He carried spare deos

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Sorry couldn't resist it

Day 13: Pangong Tso - Chang la - Tanglang la - More plains - Pang

After Drass, night at Lukung was one the coldest nights of our journey. So much that we couldn't even go out for dinner and had to manage on Snickers energy bars. We woke up as the cell phone alarm rang in the morning and saw clear blue sky outside the window. It was still quite cold in the morning. There was no bathroom or water supply in our room and hence we had to manage everything with the limited amount of water that was left in the mineral water bottles i.e brushing teeth and washing face. Toilet was more like what I saw in Gaurav Jani's documentary - One Crazy ride. A small room with wooden floor over a 6-8 feet deep nullah. No proper doors, nothing to cover the window and just a small hole in the center on the wooden floor. Well, no.. no one used the toilet

The Bull riders were awake as well. Some of them were busy clicking pictures while others were cleaning their bikes. We had a small chat with them as we loaded our luggage on bikes. We asked them about their day's plan and they were clueless. They didn't have a proper plan as such. Things weren't too different on our side either. And that's because a lot of people had told us a lot of stories about the Manali highway, most of them being scary! And hence we were not too sure if we would be able to stick to our original plan, which was to reach Pang before evening. Some had even warned us of waist height water crossing!! I was most worried about a mechanical failure and damaging the electronics, especially laptop.

So with that little bit of scary feeling and a lot excitement, we bid good bye to the most beautiful lake and started our day's journey! Here's the last pic of Pangong Tso and first pic of the day - The lake early in the morning!


I have already mentioned that Chang La top to Pangong tso section was a bit spooky and unpredictable. It was nice and sunny when we started our journey and all of sudden sky turned overcast and before we could think of anything, it was snowing. We hurriedly stopped by the road and started wearing our rain gear, covered all the electronics and secured them. However big the raincoat is, it's very difficult to wear it over riding jacket and knee guards etc. And when you are in hurry, it's bound to take even longer! After lots of efforts we were finally ready for the battle. And guess what, as soon as we moved ahead, snowfall stopped completely. Not just that, it actually never rained in that whole day. Since we hadn't had our breakfast at Lukung, we had decided to stop at Tangtse, at the same restaurant where we had lunch the day before. Just to give you some idea how unpredictable the climate was, check out this pic. It was clicked en route Tangtste. Minutes ago it was snowing with overcast skies and then it's nice and sunny as seen in this pic.


We got to see and experience the Garhwal Rifles camp one more time as we rode towards Tangtse. Just for the record, it's the same Guest house cum restaurant where Aamir Khan and crew had stayed during the shoot of "3 Idiots". Hotel owner has put up some of their pics on the walls of the restaurant.













Road condition isn't great till Chang La top and beyond. Hence it was a cumbersome and slow ride till the time we hit good roads on the other side of the mountain. But the feeling of crossing the Second highest road in the world, twice, was something special. Sad that we were leaving everything behind except the memories.. Once we were on good roads, it was a smooth and fast ride all the way till Karu. But one has to be careful while riding fast on those curves. There's hardly any barricade to save you in case of a mistake or crash. One slight mistake and you can easily go tumbling down hundreds of feet. Following videos will give you some idea of the fast descent -
Chang La pass, 17,586 feet - Part 1 - YouTube

Chang La pass, 17,586 feet Part 2 - YouTube

I opened the throttle and rode quite fast to enjoy the curves. That's why reached Karu well before Mandar did. Another reason why he reached late was, he bumped into some of his neighbors who were traveling in an Innova. So he stopped to have a word with them. The real game was about to begin as we were about to enter the ~350Km no petrol zone. Most riders carry extra fuel in plastic cans or bottles but we decided to trust our calculations and our bikes. We rode back a km or so towards Leh, to the Indian Oil petrol pump which is the last filling station. We tanked up our bikes right till the brim of the tank. I was expecting real bad roads right from the beginning, especially after listening to all those stories of Manali highway - may be I was over excited or too scared. But to our surprise, roads were in good shape for most parts. Road construction work was in full swing and only small patches were troublesome. Apart from that it was nice fresh black tarmac, and we loved it Road became more scenic beyond Upshi. Here's a small photo break 7 Km before Lato -





Like I said, road was in quite good condition most of the time. Hence didn't find any trouble maintaining good speeds till we reached the base of Tanglang La. I remember we stopped there for a quick food break. We ate Snickers energy bars. It gave us that vital energy to tackle one of the toughest and coldest high mountain passes of our journey which is also the 3rd highest motorable road in the world. Mean while our bikes got the much needed rest before climbing up to 17,582 feet. Like most other high altitude passes, road condition slowly degraded as we climbed up. Following pictures will give you some idea about the road condition which were clicked at around half way point between the base and Tanglang la top.









