The news about the opening of the route to Leh-Ladakh was in the air and people were ready to take the momentous ride of their lifetime. I had already done a ride with this famous Delhi based bikers group – Team456, so without wasting a single minute, I enrolled myself for their legendary ride “Mission Ladakh”.

My well wishers thought that I must be totally out of mind to undertake such an arduous journey and tried to discourage me. But I ignored such advices and started preparations for the trip.

The final plan was 14 days, 26 bikes, 29 riders and a mission:

A briefing session was organized by Team456, a day before the memorable journey to interact with fellow riders. Team comprised members from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Gujarat. Briefing session was good for all of us to know each other, share our previous ride experiences, route information and also valuable driving inputs from the organizers.

1^st June 09: Delhi to Jalandhar (364 kms)

The ride starting point was National Stadium, India Gate. I was surprised to see each and every participant on time with their machines. Ride started sharp by 7:30 am, but the traffic was so heavy as it was Monday. It took almost 2 hours to cross the city. The group size was big but still all 29 odd riders were riding along each other. We had lunch at Karnal Restaurants, Karnal. At that time, there was civil unrest in Punjab due to the murder of some religious representative, and the most affected areas were Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Amritsar etc. Keeping in mind that we were going to stay in Jalandhar, the plan was to reach there before 8:00 pm, after which curfew would be imposed. But with all the ups and downs, we reached Jalandhar on time and checked in the hotel.

Breakdowns: One puncture after Karnal

2^nd June 09: Jalandhar to Patnitop (321 kms)

Curfew was imposed till morning 8:00 am so we were not be able to leave the city as our scheduled plan of 6:00 am. We had to cover 321 kms the day in which around 120 kms of hill driving.  After covering almost 240 kms we reached the beautiful Mansar Lake. We had lunch there and moved towards our day’s destination. All riders were enjoying the mountain ride though some of us had difficulties as it was their first time on hills. The atmosphere was getting colder as we ascended. Finally we reached Patnitop around 7:00 pm.

Breakdowns: 3 bikes puncture on different – different locations

3^rd June 09: Patnitop to Srinagar (183 kms)

The morning at Patnitop was refreshing seeing lots of flowers in the backyard of the hotel. The roads greeted us with cool breeze and soothing wind – absolute greenery with pine trees all across the mountains and in parallel with us was the flow of Chenab River. Enroute we crossed Jawahar Tunnel, one of the longest tunnel-road in Asia, links Jammu to Kashmir Valley. This architectural marvel, built at Banihal at a height of 2194 m above sea level, has two tubes each one with a length of 2825 m. This metal-road-tunnel is built through the heart of a mountain. The tunnel makes it possible to stay in touch with Srinagar even during winters, guarded by our great Indian Army.

Shopian murder issue in Srinagar (google for more information) forced another restriction on us to reschedule our timings. We were not be able to enter the city before 6:00 pm as curfew was imposed, infact we reached the outskirts of Srinagar around 4:00 pm. Any way the curfew was called off at 5:30 pm and we entered the city. It’s always amazing to see Dal lake in dusk. Staying in House boats are the best option to see the lifestyle of Srinagar and thanks to the organizers, they did so.

Our bikes were parked at taxi stand in New Srinagar, and a boat-cab was waiting to transfer us in our Houseboats. It was my first experience staying in Houseboats and good to see that they had all the best amenities which were required in a good hotel.

4^th June 09: Srinagar (local sight seeing)

I must thank Team456 for their planned itinerary, as they reserved one day local sight seeing for this beautiful city. Srinagar is full of Gardens and it’s really worth going to those, as you will find the colours of your choice in flowers.

Many places of interest are Sankaracharya Mandir, Pari Mahal, Rose Garden, Nehru Garden, Chasme-Saahi, Botanical Garden, Hazratbal, Lal Chowk etc.

5^th June 09: Srinagar to Kargil (206 kms)

We had news that curfew will be imposed in the city after 8:00 am so we decided to leave early by 6:30 am. But it is not always possible with a bunch of 29 members to be on schedule. Anyways we were able to manage to hit the road by 7:15 am.

Now, all the comforts were being replaced with adventure. We reached Sonmarg around 11:00 am – full of snow on the mountains. It started raining which was not a good sign for us as we have to cross Zoji La. Zojila is 9 km from Sonamarg and provides a vital link between Ladakh and Kashmir. It runs at an elevation of approximately 3,528 metres (11,575 ft), and is the second highest pass after Fotu La on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway.

