The Mountains Are Calling And We Must Go�. - 17 Days in Leh & Spiti

[MG]

DAY 10 – 25th June – RAMPUR TO PATHANKOT – 390km

Early morning start at 7 saw us looking at ominous clouds covering the entire area & our way ahead. As we moved it started drizzling at first & than full fledged rains hit us, a first of sorts for us in this trip of Himachal. Putting on our rain gear for us and the luggage made way ahead.
Getting ready for the long day ahead


As soon as we left the villages & entered the jungles the road had become a slush of sorts & cars & other vehicles were stuck on either sides. Both of us got down & pushed each other bike out of it & made our way towards jalori pass. This side of Himachal is so different from Lahaul, Spiti & Kinnaur districts. Everywhere you see tall pine trees & the mountains are covered in a green blanket. The fresh smell of pines along with the rains made up for an unforgettable experience. But the flip side was that the rains were also causing problems to ride on such surface.

On way to Jalorio Pass, its all green out there






Just before Jalori pass a stretch of 8 kms was a complete mess with lot of slush, broken pine branches & rocks. Braving those odds reached Jalori pass. A place completely engulfed in fog & giving a mystique feeling to the mountain top. Spent some time taking the photographs, having a breakfast of rice & omelette & praying at the temple there that it shouldn’t rain at least till we get down from the top safely.
Pine country




Lost in the surrounding






View from the Jalori Top




Temple of Jalori Jat


A quick bite after a hard ride




Nitin with the tapri guy


The tall guy named Nitin


A cute kid


Came down Jalori safely without any issues & kept on riding at decent pace.
The green country


The day I retire I will stay at one of those


Aftereffect of visiting a heaven named Jalori Pass


The roads thereafter turned pretty two laned highways & our progress was fast. Reached Mandi & saw two similarly attired riders .Turned out to be our online friends from down south Steve & Ananth who had just completed the Leh circuit & were returning back home. Moved towards a restaurant & discussed the road conditions and general talk over the next hour. As we parted ways it was already 4.30 pm & we still had some 240 kms to cover.
River on way to Aut


DK posing in front of the Aut Dam


No sooner than we moved away from Mandi some 30 kms later MG’s pulsar’s gear lever fell down. Big problem!!
Upon inspection we observed that the nut holding the gear lever had fallen off & with no other option I tied a piece of thick string to it till we find the next mechanic. The arrangement worked well till we found a mechanic famous amongst the locals some 25 kms ahead. According to him this particular nut-bolt arrangement would only be available at Bajaj probking store which is only present in big metros. So the man designed the arrangement himself on a lathe machine & it is still working. Kudos to his ingenuity it really saved the trip from going topsy turby. Seeing the time both of us started on a real fast pace maintaining an average of 80 kmph on the wonderful roads.

My target was to ride for next 100 kms without stop. Crossed Jogendernagar & reached Palampur over the next 2 hours. I was ahead as MG stopped for one or two pics. Here we lost each other & I entered Palampur city. MG took a bypass & had already crossed palampur. Some 30 minutes were wasted in locating each other but thankfully did so.
Toy train to Palampur


I kept on waiting but he never came, taken on Palampur bypass




It was already 8 pm & we had 80 kms more to cover till pathankot. Had some food & raced ahead in the night. Covering 60 more kms over the next hour we finally were too tired to continue. Located a nice Hotel Mayo Fort, had dinner & crashed onto the bed.

[MG]

Left Pathankot around 11 after a hefty breakfast. Met a wonderfull jovial Punjabi family at the hotel who joked around & appreciated our ride as well as wished us all the best for the future ride.

The hotel where we stayed in Pathankot, Mayo FortStuck near J&K borderAre O Samba kitne admi the


Samba keeping a close watch


Don't misinterpret the place as Chambal




Taking some photo breaks moved ahead 50 kms till Udhampur. The target was Srinagar but the distance to cover was large. Still not overtly worried we continued ahead. Passing Udhampur about an hour later stopped at a roadside vaishno dhaba for lunch. Though not great it was still palatable.

Reached Patnitop thereafter but seeing the massive amounts of tourists decided to stop just somewhere ahead.rested our tired selves on the green grass. The road here is just single lane & many a tourist vehicles drive rashly with no care for life or limb. Sitting there observing these behaviour both decided to leave early from there. MG was too tired to move but acquiesced my request, so rode on after 15 more minutes of rest. We dodged this kinda traffic, rode cautiously & watched out for each other in general. As the traffic thinned out I raced ahead & waited for MG.

