[spacedotdash]

Hello everybody! I've been lurking around the forum for the past few weeks or so, since I found out I'll be going to India for the summer. But now I'm in need of some advice.  I'm heading over in June to participate in a course that lasts all month and takes place mostly in Delhi and Jaipur, but I'm staying for another month to do some travelling on my own.  Its not the time of year I'd pick for my first trip, but I'm determined to make the most of it. However, I'm really having trouble deciding what to do!

I've pretty much narrowed it down to 2 possibilities - either head up north to around Manali, Shimla and Ladakh, and expose myself to the possibility of AMS and a busier tourist season but some amazing (more temperate) views - or head down south to around Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and deal with some wet but have a better idea of what to expect. Its not the rains that really worry me, but the 40+degree heat.  I'm leaning toward the north since I was already planning on a trip in the fall to do some volunteering and general travel before I found out I was accepted for the summer course, and I know the fall will be a better time to explore (most of) the areas.  But as I'm a young single woman who'll mainly be travelling alone and on as tight a budget that I can manage, I don't know what plan of attack is best.  Maybe neither - are there some other suggestions out there??

I'm looking for any kind of advice/suggestion you can give me!

[jyotirmoy]

Welcome to the tree spacedotdash. June is the most cruel month in north Indian plains. Both Delhi & Jaipur will be extremely hot with maximum temperature touching 45. Have you got any idea about where you will be staying during your course?
Avoid direct exposure to sunlight
In case of outdoor activity during day wear a light cap
Drink lots of fluid. Drink only filtered/bottled water
Use sun screen lotion/cream
Wear loose cotton garments
Avoid rich & spicey food

These are some of the precautions that you should take.

After June the monsoon sets in and it rains quite heavily in the mountains. July/August is the best time to go to Ladakh.

You can also visit the Valley of flowers in July, this is the time when the valley is full of flowers.

[spacedotdash]

The course is on Jainism, and for the first 2 weeks in Delhi I believe we're staying in a brand new facility that houses the summer school. From what I hear there will be a lot of air conditioned bus travel around and outside the city.  In Jaipur we're staying in an annex to a temple somewhere outside the centre of town, and thats all I know...I'm not expecting it to be decked out with a/c but who knows.  I'll have to deal with it as best I can, and just try to let myself get distracted by everything around me! I have high hopes for the course itself, and as long as I can escape the heat after its over, I'll have something to look forward to and try not to let myself get run down.
I've been reading up on the valley of the flowers and have pretty much decided that even based on the name alone, I have to go.  Others have also suggested Ladakh, so it sounds like I've got the basic direction down at least.
Thanks for the tips!

Are there any other must sees in the area in July?

[kullukid]

How about flying to Leh from Delhi, Ladhak is just about the only place with no rain at this time.

http://picasaweb.goo...key=DO7JeAzphTw

Then after discovering Ladakh, take a share jeep to Manali crossing 3 passes between 16-17500 ft above sea level.

http://picasaweb.goo...key=RRxqP8gufM4

Then spend a few days discovering Manali,Vashisht & Nagar.

http://picasaweb.goo...key=WMQzseNzOfk

Then take a bus to Shimla, or if you have the spare time a quick visit to Mandi & Rewalsar Lake 1hr from Mandi.

http://picasaweb.goo...key=1uCtozrD8Ok

From Shimla you could take the toy train (a wonderful "not to be missed" journey) on the way to Chandigarh, where you can catch a train back to Delhi.   KK

[KABAARY]

How about flying to Leh from Delhi

Not necessarily advisable as it could create problems of sudden adjustment to high altitude..better to break youself in so to say by moving on the road from Manali to Leh.

[kavindra]

If it were me, I'd head to Laddakh as well during the dog days of summer. Also, since OP is already in the North, it is ideal to go that route.

As far as altitude adjustment goes, it is a toss up as to whether driving the Manali-Leh road is superior to flying. The reason is that you go over higher altitudes (than Leh) while driving. If there is a decidedly superior alternative for acclimatization, it is driving to Leh via Kashmir and Kargill which has a very good altitude profile. [There was an excellent post by Vistet on IM and/or TIT with the altitude profiles of the two routes which was very informative in this regard.] You can drive back Leh-Manali road, if the adventure of driving it were desired.

Edited by kavindra, 11 April 2008 - 03:21 AM.

