Ladakh Valley as seen from Aircraft
On an early morning Vistara flight to Leh, I was watching the Martin Scorsese thriller – Goodfellas and one scene in the opening rushes of the movie hit me hard. The young Ray Liotta says- As far as I remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. Well, as far as I remember, I always wanted to be a biker. And there I was, waiting for the flight to land and head straight to the bike vendor. I booked myself at the Himalayan Heritage Hotel and was impressed by the location and facilities such as rooms and restaurant. The Hotel is a five-minute walk from the main shopping street – The Mall Road and has hordes of options for shopping and dining. That’s the only place where you can get multi-cuisine in Ladakh since most of the hotels work on a fixed menu and inventory is limited due to the high altitude location. High altitude reminds me of AMS ( Acute Mountain Sickness ) which is caused by the quick exposure to low oxygen levels at
high altitude. Symptoms of AMS include nausea, fatigue, rapid heart rate and headache, hence I recommend doing a course on Diamox Tablets to get acclimatized faster. However, do consult your doctor in case you have any underlying condition. Try to take the earliest flight to Leh since that can help you settle into the high-altitude weather faster.
Himalayan Heritage Hotel
Deluxe Room with King size Bed
Explore Day One by walking around the Shopping street and checking out winter wear and shops selling souvenirs and trinkets. Certain shops have great deals on imported merchandise hence you need to do a bit of digging to find the best deals. Another five-minute walk ahead is the Moti Market which many shoppers miss, however, I got one of the best deals here. It is also a place where you can shop for local spices and snacks. There are two good restaurants for Cuisine dining at Mall Road – Karims and Wazwan Planet which are quite popular for their food and ambience. There are hordes of options for Jain food as well. Many small eateries serve Jain food hence explore before settling in. Being on a Bike expedition, I made sure I ate simple meals in small portions and ate frequently. This gives you the necessary energy and helps to keep you hydrated. The market closes by 9 pm hence plan your visit accordingly. Most of the Hotels serve Dinner till 10 pm and wind up early. Mornings are earlier in Ladakh and the day is bright before 5.30 am and the sun sets in around 8 pm ensuring you have ample time to explore. In case you opt to try local Cuisine like popular snacks such as Samosa and Ladakhi Kulcha, I recommend, that you explore the alleys behind the market, there’s a small alley next to Karims restaurant which one can explore for local food. That’s where most of the retailers have their snack grub from. You get a Samosa which is a patty stuffed with minced meat whereas vegetarians can opt for the Kulcha. Price ranges from 10 to 20 bucks. I had armed myself with enough cash but no need to worry since most of the retailers accept online payments and there were a couple of ATMs on the main market street, on the contrary, I didn’t find any queues as I was expecting after going through earlier blogs on Ladakh. In case you enjoy your evening drink, then I recommend, you carry your booze since the options are very limited. I found only one outlet – The Ibex Bar which is situated in the main market and serves alcohol rules and regulations keep changing frequently in Ladakh, hence it is better to carry your alcohol. However, as a biker, I strongly recommend, not to indulge since this dehydrates your body faster. In high-altitude areas, it’s important to keep oneself well-hydrated and make sure you drink at least five litres of water. Carrying electrolyte packs and Vitamin C boosters can help a lot too.
Leh Main Market
Enjoy a drink at Ibex Bar situated at Main Market
We started Day 2 biking through the nearby places of Leh Town Lsuch as The Stok Monastery, Stok Palace, and The Matho Monastery do make sure to visit The Hemis Monastery which is one of the richest Monastery in Ladakh and a delight to explore. The options to dine are limited in these areas and you can expect to get Maggi Noodles and basic refreshments. I strongly recommend trying the Lemon Ginger Tea with Honey which is an excellent source of refreshment and energy and is available all over Ladakh. It takes about 4 to 5 hours to visit these places and in case you are craving lunch then you can stop at Kharu Market which has decent options for dining including Jain Food. We stopped by Kunga Palkhang Restaurant for a meal comprising of Fried Rice & Soup. In case you wish to hire a bike or scooter for rent, there are lots of options in the Changspa area where you can rent out a bike along with riding gear, for hygiene reasons and being a hardcore biker, I carried my gear.
Stok Monastery
Stok Palace
Hemis Monastery
On Day 3 you can explore places such as the SECMOL ( Students Educational & Cultural Movement of Ladakh ) campus which is a school founded by the legendry Sonam Wangchuk and works for the children of the underprivileged. Here the emphasis is laid on practical learning rather than curriculum-based. The whole campus is run by students which has various committees and students are also trained in politics. This beautiful campus is worth exploring and there’s a guided tour. There is an entry fee of Rs.200 per person. You can shop for souvenirs created by the students such as greetings, postcards, handmade brushes etc. Make sure you try the fresh Apricot Juice available here. Later head to Magnetic Hill to explore the gravity phenomenon and try out ATV rides etc. The view here is mind-blowing and the road is slick. After a brief halt at the Magnetic Hill, we headed to the Sangam Confluence, with a short halt at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib and took blessings of the divine. One can refresh here with neat washrooms maintained by the Gurudwara committee. The Sangam is a Confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers and is visible. There are options for river rafting for the sport enthusiast and a complete rafting tour would last around 3 hours, wet gear is available on rent. After a quick grub of Noodles and Tea at The Sangam Cafe, we headed back to Leh town with a halt at Shanti Stupa which offers you a majestic view of Leh Town with snow-capped peaks. We winded up the day with a simple meal of Dal, Rice and Chicken Curry.
