Experiencing Ladakh the 'Our Way'

Ladakh! A part of world of which I had heard about, seen pictures, made my own assumptions but was still unable to figure what's so special about this place. So on September of 2016, I finally got opportunity to explore Ladakh my own way - a trip to be remembered for lifetime with memories permanently inscribed in my mind.

It all started when couple of my friends asked me to participate in Ladakh Marathon which happened to fall on 11th September 2016. Me being an avid runner was excited to run on the roads of Leh at almost 11,500 ft which I thought would be a real test. So, the plan was simple, book a 2 way flight between Bangalore and Leh, run the Half Marathon, may be do some local sightseeing and come back "period". But then seeing those pictures of bikers posing on bank of Pangong Lake, hearing the experiences of my friends who have been Leh'd made me say "Hell! Lets do it the right way." Being a Royal Enfield enthusiast there was no doubt about which bike to ride, how much extra liters of fuel needed, what extra accessories and tools to carry etc. Asked 10 of my friends of which two agreed, so me (Akshay), Mani and Sajal started planning the ultimate adventure of our lives.

Planning started 2 months before and after reading many many blogs we finalized our itinerary. We got a BSNL postpaid sim card as only BSNL works at some places. We chose the road via Srinagar to reach Ladakh and return via Manali so as to enjoy both the roads. It is not recommend to reach Leh via Manali as you gain lot of altitude in 2 days of travel and there is a slight chance of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). Before even starting the journey, we got the bad news of unrest in Kashmir and it seemed impossible to go via Srinagar, so we may have to travel both ways on Manali road :( Also browsing through some blogs, I read and later confirmed that non J&K rented bikes are not allowed to Pangong and Nubra valley which added to our dismay as we were planning to rent bikes from Chandigarh. This is not a government rule but a forced regulation made by local taxi union to boost their business. But luckily in our entire journey we were not stopped anywhere by the locals and about the other issue of Kashmir, we went via Srinagar anyway :D Chandigarh seemed as a ideal destination to complete the entire circuit and after doing research we zeroed in on the best bike dealer in Chandigarh. Two weeks before our trip we booked one Classic 350 and one Thunderbird 350.

Note - I have mentioned the road status in bold at the end of each day in my blog. Those were the conditions when I traveled on them which is in September of 2016. So, they are subject to change. Hats off to Border Road Organization.

 

 

Day 1: 3rd September 2016, Chandigarh - Pathankot (235 km)

 

The night before, me and Sajal were wandering around Jayanagar market to find spare camera batteries which we couldn't and stopped at a stall to have tea. I was having mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness, excitement because I will be riding bike in the most beautiful place in India and nervous because the maximum distance I have traveled on bike was 120km :P After doing a final round of checklist I went to bed but who can sleep when there are so many thoughts in mind. Barely couple of hours later I had to wake up.

Mani lives in Hyderabad and was to join us directly at the airport. We departed from Bangalore at 9:30am and reached Chandigarh at 3:00pm as it was a one stop flight. After having lunch, we went to the bike dealer who had readied our bikes for the ultimate adventure. Looking at the physical appearance of those rented babes truly made us nervous. Would they really go that long :P The tyres looked good which is most important, anyways we tested them and did some repairing just to be sure. Classic was loaded with all the luggage of three people along with a 20liter Jerry can which was not of much use in first half of journey as there were plenty filling stations along the way till Leh. We carried some extra bike accessories like brake shoe, spark plugs, adapters, chain links, clutch wire, tubes and basic toolkit.

So, two guys on Thunderbird and one guy riding the Classic made things simple and manageable. With Tibetan prayer flags tied to the bikes and with huge courage we left Chandigarh at around 5:30pm to reach our first pit stop, Pathankot.

The Classic 350	The Thunderbird 350

Chandigarh to Pathankot is 235km of pure awesome road with green pastures along the way. Plenty of Petrol stations, bike service options, food joints along the way. We reached Pathankot at 11pm with quite stable driving as we needed to get hang of the bikes. An experienced rider can do it in 4.5 hours easily. No real challenge sans some dogs on road:P

Day 2: 4th September 2016, Pathankot - Udhampur (136 km)

To wake up early at 5am and leave by 6am everyday is what we had discussed while in flight to Chandigarh. Accordingly, we opened our eyes at 8:30am, thanks to the loud hotel owner who was for some reason yelling on the caretakers. After cursing each other, we scrambled to complete our morning chores, had breakfast and loaded the luggage to reach the destination of day which was Patnitop.

As we entered J&K, in about 20km, at Palli came our first task when the Thunderbird refused to start. Luckily there was a mechanic ahead and we had to push the bike for about 1km. One of cons of having a Royal Enfield is that mechanics of villages are not used to service them and most of them have no idea what might be wrong with the bike. Turns out after 3 hours of investigation, that the Thunderbird had a dead battery which needed to be replaced. To add to our bad luck, none of the nearby towns had the battery we needed, more 2 hours wasted in search. The mechanic somehow managed to start the bike and told us not to switch it off until we find a new battery which was in Udhampur.

After wasting 5 precious hours at Palli we left and reached Samba from where Google Maps suggested a shortcut to Udhampur by skipping Jammu. About 15km from Samba, we encountered Ghat road indicating the mighty Himalayas have started. The tar on the road disappeared and was replaced by mud and stones and pits. Driving started to become difficult and with extra pressure of not letting Thunderbird turn off, we really had a tough 1 hour. We reached the beautiful Mansar lake where thankfully the tar reappeared and continued all the way till Udhampur. Finally, we found a Royal Enfield mechanic in Udhampur and more importantly the battery and got our bikes repaired. It was around 7pm and Patnitop was still 45km away but seeing the bad weather we decided to halt in Udhampur and cover extra 45km the next day.

Sajal on Classic

Pathankot to Samba is excellent four lane 70km road with no hitches. From Samba we took a shortcut, the road although single lane is good for 15km. But as the ghats start, the road till Mansar lake which is about 20km is one of the worst road we encountered,  also no mechanics on the way. The construction was going on so hopefully that patch will be fixed. Mansar lake to Udhampur is pretty good tar road with some towns on the way so mechanics should be available. Petrol pumps available expect on the Ghats.

