So day 6 is finally up. Here is my version of day 6

We didn't have much distance to cover today, so we were in no hurry. We woke up a little later than usual, got ready, and ordered for breakfast. Our connecting balcony with a table and 3 chairs was the perfect place for every meal, so thats where we had our breakfast as well. Before leaving sarhan, we went for a quick walk outside just to see the local places. Om and Anahita visited the temple, while i was roaming outside. we returned back to the hotel at 10am and checked out. Before leaving the hotel, we asked the owner where we could buy some fresh apples from, he was kind enough to give us some which he had. He even suggested a new route which passes through apple orchids and meets the main highway a little after jeori, the only problem was that it had no road, just a dirt track.

Following the directions that the owner gave, we reached the diversion from where the the right dirt trail led to the apple orchids.



This dirt trail was shorter than the actual road, and it had apple trees everywhere.












We had stopped by one of the trees and tried clicking a picture of some of the apples, but they fell off the tree. The locals there said that we could have them if we wanted, so we sat there and ate a couple of them. Those were the most fresh and juicy apples i have ever eaten. The dirt road then met the highway and we had tarmac from then onwards. This road was pretty scenic so we took a lot of breaks along the way to click pictures.








There was one incident that happened here which i will never forget. As we were riding along the highway, there was a guy who tried stopping us with a red cloth. Thinking he was a local asking for a lift, we ignored him and moved ahead. I heard him yell something, but i couldn't understand what he was trying to say. As we covered a few meters, there was another group of men blocking the road and they started yelling at us for ignoring the guy behind. It turns out there was a landslide happening, and he was trying to stop us for that. We turned back to look and i could see huge rocks falling on the road from the top of the hill. Luckily none of them hit us. We apologised and made a mental note to stop whenever we see anyone with a red cloth.

We then rode ahead and after a while reached a bridge that was running accross the valley. It was really windy there and it had a small stream flowing on one side, and the deep valley on the other side.





From here onwards, the road was mostly made up of white sand and it ran parallel to the river all the way upto the sangla turn.








We then reached a bridge, from where we had to take the right turn to sangla. The road from here onwards was very narrow and in a very bad condition at some patches. I stopped to take a few pictures wherever i could.







As we neared sangla, we started to see a few green meadows inbetween mountains, with a river flowing between them.







The place we were supposed to stay at was rupin river valley view resort, it was owned by the brother of the guy who owned the resort at sarhan. They had made a booking for us in advance at a reasonable rate. The resort was not exactly in sangla, but 10km ahead in the village of rakchham. The road leading to the resort and the view from the resort was very scenic. There were boulders, waterfalls, rivers, green meadows, it had almost everything.







I also got to see the first view of snow at the top of the peaks from here. Although there was very little snow, it was still exciting for me because this was the first time i was seeing snow capped peaks.





It was early in the evening and the sunlight outside was very harsh, so we decided to stay indoors for a while. We checked into our rooms, freshened up and then met up in the restaurant in the evening for tea.



After tea, we headed out to the waterfall to click a few pictures, and then to the river bank where we sat for a couple of hours enjoying the nature around us.











Once it was dark, we headed back to our room and sat in the balcony with a glass of apple juice and some vodka which we had carried. Soon it was dinner time, so we ordered for dinner and had it in the balcony again. It was still early, so as usual we just sat there chatting, and eventually hit the bed by 11pm.

Distance covered - 90km

congrats on the trip and nice pics there.
keep them coming

Nice trip and log. pics are amazing. congratzz guys for a wonderful trip.

Excellent trip log and gorgeous pictures so far, completely hooked to this thread. And thank you for capturing Rakchham in such a beautiful light, I was there in April this year and I fell in love with the place and the people and it has a special place in my heart. Seeing all your pictures got me very nostalgic.

Day 7: To the last village


4th August, 2011

Here's my version of the log

The plan for today was to ride 10km to the village of Chitkul, return back to the hotel and then head to kalpa. Chitkul is the last village on the indo-tibet border, and it was just 10km ahead of rakchham village. We were supposed to wake up at 6am and reach the village early, but it was raining pretty heavily in the morning, so we slept a little longer. We had our breakfast at the hotel and got ready to leave.




