Ladakh and Zanskar

After your overnight flight, you will be greeted upon your arrival in Leh, and transferred to our delightful guesthouse set in Changspa Village just north of downtown Leh where you’ll have a pre-tour briefing and introduction to the bikes. There should be plenty of time to also walk into town, or explore the Shanti Stupa set just above your lodging. Tonight we’ll have an introductory dinner and get a good night’s rest before riding and an orientation day tomorrow. You’ll stay your first 2 nights at Oriental Guest House.

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. 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 hotel’s lovely garden.

Rise and shine early, have a hearty breakfast, and then we make our way west and north towards our evening’s destination of Dah. Our journey takes us along the main Leh – Srinagar road, which is in quite good shape and should allow us to make excellent time. We’ll stop and ogle the confluence where the Zanskar river meets the Indus, and we’ll follow the Indus River for the rest of the day. Time allowing, we’ll find some good chai and samosas in Nimmoo and possibly stop at Likir Monastery. After a delicious lunch at Kalsi, we’ll depart the main road, but still follow the Indus all the way to Dah. This section of the river valley is referred to as the Aryan Valley, and Dah and Hanu are the only two villages in this area that tourists are allowed to visit. This is a special area, not just because it was carved by the mighty Indus, but also because it has long been a main thoroughfare between the Tibetan Plateau and the lower, sub-continent – even as far as Europe and the west. In fact, Alexander the Great came up the Indus Valley on his campaign eastwards. Dah and Hanu are inhabited by Brokpa, ethnic members of the Dard people, who are very European looking and who are said to be the descendants of Alexander’s army! Stay tonight at the Dah Guest House.

We’ll leave the Aryan Valley and the Brokpa people behind, along with the Indus, and wind our way up, up over Hamboting La at 4,056 m (13,307 ft). The way is steep and the road new, so expect some construction and the inevitable repair from winter weather. After cresting Hamboting La we descend once again, this time into Kargil. The distance is short, but there is a lot to see! The plan is to arrive in Kargil for a late lunch, and then to explore the city. Kargil is the capital of the Kargil district, and so shares the status of co-capital of Ladakh with Leh. It sits at the confluence of several rivers and has a long history of trade in the area. The population is predominantly Muslim, though the city is an important place for Hinduism and Buddhism as well. The food here is unique to the region, and we’ll have a good chance to sample the delicacies. Overnight at Kargil Hotel.

After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll head up the Suru River Valley, slowly making our way into the heart of Zanskar. The road is good and the scenery even better – a wide river valley rimmed by high mountain peaks, the arid landscape punctuated by the verdant green of irrigated farmland. We’ll lunch along the river and make our way to Rangdum, elevation 3,700 m (12,000 ft). Tonight you’ll stay in a Luxury Tent Camp.

Today we’ll continue briefly up the Suru River, and then to the top of our second pass of any real magnitude, Pensi La, at 4,400 m (14,000 ft). We’ll have beautiful views of the alpine valley in both directions, as well as the magnificent Drang Drung glacier. Our descent takes us along the Stud River, and into its wide valley. Now we are truly entering Zanskar, the geology is wildly twisted with striations of multi-colored rock and minerals in unbelievable fins and patterns. We should be able to stop at a few of the monasteries along the way, arriving in Padum by mid-to-late afternoon. Despite the road and the modern conveniences that affords, Padum retains the feeling of a wild-west frontier town. Its population of around 2,000 people is always augmented by travelers from other remote areas of Zanskar coming in to resupply, or to just enjoy what is, by comparison to the rest of Zanskar, a booming metropolis. Our hotel for the next two nights is far enough from the main street to offer peace, but close enough to let us explore the markets by foot. Rest this and tomorrow night at Omisala Grand Hotel.

Today we get to visit a truly special and amazing place –Phuktal Monastery. After a good breakfast, we’ll head south out of town and up the Tsarap River Valley. Only 10 or so km out of town, Bardan Monastery greets us like a vision of what’s to come. At the confluence of the Tsarap and Kurglak rivers, we’ll leave our motorcycles behind and begin the trek up to Phuktal. Founded in the early 15th century by a student of the legendary Tsonkapa, the monastery itself was built around meditation caves that date back more than 2,500 years. Sages, scholars, monks and translators have visited these caves for millennia. In fact, it is said that the Buddha’s first disciples, the Arhats themselves, meditated in these caves! A road to the monastery is currently under construction – but for now we must get there as countless others have over the years – we must walk. Both the journey and the destination are worth the effort. The Tsarap River flows like a luminous blue spirit through valley walls that are at once stark and eerie, but also inviting, so that when you finally round the bend and see the monastery hovering like mist on the cliff face, you are overcome. The monastery houses some 70 monks, and is to this day an important place of pilgrimage, retreat, and learning. We’ll see who’s about, have some lunch, and make our way back down the river to our motorcycles. We’ll arrive in Padum with time to let our day sink in.

Rejuvenated by our spiritual feat, we continue! This time we head down the Zanskar River. If we were able to float the whole way, we’d end up flowing into the Indus at the confluence we visited just a few days ago, but for various reasons, difficult geography being not the least of them, the road all the way through the Zanskar gorge has yet to be completed. We do see quite a lot of it though, and it does not disappoint! The valley begins as a wide, sweeping affair rimmed by high, jagged peaks and sudden, steep side canyons. Layers of rock twist at improbable angles and in unexpected directions. What the landscape lacks in vegetation it more than makes up for in the play of light across the multi-coloured mineral hillsides. Then, suddenly we are plunged into the gorge. The road picks its way alongside the river, often cut into the cliff side because there is no room below. Just past the turnoff to Lingshet village, we climb up, up, and up, out of the river valley at about 2,750 m (9,000 ft) through a series of minor passes to Singe La at 5,056 m (16,590 ft). Beware of wandering yak, and keep a keen eye out for the Himalayan marmot that burrows its home in the roadside embankment! Once over the pass we descend through just as spectacular a gorge before passing through the village of Wanla and then arriving at our destination at Lamayuru. Set in a moonscape-badlands, Lamayuru is a spectacular monastery. It was founded in the 9th century by the renowned Naropa, but built around meditation caves that were much older. Depending on our arrival time, we may be able to attend the evening chants!

After breakfast we’ll make our way back to Leh. It’s true that we’ve driven much of this road before, but in the reverse direction it holds different mysteries. For instance, we’ll lunch at Alchi monastery, which, tucked away up a hidden side valley to the Indus River, was so well hidden that it evaded detection by Mogul invaders several times as they made their way towards Leh. To this day Alchi houses some of the rarest Buddhist artwork found anywhere in area, and indeed in all of Asia! We’ll arrive in Leh by mid-afternoon and enjoy the comfort of our hotel. Return to stay at Oriental Guest House for your final 2 nights.

Today, conditions permitting, we’ll make our way up to the Khardung La, which for quite a long time had the distinction of being the world’s highest motorable pass at a claimed elevation of 5,605 m (18,380 ft). In reality the pass is a good 300 m lower, but that didn’t stop the droves of thrill seekers from riding to its crest! The road is still quite an achievement. The views over the mountains of Tibet to the north, the Karakoram Range, K-2, and back down to the Indus Valley and Zanskar are simply indescribable! We’ll be back in Leh for lunch followed by an afternoon free to explore the markets, do any last-minute shopping, or simply relax in the hotel garden. Tonight a farewell dinner in town with the staff.

After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll be transferred to the airport for your flights out of Leh, unless of course, you’ve not been able to resist the temptation to remain and explore this beautiful area a bit more on your own.