[dzibead]

I agree with kavindra on the issue of altitude adjustment.  If you drive from Manali, you go over several very high passes on the way, and it's definitely not advisable to sleep at those altitudes if you are not fully acclimatized - so you have to plan carefully where you intend to spend the night.  I hope vistet will pop in and add some of his usual well-informed advice on acclimatizing to higher altitudes.

I flew from Delhi to Leh without any problem adjusting to the altitude.  You just have to take it easy for about the first 24 hours or so, and then unless you have unusual difficulty adjusting to the altitude (which taking the road from Manali wouldn't cure anyway), you should be OK.  When you arrive, just plan to spend the day hanging around your guesthouse and doing very little walking around.  If you pick a guesthouse with a nice garden or roof terrace, this can be great - very relaxing.    

You won't be disappointed in Ladakh!  It's wonderful!

[kullukid]

dzibead, on Apr 10 2008, 11:58 PM, said:

I agree with kavindra on the issue of altitude adjustment.  If you drive from Manali, you go over several very high passes on the way, and it's definitely not advisable to sleep at those altitudes if you are not fully acclimatized - so you have to plan carefully where you intend to spend the night.  I hope vistet will pop in and add some of his usual well-informed advice on acclimatizing to higher altitudes.

I flew from Delhi to Leh without any problem adjusting to the altitude.  You just have to take it easy for about the first 24 hours or so, and then unless you have unusual difficulty adjusting to the altitude (which taking the road from Manali wouldn't cure anyway), you should be OK.  When you arrive, just plan to spend the day hanging around your guesthouse and doing very little walking around.  If you pick a guesthouse with a nice garden or roof terrace, this can be great - very relaxing.    

You won't be disappointed in Ladakh!  It's wonderful!

DITTO!!! It's a popular misconception that you can acclimatise taking the Manali route. I flew in from Delhi too & it took me 2-3 days to fully adjust, but i'd much prefer landing at around 11500ft where there are doctors & hospital facilities to camping o/night at around 16-17000ft with no facilities whatsoever. KK

[KABAARY]

It's a popular misconception that you can acclimatise taking the Manali route

Well, then the Indian army must have got it horribly wrong during the days of the Kargil war when they planted battalions, eventually headed for Kargil, in Manali for acclimatisation purposes...not that Kargil is Leh but.....

[dzibead]

KABAARY, on Apr 12 2008, 12:32 PM, said:

It's a popular misconception that you can acclimatise taking the Manali route

Well, then the Indian army must have got it horribly wrong during the days of the Kargil war when they planted battalions, eventually headed for Kargil, in Manali for acclimatisation purposes...not that Kargil is Leh but.....

But they were able to keep them in the Manali area or other intermediate altitudes for longer periods of time to allow for gradual acclimatization.  

kullukid's point is that if you do the Manali-Leh route in 2-3 days, you don't actually fully acclimatize en route, and you go over several passes that are considerably higher than Leh itself (and certainly higher than Manali, which is less than 7000 feet - which is also the altitude at Kargil ) without full acclimatization.  At 7000 feet, I don't even feel any effects of altitude, although I know some people do. To acclimatize for Leh, you really need to spend time over 10,000 feet, so Manali itself doesn't provide all that much acclimatization effect for someplace like Leh.  

If you do the Manali-Leh route in only a couple of days, the journey doesn't last long enough to assure that you are fully acclimatized to be able to deal well with several sudden ascents along the way, and depending on where you stop and spend the night, you might find yourself at an altitude that really gives you trouble.  It's much more dangerous to sleep at high altitudes before you are acclimatized than it is to be at the same altitude when awake.  Also, if you do get into trouble on the Manali-Leh road, you aren't in a position to quickly descend to a lower altitude.  And at least in Leh, the army has pressure chambers where people with AMS can get treatment in a emergency.  That's not an option on the Manali-Leh road.   So unless you can take the Manali-Leh road slowly enough to acclimatize along the way, and assure that you don't end up sleeping at 14,000 feet or something before you are acclimatized, it's probably actually safer to fly directly to Leh and take a day or two to acclimatize there.  

So it's not that you can't acclimatize on the Manali-Leh route; it's that you won't really acclimatize before you get to Leh if you do that route quickly, which is what most people try to do.  So it doesn't offer any real advantage over simply flying directly to Leh and acclimatizing there.

[kullukid]

Thanks Dzi, you took the words right out of my mouth    It's worth mentioning that it is possible to partially acclimatise in Keylong just over the Rhotang pass from Manali, which is at around 10,000ft, but even this will not fully prepare you for sleeping o/night at 16-17000ft. KK