Day 3, 5th September 2016, Udhampur - Sonamarg (311 km) 

 

One of the reason we felt this as a suicidal mission was in spite of the curfew situation in Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Anantnag and Pulwama, we still wanted to cross all those in any case. Many including our bike owner told us that none of the tourist are choosing the Srinagar route and its risky and we may have to face stone pelters. To be frank, we were worried too and had thought of crossing the entire Kashmir valley along with an Army convoy at night. But the army in Udhampur assured us that the things are normal are we can travel in the daytime. Sajal and Mani both had told their parents that we are going via Manali and only my father knew the truth :P

So, to cover the extra distance we left Udhampur at 6:30am with an intend to reach the safety of Sonamarg which was about 310km ahead. Luckily on the way we met a army convoy of about 40 vehicles traveling to Srinagar. But as Kashmir was still long way ahead, we decided to leave the convoy behind and ride at our own pace. After saluting our brave soldiers we went past them and rode along the beautiful Tawi river. The road till Patnitop was under construction and as it had rained the previous day so there was some patches with thick slush. Now, driving the Classic on first gear with uneven distribution of 30kgs of luggage weight + 10kgs of Petrol weight was difficult to manage. Applying front break of such bike on a slushy road while taking a sharp turn is like digging one's own grave. And that's exactly what Srimanikantha Tangudu (Mani) did, we had our first bike fall with minor injury and lot of dirt on bike.

We visited Naag temple in Patnitop and left for Ramban which was for me was the most beautiful ride because of the lush green trees and awesome road. Barring some traffic and few kilometers of bad patch we reach South entrance of Jawahar tunnel at 1pm. Jawahar tunnel is 2.5km hole inside a mountain which was built in 1956 to connect Kashmir valley with India. As we entered the tunnel, the temperature suddenly dropped and it became very relaxing to drive in the cool air with an eerie silence.

First view of Kashmir valley

Dal Lake

Finally, we were in Kashmir and the first view itself was mesmerizing. In all this excitement we had completely forgotten about what lies next and reality struck us once we reached the first village Qazigund. It looked like a war ridden city, all the shops were closed, locals in small groups talking serious. We saw a small bakery open and as we were hungry we went inside for something to eat which we realized as a mistake as people started approaching us and inquired suspiciously. So we just ate protein bars which we were carrying and decided to directly stop in Srinagar. I started to ride and in about 10minutes felt pain on the chest, some insect had gone inside my shirt and was stinging me real bad. So I had to remove the jacket, shirt and basically was half naked in middle of tensed Kashmir highway with this time both Army and locals looking at us suspiciously :P. Another disaster happened exactly inside Anantnag city. We had to carry the old battery along with us as the bike owner wanted it and this battery was placed on carrier of Classic where people usually keep petrol cans. That section of carrier couldn't bear the battery weight and fell off exactly in middle of Anantnag. Only option was to weld that part which by no means we were going to do in Kashmir so Sajal had to carry the battery and that part all the way till Kargil where we did the welding. Continuing our way, there was strong presence of army along the entire route of 70km so we felt safe to ride.

On the way to Sonamarg

We did not enter Srinagar city as curfew was still imposed on some parts but took a detour which goes around the beautiful Dal lake and joins the Sonamarg road. One of the most depressing part of our journey was to see doors, walls, buildings, milestones turned to Graffiti with quotes like 'Go India Go', 'Azadi', 'We want freedom' etc. Even after 2 months of riots things were still bad and tourism was hit. Luckily we found petrol pumps open on the way to Sonamarg but the fact that made us nervous was almost negligible army presence on the road from Srinagar to Sonamarg. Along this entire Kashmir patch both the bikes were riding at just 10meters distance apart from each other. Many locals saw us suspiciously, misguided us and one of them even threw a stone at us which luckily didn't hit. But hell it's our country and we wanted to complete the circuit :P

Srinagar - Sonamarg Highway

Pity we could not stop a lot on this road as its the most scenic route in India with beautiful road going along with Sind river between the high mountains and Pine trees.We reached beautiful Sonamarg at 6:30pm and got a very pretty hotel, which was completely empty, at very affordable rate.

Sonamarg

Udhampur to Patnitop road was under construction so a lot of bad patches and it took around 2 hours to cover 50km. Patnitop to Banihal has road from very good to bit rough patches.  Banihal to Jawahar tunnel is bad road but under construction. After Jawahar tunnel till Sonamarg the roads are super awesome with 4 lanes in between. Petrol pumps are available along the entire road. Many hotels on the way.

Day 4: 6th September 2016, Sonamarg - Darchicks (178 km)

 

Today we were going to enter Ladakh by crossing our first major hurdle the mighty Zojila pass. But before leaving we decided to visit Thajiwas Glacier in Sonamarg. The road to Glacier is barely 15min from where you have to walk for half an hour. Sonamarg was undoubtedly the most beautiful place in our entire journey. Snow and ice was mostly accumulated on top of mountains exposing the green pastures below where cattle's and horses were grazing. Cold water flowing from glaciers, making its way between hills decorated with Pine trees was a ideal spot for camping. Sipping hot tea and eating maggi in this serenity is more than what one can ask for. Just for more adventure we hiked to nearby glacier and after clicking a lot of snaps returned to our hotel.

We left Sonamarg at 10:30am and after about 10km we could see the feared road to Zojila pass. Standing at 11,750 ft this was the first major pass and although not as high in altitude, the road to the top was really bad. Such was the inclination of road that Thunderbird was absolutely refusing to take combined weight of me and Mani and hence Mani had to ride the Classic with Sajal as a pillion on Thunderbird. The landscape had changed by now and with no signs of greenery we knew this is the gateway to Ladakh. After crossing the Zojila pass the road considerably improved and continued till Drass.

Thajiwas Glacier

Thajiwas Glacier

That's me on top

Tiger hill where major part of Kargil war was fought is clearly visible from Drass, which is termed as the 'Second Coldest Inhabited in World'. The owner of a restaurant where we had our lunch explained us some the strategies Indian Army used during war and how Pakis were pushed back. Just 5km from Drass lies the destination we were eager to visit, the Kargil War Memorial lies at the foothill of Tololing. This place pays homage to the sacrifices of our brave soldiers who defeated the strategically placed enemy and regained important positions.

