the heavy incoming tourist traffic and hot weather. Between Patnitop and Udhampur, we took a break of 10 min. By 4 pm we reached Jammu. As soon as we reached Jammu, we called up the courier service. Their office was at the other end of the city. We had to cross the whole jammu city and then come back to railway station. By 6:30 pm we had managed to reach the station. We were happy that we made it before time and didn’t miss the train :)

We boarded the train at 7:30. Everyone in our compartment was staring at our dirty clothes. When i opened my bag and people saw petrol pipes, ropes and gear footrest; their face expression was worth looking at :) We didn’t trouble anyone much and went to bed at 9 pm.

The train arrived Delhi, right time at 5 am. While on my way back to Noida, i was watching the sunrise of delhi. Our trip was over. I was in Delhi but the overwhelming experience of the trip was etched forever in my memories. My eyes were still seeing the mountains in the buildings of the city:)

Day summary: Srinagar – Patnitop – Udhampur – Jammu, 8 hrs, 300 km

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The Great Escape : DAY 9, Lamayuru – Srinagar

Jul. 12 The Great Escape no comments

12th July

This day was going to be long, so we started early at 8:30 am. First 110 kms to Kargil were tough. Road was not good and a lot of trucks on the way made the journey time consuming. We took 3 hours to reach Kargil. We didn’t stop in Kargil and headed for Drass. Road improved after Kargil and we reached Drass by 2 pm. We didn’t stop in Drass also and continued our journey for Sonmarg. As we entered more into the Kashmir valley, the scenery started to turn green.

Everything was going smooth when suddenly bad roads started to appear. The weather also didn’t look great. It started to rain also. We were actually confused that howcome weather become so bad.

e decided to stop near an Army camp. Looking at our conditions, the Army person offered tea and biscuits. We came to know that we were heading Zozila pass and weather could remain bad for days here. After staying at the camp for 20 min, we put on our raincoats and went ahead. I must say that the roads before and after Zozila pass were very dangerous. It was scary also :)

After reaching the top, we could see the Sonmarg valley. It was a fantastic view. Many helicopters were also flying in the valley. I had never seen helicopters, flying at an altitude lower than mine :)

Roads improved after a while, but remained slippery because of the rain. We took 1.5 hours to cross the pass and reached Sonmarg by 4:30 pm. Sonmarg valley is an awesome place. Whole of the world’s greenery is concentrated there. Tall green trees on hills on both sides of the road and river flowing in between the hills, the scene was simply amazing. If we had one day extra, we would have stayed in Sonmarg.

The rain had stopped and Srinagar was 85 km from Sonmarg. We covered the distance in 2 hours and reached Srinagar at 6:30. We had been driving non-stop for 10 hours and needed a break. We asked local people for a place to stay. They advised us to stay near the Dal lake gate, because next day curfew was going to be imposed in Srinagar. A lot of tourists stay near the Dal gate, because the highway to Jammu is near to it, and it’s easier to leave the city without much trouble in the morning.

We travelled 10-12 km around the lake to reach the gate. The lake was looking beautiful while the sun was going below the horizon.

We got a room in a hotel and without wasting much of time had dinner. I was very tired and slept like a baby that night.

Day summary: Lamayuru – Kargil – Drass – Sonmarg – Srinagar, 10 hrs, 320 km

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