Quite sometime passed but still no sign of him. I was waiting at the tea stall when saw him slowly coming down the slopes. He stopped removed the helmet & fatigue was easily visible on his face. Not the one who easily tires out this was a surprise for me. Talking sometime came to know that he was too tired to continue. We were still some 140 kms away from Srinagar.

I had carried xplod an instant energy drink for such situations. Made a glass of water with it & gave to MG. After 15 mins or so he felt refreshed enough to continue & we were well on our way.

Reached Jawahar tunnel in the next 2 hours by which time night had already cast its shadows. Crossing the Jawahar is an experience in itself & the 2km long tunnel feels ethereal. Our first view of the Kashmir valley thenceforth was at night & all we could see were lights of the town & about. Reached Qazigund & stopped for water. Upon enquiring with the local shopkeeper we came to know that Srinagar was having a curfew .At this point we were around 65 kms away from Srinagar.


Upon further discussions & phone calls we also came to know that a route directly goes from Pahalgam to Sonmarg too, so decided to ride to Pahalgam which was around same distance as Srinagar. Facing the huge convoys of army vehicles & getting accompanied by them in the night was a bit of a scary experience atleast for me. Rode well into the night & reached Pahalgam around 10.30 pm. Found a decent hotel but we were in for a rude shock when the hotel owner told us that no motorable road existed between Pahalgam & Sonamarg.

[darkknight]

MG please continue--abhi 10 hi din baaki hai

[MG]

View from the hotel room


Banishing the thoughts of the extra kilometres we actually enjoyed this detour. MG even commented on coming again & spending some more time in Pahalgam the next time around. Having discussed the routes with the hotel owner who guided us in such manner that it was to save us atleast 25 kms up till Srinagar we packed & set off for our destination for the day- Drass.

Pahalgam the best mistake that I have ever done in my life








Journey till Srinagar was awesome through small vllages bordering the crystal clear river & streams. Passing through lush green forests kind off made our mood more buoyant. Took many a photo breaks & reached Srinagar around 11 am.

On way to Srinagar




Pahalgam from a distance

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa118/mg_biker1806/27th%20June%20-%20Himalayan%20Ride/5Pahalgamfromadistance.jpg

Lush green meadows in Pahalgam


DK can't resist taking a dip in JhelumJust a customary shot of Dal LakeOn way to SonamargLong queue of Army truck at Zozilla Pass


View of Amarnath camps from ZozillaZozilla Top


Fully loaded


Getting down was fairly easy & towards the end you see some progress being made to improve the road status by fixing of paver blocks. Reaching down the pass we actually got to the experience of touching & feeling the ice. Though it had turned black & muddy due to all the fumes & dirt from vehicles still getting to the actual ice made us smile. Stopped for a few customary pics, had a rest of around 20 minutes soaking in the ambience & the feel of the place.

Moved ahead through the ice surrounded roads to Matayen village.

Road made by cutting out snow


On way to Matiyan village




First stretch of straight road just before Matiyan


And the phoenix rise


Matiyan village


DDLJ remake


Feel of nature


Stopover



From here Drass is at a distance of around 20 kms. We still had time on our hands but decided to halt in drass itself. Did some timepass near & about matayen with lots of photos. Passed through the area which pointed out towards the famous Tiger hill. Said a silent prayer in mind for the martyrs of the Kargil war & made our way into Drass town.

Spotted the J&K tourism house & made arrangements to stay. The place is good but ill kempt for want of maintenance inside the rooms & the service.
J&K Tourism hotel in Drass



As we had entered Drass we stopped at ali tea stall in the main town. The owner a jolly fellow with a rotund tummy was extremely cordial & we immediately struck a friendship with him. As we had promised him about coming for dineer at 8 pm sharp we reached his place & were welcomed by the wonderful aroma one of the most delicious mutton I have tasted so far. Ate quite a lot alongwith conversations with ali bhai who regaled us with many knowledgeable tips of the local area & stories of kargil war. Left him with a promise that we will tell all our friends about his must visit shop.

Went to the room, took some pictures of the tiger hill at night & slept off.