The rain stopped by 8 and we got ready to hit the roads. Since the village was just 10km ahead and we had to back on the same route, we left the luggage in the hotel itself. The rain had made the roads wet and there were a couple of small streams on the way.




The road from here onwards was surrounded by rivers and green mountains










Soon we reached the village, and it was the most beautiful village i have ever seen. There were flowers of all kinds, birds, bees, misty mountains, rivers, it had almost everything. I couldn't stop clicking pictures, it was a photographers paradise.
















































There was a small guest house there, where we ordered for a cup of tea, which i think was made of yak milk. A few more pictures and we left the place fully satisfied. The sky had cleared up on the way back, and the same views that i had seen on the way looked a lot better, so i stopped to click them once again.






I waited at our hotel for Om and anahita to catch up, and once they did, we mounted the luggage on the bikes and left for kalpa. We had to go back the same way up till the bridge at karcham and take a right from there. The afternoon sun was out in full glory now so i didn't feel like stopping at all, while they had stopped on the way for more pictures. Being on the P220, i was a little faster on the broken roads as well, so i reached the bridge and waited for around 20 minutes for Om to catch up.



One thing about the roads here is that NH22 is always at a lower altitude of around 7000 feet, and the diversions that go to the tourist places climb up further upto 11,000 feet. After descending back down to the main highway, you start to feel the heat and it gets uncomfortable. But if you stand in the shade, the cool winds are pleasant. Our destination for the day was just 30km ahead, so we thought we would reach early, but that was not meant to be. A little ahead on the highway we found out that the road was blocked because of a landslide. The landslide had happened because of a misfire while blasting some rocks. The BRO guys were working on clearing the way. They were going to blast through the rock and asked all vehicles to move behind. We were told to stand behind a truck just in case rocks come flying at us. We stood there watching them blast away and then clear the debris from the road. With no other way to kill time, we joked around and clicked a few group pictures as well.



]2011 08 04 14 21 26 755 - YouTube



Once the road was cleared, they first let the traffic from the apposite side pass, and then we were allowed to move ahead. The road from here was in a very bad shape. Mud, slush, rocks, all because of the landslide and road clearing activity. We reached rekong peo pretty soon and took the upper fork that climbs to kalpa. While we were almost at the top, we got the first glimps of the might kinner peak, covered in snow.





Kalpa was stil around 10km from here, so we continued riding and started looking for a place to stay. We came accross hotel kinner kailash, which seemed like a really nice place to stay.





On inquiry, the prices were a little steep, but with a little bargaining, we got a good deal. We had to skip lunch because of the landslide delay, so we ordered a lot of snacks with our evening tea. After tea, I took a stroll around the hotel clicking pictures of the different flowers they had growing in their garden.













Snacks were done and we retired back to our room to freshen up. After freshening up, om wanted to go to the market to search for apple wine but i felt like staying back, so he and anahita went back down to the market on my bike, while i roamed around the hotel again clicking some more pictures of the flowers.





















Just then i got a call from him asking me to go outside and look at kinner peak and what i say blew my mind. I first looked out the window to see the peak clearly visible, free of clouds.



I quickly grabbed my camera and went out as the last few sun rays lit up the peak with a nice golden glow.





I sat out there until the sun had set completely, and then came back to the room and turned on the tv waiting for them to return.



We then ordered for dinner in the room and once again chatted for a while and called it a night. This had to be the day where i clicked the most number of pictures.

Distance - 85km

Mind blowing pictures!!! you guys had a superb trip there!!
And we must appreciate the spirit of Anahita ma'am there.. It's not every day you get to ride with your boss...
All the best!

great pics bro(s)... loved every one of them... the snow covered hills with golden tinge from evening sun is out of the world... just mind blowing...
waiting eagerly for the rest of the log...

Day 8: From Green to Dry lands.