Roads became worse from bad as we inched closer to the top. It was tough and extremely cold. Check out following video to know what am talking -

Conquering Tanglang La, 17582 Ft - YouTube

There was slush and slippery roads all the way till top and that's what made this ride even more memorable. We were so so happy to see the Tanglang la top monument. We met a brave rider from Asam at the top. He was going to Leh and had covered awful lot distance in that day. He asked us about road condition of Tanglang la towards Leh and we asked him road condition towards Pang. The answer was same from both of us - Horrible!







The Asam rider was right, road condition was quite similar to what we had ridden so far. Full of slush and mud and extremely cold. Gradually it improved as we descended the mountain. Somewhere on the way, we spotted this huge herd of sheep. Just look at the number of animals. I wonder how those people manage so many of them.



The next pleasant surprise was the more plains. Guys, riding in more plains is indeed an experience! Fantastic! After Tanglang la we were riding on a decent looking road and then all of sudden the road disappeared! We were in the middle of a huge plain, like a play ground! There are no roads here. Only tire trails in sand. More plains is approximately 15Km by 20 Km wide plateau. It's unbelievable that a plain surface of such vast area can actually exist at that high altitude.






While riding in More plains we were stopped by a small group of bulletiers. They were first timers in Ladakh and had started their ride from Pang. They seemed exhausted and wanted to know the next best place to stay for the night. We didn't see any such place except on the other side of Tanglang La. I told them so. Their next obvious question was how's the road condition in Tanglang la? You can guess the answer as well as their reaction over the answer The girl actually shouted loud - Ohhh Noooooo! But on a serious note, I asked them to hurry up cause it was late evening. Tanglang la was freezing cold in the afternoon when we crossed it. It'll be colder in the evening. Also crossing it in low light or at worst in dark is the last thing, especially with a girl on-board. They thanked us and carried on. Few Km later, we were stopped once again by two elderly looking riders, one riding a Rajdoot and the other one a bullet. They asked the same question, what's the next best place to stay. I wonder how people start their day's ride without a proper target in mind. It can be fatal in those terrains! Gosh!


Check out the following pic. I clicked it while I waited for Mandar to catch up. I met three foreign bicyclists there. They were cycling with a lot of luggage on their bicycles. Hats off to them!



We were very tired by then and were dying to see the Pang village. We had read only tented accommodation is available at Pang. So we were totally clueless what to expect and what not! Will there be electricity supply at Pang? A proper bathroom/toilet? What if we don't get accommodation? What if there's no electricity at all? We could not recharge any of the electronics at Pangong tso - laptop, cameras, cell phones. Camera memory cards were full with photos and videos. So we needed to transfer data to the laptop. I didn't realize when we reached close to Pang while thinking of all the above questions. It was late evening and quite windy. This is the last pic that I clicked on Day 13, just before Pang -




When we reached Pang, we saw army tents on the left hand side of the road and small private tents on the right hand side. We were scared for the accommodation. I asked Mandar to go to the army tents to check if there's anything's available while I checked at the private tents. I met an old aunty there who said there's accommodation available. But it was tend common for all. No private tent. I was worried about our luggage. So I waited for Mandar before giving her my final decision. Few minutes later Mandar returned and said no accommodation at the army camp! That meant we had no choice but to stay in that common tent. But that aunty was soo nice and accommodative, she asked us to relax and not to worry about our belongings. As the sun set, we started feeling the chill in the air. We sat on our beds with blankets around us. I quickly transferred photos and videos to my laptop and kept all the electronics close to us in a bag. We kept all our gears and helmets on that bag to keep it safe. We had nothing much to do except sit back, relax and chit chat. That's when Mandar told me that there were tents available at army camp but those were meant only for army officers. They actually thought Mandar as an army officer due to army pants but Mandar told them the truth that we were civilians. We didn't want to land in trouble by telling them a lie. Later in the night aunty served delicious dinner. She treated us like her own kids and forced us to have food till our tummies couldn't take anymore. Very caring! It was fascinating to see how that old woman had adopted to the surroundings, where we were shivering like crazy and she was doing all her daily chores without any problem. She even asked us is we want her to wake us up the next morning. When she saw us going to bed she asked us to sleep tight and that she'll put another blanket on us later in the night - just like our own grandmother

