Choosing The Right Vehicle For The Himalayas

People have driven through the region in cars such as the Maruti 800 or even the Fiat Palio, however if you look at what the locals drive, you will garner a better sense of what should really be driven in the Ladakh region. Jeeps, SUVs and MUVs are the flavour of the season. For the rough roads it is important to have good ground clearance and a powerful engine. Luckily most of our Indian bred SUVs and MUVs have both, in terms of excellent ground clearance and powerful diesel mills. Four wheel drive is not essential, unless you really want to explore further than the tarmac, but it is a good option for first timers to make the trip in a 4x4 as it makes it easier to deal with iced roads and steep climbs in thin air.

It is also important to remember that the oxygen levels at altitudes above 14,000 feet result in a substantial drop in power. If you have a powerful vehicle, it makes more sense as it can still handle the high altitude driving despite the drop in overall output.

I personally did the trip in a Mahindra Scorpio-two wheel drive, and except for tackling an incline covered in ice, the vehicle managed to pull through rather smoothly an efficiently. The large turbo diesel unit has enough grunt to get you through some tough situations and as a rugged vehicle it is able to ply through some rough terrain. I did come across other vehicles such as the Xylo, Toyota Innova and Tata Safari on my trip and they seemed equally capable of handling the drive as well, which goes back to my point that the most suitable vehicle for such a trip is one with good ground clearance and a solid diesel mill to pull you through.

On a different note and for the more adventurous, there is always the choice of riding around the mountains on a motorbike. This is possibly the more popular form of touring the mountains and just about every one seems to choose an Enfield Bullet for the task, maybe it's the charm of the thumper that makes it so popular, but I have had friends who have done the trip on other bikes as well ranging from Hero Honda's entire line up to Bajaj Pulsars of different capacities and even on scooters! Like I said, two wheelers are for the more adventurous and therefore anything goes!

My personal choice for such a trip would be a Mahindra Scorpio 4x4. The vehicle is comfortable, has a load of pulling power and is an able off roader. The fact that it is not a very expensive vehicle and that all the locals prefer Mahindras over other vehicles also translates to the fact that spares and repairs will be easier to find, but then again, that is just my opinion.