Manali to Ladakh was 465km..Needless to say this has been one of the best trips I have ever had and recommend everyone to make it to Ladakh sometime in their life.. If you haven't been to Ladakh then you have missed something in life for sure..
Our itinerary goes something like this.
Day 1: We left Bengaluru early in the morning by flight to Delhi…Since we had time we went to Haldirams and hogged a bit there...Then early evening we took a bus from Delhi to Manali.This was a over night journey which was about 15hrs. I know its a really long journey but we had whole bus to ourselves so we made lot of noise n had loads of fun...
First pic of our trip at Delhi
Day 2: Reached Manali after a long journey..We stayed for a day in Old Manali…We were put up in a cute cottage which was very reasonably priced..The view from the cottage was lovely…Fell in love with Manali all over again…Since I was going there after 12yrs..Lot of things had changed in those 12yrs but the beauty was intact..It was a drizzling day ……Walked around in Old Manali, went in search of a bike and a tempo traveler(TT) for hire since we were doing a road trip from Manali to Ladakh..My friend and I wanted to go on bike till Ladakh where as rest of the gang would come in TT..The bike was super sexy, we took a 350cc Enfield..It was the first time I was riding a 350cc bike..Had adrenaline rush the minute I got on to bike n started to ride..Took sometime to get used to the gear system..My friend was surprised the way I could balance the bike being a gal..After finalizing on bike and TT we went around in Manali..We went to the Himalayan base camp walked around n had fresh apple juice…
Chilling at Manali cottage
Our bike!!
Day 3: Left Manali at 5:30AM and to our bad luck it was pouring like crazy… For those coming in TT it was not a problem but for us who were on bikes it was disappointing since it would be risky to ride in the rain on those terrains.. But then what the hell we didn't let it dampen our spirits.. We decided to take the bike in the rain…To my surprise it was dangerous n difficult in Rohtang pass to ride the bike…Didn't expect it to be that bad but nonetheless it was thrilling… There was snow everywhere and the sight was so beautiful… The whole scenery was magnificent…
BTW Rohtang means pile of dead bodies… My friend n I kept thinking we don’t wanna be one among the piles n that kept us going… It was really scary biking in tat part..
Baralacha la pass
Since the rains were getting heavier n heavier by the day it made it difficult to ride bike…We were completely drenched in the rain n we were shivering like crazy in the cold.. So I decided to get into TT my friend rode the bike alone for a while… Then we reached Baralacha la pass, this was another amazing pass with beautiful scenery… Once we reached here we got to know that there was a land slide n heavy snow in Langcha la pass, which was our next destination… They had closed down all the routes so we had no choice but go back n look for accommodation in Jispa …We rented rooms n stayed there over night..
Day 4: Left Jispa around 5 in the morning… We had to leave early as we were running short on time… We were supposed to halt in Sarchu on day 3 which is close to Langcha la but destiny had its own way… Thankfully it was a bright n sunny morning and the roads were cleared n the snow fall had stopped… The view through out our way was superb since it was covered with snow…If we had traveled the previous day then we would have missed the sight… We were lucky that way, It was blessing in disguise for us… Long day ahead for us since out of 475 km we had covered only 160km previous day… We had more than 300km remaining … With lot of enthu we headed out…On the way in Moore plains I had a nasty fall while riding… The roads were muddy n we slipped off the bike n I burnt my leg since the silencer was on my leg ..Luckily I was the only one hurt as I was riding n my friend was sitting behind…
From Moore plains my friend took over the bike n we headed towards Tangla la pass… They say not to spend more than 10mins at this pass as its at 18000ft and oxygen supply is very less…. We found it difficult to breathe here.. To our luck or rather our bad luck there was a land slide in Tangla la …We stopped in nick of time, else we would have come under the land slide .. We finally reached Leh 10ish in the night…. We went to our guest house and relaxed…
Next gas station
Moore plains
Day 5: Went n finalized our car for travel for next 1 week..We zeroed in on Innova.. It was extremely comfortable for 6 of us + driver..We went to some place in the market to have breakfast n we decided to have Ladakhi/Tibetan breakfast… It was such a tragedy, the bread turned out to be naan n roti with Jam… It was hilarious, we struggled our way to finish it...
We got our permits done for Nubra valley n Pangong lake…We set out for local sight seeing in ..Leh is filled with monasteries, we saw few of them then headed out to see Leh palace, hall of fame,shanti stupa, donkey sanctuary…Went shopping in market at night..There are lot of cute stuff to shop for n its difficult to choose what to buy n what not to..
Monasteries and Leh palace
Shanti stupa
Day 6: Left to Lamayuru which is about 5hrs from Leh… Lamayuru is famous for moon scapes… They r magnificent, they look like craters on Moon…You need to see it to believe it… On the way we went to Alchi a small town…Saw monastery n went apple picking in one farm… Had the most amazing n fresh juicy apples ever straight from the tree… Back to Leh in the night and as usual explored the market…
Moon scapes
Day 7: Headed to Pangong lake which is 6hrs from Leh…Yes this is the same lake shown in 3idiots.. This lake is so beautiful…Haven't seen anything so beautiful ever in my life..There are 5 shades that you can see in the water at different times of the day..It is close to china border n the lake runs around 130km…1/3rd is in India n remaining in china… We camped on lake side n it was super chilly…. We stayed on lake side on full moon night n lake appeared superlative… We were dying out of cold but it was all worth it…
Pangong Lake
Day 8: Left Pangong arnd noon n headed towards Leh… Reached Leh by evening n chilled out …Went to some Tibetan market for shopping..
Day 9: Left to Nubra valley…. Went to Khardung la pass on the way…. This is the highest motor-able road in the world… It is more than 18300ft… Here also its adviced not to stay for more than 10min because of oxygen levels… But the place was so beautiful that we ended up staying here for about an hour..We got carried away playing in the snow… Reached Nubra in the evening n we went to Hunder which is a desert n did camel ride …. It was a very nice experience..The specialty here is the camels here has 2 humps.. After the ride we walked in the sand dunes till late evening n then went to our hotel …
Khardung la pass
Hunder: Camel ride in desert
Sand dunes
Extra mile pic :)
Day 10: Went to Panamik which is a hot spring… It is a small natural spring with really hot water... It can burn u… By noon we left to Leh… Back to hotel after shopping n it was time for us to pack our bags since we were heading back the next day to Bengaluru by flight..Didn't feel like leaving the place..There was more to cover but we didn't have time...That leaves us with a opportunity to visit Ladakh again...
Hot spring
Day 11: Left Leh by flight to Delhi and then to Bengaluru...Feel both happy and sad at the same time we were back to home base..
View from flight
This was end of our beautiful road trip to Ladakh.. Best time to visit is May to Sept..The place gets colder by then month n after Oct most of the passes are closed because of snow...Infact Pangong lake freezes completely in winter..
Anyone who plans to visit Ladakh in future can contact me for any help...Happy traveling!! :)
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