Mesmerising Cycling Adventure in Himalaya's ,Manali to Leh - A journey to cherish forever

It all started with New year 2023 planning, the cycling group Tring tring was all enthu to make Manali to Leh happen this year . In a group of 100 odd people 5 of us signed up for this great adventure in the month of February. Our trip dates were from 23rd June till 3rd July , we were all excited ! Together we were a team of 13 members , 5 of us and the rest of them were seasoned cyclists from Mumbai and Andhra .My trait of single woman cyclist amongst of bunch (12)Men , continued its legacy :) We were busy with our training schedules and weekend rides and Malnad rides to train ourselves for this great adventure , while our families and relatives wondered about our madness ! :)

Finally the day arrived 22nd June with our bagpacks we started our journey towards Manali .Its a mixed feeling of happiness , excitement and anticipation.It was a long journey before we reached Manali .An hour and half flight to Dehli , an overnight bus journey from Dehli to Naggar via Mandi.

We arrive at our beautiful stay in Naggar on 23rd morning, a small beautiful hill station , marks historical presence due to Naggar fort.Our hotel's balcony was overlooking the mighty himalayas, that enchanting mountain ranges were inviting us already.

We have an acclimatisation ride planned today to Jana water falls.Its a continuous uphill of 1000 Meters , a great test of our preparation and endurance ,need for the upcoming days. Such a beautiful ride passing through the thick apple orchards , small towns and beehive farms.

We arrive at the beautiful Jana waterfall , which has a 30 years old dhabha famous for the local thaali, Siddu with lots of ghee :) This beautiful dhabha has floating tables at the bottom sink of Jana water fall, the elderly dhaba owner is known for his hospitality . He shows off proudly about Nitin Gadkari's visit to his dhaba , with a photo framed on his wall.

After the soulful lunch we head back to our stay to rest overnight before we embark on our grand adventure .Too excited to start our journey , can't sleep the whole night :)

Day 1 :Manali - Gulaba - Mahri - Rohtang Pass- Sissu

Finally here is the D day . Big day starts at 4.30 am with drizzle.We would be cycling up to the most beautiful Rohtang pass , gaining an elevevation of 3000 feet. There is a continuous uphill of 31 kms , we meet Marhi on the way for a pit stop. Rohtang is a tourist destination , we see a lot of cabs , private gypsy's and 4x4 vehicles passing us , everyone astonished about the lunatic cyclists , who have dared to climb this pass , mostly on their will power fuel :)Its a beautiful , literally breathtaking climb .The valley , the dangerous backdrop and the beautiful waterfalls keeps us going for more .We reach the beautiful Rohtang Pass waiting to welcome us ,full of snow and touristy feel at minus temperatures ,feel a great sense of achievement .Our first pass of this entire journey.

Now is the time to enjoy the downhill from Rohtang to Koksar about 20kms downhill , in the minus temperature , crossing through streams of iced water . We are completely soaked with ice water. Our socks, inners and every part of the body is drenched with sweat mixed with ice cold water !The most scenic ride overlooking the valley , streams and danger.

After hot bowlful of thukpa at the base of Rohtang we headed towards Sissu . Nature at its best with Beas river flowing next to us ,the Tibetian prayer flags making the valley enchanting ,we pass through Atal tunnel entrance , marking our official entry to Lahul region . A beautiful water fall welcoming us to Lahul .

We stay overnight at a beautiful wooden cottage, anticipating an unknown .

Day 2: Sissu - Tandi - Keylong - Jispa

I wake up to a fresh breeze from pupil tree next to my cottage , to start my day. Today we will be riding through a rolling terrain . Valley is full of white, pink and purple flowers with Beas river and tiny wooden houses set in the backdrop.

On the way to Tandi , beautiful Chenab river flowing next to me on one side and rocky mountain on the other side , panjabi family's gathering next to the river they are dancing with joy , what a perfect way to celebrate the day!

