Originally posted by prateek2210
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1. Delhi to pathankot is too leisurely. It can be done in 8 hours of easy riding. Better to stay at Patnitop. (Assumption - you guys start at 3/3.30 in the morning to get off the plains as quickly as possible. It will be oppressive heat till Udhampur so the earlier the better)
Its better to push a bit on the first day since you guys will be fresh and its boring too
I have done gurgaon to Srinagar twice now within 19 hours so its not something too difficult on the first day.
2. Patnikot to Srinagar -- Enjoy the boat ride at Srinagar - Ask the Shikara guy to take you through the water villages and not just the touristy floating bazaar.
3. Check out whatever you wanna check out at Srinagar and stay for the night in Sonmarg which is really picturesque. Or chug along the whole day and make it to Drass. Earn the stars of staying the night at the second coldest inhabited place on earth
4. Sonmarg/Drass to Kargil/Lamayuru -- I would prefer Lamayuru as Kargil is just a dull expensive town. The hotel DZozilla is a rip off. Lamayuru is a lovely monastery village with cheaper accomodation and yes - beer is readily available ;-) Lamayuru will also give you the option of exploring the monastery on the next day comfortably without the thought of luggage on bikes. The Lamas can be seen practicing for the upcoming festival in June so you might get some awesome photographic moments.
5. Lamayuru - Leh --- Leisurely/idyllic - Gurudwara pattharsahib for the religiously inclined. Make it to Leh by the afternoon. Get the permits done on that day itself. IIRC, they open up after lunch at 2.30 and the whole process won't take more than an hour. Get your bike maintenance done that day. Get the wire in carb mod done if your carb bike faced problems in climbing up.
Enjoy the rest of the day at LEh. Do check out the awesome night life after 8 when the one-way restrictions are lifted. There is an amazing biker vibe in that city.
Day 6 -- Manageable but will require discipline.
Day 7 -- Hardly 4.5 hours if chang la doesn't have too much snow to block traffic. What do you guys plan to do the rest of the day. It would be worthwhile I guess if your visit coincides with the full moon. Don't start too early. If it had snowed fresh, bikes find it tough. Let the tourist innovas and xylos lay down the path for you first at Chang la.
Day 8 -- Rest where ? It will get incredibly boring. Maybe give marsimek la a try. Or think in terms of Hanle. Or ride down to atleast Upshi (Fill your steed up at Karu)
Day 9 -- Upshi to Sarchu -- Comfy unless weather plays truant. Pangong Tso to Sarchu -- That will require a lot of discipline. Remember to fill up at Karu.
Day 10 -- Doable in most circumstances. Sometimes can be tough. in 2011 it took us 20 hours over 2 days in August (thread on xbhp) while in 2012 it was a cake walk. (8 hours with hardly any slush)
Day 11 -- After what you have seen and 10 days on the road - Manali will be positively boring :-) It would be better if you make it to Chandigarh. Reason in next line.
Day 12 -- The HEAT. Its oppressive. I have seen my Casio give a reading of 48 degrees. With all that riding gear - Its horrible. We took bath under a tubewell, drank a liter of lassi, soaked the gear in the chilled canal -- but to no avail. So its best if you guys can make it Chandigarh/Kiratpur sahib the previous day. Start at 3/3.30 in the morning and reach home safely before it gets horrible.
Oh yes - Carry a tank bag. Since you will be carrying a DSLR, the ritual of getting down from the bag and untying luggage will be too cumbersome at many points. So, a tank bag is a must if you are trigger happy.
Hope that helps!
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