Road trip to Leh Ladakh - July 2007: Leg 2
Stretch 2: Manali to Sarchu to Leh
photos
Not so dry strecth till Sarchu. Covers Rohtang and Barlachala Passes. Can find greenary here and there with a snow/ice combo. From Sarchu its a dry stretch till we reached the beautiful Moorey Plains. The challenging ride to Tanglangla and smooth roads till Leh there after.
We left Manali at 7 in the evening. The drive was scaring because of the night and the road. A small mistake and thats the end of it. Moreover Senthil's bike making the firing sound because of some mis-ignition. We were very slow and covered only 30 Kms in 3 hours. Found a small shop and got food to eat. We didn't except more than roti and dal, but that itself was delicious. More than anything found a place to halt for the night. We would have frozen if we used the tents we carried.
Was really a small place, we laid down our sleeping bags, tents. The larger of the space was occupied by Hari, Johny and Lalith. Rest of us trying to fit ourselves in between. Then the Viji's puking episode, Bhanu had a sleepless night. Finally when he was about to sleep, there was a sudden gush of light only to realize it was morning.
First glance of snows in the mountains surrounding the tea shop. what a cup of tea can do for you on a chilly damp morning can only be exprienced to believe. Started towards Rohtang Pass -
Rohtang La: 3978m above sea level - is the gateway into the the Lahaul valley. The road conditions from Manli to Rohtang was worst. But the descend and the road till tandi was enjoyable both in terms of scenary and driving - near Koksar, we had drive through 1 1/2 ft deep water stream. The road to keylong runs alongside the Chandra river till Tandi where it meets the Bhaga river thats comes down from Patsio. I was playing around with my bike till Tandi.
Tandi is the last filling station for the next 365 Kms till Leh. Even with a full tank (capacity of 12 ltrs) giving a mileage of 25 we couldn't have covered 365Kms. We had to carry fuel filled jerry cans. We met army captain Abhishek here, who was riding alone from Delhi to Leh. He asked if he could join us and we happily agreed.
Bad raods all the way, no signs of good road, need to be over cautious at places otherwise you end up with a flat tyre. Enroute to keylong, dynamites were planted for road widening. Some of us crossed while others were struck in between blasts. Stopped for a short tea break in PadmaRam's Dhaba near (might be stingri army camp not sure) and then headed towards Darcha.
It was 4 pm and still a long distance to cover. Thanks to the captain, who had sent a wireless message to Sarchu camp to arrange for our stay and food. Four of us had our lunch and left early. As the ascend to Baralacha La (Ht. 4897m) started, the bikes aren't moving due to lesser oxygen levels and few of us started feeling the Acute mountain sickness(AMS). We couldn't even stay 5 mins on Baralacha La, immediately started to descend. The approach to the pass from both sides is miserable. Dead slow bcos punctures was the last thing that we wanted and fear of AMS. As it got darker, it was tough riding on the stones and was the testing drive till now. Managed to reach a private camp where they served tea and hot coals pieces to warm ourselves. Another 30 kms odd drive before we could call quit.
Everyone reached the camp except Viji, Ravi, Naresha and Lalith. Naresha comes worriedly and tells that Lalith has fallen down and his arm bone is displaced. Lalith was not at all ready to sit on bike and reach the Army camp. There were sitting in some private camp. We were taken aback and were upset thinking we will have to send him to leh or manali by ambulance. Got the food packed for the others waiting with Lalith. Naresha and myself went there, it was very cold and we were tired and don't know how we could keep ourselves awake. Viji was slowly trying to move Lalith's arm. At one point as if the displaced arm got back to its original place, lalith said now he is feeling better. Went back to the army camp with the retired hurt Lalith and without wasting even a second I slid into the sleeping bag. Got up leisurely in the morning and as usual plently of wakeup calls before could get the boyz going.
We bid adieu to the army after a short chat with few Kannadigas, one of them Hiremath. The sarchu army camp itself is layed out in such a wonderful site surrounded by Mountains.
We had to stop at almost every corners for photos. Such was the scenary in this route. Though it was competely dry, the sand colored mountains had a lot to offer for photographers. With the clouds adding to its flavor. The roads were also good infact gr8 after the barlachala stretch. The best of the landscapes are found in this route with wide variance in colors.
There was so much we could imagine out of even small rocks. Artists thoughts personified in lots of places.
will add to the eternal feel in the Himalayas.
The ascend to Nakeela pass(15547 ft) which had so many hairpin bends was enticing us to visit this place again and again.
Lots of solos just before the Nakeela pass. A lot of crazy foreigners, I think have made Himalayas their second home :) :). We could see endless roads with part of it shady due to clouds. Viji who had fever was pillion to BhanuiZMA. Bhanu was scared of at 2 curves where in viji asleep was about to fall and would have pulled Bhanu along. After 2 3/4 hours of ride covering 54 Kms we stopped at Lachulungla(16616 ft). The approach to Lachung La goes through 20kms of switchback roads including the 21 Gata Loops that are 21 spine tingling hairpin bends. Shared a light moment there. I remember Senthil saying "my bike doesn't go more than 15 kmph" and we all second his opnion. Harisha and his pulsar was not at'll shaken by any of these. Next we stopped for lunch @ Pong army camp. Naresha and Senthil had got the altitude sickness and were fast asleep. Viji and Johny also had problems. But Sony W810i was in singing mood.