Zojila pass

Ladakh

Road to Zojila Pass

That's me

Tiger Hill

शहीदों की चिताओं पर लगेंगे हर बरस मेले, वतन पर मर मिटने वालों का यही बाकी निशाँ होगा |

 

After spending 2 hours at the memorial we left for Kargil, we could not believe such roads can actually exists in India like the one from Drass to Kargil. It was a bliss to ride on such smooth, well marked road snaking in between unique scenery we had never witnessed before, in no time we reached Kargil. Kargil is a very pretty town situated between mountains where the locals are extremely helpful. We wanted to visit the famous Aryan villages of Dah-Hanu and Darchiks and so we took a different route to reach Leh which is via Batalik. So, after minor repairing of bikes we left for Batalik and crossed the next major pass which was Hambotingla pass (13,202 ft). Batalik did not have any home stay options, one army officer told us about a guest house in Darchiks which is just 6km from Batalik. Much to our dismay the guest house in Darchiks was under construction, it was already past 8pm and we could not find any option to stay. Finally, a Aryan named Mr. Chosapil came to our rescue and allowed us to stay in his cozy house.

Kargil Town

Kargil War Memorial

Amar Jawan

On the way to Batalik

There are no Petrol pumps after Ganderbal which is 10km from Srinagar till Gund and then directly at Kargil, so be prepared. The Zojila pass road of about 20km is really bad but good news is work is going on it. Zojila to drass is ok types road with paved roads in between. Drass to Kargil is heavenly road. Kargil to Darchiks is narrow but very good road. Mechanics available in Kargil but don't expect anywhere else. Now, Indian nationals do not need permit to visit Batalik.

 

Day 5: 7th September 2016, Darchicks - Khalsi - Lamayuru - Khalsi - Leh (210 km)

 

It is believed that the locals of Dah, Hanu, Garkhone, Darchiks villages are the only living pure Aryans left. Known as Brokpa community, they have sharp features of high cheeks bones, green eyes, fair skin. The Aryans in Darchiks follow Buddhism and they worship a tall Walnut tree placed right in the middle of the village. Barring rice and cooking oil, they grow their own food along with Apricot, Apples, Grapes. During winters theses villages are completely disconnected and have to stock all the necessities to last 4-5 months. Mr. Chosapil gave us a tour of village which has an old Monastery and explained us the very interesting procedure of choosing Dalai Lama. Turns out a chosen child is shown several articles only some of which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, if the child picks the correct ones then he goes through some other tests before becoming a Dalai lama.

We then visited Dah village which is about 15km from Darchiks. Dah has a slight detour on the left of main road, vehicles can go up till the village but we preferred to walk which is just about 1km. One of the major attraction in these Aryan village is the locals wear a traditional hat with plastic flowers perched on top. As we started clicking pictures some women asked for money in turn, which we found bit strange but agreed to pay. We then visited the village school and noticed in all the Ladakhi schools we saw, they have high sense of patriotism as many patriotic quotes are written all over. Ladakhis were instrumental in helping our soldiers during the Kargil war and they are very loyal to the army.

Aryan village of Darchiks

Aryans in traditional cap

We left Dah and reached Khalsi where the highway NH1 meets and had our lunch there. Next stop, we went to visit Lamayuru monastery which is about 20km from Khalsi towards Kargil as we had heard about the moon lands. Of all the monasteries we visited, Lamayuru was most beautiful. Surrounded by unique mountains and clear skies and with so many places to explore Lamayuru is definitely a visit place. We spent some time meditating inside and later admired the beauty of moon lands light up by evening sun rays. Our next monastery was Likir which is about 5km to the left of the highway, another beautiful monastery but can be skipped.

Kids in Dah :)

That's Srimanikantha Tangudu :P

By the time we left Likir, it was already 6pm and it was getting dark fast, so without any stops in between we reached the famous Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. First time I actually witnessed reciting of Kirtan Sohela which is at the time of closing of Guru Granth Sahib: the Holy Book. After the prayers, we were generously offered dinner at the Langar which we could not resist. The caretakers of Gurdwara were really nice and explained us the story of this Gurdwara and later asked us our whereabouts, about the trip. The last 25km of road till Leh was uneventful with the famed Magnetic Hill is between where neither us nor our bikes experienced any kind of magnetic attraction so we just clicked pictures and left as it was already pitch dark.

Lamyuru Monastery with moon lands at back drop

Likir Monastery

There are no Petrol pumps on the way till Leh although I think Mulbekh which is on NH1 has one but not sure as we did not travel on that part of NH1. Road from Darchik to Khalsi although narrow is really good except a bad 1.5km patch in between. Khalsi to Lamayuru to Leh road is super awesome. The 5km road to Likir monastery is also good. Mechanics can be found in Khalsi or else only in Leh. But in case of any problem the army is very helpful. Homestay in Dah, Khalsi, Lamayuru and many other places after Khalsi to Leh.

Day 6: 8th September 2016, Leh (0 km)

 

After 5 days of riding we were looking to relax today and just drive our bikes till the river rafting point in Nimmo. Rachit and Sidhhant who were also participating the Ladakh Marathon had arrived the previous day and got our Inner Line Permits done for the next part of journey. I couldn't meet them as they were sleeping after partying hard last night and so we left for Nimmo which is just 3km after Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. Having done rafting in Rishikesh, I found this is quite boring as the water levels were low and also there were few rapids with medium grade. We got out of our rafts and into the icy cold Zanskar river which was the fun part. The rafting started from Chilling and ended at Indus-Zanskar river meeting point with almost 25km of rafting. Its notable to see the two rivers with different shade of color merge. After having our lunch we left for Leh and visited Hall of Fame which is near Leh Airport.

Indus - Zanskar rivers merge

Doing rafting 'our way' :P

Magnetic Hill

Hall of Fame is a museum which gives a perfect picture of Ladakh history. As you explore, you will get more and more information on wars which Indian army has fought with great valor. On display is artillery which Indian army captured from Pakistan and China in its wars with these countries. Equipment's used by our army on high altitude, letters and wallets recovered from enemy during war is displayed. Photographs of brave men and officers are displayed who laid their lives defending sovereignty of our country. This place leaves you with sense of awe and respect and a feeling of patriotism and gratitude for the Indian Army.

Leh Palace

Our last stop was Royal Enfield service station where we spent nearly 4 hours and changed engine oil, chain sprocket, chain, break liners and did some minor servicing. Got the bikes washed and ready to climb mighty Khardungla the next day.