On day 4 we headed to the mighty Khardungla, the dream of every rider. With an altitude of 17982 ft, this is the highest motorable road in the world at present. The temperature is chilling hence make sure you put on good-quality thermal gloves for this ride. After a halt of around 25 minutes at the top, we started our ride towards Nubra Valley to Hundar Base Camp. This is one of the harshest and most treacherous legs of the ride and tests you to your limits. The wind is chilling throughout and we took a night halt at Skylark Camping. The provisions including food and water are limited hence make sure to pack accordingly. The roads are off-roading hence make sure the tyres of the bike are in good condition since one has to travel through stones, gravel, water and sand as well. Just about 30 kilometres before Hundar, there’s a nice green patch where we took a halt for lunch and is very popular amongst bikers and a bit ahead one can take off-reading to the next level by visiting the dunes and have a glimpse of the double-humped camel. There’s about a kilometre of dunes to cross through and this is challenging and exciting to accomplish. In the case of luggage or a tank-top bag, it’s better to keep it covered since this leg is too dusty.
After a night halt at Hundar camp, we started our last leg towards Pangong Tso after having breakfast and started our ride by 8.45 am. Our first halt was at Diskit Monastery which is about 20 kilometres from Hundar. This place offers a panoramic view of the Hundar Valley and is a sheer delight to the eye. After a halt of halfan houru,r we started towards Pangong Tso. Again, this route has quite a bit of off-roading before you hit the clean stretch. The approaching valley towards Durbuk offers you spectacular views of waterfalls and rivers and enticing curves for every rider. This stretch is simply not to be missed. We reached Durbuk by 3 pm and took a halt for some refreshments. This is the last place where you could shop for provisions and daily essentials since Pangong doesn’t have any shops etc. The road from Durbuk to Pangong which is approximately 50 kilometres is one of the most beautiful in the world and a dream for every biker to ride upon. You are riding amidst snow-capped peaks and beautiful curves offering a visual treat at every turn. We reached Pangong Tso by 5 pm and spent some time at the pristine lake. For photography enthusiasts, it is better to reach Pangong by noon time which is the best time to capture the bluish water of the lake in case the sky is clear with ample sunlight. Carry sufficient winter jackets, sweaters, mufflers etc as Pangong is super cold and night temperature often dips on the minus scale with some snowfall. There are dozens of Camping hotels to choose from. We stayed at Royal Foster Ladakh Cottage and winded up by 10 pm. There’s no electricity after 10 pm and this area is strictly controlled by the Indian Army. Phone networks across the whole of Ladakh are sketchy but Airtel postpaid has good coverage including Pangong hence I would not recommend going for any local connection if you have an Airtel number. I could get decent network coverage at Pangong.
On Day 6 we started our return journey towards Leh which is 150 kilometres approximately. The road post Durbuk is decent but it is at Changla pass where we got hit by unexpected snowfall and had to cross the valley very cautiously since most of us had a slip on the snow. We somehow managed to reach the base of Changla by evening 5 pm. Before starting from Pangong, it is best to check on the weather advisory at the Tangtse check post before heading towards Changla, in case of a snowfall advisory, one has to take the longer route to Leh which is apprlast-minute00 kilometres but a safer route to reach Leh city. Reaching the base and on the approach highway towards Leh city, I again spotted a sign put up by BRO ( Border Roads Organisation ) which reads as – Don’t be a Gama, in the land of Lama.
I smiled and grinned to myself – So TRUE.
Tips & Pointers:
- Acclimatize yourself well to the high altitude before starting your ride. If need be, do a course on Diamox Tablets. Kindly check with your doctor on prescription and dosage.
- Try to book an early morning flight to Leh, this way, you shall get more time to Acclimatize yourself to the climate. Make sure there is enough interval in case of connecting flights. You don’t want to face a situation where you could not make it to the connecting flight and pay a premium for last minute booking.
- Carry sufficient stock of electrolytes and Vitamin C. I recommend Fastup health packs.
- Try to carry your own biking gear and in case of Go Pro mounted helmets, carry your own as availability is scarce in Ladakh.
- As far as possible, consume simple meals and avoid alcohol.
- Weather can be brutally cold on some days hence carry adequate clothing.
- If on a bike ride, equip yourself with premium quality riding gloves, especially thermal.
- If riding towards Khardungla and Pangong, carry good quality snow goggles with UV protection.
Breakdown Bikes being carried in tow-away vehicle
With our backup vehicle Marshal – Sewang Lama, a guy of true grit and guts.
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