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The best and probably the worst thing about a motorcyclist is probably the never-ending itch to ride and the persistent craving for adventure no matter how difficult the journey is. For me personally, the former has more weight because that itch and that craving is the best part of my life. It does not let me settle for something, it pushes me to keep going exploring my boundaries and going beyond. And that is the reason why the idea of this trip struck me. This trip, that took me through a few of the most treacherous roads, doubly so for riding a motorcycle. The trip to the town of Kaza, in the picturesque Spiti Valley.
Now a ride of this magnitude would require planning, so plan I did. First, it was the motorcycle or motorcycles as it later turned out. During the planning phase of this ride, I came across another person who seemed to match my crazy and well, wanted to tag along with me for this ride. Amit Rathi was intrigued by the idea of going to Kaza in this weather and therefore, this solo ride turned into a duo ride, double the fun I thought to myself. Coming back to the motorcycles, after a lot of thought, it hit me- why not try a BMW? They launched the G 310 twins some time ago and both of them are capable motorcycles so why not? The GS would feel right at home on the journey we were about to undertake and the G 310 R would also not lag behind because… ego! So, the bikes were decided and we are thankful to Lets Ryde for providing us with the BMW G 310 R and BMW G 310 GS for this, to be arduous, journey. A special thanks to xBhp for helping us realize this trip and Castrol POWER1 for being our ‘liquid engineering partner and providing the ‘essential oil’ for the engine of our steeds.
Super functional and superb for touring, the RYNOX STEALTH EVO V3 has an abrasion-resistant outer shell, KNOX Microlock CE Level 2 certified shoulder and elbow protectors, CE Level 2 certified back protector and CE Level 1 certified chest protectors. And the detachable winter liner keeps the riders warm even in freezing temperatures.
One can never stress the importance of engine oil in a motorcycle enough. Even more so when the machines have to battle extreme terrains and weather conditions. The rides that are of the long and arduous kind stress the machines to its limit and the engine gets the brunt of it. The engine has to rev harder and has to go through constant gear changes in terrain like Spiti. Even in forgiving conditions, it has to run longer and maintain speed which stresses the engine a lot. So, our trust for keeping the engine healthy lies in the Castrol POWER1 CRUISE 15W-50 which helped our motorcycles fight and win against the adverse conditions and helped us ‘CRUISE’ through this trip.
With the planning complete and route decided, it was time to put the plan into motion to set off on a journey that I am surely going to remember forever. The day before we planned to start, I and Amit visited the Lets Ryde facility in Delhi to pick up our motorcycles. We reached the place, and there they were, the BMW twins, the R shimmering in red and the GS in grey and Racing Red. These motorcycles are just something else in flesh. We both were grinning like crazy and we were raring to go. I got my hands on the BMW G 310 GS while Amit was fixated on the BMW G 310 R. So with our bags packed, spirits heightened and motorcycles raring to go, we were all set. Predictably we suffered a sleepless night but we had to start at 5 AM so we got as much sleep as one can get while suppressing excitement.
We started from Delhi at around 5 AM, just as planned, and started off with the day’s target being the suburb of Shoghi in Shimla. We rode non-stop till Murthal and had breakfast at the Pehelwan Dhaba. I feel that this place has become like a pilgrimage or an important religious stop for the people going to the Himalayas. I am sure that you are not hearing this name for the first time either, maybe it’s auspicious. After breakfast, we decided to make good time so that we could reach our destination before sunset and therefore, we covered long distances with minimal breaks. But as fate would have it, as soon as we reached the Himalayan Expressway, it started raining. And not just raining, it was coming down hard. But we run a tight ship on our trips so the day’s target remained unchanged. Though the rain did slow us down a bit, we still managed to make it to our destination. We took a halt at the Rider’s Café in Shimla, relaxed a bit and took a few photos and Shoghi was not very far away and we still had sometime before sundown. After a while, we made our way to Shoghi and reached there as planned for the day.
The next day, we left from Shoghi at around 8 AM planning to reach Jhakri where we had planned to stay. Kufri was our first stop on this leg and this is where the ‘fun’ started. The road conditions deteriorated. Slush and ice made it very difficult to ride but we reached Kufri in good time, enough to save some for a photoshoot. We got some good pictures and set off. The torment by ice and slush continued but the worst was yet to come. While riding in these kinds of conditions one can never be too careful which I found out the hard way as my motorcycle slid into the other lane and I crashed almost right in front of a truck in the oncoming lane. That was a very very close call and I thanked my lucky stars that I only hurt my foot a little because of the bike falling on it.