From Tandi we climb upto Keylong , after lunch head towards Jispa where our beautiful swiss tents welcome us after a long day of 50+ kms ride.

Day 3 :Jispa - Darcha - Lower Zing zing bar - Upper Zing zing bar

Our destination today is called mini Switzerland . Zing zing refers to volatile , an un predictable weather. bar -landslide .

Wooo what a place to visit !

From Jispa we move towards Darcha bridge one of the longest bridges of this region . Chandra Bhaga river confluence at Darcha is worth all the uphill climb we are going to do :)

from Darcha bridge we climb upto lower Zingzing bar .We are going to reach 14000 feet today , almost a height gain of 1000 meters . Its a steep uphill . We face broken road and gushing water stream crossings .

While we were all exhausted and were looking for motivation , we meet this group of kids from Tamilnadu , youngest kid is 9 years and the oldest is 14! they are on a cycling expedition from Manali to Leh ! They carry their groceries , tents and cook for themselves too ! what an inspiration !! I remember my son Kannu instantly.

Himalaya's along with us saluted to this brave souls and the coach who believed in them.

Its a steep climb up from lower to upper zing zing bar ,drenching with the last bit of sweat we reach Upper Zing zing bar . A basic dhaba stay for overnight . As the only female of the group i get to stay within a small little tent away from the herd:)

I love this cute little gesture :) We come to halt after a long ride of 50 plus kms and a considerable elevation gain.

Day 4 :Zing Zing Bar - Baralachala - Bharatpur - Sarchu

Day starts with a beautiful view of the snowy mountains . Today we need to ascend to our 2nd pass of the journey Baralachala - 12 peaks at an elevation of 15910 feet , as we climb through the hairpen bends , there is breathlessness, oxygen levels are going down .

Every breath is precious , appreciating life and the tiny bit of available oxygen.There are broken roads near a beautiful Suraj tal , surrounded by snowy mountains everywhere .

And finally we are at Baralachala pass .12 snowy peaks ! Feels like we are on top of the world hurray !!!

We descend down through a deadly road to Bharatpur , witnessing multiple goods lorries which have fallen off in the deep death valley :( What is life without adventures anyway ?

Post lunch at Bharatpur , we ride towards Sarchu plain , sooo beautiful the topography is transforming into a barren desert .

Muddy barren and rocky mountains everywhere , straight long road towards Sarchu is a pleasure after a long day of uphill climb .

We zoom on our cycles and reach our tonight's stay . Bunch of bikers are also staying with us in this property. We exchange our travel stories and call it a day !

Day 5 :Sarchu - Ghata Loops -Nakeela -Whisky naala - Lachung la- Pang

We wake up to the most toughest and rewarding day of our trip . Like a summit day for a trekker with .Today we will be crossing 2 passes at Nakeela 15547 feet and Lachung la 16598 feet . Also the mighty Ghata loops , starts at an altitude of 13,780 feet and end at 15,300 feet. Its the toughest climb also notorious one . Known for multiple road accidents and Acute Mountain Sickness. We need to cover a distance of 80 Kms today ! the most challenging day ever in my entire life !

We start riding through the rolling plains of Sarchu , cross the Himachal boarder and enter into Ladakh ! I love the name boards from here on , we cross through Brandy bridge and Whiskey bridge :)

We start our ascent towards Ghata loops , oxygen going down further , we are gasping for air. With all the will power one by one we were ready to conquer 22 loops at high altitude .What a rewarding feeling when we finish the loops !

We pedal towards Nakeela pass in the thin air ,mild headache and heart beating faster than ever !Here we come Nakeela .

The most scary downhill starts again , a complete off roading experience , one can fall into the valley in a blink of an eye.

After descending down to Whiskey Naala , we climb up again to our 4th pass on this journey La chungla - toughest climb after we have exhausted all our energy at Ghata loops :( Finaally La chungla here you come.

