The things people ask before they book

It changes with the route, the season, the size of your group and the sort of hotels you want, so we price each trip on its own rather than publish a rate card. Whatever we quote is the number you pay, and nothing is added at the end.

Four to six weeks is comfortable for May, June, October and the week around Christmas. Spiti and the Manali to Leh road only open around June and shut by late October, so give those two or three months.

One of five, and they are our own rather than hired in for the week. A Maruti Dzire for up to four of you, a Maruti Ertiga for up to six or for anything going high, a Toyota Innova Crysta for six on the long transfers, and Tempo Travellers in 17+1 and 26 seat for groups. Which one you get is decided by how many of you there are and where the route goes, and we tell you before you book. The Our Cars page has the seat counts and the photographs.

Chandigarh is six to seven hours by road, Delhi ten to twelve. Gaggal airport in Kangra is forty five minutes from town and has flights from Delhi. We meet you wherever you land and drive straight up.

Of course. The weather and the roads decide more than any printed itinerary does. If a pass is closed or you would rather stay another night somewhere, we work it out with you on the day.

Often do. These usually sit around Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Manali, with quieter hotels, shorter days in the car and some time left with nothing planned in it.

It is one of the easier parts of India to travel alone, and plenty of women do. You get your driver’s name and number before the trip, our drivers are local and known to us, and you can reach us on one number at any hour.

Indian passport holders do not need one for the usual Spiti route. Foreign passport holders need an Inner Line Permit for the stretches close to the border, and for parts of Ladakh. Send us a passport scan and two photos and we sort it before you get here.

Yes. We host a lot of guests from outside India, so the whole trip runs in English. We also speak Hindi, Punjabi and Pahari. Before you set off we go through the route, the timings and the stops so nothing is a surprise.

Yes, and it is a good share of what we do. A car and driver for a few hours or a day — the temple circuit out of Kangra, a hospital run to Tanda, an airport drop from McLeod Ganj — is priced the same honest way as a longer trip: one number agreed before the car moves. The taxi pages list the towns we cover and what people usually book in each.