Dekh Leh !

The trip we enjoyed, we loved, and we lived.

It was a dream destination for all of us, and did I mention exploring Leh on a Royal Enfield, the best company you can ask to discover the beauty of Himalayas!!! I would not say it happened all of a sudden, we planned this two months before our travel day. There was much research after booking flight to Srinagar from Delhiand back. We hired bikes from Srinagar to Leh and back to Srinagar, which was 9days trip. We were all set to go with our machines and our DSLR ready. The brief given to us by owner of the bikes mentioned during the ride only Almighty is your reliable company, because once you start the ride, you not the planner you are just follower of the nature.

We started off our journey, giving the kick start from Srinagar, a stop over at Sonmarg and Lumayuru before Leh !

The first adventurous encounter was Zozila Pass which apparently is one of the most dangerous passes, but Leh is all about adventure and we were all geared up for it. We were thrilled to ride through the mighty Himalayas. Hailing through the beauty from the snow capped mountain to sexy curvy turns to moon like beauty we halted at Lumayuru called the Moonland as the structure is similar to that of the Moon. And we of course were dead tired, and we just dozed off.

Next day early morning, we had regained all our energy and zeal back to travel further, we left for Leh, of course after a photo session at Lumayuru. The BRO, Border Roads Organisation have done a commendable job, hats off to the team! They have carved out beautiful roads giving the tourists a visual treat and ride of a life time. Finally by evening we reached Leh, checking in to our guest house we set out to explore local area in Leh.

Journey till now

Delhi-Srinagar-Sonmarg-Lumayuru-Leh

The following morning, we had ''plan'' set for Khardungla, as mentioned earlier one cannot go as per our “plan”, there was heavy snowfall and the road was blocked until we get green signal from the army people. Adding on to that we had an heated argument with the locals who called themselves taxi union group, that was the only bad experience we had in our tour, the locals had started a stir and would not allow any bikes which were rented from outside Leh, we were told not to take our bikes ahead, Infact we were forced to again hire the bike from the locals, because obviously we did not want any spoiler in the trip! So, we hired the local bike and headed towards Pangong Tso instead of Khardungla. Since we had limited days in hand we could not afford to loose any day.

We started off our ride, and the majestic Chang la pass was there, trust me we forgot everything and be awed by the beauty. We could see weather changing its mood, the roads and mountain were heavily loaded with snow and yet again we faced a snow storm . We were passing through very very steep roads, we were anxious and panicked!

We hailed through those mighty roads, we started moving higher and higher into the mountains and finally reached Pangong Tso, we were all exhausted fighting the snow storm, finally ending the day at the camp.

We woke up to a beautiful morning, as soon as we stepped out we had a huge smile automatically blooming on our faces, waking up to crystal clear blue lake right in front of us. Whats next no prizes for guessing, we just clicked away to glory ! Serenity defines Pangong , just sit by the lake and listen to the waves, and that is all you would want in life. We spent couple of hours and sadly we had to leave for our next destination which was Nubra Valley.

Journey till now

Delhi-Srinagar-Sonmarg-Lumayuru-Leh-Pangong Tso

Since we were tight on the number of days, we opted for direct ride from Pangong to Diskit. We managed some fuel for our bikes form the locals and headed for our journey! This route is less traveled by the tourists and we were told the roads were not in shape, so we got ready for bumpy rides, but but but we discovered there were no roads at all !!! But trust me on this, this was the best ride ever, adventure in true sense, riding through the pebbled roads to sand loaded roads, our bikes had couple of skitching, bullet's leg guard came off , little troubles we had we managed to reach Diskit late evening.

After such an adventurous journey, we were obviously terrified but happy that we reached safe and sound. Not to forget, the locals and the other riders are extremely helpful.

The first thing in the morning was to get the welding done for the leg guard, post which we went for camel ride in Diskit, this was disappointing. Nothing a must to do in the Leh tour, again we had ''planned'' to reach Leh by that evening and as per our plan we left Diskit and guess what you cannot go as per your plan one of the bike had flat Tyre, and finding mechanic is a real tough job. After much search, we found our man to fix the tyre, adding to the further delay he said we need to change the tyre tube which took another couple of hours.

Finally we raced our bikes from Diskit “planning” to cross Khardungla Pass before it was dark, by the time we reached the check post , we were not allowed to head further due to bad weather. Nothing is beyond Mother Nature. But this brought to the best experience ever, Home stay :) This was the best stay during the tour. We were guests to Dolma Aunty for the night, we had long chat along with dinner, she shared many exciting experience with us. Finally we had a good and comfortable sleep.

Journey till now

Delhi-Srinagar-Sonmarg-Lumayuru-Leh-Pangong Tso-Diskit(Nubra Valley )

Next day was challenging, as we had to return back to Srinagar at the earliest, so we planned to ride through straight to Lumayuru do a night stay and head to Srinagar next day. One of my friend had breathing problem due the height while we were on way to Khardungla Pass, but thankfully we got a savior in disguise . A gentleman who was traveling in his XUV along with his friends offered us help, so two pillions (girls) took the drive through the Khardungla with those gentle men. We reached Leh by evening, did the formality of returning the bike which we hired from the locals. Again we started off for Lumayuru, as per our “plan” we were supposed to reach by 8-9pm. We had traveled 20kms, there was some kind of problem in the bike back wheel, we tried fixing but all in vain.

It was getting dark, we manage to get help from a rider group who helped us in fixing the thing temporarily. But yet we had to see a mechanic to continue safe. We tried looking for one, it was quite dark till that time, locals suggested to stay over and start next morning. Finally, we took the advice and checked in our hotel. We were relieved we got a place to stay but were equally worried about the journey to Srinagar which was quite not possible in one day as we were not pro riders plus three girls as pillions.

Journey till now

Delhi-Srinagar-Sonmarg-Lumayuru-Leh-Pangong Tso-Diskit(Nubra Valley )-Khardungla Pass-Leh-Nimoo Village

The most challenging morning, We were to start of Nimoo village to Srinagar 300kms straight ride without halt. Our return journey begins, we had this one aim to reach our destination Srinagar. We just shoot from there , reached Lumayuru and spotted our saviors again, remember those XUV guys. We had little chat with them and decided the two girls would drive with them as they were very much keen to ride the bike and ofcourse we were glad to return the favor. As decided two out of three girls got into the car and others starts the ride again. And all we do it RIDE because Srinagar was far distance with mighty Zozila Pass on our way !

We reached Srinagar late night 11pm, and we all were starving and our backbone went numb. We first looked out place for dinner then booked ourselves luxurious boat house, this was the first luxury we were indulging into in our trip. Nights well spent on Dal Lake.

Journey till now

Delhi-Srinagar-Sonmarg-Lumayuru-Leh-PangongTso-Diskit(NubraValley)-KhardunglaPass-Leh-NimooVillage-Srinagar (ahhhh finally)

We did a quick ride on the Dal lake with some shopping, and set off to handover the bikes back. We would highly recommend Kashmir Bikers, they gave us continuous calls to know for our where about, very kind people, excellent service. And and and they gave us Tees and key rings as a souvenir. We all thanked him, and boarded the flight back to the hustle bustle of the Capital

For the next one week, we had a hangover of Leh trip !

From Smoothest to the bumpiest roads, from Green to snowcapped to rocky mountains, Leh Ladakh has it all. Unforgettable experience with adventure served on the platter.God has bestowed such authentic beauty in our country.