Zanskar · Autumn 2025
Explore Zanskar Expedition — September 2025
Six days in the narrowest corridor we drive. Autumn light, low water and near-empty roads made this the cleanest Zanskar run of the year — but the Shinku La descent still shed rock onto the road twice while we were on it.
By the numbers.
- Distance driven
- 720 km
- Time behind the wheel
- 34 hours
- Highest point · Shinku La
- 5,091 m
- Passes crossed
- 2
- Participants
- 9 guests
- Vehicles
- 3
- Crew on route
- 2
- Nationalities
- India, France
The line we drove.
Manali → Jispa → Shinku La → Padum → Zangla → Pensi La → Kargil
- 01
Manali (2,050 m)
- 02
Jispa (3,200 m)
- 03
Shinku La (5,091 m)
- 04
Padum (3,505 m)
- 05
Zangla (3,550 m)
- 06
Pensi La (4,400 m)
- 07
Rangdum (4,031 m)
- 08
Kargil (2,676 m)
Departure dates
- This report
What the mountain gave us.
Weather summary
Cold, dry and exceptionally clear.
- Hard frost at Padum on three of five mornings
- Zero precipitation for the full six days
- Wind funnelling through the Zanskar gorge from mid-afternoon
- Daytime range
- +8 to +18 °C
- Night range
- −6 to +2 °C
Everything that stopped us.
| Day | Location | Issue | Action taken | Downtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 02 | Shinku La north descent | Rockfall across the track, road width reduced to a single line. | Manual clearance by crew and guests, 3.5 m reopened. | 50 min |
| Day 04 | Zangla river bank | Soft sand entrapment on a photo detour. | Tyres dropped to 16 psi, self-recovered under own power. | 20 min |
From the lead vehicle.
Logged by
Expedition Desk, Rohru
Lead vehicle & route control
- 01
September is the quiet window. We passed fewer than twenty vehicles between Padum and Rangdum in two days.
- 02
Fuel discipline matters here more than anywhere. Kargil to Padum and back is the longest dry stretch we run.
- 03
The Pensi La side is unpaved for long sections and gets slick with the first snow. Anything after early October needs a different plan.
- 04
Phone coverage exists at Padum and nowhere in between. Satellite communicator lives in the lead vehicle for the whole run.
Frames from the log.
Shinku La, Day 02 
Zangla, Day 04 
Pensi La, Day 05
Watch the route
as it ran.
Footage shot on this departure by the crew and guests.
Explore Zanskar — Expedition Film
What they said after.
Average 5 / 5 from 2 verified participants
The emptiest road I have driven
Two days without seeing another convoy. The rockfall clearance on Day 2 was handled calmly and we were moving again inside an hour.
Vikram Rathore · Jaipur ·
Autumn Zanskar is the right choice
Cold at night but the light was extraordinary. Small group, three vehicles, and the guides knew every monastery caretaker by name.
Camille Roux · Lyon ·
Take the report
with you.
One page: route, distances, altitude, weather, recovery log and guide notes — formatted for printing or sharing with the people you are travelling with.
Other departures
we logged.
- Read the report
Himachal · Autumn 2025
Rohru Adventure Fest — October 2025
Four days on home ground. Twenty-two people, nine vehicles and the Chanshal trails at their autumn best — dry in the morning, greasy after the afternoon squalls, and the recovery gear earned its keep on the last day.
- Read the report
Spiti Valley · Winter 2026
Winter Spiti Expedition — February 2026
Nine days into the cold desert with Kunzum La shut and Kinnaur as the only way in. Coldest recorded night was −27°C at Langza. Two vehicles ran studded tyres, all six carried chains, and we used them on four separate stretches.
- Read the report
Ladakh & Zanskar · Summer 2025
Trans Himalayan Expedition — August 2025
Eleven days, six 4x4s and eighteen people from Manali to Hanle and back down through Tso Moriri. A dry August meant the Zanskar crossings were unusually kind, but the Shinku La approach still handed us two water crossings above knee depth and a full day of graded gravel.