5th August, 2011

And here comes my version


As usual we were up by 6am, and as usual the kitchen opened at 7 so we had our breakfast and got ready to leave by 8. Today was the day we made the transition from the green side of the himalayas to the barren rocky side of the himalayas. Once again we had to head back on the same route from kalpa to rekong peo, and then take the right turn towards tabo.











After what felt like an eternity of riding on lunar landscape, we finally found a village which had one shop opened, so we stopped there for a couple of cold drinks. We rode a little ahead and i asked the others who paid for the drinks. we all looked at each other and realized that none of us paid, we just left the place. The place was not too far behind, so i turned back and entered the shop again. To my surprise, they weren't even aware that we had left. No one bothered coming up to me asking for the money. I had to find the owner and ask how much the bill was. I couldn't tell if they were just careless, or if they genuinely weren't interested in money. With that thought in my mind, i paid the bill and returned back to the point where om was waiting. From this point onwards it was all mud and stones, and to add to it we had the harsh sun beating down on us with not a single tree in sight.







There was no place to take a break even if we wanted to so we had no option but to ride non-stop to pooh. On reaching there, we found a small shop open so we took a short break for more cold drinks and water. The shop owner said that the roads were bad till this point because of construction work, and the road ahead was in a good condition. That was a relief to hear. He was right, the road condition actually improved from that point onwards.





From here, we started the climb towards nako. The road wasn't steep, but there were lot of loops and it climbed to an altitude of 12,600 feet. These roads gave me the real feel of riding in the himalayas





Half way up, we took a short break to let the bikes cool down a bit.





Once we were done with the climb, we reached a really nice spot where we stopped for a couple of pictures.




We reached nako a littl after noon, and headed straight for lunch. Lunch consisted of tibetan food this time, we ordered for momo's and thukpa. they weren't as good as the momo's we would have later in the trip, but this was the first time i was having this kind of food, so i really liked it.





After lunch, I walked around a bit to check out the place



We then visited nako lake. I had read a bit about the lake, but i was disappointed on seeing the lake. It looked more like a small man made pond to me. I don't see why the lake is so famous.





We spent some more time at the lake, and went back to the same restaurant where we ordered for some tea. There was a local there who overheard us say that we had to reach tabo, so he told us to leave fast since we had to cross malling nallah which swells up in the evening. That sentence scared us into leaving early, but not without the customary pic at nako helipad.









As we moved ahead, we reached the dreaded malling nallah.


This was the first time i was crossing a nallah, so i let Om go first. He too couldn't cross with a pillion, so anahita had to cross on foot.

[youtube ]crossing malling nallah - YouTube

I gave her my camera, so that even if i fell in the water, the camera would be safe. Now it was my turn to cross. I first deliberately walked in to wet my feet so that the cold water didnt come as a shock, and then i crossed it. 1st gear, half clutch, and a lot of throttle did the trick. I was accross, but the water was so cold that it felt as if needles were piercing my feet. We all had to remove our shoes and dry our socks. From here, the road descended down again and it was in a decent condition all the way upto tabo.



We took a couple of breaks along the way for a few pictures, but we didnt waste a lot of time because it was getting dark and tabo was 20km away.











On reaching tabo we found a decent looking hotel and sent our bargaining expert Aanhita to get us a good deal. Ss always she came out with positive results. We got this room for 500rs per head.





We freshened up in the hotel and then walked to the market for dinner. Tabo had no street lights and it was pitch dark, so we had to use our torch to walk on the streets at night. It was a fun experience walking along the streets of tabo in the dark. We went to the most crwoded restaraunt we could find, and ordered more momos and some springrolls for dinner. After the walk back to the room, we stayed up for a while and eventually hit the bed at around 11pm

Distance covered - 184km

Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow
Watching the pics feels like I am in a dream
Can't imagine how much you all should have enjoyed seeing the place in real

My knee down bow to the girl who made it till Spiti as a pillion on the Ninja250...
Being a co- Ninja 250 owner i very well know how it feels like to be the pillion

You have given me the confidence that I don't need to take out a secondary bike to do this trip

Eagerly Waiting for more!