Day 7: 9th September 2016, Leh - Khardungla - Diskit - Turtuk (205 km)

 

Today was the day to climb and conquer a real challenge, the mighty Khardungla, claimed as highest motorable road which is wrong if we consider Marismik La. We had to go till Turtuk and so left early from Leh at 7:30am. The road immediately started to ascent as we left Leh and in no time we were at 13,000+ ft feeling slight heavy breathing. A real kudos to Border Road Organization for building roads at such high altitude terrains. On the Leh side of Khardungla there is a army check post called South Pullu where you need to register your vehicles and fill some forms. The road from South Pullu till Khardungla top is about 14km of extremely tiring road and together with thin oxygen, made us feel very dizzy.

After 45 mintues of torture we made it to the top feeling a sense of achievement sipping hot tea. On the way we saw many people, mostly foreigners, attempting to climb Khardungla on bicycles, something which we can't even think of. Also we met a crazy American who was solely climbing up on a scooty and here we were with 350cc beasts :P It's not recommended to stay at such high altitude for more than 20 minutes and so we started our descent to Nubra Valley. North Pullu lies about 14km on the other side of Khardungla, at about 16000 ft where we hobbled on maggi and tea. Nubra valley has a distinct landscape with white desert along the road and beautiful barren mountains around. Near Khalsar there is a road which goes straight to Siachen Glacier and left to Turuk. Soon we reached Diskit where after having lunch we visited a Monastery and meditated-cum-slept :D. Next to Monastery is a huge statue of Buddha that overlooks the entire valley.

Next stop was the very famous white desert of Hunder where it said that you can get both sun burn and frost bite at same time. I would highly recommend a stay at this beautiful place and experience the beauty of landscape change from morning to night. Pity we couldn't stop for long here and just left for Turtuk after clicking some snaps. The road from Hunder to Turtuk was very isolated with road carved inside the mountain and running along serene Shyok river. There are many beautiful river crossing bridges on the way and about 10km before Turtuk is a bridge where you need to submit permit to a army check post. By about 6pm we reached Turtuk, as we entered the village it felt just like a typical village but as soon we started to climb up we saw a beautiful bridge over a waterfall of glacier water which connects a part of village to the rest. Turtuk was the most beautiful village we visited and a must visit place. We had already booked a home stay in Turtuk of Mr. Bagdoor which was at the topmost part of village, so we parked our bikes and walked about 10 minutes to reach there. Along with us were 5 people from Israel in the same home stay who were traveling India for past 6 months. We all had Kahwa, shared stories and food with them before sleeping of a sheer tiring but satisfying day.

On the way to Khardungla with Leh city at backdrop

Khardungla

Beautiful Nubra Valley

Diskit Gompa

Hunder White Desert

Diskit has the only Petrol pump in the entire route, also don't expect easy availability of mechanics. Leh to South Pullu is amazing road, South Pullu to North Pullu is nightmare. North Pullu till Hunder is good road with some bad patch. Hunder to Turtuk is again good road with bad patch at Bogdang. No eating options after Distkit and Hunder till Turtuk. Turtuk had range problem for BSNL postpaid so we had to call using landline. Many homestay options in Turtuk, Diskit, Hunder.

 

 

 

Day 8: 10th September 2016, Turtuk - Diskit - Khardungla - Leh (205 km)

 

Turtuk also known as 'Apricot capital of India' is one of the few muslim dominated villages of Ladakh. Till 1971, Turtuk was under Pakistan's control and after the war India captured it along with Tyakshi and Thang. Tourist are allowed till Tyakshi which is about 6 km from Turtuk. Today was particularly interesting day as we were going to visit the LoC. The locals said LoC is 5km ahead of Tyakhi and tourist are not allowed but it is visible through a binocular after a short trek from Turtuk. So, we left our home stay, got a guide and started to trek for about half hour uphill which at such altitude was quite exhausting. From there we could easily see Indian and Pakistani army check post also tip of Mt. K2 was visible. One of the major attraction in Turtuk is a waterfall which lie on the same trek route. So in about 40 minutes of trekking from Turtuk we reached the waterfall. We had expected a grand waterfall or at least a beautiful waterfall but we were slightly disappointed with what we saw :P None the less our guide, I forgot his name, told us many stories about the war, showed us fallen bunkers where Pakistani soldiers were hiding during 1971 war. He was building a snack center on top of mountain and also had grand plans to built a rope way as well. We thanked him and wished him luck for his plans of village development.

Pakistan army post on top. Small tip of snow on right is K2 and below is Turtuk

Grand Waterfall of Turtuk :P

Similar to Darchiks and Dah, Turtuk also grows it's own food. Apart from that Turtuk exports a lot of Apricots which is the backbone of local economy. Every house had a beautiful garden alongside where we could spot cabbage, tomato, chilly, rajma beans and various other veggies, also many many different varieties of flowers. This village was perfect real life replica of any storybook village. Mr. Bagdoor offered us salted tea which we were tasting for first time and felt really good. After eating juicy Apricots and packing some we left Turtuk for Leh.

Hunder

Apricot tree in Turtuk

Traveling back on the same road was bit boring and uneventful so we didn't stop anywhere and reached Diskit. There is a road near Khalsar which goes straight to Pangong via Shyok valley without going back to Leh. As far as I know the road is good but not traveled on it. We had left Turtuk at 10:30am and reached Leh at 5:30pm comfortably and then went to Leh local market for some shopping. I finally met Rachit and Siddhant who were still partying :P We then went to Lamayuru restaurant to have some authentic Ladakhi food and called the day off early as I had my marathon the next day.

Day 9: 11th September 2016, Leh - Pangong Lake (155 km)

 

Siddhant and Rachit had ran 5km on the previous day as a practice and it was tough for them to run at this altitude. We were running half marathon, 21km, and I knew I was not as fit as them :P Also I was supposed to collect the bib previous day, which I did not and had to run without it, so no certificate :( . Anyways, we reached Shanti Stupa which was starting point and the race started at around 7am. There were more than 1500 people participating in half marathon mostly locals but with quite active participation from the rest of country. First 8km was all descent after which it was 10km of almost flat surface with last 3km of ascent. I was loaded with protein bars and electrolytes but the 7 days of biking combined with Leh altitude took toll on me after 10km. After which I partly ran but mostly walked just for the sake of completing the race which I did in 2hours and 50minutes.  Rachit and Siddhant had ran past me in about 1km since we started the race and by the time I finished they must have even reached the hotel :P Quite disappointed with my timing but still proudly accepted the finishers medal. The bigger hurdle for me was to reach the hotel which was about 3km and the only option was to ask for lift. I literally begged anyone with any vehicle to drop me to the hotel and after 20minutes one god soul agreed to drop me. In mean time, Mani and Sajal had went to the market to buy some bike tools as there was no major city on the way till Manali. My back was paining and the legs were dead so I crashed on bed and slept for couple of hours. 

