Highway to Heaven - Road trip to Spiti Valley - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

Re: Highway to Heaven - Road trip to Spiti Valley

Originally posted by koolsantosh22 View Post

Heaven on earth...this is what conveys your beautiful pictures. An awesome ride you have had.

thank you sir

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Originally posted by zestbiker View Post

Fantastic going @enfield_diaries Kush Mehta-brought back memories of my own Spiti ride in Sep2015 on my Avenger220.
BTW,since you started the thread by writing that RE bikes deserve respect-the only broken down bikes stranded by the roadside during my trip were RE's-and we met so many makes of bikes and bikers from 100cc Hero Honda's to Harley's doing the same trip-all bikes that don't let you down are worthy of respect.

thank you chopra saab

this is what i felt after the ride, and i do not mean any disrespect for other bikes. but for me, its RE always

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Originally posted by Manojsingh48 View Post

Nice pic...

When you guys start this trip ???

thanks Manoj

we started the trip on Aug 22, 2015

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Originally posted by Lone Wanderer View Post

bhaii padh ke maza aa gyaa,,,, tasveeren kamaal ki thi,,,,, chandrataal ki aur tasveeren dalni chahiye,,, mere khyaal se sapiti manali route ki sabse behtreen jagah chandrataal hi hai behad hi khubsurat,,,,,,,,aisa behtreen travelogue likhne aur hum sabke saath share karne ke liye bahut bahut shukriya bhaii,,,,,,,

shukriyan bhai

ha.. chandrataal se adheek behatreen jagah nahi dekhi maine ab tak

Re: Highway to Heaven - Road trip to Spiti Valley

jugaad

Bullet Baba The Moustache. We really liked it, the idea, the place, the people. Finally we were done that day. Aching back, sore ass and a bruised conscience later, all we needed was a hot shower and a warm bed. 766 kilometres of riding.

THIS !

We were supposed to meet another biker friend, Rahul (his blog

At Gurgoan with Rahul.

here). Felt sorry had to make them wait for me, as riding back from Najafgarh to Vasant Kunj to Saket means a lot of time in Delhi traffic. Did meet up with them finally, Harshita and Parvinder (aka Pammi). A short meet, as it was already 10 by the time we met, roaming about Delhi with Nikkhil in his car and going back to his place for the night. A lot of gratitude for this guy, who let us stay at his place for two nights. Mandal khup abhari aahe bhau! 60 kilometres riding in and around Delhi.

At Delhi with Nikkhil, Harshita and Pammi

With Nikkhil before leaving from his place for Shimla

Aapo Aap Shimla Homestay : Shimla homestays, Himachal homestays, Shimla B&B, Shimla bnb, Shimla bed and breakfast, Himalayan himachal homestays

sunrise at Shimla

somewhere ahead of Rampur Bushahar

the morning rain, from the hotel at Sangla

The first stop was Chitkul, 24 kilometres from Sangla, but an hour away. One single path leads the way, the last village before the Indo-Tibet border, 90 kilometres from the line of actual control, we were to have our breakfast there. A single ITBP (Indo-Tibet Border Police) personnel was manning the post, 8kilometres before Chitkul. Entering the details of the bikes and ourselves, we rode towards Chitkul. We stopped at the gate that welcomed us to the tiny village.

fist bump

At the gates of Chitkul

hindustan ka aakhri dhaba

breakfast with a view

Samaa Resorts - Samaa Resorts

solace at Roghi village, ahead of Kalpa

jugaad

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) does do a marvellous job maintaining the roads, genuinely. We reached Nako by lunch time. Calculating the time left in hand before sundown, and the distance to be covered from Nako to Tabo, in THOSE conditions, we just had lunch at a small hill side restaurant (yes, hill side and not road side), saw Nako from a distance, took a couple of photographs and took a left to proceed to Tabo. As the road elevates, and you ride upwards, you get to see a snake-like road from the top. Zig-zags, pin bend turns, I called it Highway to Heaven.