The GS though wasn’t that lucky as some part of the fairing and a few other things were damaged. But since we had the target set as Jhakri for the day, we couldn’t stop. After a temporary fix for the bike, we started on our way. The most difficult part was riding on the descents because it was really hard to control the bikes there and adding insult to injury, it started raining again. It was getting downright dangerous so we stopped at Narkanda for lunch but not before riding in the rain for around 3 hours straight. After our very late lunch, we started again and finally reached Jhakri. This was a very tough day of riding because of the cold, the rain, and the roads and of course, the accident. So we wanted to get a lot of rest because we knew that the journey was only going to get harder from thereon.
After getting our well-deserved sleep the previous night, we started at 8 AM. We wanted to start early because the day’s target was the town of Poo in Kinnaur. Now, this was one of the best places that we got to see during this trip, The Gateway of Kinnaur, it’s basically a rick tunnel and that is all there is to it. I say that because words cannot really do justice to the beauty of the place. While we did revel in the beauty of the place for a while, we also got some stunning photos and videos. We even got some shots in from the Drone that we carried. After that, we started to move forward and when we reached Powari, we decided that we’d carry some extra petrol as well because after Powari, petrol pumps are scarce or maybe even non-existent till Kaza. We finally reached Poo but that’s where we encountered another problem. We were not able to find any accommodation there. All the places where we could stay were either closed or full and this got us really worried at one point of time. But I and Amit kept our cool and kept looking until finally, we found a shop with a room on the top of it and the owner agreed to let us stay there for the night for 600 bucks.
The next day saw us starting at 10 AM but soon after, we regretted the delayed start. The road conditions were really really bad after Poo. There was even a board there that said ‘The most treacherous road in the world’ while that may or may not be true, but it was treacherous nonetheless. We also passed two glaciers as we kept on moving one of them being the Tinku Nala. We also happened to see it at night and boy what a sight it was. One thing that I’d like to say here is that the Himalayas test your grit and determination in the worst ways possible but in return, it gives you the scenery that is stuff out of perhaps the world’s most beautiful paintings. And one such view was the Khab Bridge. It’s a place where the rivers Spiti and Sutlej meet and it is surely one of the best places that I have seen in my life as a motorcycle rider/traveller till now.
We kept on moving on our way to Nako where one also finds the 8 hairpin bends of Kazigs just before Nako. Though the road condition started improving, the problem now was Black Ice which is, to be simply put, nasty. It is very difficult to ride a motorcycle as I could see Amit struggling and often going sideways and I am quite sure when I took the lead, he got treated with the same sight. We also had some minor slow-speed crashes there but this trip had quite a few of those, some even 0 km/h ones. But finally, after some struggle, we reached Nako. Now the first thing, and probably the most important thing to do here is a photo at the Helipad. It is an absolute necessity and we did the same. A whole lot of photos, videos and some breathtaking shots using the drone. Now, it was time for the real deal, Maling Nala.
There is a reason why whenever there is a discussion of most dangerous roads, Maling Nala is almost always a part of the discussion. A high mountain pass at an elevation of 12,713 ft above sea level, gushing water streams and frequent landslides. It is utter chaos and seriously, not for the faint of heart. We crossed it but it took much longer than we had previously thought. The road is very scary, very difficult to ride on and downright dangerous. And then the icing on the cake is quite literally, ice. After crossing Maling Nala, we thought we deserved some fun and guess what, we found icicles which made for a lot of winter fun and a lot of photos. And after that, it was time to move or maybe not. 12 kms after crossing Tabo, we figured that the ice was too much to be able to ride safely. But we kept on moving slowly, and then, we saw a car coming from the opposite direction. He stopped to inform us that the roads ahead were in a very bad condition and it would be nearly impossible to ride on. Now the person in the car, Bittoo is an acquaintance from my previous trips around this place. After a brief discussion, we took his advice and returned to Tabo with Bittoo. He is the owner of a homestay so he obliged us with a place to stay for the night.
