Things to know when traveling to Ladakh by own car

Best Car For Ladakh Tour

Traveling to Ladakh in your own vehicle is one of a kind and an enjoyable experience. But some of the roads of Ladakh have never been tarred and the challenging bumps sometimes hitting car and damaging due to ground clearance in Ladakh especially if traveling with family can be unenjoyable experience since the mechanics are not available that easy. So here are a few points charted out for you to check if your car is good for you to travel to Ladakh or not.

1. Ground clearance of car should be – more than 190 mm. It is a major and foremost thing to check for a pleasurable experience to Ladakh. XUV’s have ground clearance upto 210 mm and hence are best. Swift has GC of 170 mm, Verna has 165 mm, Maruti has 160 mm etc hence not recommended at all.
   
2. The driver should be good at the steering handling. He should have great reflexes when it comes to road and since the roads might be steep, narrow and the most challenging- water crossings as they can be deep or slippery. The roads can have snow on them making roads very slippery and at times unstable. So pick an experienced driver who have great driving skills. We recommend you hire a taxi if not very experienced.
3. The engine size also plays its part. You wouldn’t want to put immense pressure on your engine.  You will come across steep roads to put your car in enough pressure to climb it. Make sure you chose a car with a powerful engine.
4. Your car should be spacious so that you don’t get enough tired and have enough space for your legs to rest.
5. Make sure your car has enough diesel or carry extra diesel with you.
6. If its 3 people traveling. you can purchase a car bed(available at amazon) for one person can always rest.
7. Don’t forget to have car accessories like puncture kit, car power pump, mobile charger etc.

Preparing your car for Ladakh:

Make sure your car meets all the points mentioned above and the next step comes preparing your car to take you to Ladakh:

1. Get it serviced well before taking it to Ladakh and travel a few kilometers after servicing to make sure there is no wheezing sound, or no such noise of nuts or bolts coming from within or no shakes in car.
2. Get the wheel alignment done.
3. Make sure the battery is not too old, the brakes are not tight, the clutch plates work just fine and tires are not worn out. The age of tires is an important thing to consider. The older the tires, the more slippery they are. The wipers should work out well too, battery water should be filled, carry spare keys and document of your car too.

Important tips while self driving

1. Do not rush when in doubt on road – When traveling to Ladakh, if you find any section of the road a little tricky than usual like river crossing or landslide area or too many bumps on road, do not ever rush to pass that part of the road in a haste. Rather very carefully analyze the situation even if it takes long and pass the road.
2. Do not use heater in the car especially at high altitudes because heater disturbs the level of oxygen in the car to further make it difficult in breathing and can cause AMS or aggravate if it already exists a little.
3. Do not smoke if on the road trip to Ladakh. Smoking causes less oxygen reaching your lungs hence can be the reason for AMS.
4. Do not drink and drive while on road. It can be hazardous for you. You need to be in full conscious while driving to think through. You should have your reflexes working at best which means no booze time.
5. Do not get overconfident. Even if you are master at driving or have traveled many times on the mountain areas still while driving to Ladakh you’ll have to keep your overconfidence aside and drive extra carefully.