Hotel at night


The famous peak of Tiger Hill


Clouds passing by


Deep thoughts

[strider]

Awesome travelogue MG, pics are breathtaking

In the first post, the Day 9 is the same as Day 8( Day 9 pics and log are missing )

[MG]

Awesome travelogue MG, pics are breathtaking

Thank you. For a change someone has commented on this thread other than DK

In the first post, the Day 9 is the same as Day 8( Day 9 pics and log are missing )

It is there. Day 8 & 9 is posted in a single post

[MG]

DAY 13 – 28th June - DRASS TO LEH – 270km

Started early at around 8a.m as we wanted to reach Leh before nightfall and also had plans of visiting the famous Lamayaru monastery in between.

Just outside Drass




As soon as we are out of Drass we were stuck between the same Army convoy whom we met yesterday at Zozilla. The road was narrow with space for only one truck and to make matters worse it was in pretty bad shape. Wasted around half an hour to cross the whole convoy of 200 trucks and once we were out we decided that we will not stop for next one hour so as to create a gap with the convoy but it was not to be.

We had only done some 30oddkms from morning and there was this small puddle of water on road. Nitin goes at a decent pace without thinking what I see next was least expected. There was a big ditch under that small puddle and Nitin goes flying off from his bike. I ran through the water and rush for his help but luckily nothing happened both to the ride or the rider. While we were taking the bike out and were drying the luggage and other stuffs a bit the whole army convoy again passed us. We looked at each other as we know that we have to do it all over again.

Exactly where Nitin had a fall



Again the same story and by the time we crossed the whole convoy again we almost reached Kargil. Between all this I couldn’t stop for any major photo break and was little upset.

Somewhere on way to Kargil




Some posing just outside Kargil town




Soon we reached Kargil and more bad news, Nitin had a second puncture for the trip but we were not worried as we knew that a puncture mechanic is nearby.

Kargil to both our disappointment was just another small town with nothing spectacular to offer. Drass has much more charm in it with most of the Kargil war ranges including Tiger Hill,Tololing range around it.

Kargil town from a distance


Fixed Nitin’s puncture and had a small brunch of omlette’s and ladakhi bread at a small shack. We had nothing from morning so fuelled myself properly for the journey ahead but Nitin was content with one omelette.

To compensate for loss of hours we decided to up our speed and were doing steady 70-80 on broken patches. Nitin was closely following me but after around half an hour I couldn’t see him on my RVM so slowed down a bit and finally stopped after 10minutes. He came after 20minutes shaking his head vigorously. His bad luck is continued and now he had second puncture for the day. With great difficulty we found a mechanic near Mulbekh to repair it. A photo with them made them happy & they gave also give me their address so that I can mail the pictures to them.

Just before Mulbekh where I waited for Nitin when he came with the Puncture news


The beautiful village Mulbekh




Small monastery atop in Mulbekh


2nd puncture repair of the day at Mulbekh
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The puncture guy with his children


Nakeela Pass came and gone and so did Fotula Pass the highest pass on Srinagar - Leh route. The roads were getting bad to worse and so was Nitin mood. He was visibly upset with the proceedings from the morning and wanted to reach Leh as soon as possible for which he was not stopping at most of the places for photo break.

Climbing to the Fotula Top




My trusted P220 strikes for a pose near Fotula Top


Fotula top, as it says the highest point on Srinagar-Leh section and it was the most windy place of the whole trip


View from the top

On one side


And the other side


Mountain road at its best


Just as we descend from Fotula Lamayaru Monastery is visible but the main road through it was closed due to some road construction going on. It was already 4 so we decided to give it a miss and clicked a customary shot of the monastery for memory.

Lamayaru Monastery from a distance


Beautiful Rock formation near Lamayaru



The next 20km downhill was very tricky with very narrow broken roads and steep fall at one side. Here we met a group of bikers from Mumbai comprising of 6male members and 1 female member. Two of them were from our own club xBhp but we haven’t met before. Exchanged greetings and on casual chat we came to know except for 1 guy no one has even ventured out of Maharashtra and this is there first big trip and hence they are taking is slow and easy. Sensible decision.

Had a quick lunch at Khalste and then we both zoomed ahead for the final 90km to Leh. The roads from now were mixed bag with smooth tarmac for some sections and completely broken at some other sections.

Somewhere around Khalste, Leh still 80km away




Stretches like these keep Nitin happy


A better Sharukh Khan pose at Saspol


One for the photographer for working so hard behind the lens


By the time we reached Nimmu it was already 6.00p.m. Leh was just 40km ahead. Nimmu though a very small village holds special importance for the fact that here the green waters of Indus meets the muddy waters of Zanskar 4km ahead of the main village.

