The Great Himalayan Expedition

After breakfast you will get to try out your bikes. Today we will visit some popular sights in and around Manali. This will help you to get familiar with your bike and also the Himalayan road and its curves. For Lunch we will stop at Naggar Castle, Naggar once used to be the capital of Kullu hence the Castle. The castle is now converted into a Heritage hotel and has a Museum. After lunch we head back to Manali and prepare for the days ahead.

An early morning start for Rewalsar Lake. Rewalsar is a holy lake and it’s revered by many. From Manali we will ride towards Kullu, from Bajaura we take a left and ride on a narrow link road. This is one of the most beautiful rides, the road doesn’t have a lot of traffic so most of the time it will just be us and the mountains. The ride takes us through enchantingly beautiful pine forest. We ride past some beautiful local villages. We get to Mandi, a busy little town; but cross it soon to enter another quiet valley all the way to Rewalsar. Check into the hotel and after freshening up go for a walk around the Prashar Lake and pay respects at the temple here.

Another early morning start today as we have a long way to cover. The road is in a fairly good condition, with lots of curves. Some parts of this ride are really scenic. We ride through some busy towns like Jogindernagar, Paprola, Baijnath but we also ride through the quiet and beautiful tea plantations of Palampur. After freshening up you can go for a stroll in Mcleodganj. Dharamsala is where His Holiness the Dalai Lama has his residence; it is the capital of Tibet in Exile. You can visit his monastery, and then check out some of the famous cafes here.

It is a very scenic ride through the mountain side today as we try to avoid the main highway and ride on the ‘Pahari’ road meaning the mountain road. This may take a bit longer then the main highway but it is really worth it. Khajjiar is famous by the name ‘Mini Swiss’ of India. It is a beautiful location, where a small Lake is encircled by mighty Deodar trees. The air is crisp and fresh.

We can have a relaxed start today as we don’t have a long distance to cover. This gives us more time to enjoy the beauty of Khajjiar. Once we get out of Chamba, the road is smooth and the traffic is not so bad. After Chamba, all that we do is go up, up and up. Today, our ascent up to the Saach Pass begins. The road is smooth, the valley lush green. On the way we will come across the ‘Gujjars’ or Buffalo Herders either going up or coming back down depending on the time of the year that you travel. A lot of quaint little villages and fertile terrace fields are to be seen along the way. We stay overnight at Bairagarh Rest house.

After a well-rested night we prepare for the Saach Pass today. We check the bikes to make sure everything is working well and then we set off on an Epic Motorcyle Ride. Just before getting to Satrundi the Tarmac starts to disappear until it is no longer there. The road initially is dusty but good. At Satrundi we stop at a police check post and complete the necessary documentation. The road here onwards is rocky and dusty. As we start going higher towards the pass the view of the valley below is mesmerising. The pass suddenly appears on your right as you make a left turn. There is a little shrine here dedicated to ‘Jot Wali Mata’ meaning the Goddess of the Pass. After stopping here for a few minutes we head down towards Killar, the ride so far is nothing short of exhilarating. The road all the way to Killar is the same- rocky, muddy and dusty. The valley below is now narrow, yet fascinating and the ride a wonderful adventure.

 It will be an early start today as though we are not covering a huge distance today, but we will be riding on road that comprises more or less of bull dust for a major part of the journey; thus we can’t ride fast. The route is picturesque, rugged, bare rocks on your left and 200m drop on the right. This could easily be classed as one of the toughest road in the world. There is never a lot of traffic on this road. You will meet the occasional public bus and a few jeeps. The landscape starts to change as we get closer to Udaipur and just before entering Udaipur you come across a lovely young pine forest, this is famous as Mini Manali; the site is a local favourite for picnics. At Udaipur we stop in town to visit the Mrikula Devi Temple. Constructed in the 11th century, this temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali. It is believed that the temple was constructed from a block of wood by the Pandavas (from the time of the Mahabharata) during their time in exile. From Udaipur onwards the road all the way to Jispa is in good condition and we pass through some very scenic villages of the Pattan Valley.

We start the day early. After the necessary document checks at Darcha we leave the main Manali- Leh Highway and set off on the dusty road that links Lahoul Valley to Zanskar via the Shingo La pass. This particular road has just opened in 2018 and work is still under progress hence the dusty trail. The Shingo La Pass is about 42kms from Darcha. It is going to be a challenging ride but you get to see some amazing landscapes.

Today’s ride is going to be about 5 to 6 hours of adventurous riding. The villages are picturesque and in August and September all the livestock have come down from the surrounding mountains and it’s beautiful to see them grazing in the fields. Most of this region hardly sees any tourists. The only visitors used to be trekkers but since the road was being constructed the number of trekkers went down.