Shanti Stupa

Changla, on the way to Pangong Lake

The road to Pangong was closed till 1pm due to the full marathon and so left by 1:30pm. For our next journey, we had planned a route which had no petrol pump for almost 950km and so we had to carry 40 liters of extra fuel apart from 26 liters present in fuel tanks of both bikes combined. So, petrol loaded, stomach filled we started for Pangong at 2pm. We didn't wanted to travel in dark hours so in order to save time we skipped Hemis and Thicksey monastery which is on the way. We reached Karu in no time where straight road goes to Manali and left takes you to Pangong. Our next major pass was Changla (17,000+ ft) and we thought it wouldn't be as hard as Khardungla (18,000+ ft) but the road inclination made us push 200kg bike weight + 30kg luggage + 20kg of fuel. With the marathon pain still fresh, me and Sajal had to push the Classic with Mani putting his efforts from the top as well :P The pushing happened at 16,000 ft for two times and it was difficult and time consuming to get the normal breathe back. Finally we reached the mightier Changla and started to shiver real bad. Mani didn't had water proof shoes and there were some water crossing on the way where his feet got cold. Cursing the road and the cold we started our descent. Mani who was driving Classic, left Changla early without knowing that Sajal had kept his hand gloves on top of the luggage. By the time we realized this, Mani was far and riding as if his life is dependent on it and so we started to chase our dear friend while keeping an eye on the road hoping the gloves might have fallen. Any rhythm of bike honking or our constant shouts was unheard by the enemy and we finally met at the base of Changla :P So we started our way to Pangong and yeah we couldn't find the gloves so Sajal had to wear socks as gloves instead. Thunderbird had this problem that once its break pads get overheated due to friction it absolutely refuses to work making you to ride on front breaks. Wherever we descended for more than 20km continuous we had to pour water on the pads to cool them. We reached the place where you can see the first sight of lake and we saw darkness as it was around 7pm. From there Spangmik is about 10km and we reached by 7:30pm. Got a cheap hotel, had dinner and crashed.

Karu which is 35km from Leh has the last petrol filling station after which you will find petrol pump in Tandi which is in Himachal. Road till Karu is awesome, Karu to Changla has bad patches of road which are exhausting as we had to push our bikes due to inclination. Changla to about 10km before Spangmik the road is narrow but good. 10km before Spangmik road turns really bad due to water crossing and landslides. Mechanic and homestay in Karu.

Day 10: 12th September 2016, Pangong Lake - Nyoma (131 km)

Our hotel though very shabby had a big glass window which directly faced the Pangong Lake, so with minimum efforts we could see the beautiful sunrise view of lake. One should spent an entire day in this heavenly place and experience the changing shades of lake and mountains over the day. A crystal clear blue lake clogged in between golden ice capped mountains was a view worth every hardship we went through to reach there. Before picking toothpaste we the picked DSLR and rushed to the lake even though it was quite chilly. This is a place where one should sit alone, enjoy the serene view while listening to the sound of water flowing over the stones and be at peace. There were ducks and gulls indicating presence of life which thrive on the lake. After breakfast we again went to the lake this time with bikes and by the time our photo shoot ended it was almost 10:30am and we left for the next destination, Hanle.

Hanle, which is home to Indian Astronomical Observatory was one of the place which I was looking forward to visit. There is a direct road from Spangmik to Hanle via Chushul which goes very near to China border and also one the least traveled road in Ladakh. Spangmik to Chushul is 50km of road where you can reach a top speed of 10km/hour and should be used by ISRO as test road for its mars rover. All the imaginable hurdles are present on it, let it be water crossing, stones, irritating continuously placed mud bumps and to make it worse sand dunes as well. Some places even had loose iron grills on road which are supposed to hold the stones together, we drove really careful on those patches to make sure our dear tyres are safe. The most hellish 50km of our entire journey which took 5 agonizing hours to complete :( The only good part of this road is that Pangong lake lie on the left and follow for about 40km giving breathtaking shots. There are couple of villages on the way but do not expect any mechanics if god forbid anything happens to the bikes. We had to submit copies of Inner Line Permit to about 4 army posts till Nyoma. After having lunch in Chushul we left for Hanle when about 8km ahead disaster struck.

Road from Chushul slightly improved but was still very bad and after about 8km past Chushul Mani realized that I didn't had the camera with me which I had forgotten in the hotel of Chushul :( The meer thought of going back 8km and coming back again 8km on this super highway was the most depressing feeling in world. As we were running by conserving the fuel, only Sajal went back on 1 bike to get the DSLR back, later he told me he had never cursed anyone so much in life :P The road was very bad for 38km from Chushul till the village of Tsaga, on the way there is a small war memorial in Rezang La which was the last stand of Indian army during 1962 Indo-China war. By the time we hit the tar it was 5pm, we had traveled 80 km in 8 hours and 80km was still left. We entered Changthang region which had a very unique picturesque green pastures between which small stream of Indus river flows. With barren mountains around and greenery in middle this view in evening sunlight was extremely pretty. Now the climate was getting cold and windy as soon as the sun went down and we reached Loma check post at 7pm from where Hanle is 50km to left and Nyoma lies 21km ahead. Some locals told us that Hanle observatory is closed due to maintenance and it would be a waste to go there also we were hell tired so reluctantly we decided to skip Hanle and reached Nyoma by 7:30pm :(

Pangong Lake

Pangong lake

No words

On the way to Chushul

Chushul

Permits are needed on this road so make sure you have them. After Spangmik, homestay are available in Merak, Chushul, Tsaga, Hanle and Nyoma. Forget mechanics so only army to the rescue. Spangmik to Chushul is worst road, Chushul to Tsaga is very bad. Tsaga to Nyoma is very good tar road. No petrol pumps though you can get it from villages at higher price.