Highway to Heaven

Passing from this snaking road, we were again greeted by the mud roads. On a typical mountain-on-a-side-and-river-on-another road on the way to Tabo, there was traffic. A line of cars and trucks, along with a group of bikers that we had met on the way here, were standing there patiently. We rode past them, just to see a massive landslide ahead. Work was under progress, with BRO clearing the road as fast as it could.

somewhere on the way to Tabo

the 1019 years old Tabo Monastery

A good breakfast later, we finally left Tabo, for Kaza, although there was a small detour that we had to take for Dhankar.

the small hill village of Dhankar

Dhankar is another small, old village on the slopes of the mountains, has an old monastery as well, which was unfortunately closed the time we reached, but had a good look at the new monastery built. They were preparing for a pooja

After 7 days of hard riding (excluding the rest day in Delhi), from Mumbai, across six states, over 2500 kilometres of roads traversed, we had reached the main destination. We were there. It was like a victory for us. After facing all the odds, before the commencement of this journey and on the way, we emerged victorious. Two amateur riders, riding all the way, it was quite a big feat. Entering the town of Kaza, the headquarters of the district of Spiti, we were greeted by small houses, all of them built in a similar fashion. White walls, square houses with a small veranda, windows with a thick black border, flat rooftops.

At the gates of Kaza !

the village of Langza, from a distance

The Buddha idol at Langza

topped up here

the post box at Key Monastery

Once inside the monastery, not a word spoken, just hymns being recited, we went around the interior, observing the different sculptures, idols, paintings. Spiritual elegance. We waited for sometime here, watching as their prayer events unfolded, in tranquillity. But again, time, the only enemy here in the entire trip, made us leave this abode of serenity.

morning rituals, Key Monastery

Back on the bikes, we took off for Kibber village, some 10 kilometres from Key Monastery. Descending first and then ascending the smooth, single lane, tarmac, savouring every bit of it, as we knew, the road ahead would not even be passable. We reached Kibber. It is a small village, with some hotels and houses, took a small break there, roamed about the scarcely populated village, and decided to head over to the destination for the day, Chandrataal Lake.

The village of Kibber

typical house at Kaza and other villages

Riding through villages, along the way, villages whose population was as less as 30 and 40. The roads, not to be mentioned were not ride-able at all, but at least these were flats we were riding. Not much efforts are needed here, just be aware of where to manoeuvre in case of an occasional rock or a small trench in between. We reached Losar, had our lunch there, a sumptuous meal of rajma chawal

the signboard showing the elevation at Kunzom Top

Kunzom Mata Mandir

chappalein nahi hairazai available in the tent. Rohit had brought along his thermal wear, a sleeping bag, which he felt very comfortable lying in, giving the much needed warmth from the cold that the icy ground was emanating. We waited an hour, recalling all that we had been through, about what next had to be done, while the two guys made dinner for us. Dorje, from the nearby village of Losar and Tilak, from Mandi, were our hosts that night. A warm welcome with tea apart, they had a lot of stories to tell, how it was living in the tent, for 6 months a year, and leaving Chandrataal for lower altitudes for the rest of the year, how there was no signal at all, no electricity, no radio, nothing, just nature, mountains, icy cold conditions all around, and how they missed their families back home. We felt a bad for them, living a life like this. Dorje is also a trek guide in the nearby areas of Spiti and Lahaul, which he does when not in this tent. He took great pride in telling stories about Spiti, his Tibetan culture, his trekking expeditions. We finished dinner by 8pm, and were off to sleep by 8.30. I just prayed to the Lord, that I survive the night here, in such conditions, without proper clothing. 148 kilometres of riding.

Dorje and Tilak outside their tent at Chandrataal Lake

I was speechless

We were spell bound by the beauty that resided in between mountains all around. It was smooth, flat like a mirror, with an exact reflection of the mountains on its still, crystal clear water. It took me a few seconds to come back to life from this state of pure bewilderment. The air was chilly around here, but was not blowing. The sun was rising, and we started feeling its warmth. Some photos later, we did realise the importance of time here, and left again for the campsite. A simple breakfast of toasts, omelettes and tea were ready for us. We hogged on the food. It was time to leave this simple yet lavish place. We loaded the bags onto the bikes, emptied in fuel in our bikes, that we had been carrying since Shimla, took some photographs with Dorje and Tilak for memories, and left for Manali. Again riding through the same road that we had last evening, through water crossings and what not, trying whatever we could to minimise the water entering our shoes, we reached Batal.

some good patch of road post Chandrataal lake

sambhal ke

Innova stuck in the water crossing. Be smart people, drive a 4X4 !

