Delhi to Leh
by Car

990 km by road, and 2-3 days (30+ hours driving) behind the wheel. The route divides into 5 stages, the longest being Chandigarh to Manali at 280 km. The longest stage is not the slowest one: Sarchu to Leh covers 255 km in 10 hrs, which is where the hours actually go.

Keylong to Sarchu — 105 km graded poor, and 4 hrs of the day. Baralacha La (4,890m), high-altitude desert. By contrast Delhi to Chandigarh is graded excellent, so the route is not uniform and planning it as one average speed is how people end up arriving after dark. The road quality on this corridor runs across excellent, moderate and poor.

Sarchu to Leh — 255 km in 10 hrs, which is the slowest average on the route. Gata Loops (21 hairpin bends), Tanglang La, Upshi, Indus Valley. Chandigarh to Manali is the longest stage at 280 km and takes 8 hrs, so distance and time are not in proportion on this corridor. Knowing which stage is slow is what lets a departure time be chosen properly rather than guessed at.

NH-44, starting the epic journey, Mountain roads, Kullu Valley and Atal Tunnel (9.2 km), among others. These are on the route rather than detours from it, which is the practical distinction — a stop that costs you ten minutes is a different proposition from one that costs an hour each way. Tell the driver in advance which of them you want to stop at and the day gets planned around it instead of around the clock.

Acclimatize at Manali for a day before ascending — altitude sickness above 3,500m is serious. Then: petrol stations after Manali are unreliable — fill up at Tandi (last guaranteed fuel for 365 km). Then: inner Line Permit required for Leh — apply online at laikinh.in before your trip. Then: this is a 3-day minimum road trip — Day 1: Delhi to Manali, Day 2: Manali to Sarchu/Jispa, Day 3: Sarchu to Leh. None of that is generic road-trip advice — it is what the drivers who run this corridor pass on, and the position-specific items are the ones worth reading twice.

The mountain work on this route is a different job from the highway part of it, and we treat it that way: a driver who knows this climb goes on this run. Keylong to Sarchu is the stage that asks the most of the car and the driver. Lower gears on the descent rather than the brakes, a wider following distance than feels necessary, and a start early enough to finish the climb in daylight.

We would rather you did not, and we will say so. The hill section of this route is the part where visibility, unlit edges and oncoming traffic combine badly, and arriving three hours later in daylight is the better trade. If the journey has to run into the night, it runs with the night allowance for the driver and a start time chosen so the climb is behind you before dark. A driver asked to do 990 km on no sleep is the single worst risk on any booking, and we do not take it.

A flight is faster and we will not pretend otherwise over 990 km. What it does not give you is the car at the other end, the luggage you did not have to weigh, or any of NH-44, starting the epic journey and Mountain roads. It also does not solve the last part of the journey: the airport is not the destination here, and the road from it is the same road. Where the schedule is tight, people often fly one way and drive the other.