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Winter / Summer · Zanskar, Ladakh

Zanskar Expedition

Manali ⇄ Manali · 6 Days · 4x4 Convoy Highest point 4,400 m (Pensi La)

  1. Manali
  2. Jispa
  3. Pa Gombo4,400 m
  4. Drang Drung
  5. Zangla
  6. Manali

The Route

Six Days, Day by Day.

From Manali and back in 6 days, with Pensi La at 4,400 m on day 3. Every day below, with the highest point it reaches.

  1. Day 1

    Manali

    Briefing, stickering and the car check. The vehicles are looked over before anything else happens.

    2,050 m

  2. Day 2

    Manali → Jispa

    Through the Atal Tunnel into Lahaul and up the Bhaga valley to Jispa, where the convoy sleeps low before the climb.

    3,200 m

  3. Day 3

    Jispa → Pa Gombo → Phugtal → Padum

    Over into Zanskar for Pa Gombo, then the walk in to Phugtal, a monastery built into the mouth of a cave above the river, and on to Padum.

    4,400 m

  4. Day 4

    Padum → Drang Drung → Pensi La → Sani → Padum

    West to Pensi La with the Drang Drung glacier below it, then Sani lake and its monastery, and back to Padum.

    4,400 m

  5. Day 5

    Padum → Zangla → Stongdey → Darcha

    Zangla Palace above the valley and Stongdey monastery on its hill, then the long run back over to Darcha.

    4,400 m

  6. Day 6

    Darcha → Manali

    Down the Bhaga and through the tunnel to Manali, and a farewell dinner.

    3,360 m

Bars show the highest point reached each day, against the highest of the whole expedition.

Highest point
Pensi La, 4,400 m — day 3.
Days at 4,000 m or higher
3 of 6: days 3, 4, 5.
Difficulty
Demanding. A medic and oxygen travel with the convoy every day.

Dates & Prices

When It Runs.

  • 4 Jul 2027 Booking Open · All 12 seats open Reserve →
₹39,000 a seat, per person, in one of our 4x4s
₹30,000 your own vehicle and its driver, for the whole trip
₹20,000 each other person travelling in your vehicle

A guide confirms your seat and the final price before anything is paid. Coming in your own vehicle? What the own-vehicle charge covers.

On Every Convoy

What Travels With You.

The same on all five expeditions, whether you take a seat or bring your own car.

On the road

  • A lead vehicle, a tail vehicle and a media vehicle
  • Walkie-talkies for communication in every car
  • A briefing every morning before we set off
  • 24x7 assistance, for the whole trip
  • The checkpost list, with your car number already on it
  • Every permit, on the house

The crew with you

  • A mechanic team, and a car check every single day
  • A medical team, and a health check every day
  • A spare driver, who takes your wheel when you have had enough

Where you sleep, what you eat

  • Comfort stays, booked and checked before the season
  • Drinking water in every vehicle
  • Refreshments on the road
  • A garbage bag in every car — what we carry in, we carry out

What you take home

  • A hoodie, a t-shirt and an ID card
  • A certificate, and stickers for the car
  • Every photograph, in a Google Drive folder, on the last day
  • The best experience we know how to run

And what we need from you

Papers we need from you

  • A medical fitness certificate
  • Photo ID — driving licence and Aadhaar, or a passport for overseas guests
  • Two passport photographs, for the permits
  • The signed risk form, which we send when you book
  • A short feedback form and a review at the end of the trip

If you bring your own vehicle

  • Your vehicle's papers and a recent service report
  • A tow strap, snow chains, an air pump, a tyre puncture kit and a jump starter
  • Antifreeze coolant, topped up before you leave home
  • AT tyres on all four wheels for any winter departure
  • Winter: four-wheel drive only. Summer: an SUV is enough, 4x4 or not

What to wear

  • Two pairs of thermal inners and a windcheater
  • A heavy-duty jacket, and a snow shawl in winter
  • One pair of waterproof shoes, gloves and a warm cap

The Fleet

Travelling by 4x4.

A black Mahindra Thar Roxx with its round headlights on, parked on a grassy field under fog
per day charge · only on request

Mahindra Thar Roxx 4x4

Five doors, a ladder frame and low-range four-wheel drive: sure-footed on the rough, unpaved stretches beyond Kaza and up to Komic.

  • 5-door
  • 4WD, low range
  • Rough-road ready
A black Toyota Fortuner under a heavy grey sky
per day charge · only on request

Toyota Fortuner 4x4

The long-distance 4x4: seven seats run as four so everyone gets a window, with luggage on the roof and oxygen behind the rear seats.

  • 4 guests + driver
  • 4WD, low range
  • Oxygen on board
A red Maruti Suzuki Jimny with its fog lamps on, parked among pine trees
included in the convoy · 3 seats

Maruti Suzuki Jimny 4x4

Short, light and properly four-wheel drive, with a low-range transfer case — for the narrow mountain tracks where a bigger 4x4 would struggle.

  • AllGrip Pro 4WD
  • Low range
  • Compact
A dark green Mahindra Scorpio-N wading through a forest stream
per day charge · only on request

Mahindra Scorpio-N 4x4

Mahindra's ladder-frame SUV with its 4XPLOR four-wheel drive: a low range, a locking rear differential and terrain modes for snow, mud and sand.

  • 4XPLOR 4WD
  • Low range
  • Terrain modes
A bronze Toyota Hilux climbing a sandy desert track below rock cliffs
per day charge · only on request

Toyota Hilux 4x4

Toyota's workhorse pickup: a ladder frame, low-range four-wheel drive and a locking rear differential, with an open load bed for the gear.

  • Double cab
  • 4WD, low range
  • Rear diff lock
A red Isuzu D-Max V-Cross on a muddy track through the forest
per day charge · only on request

Isuzu D-Max V-Cross 4x4

A double-cab pickup with shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive and a low range, and the ground clearance for river crossings and rutted tracks.

  • Double cab
  • 4WD, low range
  • High clearance

Read before you go

Also From Manali

The Other Expeditions.

Twelve Guests, One Convoy

Zanskar,
Six Days.

A guide answers, not a call centre. No deposit is taken to ask.

Reserve a Seat