Soon we were conquering Zoji La – tough height, bumpy and rough roads. Bikers were instructed not to half-press their clutches during the climb except for gear changes; otherwise it would burn the clutch plates. It took almost 1 hour to cross the Zoji La and we reached Draupadi Kund. We took a small halt because 3-4 members were yet to come. One of our fellow rider suddenly fainted as he got a minor attack of hypothermia. Thank god he was alright as one of our fellow physician rider accompanied him all the way till Drass’ local hospital. After couple of injections he was fit to travel but not for driving. A pillion rider took his position on his bike and we all drove to Drass.

Drass - is the second coldest inhabited place in the world and is the coldest in India. Winters are extremely harsh with average lows around -22^oC (-10^oF), which can fall as low as -45^oC at the height of winter. Drass is also famous for the Kargil war which was fought in the year of 1999 between India & Pakistan.

We reached Kargil by 7:00 pm.

Casualty: Hypothermia and Acute Mountain Sickness - 2 participants

6^th June 09: Kargil to Leh (228 kms)

Due to the previous day’s rugged terrain, we got delayed in morning due to repair work in few bikes’ carriers. The roads were all dusty because of the 2 lane highway construction work. We reached Fotu La the highest point on Srinagar – Leh highway, had some snaps and moved forward. As this is an important strategic route, all the way we found lot of army convoy movement.

After couple of hours drive and we reached Lamayuru Monastery.  It is also called the Yung Drung or Swastika monastery and its stunning location makes this monastery a must visit on a tour to Ladakh. The monastery has a many Thangka paintings in its main hall. The annual festival of Lamayuru Monastery is held every summer on the 28th and 29th days of the 2nd month of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar.

We encountered the first landslide of this journey but thanks to Border Roads Organization (BRO), they cleared the route in 20 minutes. Before reaching Leh city, we have stopped at Magnetic Hill. Magnetic Hill is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope. Thus, a car left out of gear will appear to be rolling uphill.

We reached Leh by 6:00 pm and checked in a guest house.

Breakdowns: 3 bikes had clutch plate and break shoe replacements.

7^th June 09: Khardung La & Leh city sight seeing

Half day spent to and fro Khardung La. Khardung La (18,380 feet) is arguably the world’s highest mountain pass, and is a gateway to Shyok and Nubra Valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to motor vehicles in 1988. Maintained by the Indian Army Corps, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry essential supplies to the Siachen.

We came back around 2:00 pm and spent  rest of the day in shopping, visiting Stupas and taking shots of this delightful Buddhist town.

Breakdown: Pulsar 220 slipped while conquering Khardung La, minor casualty

8^th June 09: Leh to Pangong Lake and back (290 kms)

There are two major attractions on this route; one is Chang La (17,800 feet) – on the route to Pangong Lake from Leh. Changla is the toughest pass on the route and is world’s third highest mountain pass. This pass is a gateway for Changthang Plateau situated in Himalayas. Nomadic tribes that can be found here are known as Changpas. And another one is Pangong Tso (Pangong Lake) a salt water-lake situated at a height of about 13,900 feet. The lake is 134 kms long and extends from India to Tibet. Two thirds of the length of this lake falls in the China. It is 8 kms wide at its broadest point.

We started early morning around 4:30 am as we had to be back same day and also thinking about the Pagal Naala water crossing which we’ll have to cross twice. But unfortunately we were not able to cross the Chang La as there was heavy snow on the roads and with no option left, came back to Leh.

9^th June 09: Leh to Tso Moriri (220 kms)

So the time came to say goodbye to Leh City. We topped up our bikes and also carried additional fuel as we had to cover more than 560 kms without having any petrol pump enroute. We were heading towards one of the oldest settlements of the world known as Korzok. We wholeheartedly thanked Madras Regiment posted at Chumathang where we were served with much needed snacks and tea.

We reached  a place where we have seen a small unknown lake which was beautiful on its view. We thought that it was Tso Moriri, suddenly a sound came from behind, “Guys, don’t get excited, still 20 kms ahead”.

Our few bikes got struck in sand and suddenly the weather totally changed. A storm cropped up, which was for around 1 hour leaving us in nowhere situation, what to do. Platina also got punctured, so the Team Leaders decided to leave the bike with handle locked and move forward. We reached Tso Moriri by 7:00 pm, though the view was unimaginable  the cold  made our bones rattle. I must say this as one of the coldest night of the trip where 3 layers of blankets were not doing the job.

Breakdowns: 2 punctures

10^th June 09: Tso Moriri to Sarchu via Tso Kar (205 kms)

Morning was bright and sunny, water passages behind our tents were useful for us to dry clean and rest of the morning activities. Though very few had guts to do the morning activities there as the temperature was near zero. I could not stop myself to have few shots of lake from my camera.

