Ladakh DAY 5 – August 08, 2007 Wed
Ladakh 6. DAY 5 – August 08, 2007 Wed
Bharatput City – Killing Sarai (Sarchu Sarai) – Sarchu – {Gata Loops} – Nakeela – Lachlung La – Kangla Jal – Pang – Moray Plains – Tanglang La – Rumtse – Miru – Upshi – Karu – Leh
By the time it is 6am and the tent owner comes to wake us up, we are already awake with pounding headaches that the height, the rare oxygen, the cold and disturbed sleep have given us for free. We pack as quickly as possible in our condition (actually in record 20mins) and head towards the river. Thankfully there is truth in the locals’ statement and the flow is very small. It is still an effort, but we manage to drag our bikes through without much incident.
The downward climb from here on towards the Sarchu valley is eerie – the landscape resembles that on Mars. There is no sign of civilization except the road we are on, that too is broken in most places. We are glad we did not attempt this last evening – when it was already dusky.
We climb down this bumpy and often scary road to Killing Sarai (real name Sarchu Sarai). The Sarai is literally killing – the road is completely washed away. There is a military post, but even here there is no semblance of road. There are large boulders and gravel and pebbles, and we are sure that one of us at least is going to develop a flat. Luckily the tyres and the bikes endure what is perhaps the toughest 20-25km of the road and we enter the Sarchu valley.
Ah, Sarchu valley! This is what the expedition is for. Every moment of it justifies all the trouble that is taken to reach it. On the right, there are mystic mountains. One the left, there is the riverbed of Indus – not just a riverbed but a canyon carved out of stones. The road is superb. It is sunny. There is green grass on both sides of the road. We see some camps, with ‘Swiss tents – attached toilets(!)’ – and decide to camp here on our way back. Our headaches have mysteriously gone, as we have climbed down. The lark is on the wind, … Oh, how I ride this part!
At Sarchu, the state changes from Himachal to J&K. Also the road construction project changes from Project Deepak (Manali – Sarchu) to Project Himank (Sarchu – Leh and Ladakh area). We meet a bus full of ITBP policemen, who chat with us and generally call us names (‘paagal ho kya?’) for attempting this road on bikes. Anyway, they are nice people at heart and invite us to their camp in Leh once we reach there.
Some 30km from Sarchu, we reach the base of Nakeela – the famous Gata Loops. There are 21 loops that I can count, climbing zigzag up, up and up … The climb is pleasant at this time of the day (10am) because it is sunny. At the 18th loop, we find a group of Europeans bikers going the other way, one of who has a flat tyre. We stop to help. Tim gets a patch out from his bag and hands over to them.
We cross Nakeela and Lachlug La – the twin passes separated by about 10km – without much incident. This is the 3rd pass on the road to Leh. The road after this gets rough, so even though it is downhill, it is not exactly pleasant to ride. Especially the area near Kangla Jal. It is remote, it is barren and it is exceedingly beautiful. The eeriness and the stark resemblance to Mars-scape continues.
My bike stalls just after Lachlug La. I believe it is because of the rarified oxygen. Alok comes by, and stops to help. The heat, the terrain and the rarefied oxygen make every move seem like a massive effort. The two of us take almost half an hour to open the spark plug, clean and put back, what should normally take less than 10 minutes. Finally Alok finds that the electrical contact is loose. This is tightened and we move on.
At around 2pm we are at Pang. This is the new place for Pang establishment. Earlier, it is told, these dwellings were near the Pang army camp. Now they are moved earlier on the road and closer to the riverbed. Again, we see some 5-6 tents made of parachute clothes and groups of travelers – the first and only group of Indian tourists traveling in a bus.
We have a nice and simple lunch at Pang, and start our climb. About 20km of the climb, and we come face to face with one of the wonders of nature on this route – a 40km wide desert at 15,000 feet! … This is the famous Moray (Molay?) Plains.
The first sight of Moray Plains fills you with wonder. It is miles and miles of nothingness. It is a flatland you can only imagine in your dreams. There is no sign of civilization anywhere. Even whatever small semblance of road is on the plains, gets washed away every year. So you are basically staring in the face of raw, untamed, and mighty nature.
The plains are difficult to ride due to their ‘desert’ nature. Even the Rann of Kutch is easier. Here it is all slurry, gravel and sliding. Alok has a fall – third of the day. He and Rini are fine, but the bike does not re-start.
We gather around the bike, trying to figure out where the fault could be and at the same time avoiding all the depressing thoughts about the current state of affairs for us – we are in the middle of nowhere, with no food, no supplies, not enough water. It is already quarter to five and is getting dusky. Leh is at least 100km away, with Tanglang La (the world’s second highest pass) in the way.
Finally Tim discovers that the electricals are not working, so the problem must be with the fuse. The fuse is changed, and viola – the bike roars once again. Gladly, we hop on ours and start the journey, hoping to regain the lost time. We still have the desert to cross, with its sand dunes and storms (in one on which poor Tim gets caught). We manage to cover the 40km stretch somehow and start the climb to Tanglang La.
Note: At the end of Moray Plains, there are some ruins of an establishment – a town, or a transit camp maybe. This adds to the mystery of the landscape – and is also a great shooting location, if you manage to air-drop and air-lift actors and crew.