6th August, 2011

The plan for today was to ride to kaza and visit pin valley on the way. We woke up early and went to german bakery for breakfast.



The breakfast here was strictly ok, nothing great about it. We ran into the same bullet group which we had met the other day. We spoke for a while, exchanged our blog addresses and left after finishing breakfast. The road from tabo to pin valley was pretty decent by Himalayan standards. There was mud and stones, but we could maintain a good speed. The sky was clear today and with the harsh sunlight at that altitude, it was getting pretty hot.







We took a few breaks for pictures along the way





Most of the road was good, but there were a few rocky patches that were a little difficult to ride on



Soon we reached the diversion for pin valley, and proceded towards gulling village on that road.



Pin valley also had a mix of good and bad roads. There's not much to write about this patch. We took a lot of photo breaks so i'll just post the pictures instead.











We reached the village of gulling which was 18km after the diversion, but the village of mudh was still another 10-20km inside.





I really wanted to ride uptill mudh, but the last fuel pump was at kalpa, almost 300km behind, and our bikes were almost in reserve. If we rode to mudh, we wouldn't have had enough fuel to ride to kaza. I would recommend carrying an extra can of fuel on this patch, especially if you plan on venturing deep into pin valley. As we entered the village, i noticed a sign board to some gompa which was 2km ahead so we decided to atleast visit that place. The road climbed up for a while and we reached the gompa and clicked a couple of pictures.







While descending from the gompa, we noticed a few cars parked by the river side. On a closer look, we found a trail going to the river bed, so that's where we went too.



There was an old rickety bridge that ran across the river. I was a little hesitant on going there, but Om and Anahita went across it.



I removed the tripod, we clicked a group pic, and a few other pics and left the place within an hour









From here we rode back 18km to the pin valley junction. The heat and the sun were getting to me, so i didn't stop at all. The P220 handles these kind of roads pretty well, so i was able to maintain a speed of 40-50 and i was much ahead of the ninja. I reached the main road and waited there for around 15 minutes for the ninja to catch up. The road from here to kaza was pretty good, so we managed to cover the distance pretty fast with just a few photo breaks.













Our itinerary required us to stay in kaza for 2 nights, so we started searching for a decent place. We found a really nice place and struck a deal of 800 for 2 nights courtesy Anahita's bargaining skill, which was very reasonable. Even though we had only ridden for 82km, we were all feeling very tired today. I guess it was a combination of the harsh sun and the altitude. kaza is at an altitude of 11,700 feet above sealevel. We got into our rooms and just crashed on the bed. Later we realized that the luggage was still on the bikes. None of us had the energy to get the luggage back to the room, but it had to be done so Om and I went downstairs and unmounted the heavy saddle bags. Getting those bags up the flight of stairs left us breathless. This was the first time we felt the altitude getting to us. After resting for a while, we went to the restaurant for lunch. We started feeling much better after lunch. I was feeling energetic again, so i decided to wash the previous 3 days clothes. For once the harsh sun helped us by drying the clothes in a couple of hours.

Later that evening we went for a walk around kaza market. It felt nice walking on those streets. The cool weather, no riding gear, and the camera in hand.









Friendship day was around the corner, or it had already passed, i am not too sure, but Anahita brought us himalayan hats as a gift.







She had used her bargaining skills there as well. Om had to stitch his jeans which were starting to tear, so he stopped by a tailor shop.



We had no cellphone network since tabo, and anahita wanted to check mail (which i think was an excuse for checking facebook), so she went to a cybercafe.



While she was using the internet, we waited outside the cafe while 2 stray dogs entertained us.





and here's my version



Once she was done with the cafe, we started back to the hotel, with one small stop by the wine shop for a bottle of rum.




Back in the room, we opened the rum bottle, and went for dinner once it was over.

Distance covered - 82km

Tomorrow we ride to some of the remote villages near kaza

Day 10: To one of the highest villages in the world.