The day’s journey was one of the long and tiring with all types of steep, slant and slope drives. Enroute we crossed Tso Kar Lake or the ‘White Lake’, so named perhaps because of the parched salt that cakes the shores of the lake which is also a high altitude lake situated at a height of 4595 mtrs. First 150 kms was ruthless because of no roads. Very few tourists have guts to do this stretch. After driving almost 5 to 6 hours we reached Moray Plains - a 40 kms straight road at an altitude of more than 11000 feet.

We had lunch at Pang, from where Sarchu was still 75 kms. Before reaching Sarchu we also crossed Gata Loop - known for its 21 sharp hair-pin bends and also for the panoramic view of the valley from the first loop.  It is a 13 km stretch of hairpin bends, where one encounters an insane decrease in altitude – of around 1500 ft in about 6 miles. Night Stay: Planet Adventures (earlier Rashpian Adventure Camp)

We had very worse experience with Planet Adventures, advice to riders and tourists not to stay there.

11^th June 09: Sarchu to Jispa (135 kms)

Here comes a new twist in our journey today. We came to know that our 4 fuel cans spilled on previous day. We have 26 bikes and none of them have sufficient fuel to do around 155 kms journey to reach the petrol pump. We need at least 5 litres of fuel in each bike to reach the petrol pump. We  requested the nearest army post for help, initially they declined, but later after judging our situation they agreed to give us 40 litres of fuel. Our journey begins for the day and very early we reach Baralacha La. Baralacha La Pass (16,500 feet) is a high mountain pass connecting Lahaul district in Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir. The Bhaga River (a tributary of the Chandrabhaga or Chenab) originates from Surya Taal (the lake of the Sun God) which is situated a couple of kilometers away from the pass towards Manali. The other major tributary of the Chandrabhaga, the Chandra also originates from glacier of this region. There were pillars of  snow on both sides of the road. We reached Jispa around 6:00 pm. We checked in Jispa Journeys tents and as pre-arranged there was night party with music, bonfire, booze and antakshri. I can say it was an amazing night of the whole journey.

12^th June 09: Jispa to Manali (145 kms)

Jispa is among one of the best locations with riverside tented accommodation. You can feel the freshness of the greenery and surrounding and also enjoy the sound of water flowing. We started around 9:30 am and somehow managed to reach Tandi – the only petrol pump on Leh – Manali Highway. We headed towards Rohtang after refilling our tanks. We had lunch at Koksar a small town between Rohtang and Tandi.

Now the steep heights of Rohtang waited for us eagerly. Snow fall and rains was almost with us during our drive from Koksar to Rohtang. Rohtang Pass 13,051 ft (3,978 m)), 51 KM from Manali, is a high mountain pass that connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh. This pass has a nasty reputation for being very dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and high winds. It is suggested by some linguists that the name Rohtang is a Persian word meaning pile of dead bodies.

Rohtang has now lost its beauty due to heavy tourist traffic, diesel fumes, pollution; we had some snaps and moved towards Manali. We reached around 6:00 pm at Manali and checked in the hotel.

13^th June 09: Manali to Chandigarh (320 kms)

Our ride started early at 8:00 am. We were passing beautiful landscapes, river and on the above amazing roads but the heat was unbearable. One Machismo developed problem in its battery which needed replacement according to our mechanic, but we were not able to locate any battery shop. We had lunch at Himachal Tourism Restaurant at Bilaspur. After lunch it cost us almost three hours to repair the battery problem of that bike. Five of us stayed with the Machismo and rest of the team continued their journey. We got news after an hour that the group which we sent earlier had also divided in two because one electra was totally dead and the funny situation was that our mechanic was with us. Somehow, they managed to locate a mechanic shop and resolved the problem. So the three teams reached Chandigarh in sequence of 8:30 pm, 11:00 pm and me with the last 12:00 pm.

Breakdowns: One Battery replacement, One Break shoe, One Electra totally down

14^th June 09: Chandigarh to Delhi (245 kms)

Yesterday since we late to bed we woke up around 9:30 am. Checked out and left Chandigarh in extreme hot condition with temperature around 40+ degrees, I thought about the cold nights of Sarchu and Tso Moriri. We had lunch in the very same Karnal Dhaba and raced towards Delhi. By 4:00 pm we reached the Delhi Border and had a group photo. The journey was over after the team leader announced “Mission Ladakh accomplished”.

The 14 days excursion gave me wonderful memories of beautiful, stunning destinations and fulfilling experience of driving on “every biker’s paradise” and above all 27 new friends.

Mohan Singh   
Member Team456