Day 11: 13th September 2016, Nyoma - Hanle - Nyoma - Tso Moriri Lake(227 km)

 

First thought that come to my mind after waking up was regret of skipping Hanle. Hanle is a very remote part of Ladakh and its not very often that you will come so close to it and not visit. We had 2 options, forget Hanle and go to Tso Moriri directly or go to Hanle and spend the night which would mean we will be running 1 day late according to the itinerary and thereby utilizing our only buffer day kept as a measure to any mishap. We couldn't really miss Hanle after coming this far and so we decided to use the buffer day. Our home stay owner was a kind lady who upon our request arranged 10 liters of fuel which we needed to cover this extra unplanned distance. After having a typical Ladakhi breakfast of Roti and Omelet we started our way back to Loma checkpost to reach Hanle. Road from Loma check post to Hanle is awesome narrow tar road with no human visible on the way but many Kiangs -The Tibetan Wild Ass running in groups. Watching these Kiangs run reminded me of those National Geographic documentaries of wild animals in Africa. I can not imagine the amount of pain and regret I would have till this day had we skipped Hanle. No words but only the photos can describe the beauty; it was undoubtedly the most beautiful place in Ladakh we visited. The village is nicely spread out with typical Ladakhi style homes painted in white and windows bordered with wooden frames. Also there is a beautiful monastery in village which is on top of a hill.

Hanle is home to world's second highest astronomical observatory (14,764 ft) and is located on top of a hill about 3km from village. The Hanle Observatory is operated by Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru with an installed telescope of about 2.01 meters (6.5 feet) diameter. The observatory was open so we went inside where the caretaker showed us the telescope. Inside, it is a big iron dome which rotates 360degree exposing telescope to the sky, it houses many instruments and computers used for the observation. Later an engineer explained that around 80-100 scientists are given time slots to remotely control the telescope from Bengaluru for their research work. Visitors are not allowed after 6pm inside the observatory, also the visitors are not allowed to see through the telescope in any time of day :P We thanked the staff, left the observatory and just sat on that hill staring in awe at this entire Hanle valley which felt out of the world. As the observatory was closed in the evening for tourist we saw no point in staying back hence decided to stick to our original plan and reach Tso Moriri lake by night. We left Hanle by 3pm and reached Nyoma at 5pm from where Karzok is 75km.

To Hanle

Kiangs - The wild Ass

Road to Hanle

Around 25km from Nyoma is Mahe from where you need to cross a bridge on left side and the road goes to Karzok village. This tar road was very narrow and snaked between closely placed mountains along with a tributary of Indus. One thing to notice on this road is the trees of different shades and shapes placed in perfect manner along the road for 10km. We reached village called Sumdo where right takes you to Leh-Manali Highway and left goes to Karzok village. On the way to Karzok is a small but very pretty lake called Kyagar Tso where the ancient silk route passes. It is better not to travel on this road in dark hours as the locals say there are wild dogs who might trouble. On this entire road from Pangong lake till the point we reached Leh-Manali highway on Day 12, there was almost negligible human or wildlife presence which made us quite nervous. Around 12km before Karzok, the tar disappeared and we had to follow the tyre marks to reach Karzok. This last 12km was tiring and very frustrating and by 8pm we reached Karzok.

Hanle village

Indian Astronomical Observatory

Hanle valley

Hanle valley with Hanle monastery in white

Kyagar Tso, on the way to Karzok

Nyoma to Loma army post is good road with 1km of bad patch, but work us going on. Loma to Hanle is excellent tar road, Nyoma to Mahe is good road with some bad patch. Mahe to 12km before Karzok the road is nice but the last 12km was hell road. Many homestay options in Hanle, Nyoma, some in Mahe and a lot in Karzok. Be prepared with toolkit and some basic knowledge of bike repairing as it will be hard to find mechanic here.

Day 12: 14th September 2016, Tso Moriri Lake - Sarchu (230 km)

 

The previous night was the coldest in our entire journey which is explainable as Karzok is at altitude of 15,000+ ft. Tso Moriri is in Changthang region of Ladakh and is one of the most beautiful, calm lakes in India. The beautiful blue shade of the lake along with picturesque landscape gives this place a breathtaking feel. It was difficult to get out of the warm blankets and we managed to get ready by 8am. There are some places just ahead of Karzok where you can take your vehicles and witness the most amazing views of your lives. Buddhists believe that stacking stones in perfect balanced manner results in gaining the coordination, balance and concentration to control mind and body. On top of a small hill where we went on bikes, there were many such pyramid shaped stacks made of hundreds of stones. I think here we clicked most number of photos in all the places we visited. We went back to hotel where Mani realized his wallet is missing, now Mani had a bad habit of putting his wallet in back pocket of his jeans where its easy to fall off. So we went back to the same spot on the hill to search for his wallet but unfortunately even after 45 minutes of search we couldn't find it anywhere. None of the locals we asked saw any wallet lying on road so we had no option but to give our contact numbers to locals and army in case they find the wallet.

By 11am we left Karzok and within minutes another disaster struck, Thunderbird slipped and fell down due to stones in such way that the clutch wire got twisted a bit. The auto start stopped working and we couldn't even set the gears on neutral for kick starting it. This was the scariest part of entire journey as we were in middle of nowhere and there were no mechanics in Karzok or Sumdo. About half hour later we somehow managed to put it on neutral and kick started it, till the point we reached Leh-Manali highway the Thunderbird was running. With huge relief we started our journey to Sumdo from where you need to take a left and about 60km ahead is Leh-Manali highway. Some 35km from Sumdo the road is very bad and multiple tyre tracks which lead to same direction are bit confusing. At couple of places we choose shortcut over a longer road which was a big mistake as shortcut road was steep and sandy so again needed some pushing. Finally we reached Thukje which lies near the most beautiful and scenic lake Tso Kar. Tso Kar is known as 'White Lake' because the white salt of the water is deposited all over the lake shores. Of all the 3 lakes this was definitely most scenic and is just 15km to the right of Debring which is on Leh-Manali highway. 