Aerodynamic, strong and rugged, the AXOR STEALTH TRANCE is designed to keep the rider cool with all the vents and the onlookers jealous with the quirky graphics design that justifies its name. Features like the anti-fog visor and a double D-ring strap make it one of the safest things in the helmet world.
Another aerodynamic star because of the shape and a spoiler for added security, the AXOR APEX LIBERTY is there to push the envelope of sports touring and it succeeds in style. With the graphics inspired by graffiti, it indeed is a symbol of liberty and, it goes without saying, safety.
As it turned out, when we started our journey to Kaza the next day, seeing the condition of the weather and the road, we figured it was a good decision heeding to Bittoo’s advice. About this day’s ride, I would like to say that it was one of the most difficult riding days of my life. Kaza is somewhere around 40 Kms from Tabo but it took us 8 hours to finish the journey, from 10 AM to 6 PM. You must be wondering why there’s a star on ‘finish’ in the previous line, do not worry, you won’t have to look at the bottom of the page or something, I’ll tell you. 8 Kms before Kaza, my motorcycle started giving me some difficulties. After a few kms of struggling, the motorcycle finally gave up on me and we reached Kaza with the bike loaded in a truck. A rather sad end to the ride but the root of the problem as I figured out later, was the first crash, the one where I narrowly escaped a truck. As I mentioned some part of the fairing was broken, turns out that because of that, the electricals of the bike were affected due to the continuous ice, slush and dirt. The GS, which performed phenomenally for a ride like this, gave up on us because of an accident!
We stayed in Kaza for a day and headed out for Delhi the next day. About the return trip, the bike was carried in the truck till Shimla and was repaired there at the BMW Motorrad Dealership, post which it was a jaunt to Delhi with some breaks and interruptions by the rain of course. Although it was somewhat unfortunate, we still had our fair share of fun in the day we spent in Kaza. And also, the happiness derived out of the success (I’ll call it that proudly) of this trip was another addition in my basket of life experiences.
THE RIDERS:
Amit Rathi / INDIARIDER AMIT
He was bitten by the vlogger bug in 2017 and that’s when he started his YouTube channel. A traveller, a photographer and a man of simple tastes.
Deepak Gupta / XTREME MOTO ADVENTURE
An established YouTuber with more than 6 years of experience, he is a traveller with a knack of adventure and a shutterbug with a lot of skill behind the lens.
Now a ride of this magnitude would require planning, so plan I did. First, it was the motorcycle or motorcycles as it later turned out. During the planning phase of this ride, I came across another person who seemed to match my crazy and well, wanted to tag along with me for this ride. Amit Rathi was intrigued by the idea of going to Kaza in this weather and therefore, this solo ride turned into a duo ride, double the fun I thought to myself. Coming back to the motorcycles, after a lot of thought, it hit me- why not try a BMW? They launched the G 310 twins some time ago and both of them are capable motorcycles so why not? The GS would feel right at home on the journey we were about to undertake and the G 310 R would also not lag behind because… ego! So, the bikes were decided and we are thankful to Lets Ryde for providing us with the BMW G 310 R and BMW G 310 GS for this, to be arduous, journey. A special thanks to xBhp for helping us realize this trip and Castrol POWER1 for being our ‘liquid engineering partner and providing the ‘essential oil’ for the engine of our steeds.
Super functional and superb for touring, the RYNOX STEALTH EVO V3 has an abrasion-resistant outer shell, KNOX Microlock CE Level 2 certified shoulder and elbow protectors, CE Level 2 certified back protector and CE Level 1 certified chest protectors. And the detachable winter liner keeps the riders warm even in freezing temperatures.
One can never stress the importance of engine oil in a motorcycle enough. Even more so when the machines have to battle extreme terrains and weather conditions. The rides that are of the long and arduous kind stress the machines to its limit and the engine gets the brunt of it. The engine has to rev harder and has to go through constant gear changes in terrain like Spiti. Even in forgiving conditions, it has to run longer and maintain speed which stresses the engine a lot. So, our trust for keeping the engine healthy lies in the Castrol POWER1 CRUISE 15W-50 which helped our motorcycles fight and win against the adverse conditions and helped us ‘CRUISE’ through this trip.