Bhanu was not ready to take Viji with him. So we decided, few guys will come by lorry and rest will ride singles. Naresha also was in no mood to ride and he asked lalith either to drive or come by lorry. With gr8 difficulty he agreed to take lorry. From there onwards it was a smooth ride. We took a wrong way - still it was fun. The adda daari took us to a place which gives an absoulute overdose of colours, especially blue, brown, white and green. This region is called the Morey Plain and is inhabitated by Khampa nomads. I did get to meet 2 Khampa-ns who asked for cigarettes and then settled for water.
The ride to the worlds second highest motorable road was not an easy one - Hari had a better experience of us all with the CBZee. We were on Tanglangla(17582 ft) and it was an unbelievable feeling; like on clouds of 7 - 7 riders on 7 bikes finishing 7 passes till now.
It was around 5:30 pm, we couldn't stay longer with Naresha kindling lets move out of "Tanglanglanglangla".We quickly left the place after the photos and the descend was absolutely smooth - one of the very few stretches where we could get into top gears.
Naresha in the morning had strictly ordered we will stop early after the bad experience, the previous night @ Sarchu .
The ride till rumtse was pleasant and we stopped at rumtse at around 8, though Upishi was the destination. We got rooms at Davai lama's house. The room was warm coupled with cushiony beds and baankets to our delight. Ordered a whole lot of thing for dinner and did enjoy it. Senthil scaring me off with his fake vomiting sensation. We were about to sleep and Lalith and co landed in after the scary lorry drive.
Had a good nights sleep and were really fresh the next morning. Bid good bye to Davai lama and moved towards Leh. Stopped at Thikshey monestary and spent quite some time here. Lalith's photo near the Buddha statue was the highlight here. Airtel came alive and guys didn't waste even a second to get on-line.
Reached Leh and stayed in Rocker's paradise Hotel. Freshened up - had to clean of 3 days grease. Visit to Shanti Stupa and a walk in the Leh market. We badly needed anna rasam and asked viji to prepare it. We collected our team T-shirts that we had ordered for. We hijacked the hotel kitchen and had a gala time while the food was cooked. Also we all spoke to Raju.
Brahmananda bhojana - thanks to Viji.
photos
Not so dry strecth till Sarchu. Covers Rohtang and Barlachala Passes. Can find greenary here and there with a snow/ice combo. From Sarchu its a dry stretch till we reached the beautiful Moorey Plains. The challenging ride to Tanglangla and smooth roads till Leh there after.
We left Manali at 7 in the evening. The drive was scaring because of the night and the road. A small mistake and thats the end of it. Moreover Senthil's bike making the firing sound because of some mis-ignition. We were very slow and covered only 30 Kms in 3 hours. Found a small shop and got food to eat. We didn't except more than roti and dal, but that itself was delicious. More than anything found a place to halt for the night. We would have frozen if we used the tents we carried.
Was really a small place, we laid down our sleeping bags, tents. The larger of the space was occupied by Hari, Johny and Lalith. Rest of us trying to fit ourselves in between. Then the Viji's puking episode, Bhanu had a sleepless night. Finally when he was about to sleep, there was a sudden gush of light only to realize it was morning.
First glance of snows in the mountains surrounding the tea shop. what a cup of tea can do for you on a chilly damp morning can only be exprienced to believe. Started towards Rohtang Pass -
Rohtang La: 3978m above sea level - is the gateway into the the Lahaul valley. The road conditions from Manli to Rohtang was worst. But the descend and the road till tandi was enjoyable both in terms of scenary and driving - near Koksar, we had drive through 1 1/2 ft deep water stream. The road to keylong runs alongside the Chandra river till Tandi where it meets the Bhaga river thats comes down from Patsio. I was playing around with my bike till Tandi.
Tandi is the last filling station for the next 365 Kms till Leh. Even with a full tank (capacity of 12 ltrs) giving a mileage of 25 we couldn't have covered 365Kms. We had to carry fuel filled jerry cans. We met army captain Abhishek here, who was riding alone from Delhi to Leh. He asked if he could join us and we happily agreed.
Bad raods all the way, no signs of good road, need to be over cautious at places otherwise you end up with a flat tyre. Enroute to keylong, dynamites were planted for road widening. Some of us crossed while others were struck in between blasts. Stopped for a short tea break in PadmaRam's Dhaba near (might be stingri army camp not sure) and then headed towards Darcha.