Day 14: Pang - Lachulung la - Nakee la - Barlacha la - Keylong
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Ketan,

Reading your experience makes me feel so excited about your ride !!!

Hats off to you and mandar for acheiving the 2nd highest motorable road.

Really amazing pictures and very well written. I wish the installment duration was smaller

Superbly written ketan..

Btw, the more plains are around 50kms flat.
The army base you saw on your left side, was the place where we called up our parents from their satellite phone.
Superb pix man..

Man good to see More Plains in Daylight.We were riding in the evening at More Plains.The Pics are just amazing showing the straight roads of More Plains

the place where I couldn't visit very nice pics indeed

Conquering Tanglang La video : A/V- 10/10.
All the pics are awesome. Waiting for ur Rohtang pass videos..

Thanks buddy!

Thank you Vishwas saheb, I told you the reason why it took me so long to update the log I'll updating next day's log by tonight.

Oh so it's this place. I remember reading one of your live update that you called up your family from their satellite phone. Thanks by the way

Thanks Puneet!

Thanks buddies!

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Day 14 log should be up by tonight !

I have been going through this thread since 2 Pm and it's almost 6 now. Scintillating !

Very nicely written, amazing pics, keep it comming brother!

Thank you very much!

Day 14: Pang - Kangla Jal - Lachulung La - Nakee La - Barlacha La - Keylong

It was very difficult to wake up and get out of the warm blanket, early morning on Day 14. That's because it was an extremely cold night. Morning was comparatively warmer but still not warm enough for tourists like us. Though I had good night sleep, I had to keep an eye on our luggage every now and then. Aunty had woken up well before we did and was busy with her daily chores. I woke up and went out of the tent to sit under sunlight. It was nice and warm outside the tent due to sunlight. View was fantastic. So I came back in and took my camera along. I had a good chat with aunty and got to know a few things about their lifestyle. She had a son who lives and works in Leh. She has a daughter who's married and lives in a small village ahead of Pang towards Lachulung la. She sets up all these tents at Pang only for 3-4 months when there's no/less snow fall. For rest of the season, she and her assistants wrap up everything and keep it safe in a bunker which the army men have given her. She then stays either with her son in Leh or with her daughter till the next warm season. She has one more daughter who's single and was there with her when we stayed there. A pretty looking Ladakhi girl she was!

I was shivering with cold and upon seeing that aunty offered me a cup of tea. I bought a packet of biscuits too. While I was eating, these birds started hovering over me and even came close to the chair. These birds are fearless and are not scared to come close to human beings. Aunty said these are found in large numbers and when she was new at the business, she used to feed them with left over food and grains. Now she has dogs who take care of the leftovers.





To be honest I was disappointed on Day 13, with the decision of staying in a tent once again. Mainly because we had stayed in tent at Lukung and we had absolutely no facilities at all. No bathroom, no toilet, no electricity, no proper food etc. And I was afraid that we will have to face similar situation at Pang too. But all thanks to that sweet aunty, things were much much better here. She offered nice hot cup of tea just when it was needed and then she was kind enough to give us hot water to wash face, brush teeth, toilet etc. Here's how she boiled water -



Following pics will give you some idea of our accommodation -

Here's how the tent looks from it's main entrance. The entrance in front is the way to the sleeping area.


This is the sleeping area. Like I said, it was a common tent and 4-5 people can easily sleep in one tent.


That's the kitchen


This how it looked from the main entrance of the tent


Nice, isn't it?


Mandar woke up late and by that time I had done my early morning stuff. I cleaned my bike by the time he freshened up. And finally here's a pic with that sweet aunty just before we left for our day's journey. I am sure I won't forget her for a long long time. Even she was pleased with our friendly nature and especially the early morning chat I had with her. She said you feel like my own kids and gave us chocolates saying it's good to have something sweet when you start of on a long journey!