Nimmu


The green water of Indus meets the dirty water of Zanskar river


Nimmu Village


A small Army settlement just outside Nimmu


The last 40km was a bliss with proper tarmac and arrow straight roads. We had a blast and both of us were ripping our heart out at some of the sections we vent out the frustration of last 5-6days.

And finally the road opens up 60km before Leh


Can't stop admiring


7.30 and we finally see the board “Leh welcomes you”. Yes we both are now in the list of bikers getting Leh’d.

Sunset can't get any beautiful than this


7.26 by the clock and we reached Leh


I stopped for the customary shot while Nitin zoomed ahead and it happened again in Leh city. Yes we again lost each other and we could regroup only after half an hour.

Stayed at Khan Manzil guest house and had a nice non-veg dinner at a roof top restaurant and we call it a day at 11p.m.

[Ananth]

B e a u t i f u l pictures MG!

And i just saw what I missed seeing from the Kashmir Valley. From Pathankot to Drass - You made up so F-A-S-T! We had a terrible time encountering rains, and zozilla and we were worn out by time we reached Mathiyan! Good that weather was on your part to make up kilometers soon

P.S: Waiting for Chang La pictures

[DevilisH]

El-awesome narration and pics MG !! eagerly waiting for the rest.

[rachitkohli]

vow,... superb pix & narration..!! you guys took me back to that place..
zozila, drass, sonmarg.. awesomeee.. even we stayed in the same J&K guest house.. admiring the tiger hill peak..

[darkknight]

B e a u t i f u l pictures MG!

And i just saw what I missed seeing from the Kashmir Valley. From Pathankot to Drass - You made up so F-A-S-T! We had a terrible time encountering rains, and zozilla and we were worn out by time we reached Mathiyan! Good that weather was on your part to make up kilometers soon

P.S: Waiting for Chang La pictures

still 2 days man--including detouring to pahalgam (a beautiful mistake as per MG) which was 200 kms extra

[strider]

Thank you. For a change someone has commented on this thread other than DK


It is there. Day 8 & 9 is posted in a single post

Oh ok, Thanks MG, btw I didnt know about DK's thread :P

[MG]

Today is day to conquer the highest motorable road, Khardungla Pass as everyone likes to call it and also visit the sand dunes of Hunder 70km ahead of Khardungla.

With only 120odd kms for the day we decided to give our bikes the basic attention in the morning comprising of chain cleaning and tightening and air filter cleaning which was long overdue

Leh Palace with a different view


Vibrant Leh sky


Nitin with the owner of Khan Manzil, the place where we stayed


Finally started off from Leh at 11.30a.m after keeping most of the luggage back at hotel so as to travel light as we will be traversing many of the high passes and less traversed road in the next 2-3days.

View from Leh from where the climb for Khardungla starts


Like a painting


Reached South Pullu in less than an hour, this is a post where one needs to show the permits for proceeding ahead. Getting the permit is a 2hr job and one can get it from Leh DC office but we had already made it before the start of our trip. It was getting real cold so out comes our winter gear for the first time in the trip. Fully dressed we finally proceeded for the final 14km for Khardungla Top.

Its important to note that in all the high passes which are above 15000ft sea level the last 8-10kms are always in bad shape especially at the beginning and the end of season as it always comes under snowline. So in early morning you have tread with black ice and in the afternoon/evening you have to encounter water crossing, slush and heavy winds.

First view of snow


India Gate in the vicinity


In the last 7odd kms the road became mostly rubble and packed snow and puddles of slush with very small water crossings here and there. With every passing km it was getting even more cold but we were enjoying the whole experience of riding on such a stretch with snow everywhere you can look around. Stopped for a photo break and to soak the whole experience of being in the sea of snow just before India Gate. The last 1km from India Gate to K-Top was done in a jiffy and I could see Nitin showing thumb up to me. I also smiled and showed the same to him.

Yes we two are also finally thereThe hordes of cabs around which make the place very commercial


Animated Nitin showing his emotions after reaching the top post



The next one hour was spent clicking pictures having tea and maggi at the army canteen and listening to the tales of various other bikers who made their way up there.

The army canteen at the top


And we had tea and maggi at the canteen


Nitin posing with the real heroes who stays in these harsh condition to protect our motherland


Climb down was uneventful other than the numerous photo breaks and a brief stop at North Pullu the check post at the other side of Khardungla. Soon we traversed in Nubra valley and it again amazed both of us with the kind of variety that Himalayas has to offer. Its truly said that the grandeur of Himalayas never fails to amaze you.

