Adventures in India

Sanjay Joshi shares his Motorcycle escapade in Ladakh with us. A bunch of friends footloose and fancy free in some of the most amazing terrain in the world.

LIFE IS A CHALLENGE …….. ACCEPT IT!

LIFE IS A JOURNEY …….. ENJOY IT!

There is no better remedy to relieve the tensions and stresses of our life than to be with the nature. The sheer vastness, magnificence, beauty and grandeur of Mother Nature dwarf all the worries and problems we have! The problems which appeared very big suddenly appeared very insignificant! The nearness to the nature certainly gives a totally different perspective to our problems!

I have been trekking in Himalaya for many years. This time we came up with an idea of going to Himalaya on a motorcycle. A novel way of exploring the Himalaya. Six of us planned a thrilling motorcycle safari to Leh! The route we planned was Ambala-Manali-Keylong-Sarchu-Leh-Khardungla-Kargil-Shrinagar-Jammu involving very high passes. This is considered as one of the toughest mountain-biking road in the world! A journey of 1800 Kilometers of twisting and turning mountain roads! Very tough & very demanding indeed! You have to be mentally and physically tough to take up such an adventurous journey!

We took our three vehicles by a train up to Ambala, from there our safari began. After reaching Manali, a very enjoyable three hundred and fifty kilometers, we rested for a day. The next leg of our journey, Manali- Leh, almost 550 kilometers of treacherous road, undoubtedly was the toughest part of our route.

It involved crossing of Rohatang pass (13500 feet) to reach Keylong. We halted in a hotel at Keylong, a small hill town. The food was very tasty and the ambience was memorable indeed!

We had to cross Baralacha pass (14500 feet) to reach Sarchu. This is only a camp site where some people pitch tents to accommodate the travellers. We had to resort to staying in tents. Although it was raining we did manage to get hot, tasty food, lovingly prepared by three Laddakhi women. Hats off to these people who camp here in the summer months in the middle of nowhere and manage to feed all the fellow travellers with a smile on their face in spite of their harsh climate and harsher surroundings!!

From here to reach Leh, we had to cross very high passes, Naqee-la (15500 feet), Lachung-la (16500 feet) pass and Tanglang-la (17500 feet) a two hundred and fifty kilometers of fascinating adventure! We halted at Pang, another camping sight, for our breakfast. It was an experience to drive along these twisting and turning roads to approach the pass and then to descend in the valley. Most of the time we had to resort to first gear because of the tough ascends. While descending we had to resort to first gear to control our vehicles!

Due to unprecedented rains this year, the road conditions had gone from bad to worse and to add to our worries, there were many landslides! The landslides bring lot of rubble comprising of mud and boulders too! The journey involved going through mud, the fast flowing waters and small boulders on many occasions! The pillion rider had to get down on many occasions and we had to resort to pushing and shoving also! It was a very tough test of our driving skills!

This high mountain road is maintained by Border Road Organization (BRO), a Military outfit dedicated to this work! It was only due to this ever vigilant BRO outfit and their supreme efforts to maintain these roads, we were able to complete this part our journey. The travel also included crossing many bridges constructed and maintained by the military. We had to register ourselves and our vehicles at many check posts en-route.

The scenery along the route was simply breathtaking! You cannot even imagine how these barren and desolate landscapes can be so very beautiful!! The colourful mountain ranges around us were fearsome and spectacular at the same time!! The deep valleys and the ever present glaciers all around us were awe-inspiring!

The twisting and turning high mountain roads opened magnificent vistas for us. Every turn we took, every pass we crossed, showed us the nature at its best! The mountains all around us were awe-inspiring and at some places like Lamayeru, were frightening!! The one thing which will stay in my mind is the various colours of the mountains! Grey, blackish green, reddish pink and so on! You have to see it to believe this! The shapes, the patterns and the sheer magnificence fascinated all of us. The forty-eight kilometers drive on the Moray plateau was very enjoyable.

We stayed at Leh for four days. We did manage to reach Khardung-La (18380 feet), “The highest motorable road in the world”!! The way up this high pass is absolutely awesome!! This drive from Leh(11000 feet) to Khardung-La (18380 feet) is by far the most memorable journey I have ever had!! The scenic and snow-clad mountains surrounding us at the pass were superb!! This pass is a gateway to Nubra valley. The trip to Pangong Lake eluded us once again, only Gautam and Manju were determined and next day they managed to complete this trip. They had to drive almost three hundred and fifty kilometers to visit Pangong Lake! All the thrills and spills were worth it, as they witnessed the beauty of this spectacular lake!

We saw many monasteries and palaces in and around Leh! After four days we realized that we were stuck up at Leh! The bridge on the way to Kargil was swept away by the torrential rains! The road towards Manali was also closed as beyond Upshi road was close due to landslides at many places. After waiting for four days, we decided to take our motorcycles in a tempo to cross the fury of a fast flowing river!

Our tempo was loaded with two of the three motorcycles and was on the way. We also jumped on it to hold the motorcycles. It was about one hundred feet of river. The river was not very deep. The riverbed could be seen. But the boulders on the riverbed were made our ride memorable! Somehow we managed to cross this barrier with the help from JCB and we were on our way!

The ancient monasteries of Alchi and Lamayeru en route to Kargil were very, very special! The serenity and tranquility we felt there was beyond words! Both these monasteries

We reached Shrinagar after a night halt at Kargil. We did manage a Shikara ride in Dal Lake but the military presence was very evident in Shrinagar. It was very frightening. After spending a night here, we started towards Jammu; the last leg of our journey of three hundred kilometers is a sheer joy! The roads are in very good condition and it is an experience to drive here.

We stayed in Jammu for a night only. We loaded our vehicles on the train and arrived in Mumbai, safe & sound.

Ashutosh and Kaustubh, Gautam & Manju, Sudhir and me share a special bond as we shared this adventure together! The six of us will cherish this experience for ever!!!

The sprit of adventure lives on!!!

See pictures