Himalayan High Roads

Your tour guide (s) will greet you upon your arrival in Leh, the largest town in Ladakh, and transfer you to their delightful guesthouse set in Changspa Village just north of downtown where you’ll have your pre-tour briefing and get acquainted with the tour bikes. There should also be plenty of time to walk into town, or explore the Shanti Stupa set just above your lodging. Tonight – you’ll have an introductory pre-tour dinner before getting a good night’s rest for the next day. Oriental Guest House, Changspa Village

Today is a rest and acclimatization day. We’ll rise at a leisurely time, break our nightly fast, and then take the bikes out for a familiarization ride and a little bit of sightseeing. Places of interest include: Thiksey Monastery – just a short ride from Leh, the Leh Palace, and Shanti Stupa, directly under which our guest house is positioned. We’ll lunch in one of Leh’s fantastic restaurants and you’ll have the afternoon to wander the markets or just relax in the Oriental Guest House’s lovely garden. Oriental Guest House, Changspa Village.

Today, begin with breakfast and then we make our way south and west out of Leh toward Lamayuru. It’s a short distance, but there is plenty to do and see! Soon after leaving town, we’ll marvel at the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers, and then, time allowing, stop for some of the world’s best samosas in a tiny hole-in-the-wall shop in Nimu. Lunch in Alchi and visit the famed monastery, so well hidden up a side canyon that it escaped the attention of Mogul invaders. To this day it houses rare and amazing Buddhist art and relics from several centuries and multiple schools of Buddhism as it has made its way up and down the Indus River Valley to and from India and Tibet. We’ll finish our first day of riding at Lamayuru, and should arrive with time to visit the monastery – including Naropa’s meditation cave dating back to the 9th century! Hotel Swastika, Lamayuru

After a leisurely breakfast, and possibly another visit to the Lamayuru Gompa, we’ll make our way toward the city of Kargil on a pleasant ride through an increasingly dry landscape. Its beauty is found in the stark contrast between the village and desert, as well as in the barren, almost moonscape through which we travel. Initially we rise up over Fotu La (“la” means pass) and then we descend nearly 1,000 metres (3,000 ft) to the region’s second largest city. Kargil sits at the confluence of several rivers and has a long history of trade in this area. The population is predominantly Muslim, though the city is an important place for Hinduism and Buddhism as well. We should arrive in time for a delicious lunch, and then some afternoon sightseeing in the city. Hotel Zojila Residency, Kargil

Today’s ride takes us up the Suru River Valley and slowly into the heart of Zanskar. Traffic is initially dense as we depart Kargil, but lessens quickly. The road is a good, paved road, except for those brief places where they are widening it – here expect anything, from broken pavement, to dirt to mud, or a mixture of the three. The river valley is wide and rimmed by increasingly higher and higher peaks as we, too, gain slowly but steadily in elevation. It is hard to overstate how awe-strikingly beautiful this valley and the peaks line it are. We’ll continue very briefly up the Suru river, lunch in Rangdum, and then ascend our first pass of any real magnitude, Pensi La at 4400 m (14000 ft). The pass affords beautiful views of the alpine valley as well as a magnificent glimpse of the Drang Drung glacier. From here we descend along the Stud river valley toward Zanskar’s largest town, Padum. The beautiful scenery continues as we drive further into Zanskar: the valley is wide and the peaks that line it are wild and wavy and beset with tortured geological features that make the mind real and spin with delight. Padum’s population is about 2000 people, so compared to what we’ve seen since Kargil, quite a metropolis! Still, it is only newly opened up via road and retains the feeling of being a bustling, wild-west frontier town. Omisala Grand Hotel.

After a good breakfast, we’ll depart our hotel and head south out of town and up the Tsarap river. Bardan Monastery rises above us on the river like a dream of visions to come. After about 50 km, at the confluence of the Tsarap and the Kurglak rivers, we arrive at Purne and our evening’s hotel. Here we’ll don our walking shoes for the trek up to Phuktal Monastery. Phuktal really is a special monastery–it is set on a cliff and built around an ancient cave that monks and scholars, sages and meditators have been visiting for around 2500 years. Old meditation rooms can still be seen inside the cave. The monastery itself was built in the early 15th century, currently houses about 70 monks, and is to this day an important place of pilgrimage, meditation and teaching. A road is currently under construction all the way to the monastery, but for now, and perhaps for the best, a small trek is required to reach this most amazing of places. Some locals told me it takes about an hour, but that is only if you have the lungs of a yak and the fleet feet of a snow leopard. In reality it is more like two, possibly more, and it’s worth going slowly and enjoying the walk. After exploring the monastery we’ll make our way back and settle in for the night. Dolma Camps and Cottages, Purne.