Photo breaks while going down













View from North Pullu, see the small mandir in the middle of nowhereSitting beside Shyok river on way to NubraHunder conquered




Sand Dunes at Hunder
\



Pure Bliss



We both had a lovely time at the dunes and with not a single soul around it was all ours. Since we reached around 7 so all the tourists had already left for the day. After spending an hour we headed back to Diskit and settled in Sand Dunes hotel.

Dinner at 8.30 and we were for a nice surprise as we came to know that there is no dining facility other than tea. We came out of the hotel and not to our surprise everything was already closed, luckily we found the only shop open in the whole Diskit which happened to be a food joint.

Had whatever he has to offer, came back to room and slept off.

[Drifty]

WOW Man,I just cant stop looking at those pics again and again.Awesome,Awesome,Awesome pics!!!Especially,I liked the pic in which DK is sipping tea in the army canteen,that colour shade is appealing.And MG bhai,yours moustache wala pic,I am seeing it for the first time! I guess you had not got time to shave but DK got!Seems like the right hand side RVM of R15 is broken.And 'animated' Nitin..LOL!

[MG]

Day 15 – 30th June – Diskit – Khardungla – Leh - 135

The original destination for the day was Pangong Tso. There was a new route via Agham and Shyok which had opened this year which bypasses both the mountain passes of Khardungla and Changla and takes you direct to Pangong Tso.

Our original plan was to take that route but on enquiring about it from a group of friends who already did this sector this year we came to know that there will be a section of 35km with no roads and one has to continuously ride on sharp edged boulder on river bed and there will be no soul for the whole section of 80km. They warned us that there is a big chance of getting a puncture and they too faced the same with some group members in that sector.

Riding on no roads was not a problem and with both of has having the liking of off-roading it was more inviting than warning but we decided against it. We were virtually at the end of trip and if we get stuck because of puncture or a breakdown then it means an extension in holiday which was not possible given the number of days we are already out or miss Pangong Tso which we both didn’t wanted to. So finally we decided that we will start early and cover both the passes and reach Pangong Tso by evening, but it was not to be.

Our room at Diskit


Hotel Sand Dune where we stayed


A big prayer wheel at Diskit


In the streets of Diskit


Diskit monastery from a distance


Started pretty early for the day at 7a.m and our aim was to reach Leh by 12 and then push for Pangong.

Stopped for a tea break at the next village where we came to know from the locals that Khardungla will be closed for some hours as Lama of Leh is arriving who is second only to Dalai Lama. This is bad news for us as closing of pass means no hopes for Pangong for the day, again the thoughts of taking Agham – Shyok route started surfacing as the turn was just 5km away. We enquired an army jawan and he said no the pass won’t be closed and it will remain open.

Nubra Valley with the Shyok river flowing through it








A group of bulleters


The other side of Nubra Valley, lokk for the straight road which runs across the valley


Relieved we pushed forward. By the time we reached Khardunga village we could see that the weather is getting bad and the signs of snowfall was ominous which again is not a good news as if its snows heavily it means closure of pass atleast for sometime if not for the whole day. We rode very hard for the next 17odd kms and by the time we reach North Pullu it started snowing but we couldn’t ride forward as the pass was closed for Lama visit and what the locals said turned out to be true.

Weather was not looking good and we were not sure whether we should turn back and try the other route. Finally we decided to stay and wait for the pass to open and in the meantime enjoy whatever was in store for us.

Snowfall at North Pullu




Army canteen at North Pullu


Lamaji arrived around 2hours after that and in between there were many short bursts of snowfall which we were enjoying to the core. By the time Lamaji arrived the place was teeming with tourists and locals who either were stuck or came to get a glimpse of Lamaji. The visit of Lama along with their preparation was an altogether different experience and we were glad that we had the chance to experience something which is a rarity.

Preparation for Lama Visit






















Lamaji is finally here



Soon the pass was opened and quite naturally we got stuck in a traffic jam all the way up to the K-Top. Here we met the office colleague of Nitin who came to visit Leh with his family. They are also visiting the same places on same days as we are but the lack of network on either side means that we couldn’t meet each other till now and finally we meet and that too at K-Top.

The ride back to Leh was uneventful. With no chance of heading towards Pangong we call it a day at Leh and the rest of day was spent roaming around in market and some essential shopping for near and dear ones.