Manali highway, as I said, was quite different than the Srinagar highway. It became scenic and interesting right from Upshi and we got to see a lot of different rock formations and patters. A few Kms after the start of our the day's ride, we reached this place. Just have a look at those rock formations. I wonder how many seasons these rocks must have seen by now. This is around 10 mins distance before the famous Kangla Jal.



Within minutes we were at Kangla Jal. It is said that it's a water crossing which changed the flow rate as the day progresses. The best time to cross is early in the morning cause anything after 11 am or midday is like asking for trouble. Fortunately there was very little water when we crossed it.





Road condition, right from Pang, was pathetic. In fact there was hardly any road. It was all rocks and loose gravel. Somehow I was used to riding fast on such surfaces but Mandar rode slowly and cautiously to avoid a fall as well as to save the bike's fairing. I stopped at the base of Lachulung la for rest and to regroup with Mandar. Utilized the time in clicking couple of pictures.





Road, as seen in above pictures, was in poor state and continued right till the top of Lachulung La. This was the seventh high mountain pass of our journey and one of the easier ones.







Lachulung La(16,616 Ft) and Nakee La(15,547 Ft) are located quite close to each other. In fact, we didn't even realize when we descended Lachulung la and started ascending Nakee La. It's like climbing up and down two mountains back to back. After exactly 35 minutes(i.e at 10.30 am), we had conquered the eighth high mountain pass of our ride - Nakee La.





The following rock formations were common at most high mountain passes in Ladakh region. While it's evident that these are man made formations, I didn't get a chance to ask locals what's the significance of arranging stones/rocks like this. Just like these stone formations, flags tied to rope are common site at temples and high mountain passes in Ladakh. I remember seeing it's explanation of Discovery/NGC before our ride. It is believed that one should tie a flag or cloth to rope while saying his prayer or wish in mind. When wind blows, the flag/cloth flutters with it. And with that fluttering sound your wish/prayer is taken to the god by wind.






After spending sometime at Nakee la, we continued our ride. Road continued to be in poor condition. After a 20-25 minutes ride, we reached at yet another interesting spot. It was the start point of Gata loops. Gata loops is a series of 21 loops covering a distance of few kilometers. It starts at 15,302 Ft and ends at 13,780 Ft. which means a descent of more than 1520 Ft. Road condition is OK in most parts where as some patches are in really poor condition. Following pictures and videos should give you enough idea about the beauty of the place as well as road condition.









Riding my R15 in Gata Loops, Ladakh Part 1 - YouTube

Riding in Gata Loops , Ladakh Part 2 - YouTube
*Note: This video is played back at faster playback speed to make it shorter for the sound track. It's easily understandable if you look at the speedometer.

We continued our ride after Gata loops and kept moving towards the ninth high mountain pass - Barlacha la. After about half n hour's riding, at around 11.40 am, we took another break just to take rest and for the bikes to cool down.



After the break we continued our ride. After a non stop ride of an hour and 10 minutes, we were quite close to Barlacha la. This is the reason such breaks are important. Even a break of 10-12 minutes can help you cover longer distances in later stages. Things started getting more and more interesting, beautiful and colder as we approached Barlacha la. Here are two pictures clicked somewhere before we started the actual ascend to Barlacha la top -





Barlacha La IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND BREATHTAKING HIGH MOUNTAIN PASS OF OUR ENTIRE RIDE. Yes, I had to type it in caps. It was just A M A Z I N G! I can rate Zozila as the second most beautiful pass but the best one has to be Barlacha la. There was saw soo much snow in this pass.. it was just wow! The Bhaga river originates here at Barlacha la in one of the glaciers. I'll let the pictures describe the beauty of this place. Following pictures are clicked at different places during the ascend -

Just look at the sheer height of that snow wall. Can only imagine the amount of snow fall this place experiences during winters. Mind blowing!








You see, thaaat somewhere there is the Barlacha La top..!




Snow..Snow and More Snow..!




Looking back towards Pang...


Ain't it beautiful?


