Bike Trip to Leh Ladakh - A Dream Fulfilled
- Thread starter Nadeem
- Start date
Nadeem
Member
In came Magnetic hill, a few families were enjoying ATV rides there. Didn't stop here.
I somehow missed Sangam (confluence of Indus and Zanskar Rivers).
Paid my respects at Gurudwara Patthar Sahib and Hall of Fame. No pictures at both of these places.
Reached Leh at around 4:30 pm. I had booked a room at a government guest house here.
Rested for an hour or so and went to Shanti Stupa. Beautiful place and offers an equally beautiful view of the town.
Went to the Main Market and stopped at IL-Forno rooftop restaurant. Ordered chicken fried rice. Pathetic to say the least. 190 for this and 60 for a cold drink (even though the print rate was only 35). 250 wasted here. Never visit this place.
Came back to my room, took a hot bath, and retired for the day.
I somehow missed Sangam (confluence of Indus and Zanskar Rivers).
Paid my respects at Gurudwara Patthar Sahib and Hall of Fame. No pictures at both of these places.
Reached Leh at around 4:30 pm. I had booked a room at a government guest house here.
Rested for an hour or so and went to Shanti Stupa. Beautiful place and offers an equally beautiful view of the town.
Went to the Main Market and stopped at IL-Forno rooftop restaurant. Ordered chicken fried rice. Pathetic to say the least. 190 for this and 60 for a cold drink (even though the print rate was only 35). 250 wasted here. Never visit this place.
Came back to my room, took a hot bath, and retired for the day.
Nadeem
Member
Day 5 - Leh - Diskit - Changmar - Hunder - Diskit 228kms
I started from Leh at 7:50 am. It was very cold outside even though the sun was up. Soon I was on the road for Khardung La and started climbing. Took a few clicks in between and reached North Pullu.
View of Leh
I being a resident of JK state don't require any permit/permission and I was allowed to go after checking my ID. I had tea there and started riding. The wind chill was really bad. The road was good for now and it deteriorates a few kilometers before the pass.
And then came the famous Pass
Nadeem
Member
There were a couple of taxis there and people were taking turns clicking as many pics they wanted. Nobody was in any rush. I took a few pics and started riding down. The bad patch on this side is quite long and takes time to get down. At South Pullu, I had an omelet and tea. There weren't many vehicles on the route or maybe I was early. Till I reached Diskit, I only stopped for pics and nothing much to share.
Nadeem
Member
Nubra River
I skipped going towards Panamik for today and went straight to Diskit. I reached Diskit at 2 pm. Here I had booked a government guest house and I was the only person in the whole building. It was here I got a call from home that I have to return back at the earliest. Now one of my main reasons to visit Ladakh was to see the lakes of Pangong and Tso Moriri and I couldn't leave without seeing at least one of them. So I decided to visit Pangong the next day and return back to Leh by evening and then make a run for Srinagar. The rest of Ladakh will have to wait for the next visit. For today, I decided to ride on the Diskit-Turtuk road.
View from my room.
Freshened up and left the guesthouse at 2:30 pm and started riding towards Thoise airbase. It is an amazing place, but photography is prohibited. Thought of going a bit further and rode like this for over 50 km till Changmar village. The route is really awesome. There is a different landscape in this part.
I skipped going towards Panamik for today and went straight to Diskit. I reached Diskit at 2 pm. Here I had booked a government guest house and I was the only person in the whole building. It was here I got a call from home that I have to return back at the earliest. Now one of my main reasons to visit Ladakh was to see the lakes of Pangong and Tso Moriri and I couldn't leave without seeing at least one of them. So I decided to visit Pangong the next day and return back to Leh by evening and then make a run for Srinagar. The rest of Ladakh will have to wait for the next visit. For today, I decided to ride on the Diskit-Turtuk road.
View from my room.
Freshened up and left the guesthouse at 2:30 pm and started riding towards Thoise airbase. It is an amazing place, but photography is prohibited. Thought of going a bit further and rode like this for over 50 km till Changmar village. The route is really awesome. There is a different landscape in this part.
Nadeem
Member
Changmar Village
Took a U-turn here and rode back
This is how BRO works for us; carving out roads throughout the year.
I also visited Hunder sand dunes. A dust storm was on and I couldn't stay for long.
After that, I went to Diskit Gompa. The statue is really big and overlooks the whole of Diskit and Hunder.
I returned to my room at 6:30 pm. Ordered Aaloo paratha and tea and called it a day.
Took a U-turn here and rode back
This is how BRO works for us; carving out roads throughout the year.
I also visited Hunder sand dunes. A dust storm was on and I couldn't stay for long.
After that, I went to Diskit Gompa. The statue is really big and overlooks the whole of Diskit and Hunder.
I returned to my room at 6:30 pm. Ordered Aaloo paratha and tea and called it a day.
Nadeem
Member
Day 6 - Diskit - Pangong Tso - Leh - 320 km
I started riding at 7:20 am from Diskit. Went to the pump and got extra fuel for the journey.
I took the Agham-Shyok route. This route was much more remote than what I had imagined. Only a few cars were going with me and none came from the other side till we reached Shyok. No shops or any small villages in between.
Huge respect for BRO for making such roads possible. What may be remote for us, is a daily routine for them.
Coming to the road condition, it is good for the most part with bad patches here n there and some really bad sections. Huge landslides as well at a few spots. The road was washed out at some places, probably last year as there wasn't any water this time.
BRO workers clearing a landslide. We didn't have to wait for long as the clearing was almost done.
I didn't take many breaks en route (nothing much to see except the landscape). Had food at Durbuk and continued towards Pangong Tso. I was at Pangong at 11:40 am. There were quite a few people. I went a few km further down where I was alone. Found a track going towards the bank and spent about half an hour there.
Nubra disappointed me a bit. The place looks much better in pictures. But Pangong is different. Pictures don't do justice to this place. Now, this is only one of the many lakes in the region and I will go back just to visit them.