Tso Moriri Lake

Karzok village on the left

With big smile and huge relief we touched the super awesome highway at Debring which was the starting point of the beautiful Moore plains. Moore plains is a patch of about 40km of straight road which is one the best roads in India to travel on where one can easily hit speed of 100+ km/hour. We stopped many times here to click pictures and by 5pm reached Pang. After some refreshments we left for Sarchu, Nakee la and Lachulung La are the passes on way and the roads are really pathetic with tall and steep mountains running very close to the road. The roads are prone to landslide, avalanche and test the patience of even the most experienced drivers. Soon the gravel turned to tar and from there we enjoyed the journey all the way till Sarchu where we reached by 7:30pm.

Road to Tso Kar

Tso Kar

Salt deposit in Tso Kar

Relief! We touched the highway

Moore Plains

Karzok to Sumdo has a bad patch of 12km in beginning but the road is good later. About 10km from Sumdo, road is good and then till Thukje the road is really bad, Thukje to Pang very good road. Pang to Lachulung La extremely bad road from where road till Sarchu is excellent. No mechanics except at Pang. Homestay options available in Sumdo, Thukje, Pang and Sarchu. Sarchu is the only place where even BSNL postpaid does not work but there is a satellite phone in one of the BRO camp where they charge 10rs per minute. They don't allow to call after 8:30PM. From Debring to Leh is about 120 km of good road, as far as i know, with second highest motor able pass in world Taglang La (17,500+ ft), we didn't travel on that road till Karu though.

Day 13: 15th September 2016, Sarchu - Manali (222 km)

 

Sarchu is at an altitude of 14,000 ft while Manali is at 6700 ft so we knew today Thunderbird's brake pads are going to blow away :P Sarchu does not have any home stay but there are many tents of local hotel owners and some private companies. As usual after lot of bargaining we stayed in the cheapest possible way :P We were still 550km from Chandigarh and everyone was fed up of driving, Mani had pain in wrist as he was driving Classic for most of the journey which was difficult to manage. Sajal was feeling energy less and so was sitting as pillion for most part and I was having backache. The ghats seemed never ending and more difficult level every day. The wife of our tent owner who came from Manali in the morning told us there was a landslide in Barchala and they had to wait whole night for it to get cleared. At times I feel we were very lucky to be at the right place and on right time. So, nothing of particular interest in Sarchu and we left by 10am, just after crossing the bridge of Sarchu is the border with Himachal Pradesh. Climbing Barchala (16,000+ ft) was very tiring but its nothing as compared to amount of effort put up by people on Bicycles attempting it. Manali to Leh on Bicycle is definitely on my to do list, anyways we gave thumbs up to anyone who was cycling and biking and moved ahead. Road was really good after Barchala and soon we reached a small but pretty lake called Suraj Tal, after clicking pictures we left for Zing Zing bar.

 

Finally, we found a mechanic at Zing Zing bar and turns out that the reason Thunderbird was not getting auto started was because a cable near clutch wire got disconnected when the bike fell, we just had to plug it in :P There were about 3-4 water crossings on the way till Jispa where Mani and sometime Sajal had to get on their feet and push the bikes in ice cold water. About 20km from Zing Zing bar is small town of Darcha where the Ladakhi landscape of barren mountains was replaced by beautiful Himachal greenery. Jispa is the most beautiful place on Manali-Leh highway with Bhag river running in between the tall green mountains covered with galciers on top. After days of witnessing barren lands driving on such beautiful road was very enjoying. Soon we reached Tandi which has the first petrol pump and filled our bike tanks which would go all the way till Chandigarh.

Darcha, Himachal Pradesh

Jispa

Enroute Manali

It was very windy and cloudy by the time we reached Koksar which is at the base of last major pass in our journey, the Rohtang pass (13,000+ ft) . A road straight from Koksar goes to Spiti valley and on the right is a 20km uphill road till Rohtang pass. First time in all the 13 days, we felt if might rain and so we covered the luggages and ourselves with plastic, but fortunately it didn't rain. Surprisingly, the road at the bottom of Rohtang pass was bad and slushy but really good at the top which was against the norm. Two wheelers coming from Manali need permission from SDM office in Manali to cross Rohtang pass which is not the case for any vehicle crossing from Leh side. This was the last bad patch of road we had to encounter as the road from Rohtang pass to Manali is 50km of awesome road. It was around 6pm we reached Rohtang pass and as the road till Manali was good and all descend, we stopped a lot on the road to click pictures and started the pre-celebration celebrations. Road till Manali is very pretty with different floras and couple of lakes on the way. By 7:30pm we reached Manali, on the way we emptied almost entire 1liter of water on Thunderbird's brake pad to cool it down. I was very glad that we didn't had to climb Rohtang pass from Manali as mountain looked really high from here and chances of failure are higher. As it was offseason we got a nice hotel at reasonable rate and then later on went to the Mall road. After eating maggi and omlete for most part of journey, we happily went to a Punjabi restaurant and ate like a king.

 

Sissu village

To Rohtang Pass

Sarchu to Barchala is 50 km of really bad road, Barchala to Tandi is super nice road, Tandi to Koksar has some bad patches but overall good road. Koksar till 8km before Rohtang pass is bad but the rest of road till Manali is very good. Construction in all the places was going. Mechanic avaliable in Zing zing bar and later everywhere after Darcha. Homestays avaliable at Darcha and later everywhere, petrol pump at Tandi which is 110 km from Manali.

 

 

Day 14: 16th September 2016, Manali (0 km)

 

There was absolutely no plan today and everyone was free to do whatever they want :P I woke up early and went to Hadimba temple while Mani and Sajal were still fast asleep. Hadimba temple is a peaceful temple surrounded by towering Deodar trees and about 50meters ahead is shrine of Ghatotkacha (son of Bhima-Hadimba). The temple is made of timber and has 3 layers of square roofs on top of which is a metal structure. The place is very peaceful and had benches to sit, I spent nearly 3 hours there doing nothing as my legs were too tired to go anywhere else. Meanwhile, Mani and Sajal went to police station to file FIR of lost wallet even though we lost it in Nyoma :P Along with the wallet, Mani had lost all the ID proofs so it would difficult to convince the airport security while entering the terminal. So, they got a copy of FIR as proof of lost wallet. Smart :) We had pizzas at a restaurant nearby which had a big garden with many apple trees, first time we were seeing apple on trees so obviously we couldn't resist and relished on those juicy fruits. About 15km from Manali is Solang valley where you can do Paragliding and also there is a ropeway. On the way Sajal fell off the bike for the 3rd time, first time on a sandy road while coming from Dah, second time on muddy road to Nyoma and this time due to imbalance :P Anyways we did the ropeway ride and on top there is a nice cafe to just chill out. This place was for couples to get cozy and many were asking us to click pictures which we promptly did but soon left :P

Hadimba Temple

Apple trees in Manali

Solang valley ropeway

We then visited Vashisht temple which is famous for it hot water spring and went back to Hadimba temple as Mani and Sajal wanted to see it. There we met another group of bikers who were going to Leh the next day and so we shared our wisdom with them. After that we went back to mall road for some shopping and dinner. All in all a very lazy day with nothing much to do but kill time.