It was 4 pm and still a long distance to cover. Thanks to the captain, who had sent a wireless message to Sarchu camp to arrange for our stay and food. Four of us had our lunch and left early. As the ascend to Baralacha La (Ht. 4897m) started, the bikes aren't moving due to lesser oxygen levels and few of us started feeling the Acute mountain sickness(AMS). We couldn't even stay 5 mins on Baralacha La, immediately started to descend. The approach to the pass from both sides is miserable. Dead slow bcos punctures was the last thing that we wanted and fear of AMS. As it got darker, it was tough riding on the stones and was the testing drive till now. Managed to reach a private camp where they served tea and hot coals pieces to warm ourselves. Another 30 kms odd drive before we could call quit.
Everyone reached the camp except Viji, Ravi, Naresha and Lalith. Naresha comes worriedly and tells that Lalith has fallen down and his arm bone is displaced. Lalith was not at all ready to sit on bike and reach the Army camp. There were sitting in some private camp. We were taken aback and were upset thinking we will have to send him to leh or manali by ambulance. Got the food packed for the others waiting with Lalith. Naresha and myself went there, it was very cold and we were tired and don't know how we could keep ourselves awake. Viji was slowly trying to move Lalith's arm. At one point as if the displaced arm got back to its original place, lalith said now he is feeling better. Went back to the army camp with the retired hurt Lalith and without wasting even a second I slid into the sleeping bag. Got up leisurely in the morning and as usual plently of wakeup calls before could get the boyz going.
We bid adieu to the army after a short chat with few Kannadigas, one of them Hiremath. The sarchu army camp itself is layed out in such a wonderful site surrounded by Mountains.
We had to stop at almost every corners for photos. Such was the scenary in this route. Though it was competely dry, the sand colored mountains had a lot to offer for photographers. With the clouds adding to its flavor. The roads were also good infact gr8 after the barlachala stretch. The best of the landscapes are found in this route with wide variance in colors.
There was so much we could imagine out of even small rocks. Artists thoughts personified in lots of places.
The ascend to Nakeela pass(15547 ft) which had so many hairpin bends was enticing us to visit this place again and again.
Lots of solos just before the Nakeela pass. A lot of crazy foreigners, I think have made Himalayas their second home :) :). We could see endless roads with part of it shady due to clouds. Viji who had fever was pillion to BhanuiZMA. Bhanu was scared of at 2 curves where in viji asleep was about to fall and would have pulled Bhanu along. After 2 3/4 hours of ride covering 54 Kms we stopped at Lachulungla(16616 ft). The approach to Lachung La goes through 20kms of switchback roads including the 21 Gata Loops that are 21 spine tingling hairpin bends. Shared a light moment there. I remember Senthil saying "my bike doesn't go more than 15 kmph" and we all second his opnion. Harisha and his pulsar was not at'll shaken by any of these. Next we stopped for lunch @ Pong army camp. Naresha and Senthil had got the altitude sickness and were fast asleep. Viji and Johny also had problems. But Sony W810i was in singing mood.
Bhanu was not ready to take Viji with him. So we decided, few guys will come by lorry and rest will ride singles. Naresha also was in no mood to ride and he asked lalith either to drive or come by lorry. With gr8 difficulty he agreed to take lorry. From there onwards it was a smooth ride. We took a wrong way - still it was fun. The adda daari took us to a place which gives an absoulute overdose of colours, especially blue, brown, white and green. This region is called the Morey Plain and is inhabitated by Khampa nomads. I did get to meet 2 Khampa-ns who asked for cigarettes and then settled for water.
The ride to the worlds second highest motorable road was not an easy one - Hari had a better experience of us all with the CBZee. We were on Tanglangla(17582 ft) and it was an unbelievable feeling; like on clouds of 7 - 7 riders on 7 bikes finishing 7 passes till now.
It was around 5:30 pm, we couldn't stay longer with Naresha kindling lets move out of "Tanglanglanglangla".We quickly left the place after the photos and the descend was absolutely smooth - one of the very few stretches where we could get into top gears.
Naresha in the morning had strictly ordered we will stop early after the bad experience, the previous night @ Sarchu .
The ride till rumtse was pleasant and we stopped at rumtse at around 8, though Upishi was the destination. We got rooms at Davai lama's house. The room was warm coupled with cushiony beds and baankets to our delight. Ordered a whole lot of thing for dinner and did enjoy it. Senthil scaring me off with his fake vomiting sensation. We were about to sleep and Lalith and co landed in after the scary lorry drive.
Had a good nights sleep and were really fresh the next morning. Bid good bye to Davai lama and moved towards Leh. Stopped at Thikshey monestary and spent quite some time here. Lalith's photo near the Buddha statue was the highlight here. Airtel came alive and guys didn't waste even a second to get on-line.
Reached Leh and stayed in Rocker's paradise Hotel. Freshened up - had to clean of 3 days grease. Visit to Shanti Stupa and a walk in the Leh market. We badly needed anna rasam and asked viji to prepare it. We collected our team T-shirts that we had ordered for. We hijacked the hotel kitchen and had a gala time while the food was cooked. Also we all spoke to Raju.
Brahmananda bhojana - thanks to Viji.
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