[Bumblebee]

Hi,

I had just recently made up my mind not to bring a sleeping bag to India, but only a sheet bag.
Now today I just talked to a friend that has been in Ladakh many times and she tells me a sleeping bag is really necessary in ladakh - also when taking a bus down to Manali you would have to sleep in tents on the way and this is cold So, will the sheet bag be too cold indeed? I wanted to take it since it weighs less than a normal sleeping bag..

Fyi; I will travel to India from August untill ...? at least 6 months, maybe a year? I will be  both in the North and South. Well, it's clear; I will leave India when I feel I'm ready :-)

I might do some trekkings in Ladakh, but then I thought I could rent a sleeping bag, I reckoned. But according to my friend, even in hostals a sleeping bag is better (blankets may not be clean and sheet bag may be too cold)?

[john.sw]

I can't advise you about Ladakh, but I do find many beds in India are too hard for me!

If you put a sleeping bag on a hard mattress, it certainly makes it more comfortable.  

[vinayverma]

August is practically the closing time for Ladakh, roads starts to close and temp starts going down.
a sleeping bag is a good thing to have at this time. get a sleeping bag which is not too big and can handle at least 1C.

[Hippie at Heart]

It will be a good idea to have a 2 season (very cold and snow weather) type sleeping bag, or one that have removable inners. You would hardly need the bag after leh ladak. Rest of northern plains wont get as cold that you need a sleeping bag till December end. In south India I doubt you’d need a sleeping bag anytime of year unless you go to hill station in middle of winters.

[ploma]

Hello Bumblebee,

I've been in Ladakh once (August 2003) and  when I was there I was sleeping in budget guesthouses, all of them had windows and blankets so you can sleep perfectly well with just a sheet bag, maybe some blankets are not as clean as you're expecting but that's up to you, I could handle that as in my opinion it wasn't too dirty.

I cannot tell you anything about the bags you can rent for trekking as I didn't went on a proper trek with a tent...

Then about the journey from Leh to Manali, that's the only point were I can find a real bag important but it's only one night in Sarchu (or Pang, or...) so...  What I've done was to talk with the people of the camp where I was going to sleep (I was doing that journey from manali to leh with a shared/private 4x4) and agreed to sleep in the one that give me more blankets. So you I had sleep one night under the heavy weight of 4 or 5 blankets. Even I remember I was asked to sleep in some big tents where they have some "restaurants" and they look more warm and comfortable... But if you're going to take the bus I don't know how it will work.

After all it depends in which kind of trek are you going to do and that night on the way to manali... While in Leh or other towns of Ladakh you don't really need a sleeping bag and when you'll be "back to India" you can always buy a rough blanket (very cheap) and wear it if it's cold on trains, buses or at night, as I've seen many locals in the north do.  

Enjoy this great trip!

uribaba

[Abhijit Sur]

You can drop the idea of carrying sleeping bag. In stead bring single light weight bed sheet. You can use that as an inner to blanket( if you feel that is dirty). We usually do that. If you travel from Leh to Manali by HPTDC bus, they have very good arrangement at Sarchu.

[Bumblebee]

Hi,

I am still having doubts, for example last year I was in Pune and end of November - beginning December it was rather cold at night there and I needed to buy a blanket (the private room had only a sheet), so in fact even there I could have used a sleeping bag.
Well, I will decide when I pack my bag and see if I can afford to carry the extra weight..