With the planning complete and route decided, it was time to put the plan into motion to set off on a journey that I am surely going to remember forever. The day before we planned to start, I and Amit visited the Lets Ryde facility in Delhi to pick up our motorcycles. We reached the place, and there they were, the BMW twins, the R shimmering in red and the GS in grey and Racing Red. These motorcycles are just something else in flesh. We both were grinning like crazy and we were raring to go. I got my hands on the BMW G 310 GS while Amit was fixated on the BMW G 310 R. So with our bags packed, spirits heightened and motorcycles raring to go, we were all set. Predictably we suffered a sleepless night but we had to start at 5 AM so we got as much sleep as one can get while suppressing excitement.
We started from Delhi at around 5 AM, just as planned, and started off with the day’s target being the suburb of Shoghi in Shimla. We rode non-stop till Murthal and had breakfast at the Pehelwan Dhaba. I feel that this place has become like a pilgrimage or an important religious stop for the people going to the Himalayas. I am sure that you are not hearing this name for the first time either, maybe it’s auspicious. After breakfast, we decided to make good time so that we could reach our destination before sunset and therefore, we covered long distances with minimal breaks. But as fate would have it, as soon as we reached the Himalayan Expressway, it started raining. And not just raining, it was coming down hard. But we run a tight ship on our trips so the day’s target remained unchanged. Though the rain did slow us down a bit, we still managed to make it to our destination. We took a halt at the Rider’s Café in Shimla, relaxed a bit and took a few photos and Shoghi was not very far away and we still had sometime before sundown. After a while, we made our way to Shoghi and reached there as planned for the day.
The next day, we left from Shoghi at around 8 AM planning to reach Jhakri where we had planned to stay. Kufri was our first stop on this leg and this is where the ‘fun’ started. The road conditions deteriorated. Slush and ice made it very difficult to ride but we reached Kufri in good time, enough to save some for a photoshoot. We got some good pictures and set off. The torment by ice and slush continued but the worst was yet to come. While riding in these kinds of conditions one can never be too careful which I found out the hard way as my motorcycle slid into the other lane and I crashed almost right in front of a truck in the oncoming lane. That was a very very close call and I thanked my lucky stars that I only hurt my foot a little because of the bike falling on it.
The GS though wasn’t that lucky as some part of the fairing and a few other things were damaged. But since we had the target set as Jhakri for the day, we couldn’t stop. After a temporary fix for the bike, we started on our way. The most difficult part was riding on the descents because it was really hard to control the bikes there and adding insult to injury, it started raining again. It was getting downright dangerous so we stopped at Narkanda for lunch but not before riding in the rain for around 3 hours straight. After our very late lunch, we started again and finally reached Jhakri. This was a very tough day of riding because of the cold, the rain, and the roads and of course, the accident. So we wanted to get a lot of rest because we knew that the journey was only going to get harder from thereon.
After getting our well-deserved sleep the previous night, we started at 8 AM. We wanted to start early because the day’s target was the town of Poo in Kinnaur. Now, this was one of the best places that we got to see during this trip, The Gateway of Kinnaur, it’s basically a rick tunnel and that is all there is to it. I say that because words cannot really do justice to the beauty of the place. While we did revel in the beauty of the place for a while, we also got some stunning photos and videos. We even got some shots in from the Drone that we carried. After that, we started to move forward and when we reached Powari, we decided that we’d carry some extra petrol as well because after Powari, petrol pumps are scarce or maybe even non-existent till Kaza. We finally reached Poo but that’s where we encountered another problem. We were not able to find any accommodation there. All the places where we could stay were either closed or full and this got us really worried at one point of time. But I and Amit kept our cool and kept looking until finally, we found a shop with a room on the top of it and the owner agreed to let us stay there for the night for 600 bucks.
The next day saw us starting at 10 AM but soon after, we regretted the delayed start. The road conditions were really really bad after Poo. There was even a board there that said ‘The most treacherous road in the world’ while that may or may not be true, but it was treacherous nonetheless. We also passed two glaciers as we kept on moving one of them being the Tinku Nala. We also happened to see it at night and boy what a sight it was. One thing that I’d like to say here is that the Himalayas test your grit and determination in the worst ways possible but in return, it gives you the scenery that is stuff out of perhaps the world’s most beautiful paintings. And one such view was the Khab Bridge. It’s a place where the rivers Spiti and Sutlej meet and it is surely one of the best places that I have seen in my life as a motorcycle rider/traveller till now.