Again one more deadly downhill. Now we cant recognise if we were still in Ladakh or transported to Egypt . Scenery is changing every minute .Its more barren and natural mud castles everywhere , broken roads and deadly terrain , we peddle down to Pang ,our stay place for tonight . A great day of adventure ends . Cant wait for the rewarding day tomorrow.

Day 6 :Pang - Moray Plains - Debering - Tso Kar

A beautiful day starts with cup of chai from Sonam aunty, our homestay owner , an elderly lady who treats me like her daughter :)

Today is the most beautiful day , we would be riding through Moray plains the straight long plain road at 16000 feet altitude ! Army drones spying on us everywhere we go :) Thanks to our army for being there in the remotest places making sure we were safe , a big salute.60 kms of loong straight roads are pumping our adrenaline , we are speeding up , enjoying every bit of the journey .

All our exhaustion has vanished from yesterday's long ride ! After a soulful maggie at Debering we ride towards TsoKar - the salt lake for our night's stay .

Our tents are facing the monestry on one side and the salt lake on the other , wind is high .Its a super cold night.We end our day with sumptuous instant rasam packed by a fellow cyclist . Now we are craving for home food . There is a strong urge to go back to our loved ones. Missing home now . But we have one more , the highest pass , 5th pass on this road the mighty Taglangla to cross . Can't wait for tomorrow!

Day 7 : Tso Kar - Debering - Taglang La - Rumtse - Gya - Lato

Today we are going to cross the highest pass on the way from Manali to Leh - World's 12th highest pass the mighty Taglangla at 17480 feet . We are high on low oxygen levels , Taglangla calling us ! With final burst of energy which was saved for this day we started rolling towards the pass , cold air hitting us , we are in 4 layer and in thin air , ideal to maximize the oxygen :):) with mild pain in chest and a throbbing head and aching legs we finallly did it ! Taglangla yeyyyy! The best feeling ever , the height of this pass is almost equivalent to the Everest Base Camp!Yeyy here we are , we did it !!!

Coming down from the pass was a steep deadly decent of 30 plus Kms ! the scariest, our last steepest downhill of this journey towards Rumtse .

We would be loosing an altitude from 17500 feet to 10000 feet , altitude loss of 7500 feet!! almost like a flight landing . Our lungs are thankful as we descend down every KM.

After our final lunch in the mountains at Rumtse , we head towards our beautiful destination of the day Lato through beautiful monestries of Gya . Picture perfect road with green and red mountains everywhere . Vegetation is back , we are feeling normal with no more than 2 layers needed . Finally we can take bath :) we get oxygen to breathe , how lucky we are :)

Day 8 : Lato - Upshi -Shey-Thiksey-Leh

We wake up with a sense of achievement . Also sad to leave mountains .Last day ride towards Leh.Last leg of our journey.Enjoyed every bit of last few kms of ride .

Feels super easy :) our legs are now trained for the next highest challenge . We are seeing the origin of Indus river and the valley beautiful yellow fields everywhere , slowly seeing the civilisation growing ,vehicles honking , ahh back to our life in the cities , we get to order our favourite food today . Miss u aloo's ,breads and ginger lemon(powdered) tea :):)

And here we come Leh !!

Manali to Leh what a life changing journey ! Everyone must go through this transforming experience . Missing those enchanting mountains , deadly roads , wonderful soul's , dhaba owners , co-cyclists , biker gang , people waving at me with pride , locals, waterfalls, all the 5 passes !

13 cyclists with 4 support staff made it ! Its a grand success worth celebrating and cherishing this memories forever and ever !

I really hope to see more women in future . There are challenges and stereotypes about being the single woman with a group of male cyclists in our society, many women getting into this and not being accepted well , not training our daughters well in sports ,not getting equal opportunities ! It's still a taboo in our culture .It wouldn't take me 30 plus years to finally overcome this barriers otherwise ! Hope for a better tomorrow ❤️ Wish me luck for my upcoming adventure ! Craving for more . CAN'T STOP. WON'T STOP.

Signing Off - Shilpa