Padum is the only town and administrative centre in Zanskar. It was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other being Zangla. Padum is scenic and known for its Spartan splendour. The landscape acquires different hues with the change of time. After a relaxed morning we will ride to Karsha Monastery and take time to explore there. Karsha Monastery is one of the largest monasteries of the region and commands the most splendid view of the entire valley. Spend the afternoon strolling the streets of Padum.

It’s another day of riding through some of the most amazing landscapes. The road is mainly off-road today. On the way we cross the Penzila Pass, which is the highest motorable pass of this area at 14000ft. It is primarily areas around this point that cut off Zanskar from rest of the world every winter that lasts 7-8 months. You will also catch the sight of the vast Drang Drung glacier, the 2nd largest glacier in the region, largest being the Siachen glacier.  After the descent from the pass you will start seeing summer camps of the Zanskar people, where they spend the summer months grazing their cattle.

Rangdum is the farthest and most isolated part of the Suru Valley. Rangdum is surrounded by colourful hills on one side and glacier-encrusted Rocky Mountains on the other. It falls mid-way between Padum and Kargil. The main attraction of Rangdum is the 18th century Buddhist Monastery of the Geluk-pa order with about 40 resident monks. Perched atop a central hillock, which is surrounded by a wild mountain stream, the monastery has the aura of an ancient fortification guarding a mystical mountain valley. The entire day is a picturesque riding day.

The landscape starts to get greener as we enter the Suru Valley. This is probably one of the most picturesque valleys on the entire tour. Small villages now start dotting the road side all the way to Padum. The road also starts to get better as we get closer to Kargil.

Instead of taking the main highway to Leh  we will take a detour in to the Aryan Valley. Aryan Valley is mainly inhabited by the Brokpas, an insulated and confined ethnic group of pure race of Aryans present in the world today. Their dress, food habits, social and day to day life is quite different from other parts of Ladakh.

Although it’s a long day the road is fantastic and the landscape has loads to offer. On the way you pass many tourist sightseeing regions like Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, Magnetic Hill, Sangam.

After the long days ride these past few days- today is a welcome break.  After lunch you can go for some local sight- seeing or explore the different markets of Leh.

Nubra is about 160km north of Leh where the Shyok River meets the Siachen River to form a large valley separating the Ladakh and Karakoram Ranges. Today’s journey will take us over the famous Khardung la Pass, one of the world’s highest motorable passes at 5602m.  The ride once again is nothing short of amazing. After refreshing we can visit the Diskit Monastery. Diskit is the oldest and the largest Buddhist monastery in the Nubra Valley.

In the morning ride a few kilometres to Hundar, here we can ride on the double humped Bacterian camel. We retrace our track for a few kilometres and then we ride along the Shyok River to Pangong. There won’t be a lot of traffic. Parts of the road will be off-roading with a few stream crossings. This road will bring us to Tangtse where we join the main road coming from Leh to Pangong via Changla La Pass (the 3rd highest motorable pass in the world). On this route depending on the time of the year you can come across the Changpa Nomads in their summer camps. Our camp for tonight is within walking distance to the Lake.

Retrace the route till Tangtse and then go on a different route then yesterday to Leh. Riding on the Shyok road makes this a circular trip (Leh-Nubra-Pangong-Leh). This way every day you get to see different landscape making the most of your trip. It’s long climb up to Changla and equally long descent. The Ascent is on rough road while the descent is on relatively good surface. Once we get back to Karu the road is really good.

After breakfast we leave for Tsokar Lake. The road is smooth and we will be Tsokar in good time to explore and relax. Enroute we will cross the 2nd Highest Motorable Pass ‘Taglang La’ at 5328m. Once we reach Dibring after crossing the pass we leave the main highway and take a side road that leads to Tsokar.

From Tsokar we retrace our route back to the main Manali- Leh Highway. Once on the highway we begin our journey south to Manali. Today we cross 3 passes- Nakeela Pass (4740m), Lachulung La (5050m) and Baralacha La (4890m). The road is a mix of good and bad. If lucking we might spot some wildlife today.

Today’s ride is about 5 hours. The road from Jispa to Khoksar is on good tarmac the ascent and descent of Rohtang pass is on uneven muddy/dusty road depending on the weather. Beyond Rohtang pass you can once again see the lush green Kullu Valley. If the weather is clear you get breathtaking views to both side of the pass. It’s a 50km descent from the pass to Manali. The last 35 km is on smooth surface and a very scenic ride. Enjoy last dinner with the team.

Early morning transfer to the Airport of leaving via flight or evening departure from the Bus station.