We kept on moving on our way to Nako where one also finds the 8 hairpin bends of Kazigs just before Nako. Though the road condition started improving, the problem now was Black Ice which is, to be simply put, nasty. It is very difficult to ride a motorcycle as I could see Amit struggling and often going sideways and I am quite sure when I took the lead, he got treated with the same sight. We also had some minor slow-speed crashes there but this trip had quite a few of those, some even 0 km/h ones. But finally, after some struggle, we reached Nako. Now the first thing, and probably the most important thing to do here is a photo at the Helipad. It is an absolute necessity and we did the same. A whole lot of photos, videos and some breathtaking shots using the drone. Now, it was time for the real deal, Maling Nala.
There is a reason why whenever there is a discussion of most dangerous roads, Maling Nala is almost always a part of the discussion. A high mountain pass at an elevation of 12,713 ft above sea level, gushing water streams and frequent landslides. It is utter chaos and seriously, not for the faint of heart. We crossed it but it took much longer than we had previously thought. The road is very scary, very difficult to ride on and downright dangerous. And then the icing on the cake is quite literally, ice. After crossing Maling Nala, we thought we deserved some fun and guess what, we found icicles which made for a lot of winter fun and a lot of photos. And after that, it was time to move or maybe not. 12 kms after crossing Tabo, we figured that the ice was too much to be able to ride safely. But we kept on moving slowly, and then, we saw a car coming from the opposite direction. He stopped to inform us that the roads ahead were in a very bad condition and it would be nearly impossible to ride on. Now the person in the car, Bittoo is an acquaintance from my previous trips around this place. After a brief discussion, we took his advice and returned to Tabo with Bittoo. He is the owner of a homestay so he obliged us with a place to stay for the night.
Aerodynamic, strong and rugged, the AXOR STEALTH TRANCE is designed to keep the rider cool with all the vents and the onlookers jealous with the quirky graphics design that justifies its name. Features like the anti-fog visor and a double D-ring strap make it one of the safest things in the helmet world.
Another aerodynamic star because of the shape and a spoiler for added security, the AXOR APEX LIBERTY is there to push the envelope of sports touring and it succeeds in style. With the graphics inspired by graffiti, it indeed is a symbol of liberty and, it goes without saying, safety.
As it turned out, when we started our journey to Kaza the next day, seeing the condition of the weather and the road, we figured it was a good decision heeding to Bittoo’s advice. About this day’s ride, I would like to say that it was one of the most difficult riding days of my life. Kaza is somewhere around 40 Kms from Tabo but it took us 8 hours to finish the journey, from 10 AM to 6 PM. You must be wondering why there’s a star on ‘finish’ in the previous line, do not worry, you won’t have to look at the bottom of the page or something, I’ll tell you. 8 Kms before Kaza, my motorcycle started giving me some difficulties. After a few kms of struggling, the motorcycle finally gave up on me and we reached Kaza with the bike loaded in a truck. A rather sad end to the ride but the root of the problem as I figured out later, was the first crash, the one where I narrowly escaped a truck. As I mentioned some part of the fairing was broken, turns out that because of that, the electricals of the bike were affected due to the continuous ice, slush and dirt. The GS, which performed phenomenally for a ride like this, gave up on us because of an accident!
We stayed in Kaza for a day and headed out for Delhi the next day. About the return trip, the bike was carried in the truck till Shimla and was repaired there at the BMW Motorrad Dealership, post which it was a jaunt to Delhi with some breaks and interruptions by the rain of course. Although it was somewhat unfortunate, we still had our fair share of fun in the day we spent in Kaza. And also, the happiness derived out of the success (I’ll call it that proudly) of this trip was another addition in my basket of life experiences.
THE RIDERS:
Amit Rathi / INDIARIDER AMIT
He was bitten by the vlogger bug in 2017 and that’s when he started his YouTube channel. A traveller, a photographer and a man of simple tastes.
Deepak Gupta / XTREME MOTO ADVENTURE
An established YouTuber with more than 6 years of experience, he is a traveller with a knack of adventure and a shutterbug with a lot of skill behind the lens.
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