Hi
My wife and I are planning a month or so in India and want to travel to Ladakh; I have some mobility issues and don't think I could handle a series of 12 hour bus trips.
We also want to travel by land to see as much as possible on the way to and from Ladakh. Many years ago I rode around the north of India by Enfield......so I don't want self drive. Also it seems that there is little price difference between self drive and hiring a car with driver, so using a driver is our preferred option.
Can anyone recommend a company in Delhi and what is the current cost per day, I am assuming that 3 weeks hire will give me a fair bit of negotiation power, but it would be great to get a base line.
Has anyone done this trip by hire car and were there any major hassles.
Cheers
Richard
You should consider that taxis from other states are not allowed to operate in Ladakh (Jammu-Kashmir).
A car registered in Himachal Prades (Manali) can drop you to Leh but can not drive you on tours inside Ladakh.
In Leh there is a very strong taxi drivers union which dictates conditions even for local car owners (i.e. agencies) about tourist transfers. Their prices are fixed. Union has its checkposts around Leh where they stop taxis and control if tourist transfers are done by their rules.
Also for driving from Delhi to Manali you can hire Ambasador which will be much cheaper than hiring Qualis or Tata Sumo which you need to travel from Manali to Leh. Manali also has taxi union with fixed prices. If I remeber correctly Manali - Leh should cost 12.000rps, you can probably negotiate lower price directly with the driver and if you travel out of main season price drops considerably. Local agencies also organize this trip and you can find someone to share costs - Qualis or Sumo is spacious vehicle (9+1 seats) therefore 4 people might fit comfortably in it. In Leh you can use local taxis for excursions. Also the road between Manali to Leh is in bad condition in many places and drivers from Manali have more experiences with the road than those from Delhi and they know what are conditions on the road at the moment.
If you want to do a multiday trip in Ladakh (like Pagong, Tso Moriri) you might need to arrange it through agency which will provide tents, food, cook - and vehicle as well.
As Manali - Leh road is very scenic and definitely worth travelling you might find it a bit to much to travel it twice (of course if you dont inted to travel via Srinagar). So consider flying out (or flying in which is a better option regarding acclimatization).
To travel from Delhi to Manali you can also use Volvo AC semi sleeper bus. It costs only about 800rps (20USD) with seats that are very comfortable - even more than in a car.
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