Spiritually rejuvenated from our previous day’s trip to Phuktal, we’ll continue! Up and up the Kurglak river, we gain slowly but surely in elevation. We’ll ride in the shadow of Ganbo Rangjon, the sacred pyramid mountain famous throughout all of Zanskar, and then continue up to Shinkula. Crossing this 5,400 m (16,500 ft) pass means we are leaving Zanskar and entering Himachal Pradesh, but fear not–more amazement awaits! From here we’ll descend onto the main Manali/Leh road and turn toward Sarchu. This road is quite good these days, and we should have no trouble topping our next pass, Baralacha La 4,850 m (14500 ft), and wending our way to the evening’s destination of Sarchu. Fixed Tent Camp, Sarchu.

We’ll wake to tea, brought to our tents! Then we’ll break our fast with a hearty breakfast and leave Sarchu, which ends our brief stay in Himachal and brings us back into Ladakh. We’ll ascend the infamous Gata Loops, 21 hairpin turns that lead the way to Nakee La. Keep an eye out for a strange, beggarly apparition, and at least an informal cache of water bottles and biscuits left as an offering to appease the ghost that is said to haunt this section of road. We’ll ascend two passes, Nakee La and Lachulung La, both 5000+ m, before hitting the More Plains (say like “More, eh”). This is a section of the Tibetan Plateau that sweeps into Ladakh, and is often the summertime habitat for nomads and their grazing herds. Time allowing we’ll visit and maybe drink some butter tea! We then ascend Taglang La 5,328 m (17,480 ft), and descend through the beautiful Miru gorge on our way to Tso Kar, our evening’s destination. Tso Kar Eco Resort.

Today’s road sweeps right past Tso Kar, and if we are lucky we may even see locals harvesting salt from the great, white, salty lake basin and its edges. We then veer to the north and then back south again to arrive at Tso Moriri. If Tso Kar is magnificent, which it is, then Tso Moriri is even more so! In fact, there are ample songs about it in Ladakhi, and if you’re very, very nice, we may even sing one for you. Tso Moriri is only about 50 km from Tso Kar, but the road winds and twists, and can be rough, so we’ll take our time in arriving. We’ll stay near the village of Karzok, which gives us a great opportunity to visit the Gompa there as well as admire the lake and in all its splendor. Hotel Grand Dolphin or Tso Moriri Lake View Hotel, Karzok.

If the road allows, we’ll take the back way around Tso Moriri and make our way to Hanle, which is where we’ll stage our ascent to the world’s highest motorable pass, Umling La. We ride through sweeping plains spotted with high mountains–the home to some of the Himalayas’ more interesting wildlife, including black-necked cranes and wild asses! Hanle has only just opened up to foreign tourists and is little more than a few houses and guest houses, one of which we’ll call home for two nights. Hor Hotel, Hanle.

This is it! Our aim today is to ride to Umling La, currently touted as the world’s highest motorable pass at an elevation 0f 5,882 m (19,300 ft). Though quite a high pass, the road getting there is not too severe or steep but rather a constant and gradual gain in elevation. We’ll take it slowly slowly, and frankly, there’s not much choice as up this high oxygen for combustion is something of a scarcity! After ample exploration and catching of breath, we’ll make our way back to Hanle. Hor Hotel Hanle.

This is it! Our aim today is to ride to Umling La, currently touted as the world’s highest motorable pass at an elevation 0f 5,882m (19,300 ft). Though quite a high pass, the road getting there is not too severe or steep but rather a constant and gradual gain in elevation. We’ll take it slowly. There’s not much choice! Up this high oxygen for combustion (and breathing) is something of a scarcity! After ample exploration and catching our breath, we’ll make our way back to Hanle.

Today is a long day, but the roads are generally good and we should make decent time. This road takes us through the true hinterlands of Ladakh–its austere beauty leaves a lasting impression. Pangong Tso is a truly remarkable lake situated at just about 4350 m (13,000 ft). It is nearly 160 km long and 5 km wide, with about a third of it in India and two thirds in Tibet. Pangon is the world’s highest salt water lake, and reaches depths of nearly 100 m. Though there is a definite military presence in the area due to the close proximity to the Chinese border, it does nothing to decrease the beauty of the surrounds. We’ll stay near the northeastern edge of the lake with beautiful views all around. Grand Himalayan, Merak.

A fairly quick 150 km ride back to Leh brings us once again into Ladakh’s capital city. We should arrive by mid-afternoon, giving us ample time to wander Leh’s markets, take in an espresso, and shop for a few gifts and souvenirs, if the mood should take us. Tonight we’ll have farewell dinner in town with the crew before a well deserved night at the Oriental. Oriental Guest House

We will transport you to the airport for your flight home. Or you can extend your stay in Ladakh and take advantage of this jewel of a city on the roof of the world.