Day 15: 17th September 2016, Manali - Chandigarh (310 km)

 

The last day of bike ride, the last day we were to tie luggage to the bike. A part of me was feeling relieved as I was tired of driving but the other part wanted to stay in the mountains. As it was lot of distance to cover we left Manali by 7:30am. The roads are good but there are many turns which can be bit frustrating. We reached Mandi by 10am had breakfast, reached Bilaspur by 2pm had lunch. It was getting hotter and hotter as we were descending so by the time we reached Bilaspur all our warm clothes were in bags. The only high point of this journey is a 2.8km long tunnel near Aut village which reminded us of the 2.5km Jawahar tunnel. About 60km before Chandigarh we touched plain ground from where the roads are 4 lanes and by 6pm we reached Chandigarh. Finally, we were back at the exact same place from where we started 15 days back and the circuit was complete :) Accomplishment!

The bike owner checked the bikes for any mishaps :P, but luckily nothing serious happened in the entire journey. We cleared our dues and thanked the bike owner for such sturdy beasts who never gave up in any kind of terrain. We clicked pictures with bikes, bit emotional moment, and removed those Tibetan Prayer flags which we had tied to bike as a memory of lifetime. Sajal's parents and his aunt who live in Delhi had come all the way to Chandigarh to congratulate us. They gave us lot of sweets and gifts and in return we proudly shared our experiences with them.

Road from Manali to Sundernagar is very good after which due to 4 lane construction about 20km of road is very bad. The road turns very good later and continues the same till Chandigarh. Enough petrol pumps and food options. No challenge here.

 

 

We departed for Bangalore on 18th September 2016 and thus ending the most adventurous thing I have done in my life. My parents were relieved and my friends jealous :P Some places which we skipped are Shey Palace, Hemis, Thicksey monasteries and we also wanted to attempt Marismik La (19,000+ ft), the unofficial highest motorable road. In future I will do it, but all in all, I am very very satisfied with the way we traveled which was 'our way'. We were very very lucky to get rented bikes which were in awesome condition even if their physical apearance didn't reflect it. Nowhere we had any sort of problem except the battery issue on Day 2, the tyres were sturdy and never got puctured on the rugged terrain. This is first time I went to Ladakh, first time I drove more than 120 km, first time saw Pakistani army post, first time stayed at a strangers home, first time went at 18,000+ ft, first time had salted tea, first time ate apples off a tree, first time saw heaven on earth, first time wrote a blog :P. Most of our time was spent in driving and relatively less time in sightseeing, Alfred D. Souza, I don't know who he is :P, but he said 'Happiness is a journey, not a destination' :) :P As I was flying back to Bangalore all those moments of hapiness, pain, frustation, anger, the physical and mental discomfort our bodies went through was all worth to remember. The next adventure in Ladakh will be to climb Stok kangri, Manali - Leh cycling, Chaddar trek. Live life!

Chandigarh! Family union

To summarize,

Total distance - 3182 km (Chandigarh to Chandigarh)

Total Cost - 40k per person(which includes flight tickets, bike rent, petrol, food and accomodation, river rafting and miscellaneous). This cost can easily go less than 35k if you get your own bikes.


Sharing link of our original itinerary which got changed later. At the end, the itinerary has links to many useful blogs.

Itinerary

Sharing our permit, which one needs to get from Leh SDM office or can be arranged through the middlemen as well. But do make sure to write all the places you are going to visit on permit as army may send you back if they don't find the name on it. Try to get the permit yourself and not through a middleman. Make 7-8 copies of permit and ID prood to be submitted at army check post. Turtuk, Nubra valley, Pangong lake do not need permit for Indian Nationals but keep it in any case.

Hand written places are Hanle, Chushul, Tsaga, Loma bend

Special mention, our Bike owner from Chandigarh,

Rana Bike Rental Pvt Ltd

Address: Shop No 91 sector 45-Chandigarh, Chandigarh, 160047

Phone: 098783 35566

Some words of advice,

• If you are renting a bike, make sure to take photographs of bike from all angles before leaving, as a proof.
• Carry original and xerox of bike documents, ID proof, permits, driving licence.
• Tyres are the most important part of bike so they should be tough. Do a thorough bike check if you are renting and do test drive.
• Learn basic bike repairing. We did a 2 day crash course at a local mechanic, still couldn't figure out the disconnected cable :P
• Carry spare parts for bikes like tubes, spark plugs, clutch cables, accelerator cables, air pump and most important – a toolkit. Do chain oiling every 300km. Change engine oil if you feel so.
• Be sure of petrol pumps on the way and still carry some extra.
• Wear water proof shoes and don't let your feet get cold while water crossing. Or buy gum boots or some plastic.
• Even if its not cold, cover you entire body including hands.
• Most important, Download google maps of entire region in your mobile. GPS works everywhere. They helped a lot.
• If possible buy some gifts for kids and sweets for Army. Interact with locals, respect Army. Do help grow the local economy.
• Get a go pro camera, its completely worth. Powerbank must.
• BSNL postpaid sim is a must.
• Do keep buffer days in your itinerary.
• Don't travel at night.
• Buy a First aid kit. But also do river rafting and paragliding :P
• Start building physical fitness. But also meditate in a monastery.
• Drink plenty of water and eat well when on high altitude to avoid AMS. Carry Diamox as a precaution.
• Carry Gatoraode or ORS powder, protein bars and water purification pills. Always have something to eat.
• Carry extra ropes to attach luggage and petrol cans.
• Carry enough cash. Carry light luggage.
• Spend more on experiences rather than food and hotels :) 

~Akshay Joshi
Email Id - joshiakshayr2020@gmail.com