It was a really long one, the biggest we encountered in the entire trip. Up ahead, there was traffic again, this time it was trucks, shepherds, cattle, and other tourist vehicles. The landscape was changing gradually, from barren and brown to patches of green to mountains covered in green, telling us that we were on the verge of leaving the district of Spiti. A place in between, forgot the name, we had our lunch. We met a young couple from Mumbai, who were riding from Manali on a rented Royal Enfield, with the girl riding pillion. We were asked the usual questions about the road conditions ahead and about our trip, to which we had to see the same looks on their faces that we had been used to now. Wishing them luck, we started riding ahead, still around 60 kilometres to Manali.

the usual traffic scenes

The roads were still the same, the only change was in the landscape and the mountains around us. Around 25-30 kilometres of riding such roads, we reached the place where the road takes a turn, left for Manali and right for Leh. For a moment, I did feel like taking the right, but saved the thought for next year. The road now was exquisite. Exquisite is the word I use here as it was what we felt after riding what we were since the last few days. A big, wide, properly maintained, probably newly made, smooth, downhill tar road, the BRO was really doing a great job. Rohit had been to Leh three years back and had explained me the road conditions, for which I had a picture in mind, but what I saw was completely different. We went to riding at 60-70 kilometres per hour again, after such a long time, even the bikes would be feeling something offbeat. We reached Manali, well in time, before sunset, went to a hotel, unloaded the bags, freshened up and left for roaming around the Mall road and to have dinner. We treated ourselves to some good biryani and Punjabi food, after this huge ride. Roamed about the Mall road for a while, and got back to the hotel, to rest for the day. 137 kilometres of riding.
sardar has a Royal Enfield Bullet, or bultrajma chawal ever alongwith a big glass of lip smacking lassikushti
Le Pension hostel. Jaipur has a lot of hostels. We selected the two after reading the reviews online, and had booked this one for return journey. The owner is a nice young lad, who greeted us warmly, and had a nice chat about the hostel, the city, Mumbai, our trip, places to go around Jaipur for dinner and hang out. We took all the information, freshened up, took one bike, and rode off to a popular roof top snack joint called Tapri. The view from there was astounding, overlooking almost the entire city of Jaipur. We had snacks there and left to roam about and explore, but soon enough were caught in the traffic. Made our way through, with the navigator sitting behind me, it was easy to go about the city. Had a good, heavy dinner and dessert, made our way back to the hostel and went to the bunker beds to rest off for the day. 303 kilometres of riding.
parikrama

the bike of Om Banna, a clear shot was not possible at all

on the Activa with the ladies

upgraded from a KTM Duke 390 to a Thunderbird 500, as it got the better of him. Enlightened! They are planning a trip to Spiti as well, next year. Best of luck guys. The last 100kilometress to Home. I rode as slowly as I could. Post Vasai, where Rohit stays and we split up, I was greeted by nothing but the Mumbai traffic. Where was I a week ago, in the mountains, no traffic, clean, cool air, and now to polluted surroundings of this megacity which I call home. I reached home by 8.30pm on saturday, after 15 days of pure awesomeness, riding 5458 kilometres on our hallowed bikes, cross country, to paradise and back.

Just before Manali, the last photograph I took with my DSLR. Thank you Royal Enfield for making such legends.

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Originally posted by Lone Wanderer View Post

beautiful pictures bro,,,, upload the rest of it please

thanks bro

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Originally posted by devil0483 View Post

Amazing clicks buddy!

thanks a lot

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Originally posted by chaosaddict View Post

What pictures?! eagerly waiting for more..

already uploaded brother

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Highway to Heaven - Road trip to Spiti Valley

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