Oh yeah, this pic. This is one of my favorite pictures. Picture can't do justice to the actual beauty of this mountain. The snow was so even and shining beautifully as if the mountain was wrapped in a shiny white plastic sheet, or as if it was painted white and then laminated. FANTASTIC!


The above pic was the last pic before we reached Barlacha la top. Getting the big camera in and out of the pouch used to be an irritating and time consuming task. That's why I asked Mandar to move ahead. When I reached Barlacha la top, I found Mandar talking to an elderly tourist who was there with his family in a car. They had come from Manali and their initial plan was only till Rohtang but someone told them about the beauty of Barlacha La and they extended their trip to Barlacha La. He gave us some vital and latest updates about Rohtang and road beyond. He said Rohtang is in very poor condition and that a section of a Km or two is full of knee deep slush. Gulp! That did sound scary but thankfully we were not going to deal with it that day. So we just kept those pointers in mind, thanked them and moved on!

At Barlacha La top!


This is Suraj Tal aka Surya Tal literally meaning the Lake of Sun God. It is just ahead of Barlacha La. Suraj Tal is the third highest lake in India and 21st highest in world. It is also the origin of Bhaga River. This is by far the most heavenly thing I've seen in my life. Just look at it..! A half frozen beauty of mother nature!


By the time we crossed Barlacha La and Suraj Tal, Sun had started it's journey towards the west horizon. We continued our ride and stopped for a break at exactly 3 pm. Roads had slowly started to improve and we were enjoying riding on them. Even the scene around was changing drastically. From pure white snow covered mountains to lush green mountains - the transition was beautiful.



Road gradually started improving and after sometime it was in perfect condition for some spirited riding. And I did exactly the same thing. I used to ride fast for 15 minutes non stop and then halt for Mandar to catch up. That's why each of the following picture is clicked at an exact interval of 15 minutes. This way I didn't even realize how we covered the distance between Barlacha la and Keylong. Road goes through some beautiful villages like Darcha, Jispa. You just can't get your eyes of the beautiful Bungalows/houses in these villages - picture perfect!







Finally I reached at the small exit on the main highway which goes towards Keylong village and waited for Mandar to come. Meanwhile confirmed with a local villager if it's the exit for Keylong village or not. Thankfully there was coverage for Airtel and I called up my mom in Mumbai. Told her that we have safely reached our day's destination and that there's no need to worry. After regrouping with Mandar, we entered the small but beautiful Keylong village. We were riding slowly in those narrow lane in search of accommodation. That's when a boy saw us and asked if we needed a room to stay. He offered us a good deal. A very decent room with Cable TV for Rs. 400/- for two. The only problem was bike parking. There was no parking and we were asked to park our bikes atop a small hill opposite the hotel. Only relief was that we could see our bikes from the hotel window.

We unloaded the luggage and took into the room. Our room was on second floor of the building and carrying all that heavy luggage was really difficult. We were really happy that day. A trouble free day, fantastic views all along, good accommodation at the end of the day at cheap rate - what more we could ask for? One by one we got fresh and enjoyed music on TV. We relaxed a bit and then got ready for a walk in Keylong village. Most importantly, we put all our gadgets for recharging since we got electricity supply after two days. We walked in those narrow lanes of Keylong for quite sometime. I was instantly in love with that place and don't remember how many times I said so to Mandar. It is also a tobacco free village. Anyone seen smoking/drinking in public place would be fined with heavy charges. I also remember Aryan from Mumbai xBhp sent me sms asking about our status and further plan.

Later we found a good restaurant and had an early dinner. Food was excellent! We returned to hotel and relaxed for sometime watching TV. Some pics which I clicked from the hotel balcony.

View straight out of the door


Narrow lanes of Keylong village




Here's a pic which I clicked very late in the night, at around 11 pm , just before going to sleep. I am not that good with manual controls of camera and that's the result isn't that good but that night moon was looking fantastic, peeping out of the clouds and playing hide and seek with the branches of trees.


So folks that's all for Day 14. A new day and new journey awaited us on Day 15.

Day 15: Keylong - Rohtang La - Mandi
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Two more videos -

Small Water-crossing between Pang and Keylong - YouTube

A nice water-crossing en route Barlacha la - YouTube

Ketan,
Wonderful! You have put considerable effort in writing this logs. Thanks you.
I hope to ride along with you sometime in future.
Henry