Travel Tips
Himalayan Travel Tips: Money, Network, Permits and Etiquette
The trip rarely fails because of the driving. It fails because of an empty ATM, a dead SIM or a permit photocopy nobody printed.
Money
Card acceptance effectively ends past Reckong Peo in Himachal and outside Leh in Ladakh. Carry the full trip in cash, in small notes — a ₹500 note is a problem in a village at 7am. Budget extra for permits, monastery donations and the occasional roadside repair.
Connectivity
- Only postpaid Indian SIMs work in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Prepaid cards will not connect.
- BSNL has the widest high-altitude coverage; Jio is second.
- International roaming does not work in Ladakh — foreign visitors should plan on being offline.
- Download offline maps before leaving the last town with signal.
Paperwork
- 01Six photocopies of photo ID per person — checkposts keep them.
- 02Four passport-size photographs for permit applications.
- 03Originals of licence, RC, insurance and PUC for self drive.
- 04A printed copy of your itinerary and emergency contacts, left with someone at home.
Village etiquette
Ask before photographing people, and accept a no gracefully. Walk clockwise around chortens and mani walls. Remove shoes in monastery halls and ask before photographing inside. Alcohol is inappropriate in most monastery villages. Small courtesies travel much further here than money does.
You are driving through people's homes, not through scenery.
Food and water
Eat what the homestay is cooking — it is fresh, hot and suited to the altitude. Avoid salads and cut fruit at roadside stops. Refill from filtered or boiled sources rather than buying plastic bottles; several Spiti and Ladakh villages have refill points specifically because waste removal is so difficult here.
Leaving it as you found it
- Carry every piece of your waste out, including cigarette filters and orange peel.
- Stay on established tracks — plateau soil takes decades to recover from a tyre scar.
- Buy locally: homestays, small dhabas and village shops, not chains.
- Keep noise down near wildlife and grazing herds, particularly in Changthang.
Downloads
Frequently asked
- How much cash should I carry for a Himalayan road trip?
- Plan for your entire personal spend in cash plus a 30% contingency. ATMs exist in Reckong Peo, Kaza, Padum and Leh, and all of them run out during peak season.
- Which SIM card works in Ladakh?
- Only postpaid Indian connections work in Ladakh, with BSNL offering the widest coverage followed by Jio. Prepaid SIMs from other states will not connect.
- Is it safe to drink the water?
- Drink boiled, filtered or purified water only. Most homestays provide boiled water, and refill points in Spiti and Ladakh villages let you avoid plastic bottles entirely.
- Can I photograph people in the villages?
- Ask first, every time, and respect a refusal. Inside monasteries, ask a monk before photographing shrines or murals — some halls prohibit it outright.
Ride with us
Let us handle the logistics
Permits, fuel planning, homestays and route calls are part of every expedition we run.
Plan your expeditionWritten by
Hello Himalayas Expedition Desk
Route planning & operations, Rohru
Our route planners have run these roads every season since 2015, from Rohru into Spiti, Zanskar and eastern Ladakh. Everything here comes out of the logbook.