It is steep and hard climb to Tanglang La. To add to the character, it starts drizzling. So we cover our luggage, get into raingear and scale the world’s second highest motorable road.
At Tanglang La, it is amazingly windy. There is a small post and a broken toilet. The sun is almost setting, but we have to move on. There is no way one can stay here at a mind-boggling altitude of 17,600 feet!
So we quickly start off for what seems to be the final difficult leg of the journey. After about 20-25km of steep climb-down, the road becomes better both in terms of incline and also surface, and we can pick up speed.
We reach Rumtse, the first town in the Leh valley, and stop for some chai. Basically, Rumtse is the end of your hardship. Here on, the road is mostly flat, through a beautiful valley and next to the Indus River. There are small villages and hutments on both sides at regular intervals, so you feel like you have come back to Mother Earth.
From Rumtse, we move on to Miru, and then Upshi, which is 50km before Leh. The evening silhouettes in the dusk light show a beautiful riverbed along which the road winds its way. By the time we reach Upshi it is 8am, and is pitch dark. It would have been impossible to ride on if the road was as bad as what we encountered earlier in the day. However, we are told that the road from Upshi to Leh is like an airstrip, and rightfully so.
So we decide to move on and reach Leh once and for all – no matter how late and how much time it takes. The rest of the journey is almost magical, as if we are in a spaceship, with various little dots of light floating around and we crossing space-stations after space-stations. The biggest among them is Karu, some 32km before Leh. This is perhaps the largest Army base in that area – the base camp of the mighty Chushul Eagles – almost a city in itself.
In the dark, we also cross Shey, the capital of ancient Ladakh, now only having an excuse of a broken palace and some monasteries. I ride like a wind, with a hope to reach the destination of a warm bed and some hot meal as soon as possible.
The entry to Leh is pleasant. We find our way to the main market, then move to the Upper Changspa area and search for guesthouses. Tim and I separately discover this place called ‘The Glacier View’ – which is going to be our home for the next 6 days.
Tired, exhausted, sun-burnt, hungry and thirsty, we dump the luggage in the rooms and head towards KCs – arguably the best place to eat in the town. The food, the ambience and the Pink Floyd played on large screen at KCs gives a great backdrop for the four of us to congratulate each other – for this stupendous success of the ride. We have made it! We have survived, and we are in Leh !!!!
- Shreekant
Bharatput City – Killing Sarai (Sarchu Sarai) – Sarchu – {Gata Loops} – Nakeela – Lachlung La – Kangla Jal – Pang – Moray Plains – Tanglang La – Rumtse – Miru – Upshi – Karu – Leh
By the time it is 6am and the tent owner comes to wake us up, we are already awake with pounding headaches that the height, the rare oxygen, the cold and disturbed sleep have given us for free. We pack as quickly as possible in our condition (actually in record 20mins) and head towards the river. Thankfully there is truth in the locals’ statement and the flow is very small. It is still an effort, but we manage to drag our bikes through without much incident.
The downward climb from here on towards the Sarchu valley is eerie – the landscape resembles that on Mars. There is no sign of civilization except the road we are on, that too is broken in most places. We are glad we did not attempt this last evening – when it was already dusky.
We climb down this bumpy and often scary road to Killing Sarai (real name Sarchu Sarai). The Sarai is literally killing – the road is completely washed away. There is a military post, but even here there is no semblance of road. There are large boulders and gravel and pebbles, and we are sure that one of us at least is going to develop a flat. Luckily the tyres and the bikes endure what is perhaps the toughest 20-25km of the road and we enter the Sarchu valley.
Ah, Sarchu valley! This is what the expedition is for. Every moment of it justifies all the trouble that is taken to reach it. On the right, there are mystic mountains. One the left, there is the riverbed of Indus – not just a riverbed but a canyon carved out of stones. The road is superb. It is sunny. There is green grass on both sides of the road. We see some camps, with ‘Swiss tents – attached toilets(!)’ – and decide to camp here on our way back. Our headaches have mysteriously gone, as we have climbed down. The lark is on the wind, … Oh, how I ride this part!
At Sarchu, the state changes from Himachal to J&K. Also the road construction project changes from Project Deepak (Manali – Sarchu) to Project Himank (Sarchu – Leh and Ladakh area). We meet a bus full of ITBP policemen, who chat with us and generally call us names (‘paagal ho kya?’) for attempting this road on bikes. Anyway, they are nice people at heart and invite us to their camp in Leh once we reach there.
Some 30km from Sarchu, we reach the base of Nakeela – the famous Gata Loops. There are 21 loops that I can count, climbing zigzag up, up and up … The climb is pleasant at this time of the day (10am) because it is sunny. At the 18th loop, we find a group of Europeans bikers going the other way, one of who has a flat tyre. We stop to help. Tim gets a patch out from his bag and hands over to them.
We cross Nakeela and Lachlug La – the twin passes separated by about 10km – without much incident. This is the 3rd pass on the road to Leh. The road after this gets rough, so even though it is downhill, it is not exactly pleasant to ride. Especially the area near Kangla Jal. It is remote, it is barren and it is exceedingly beautiful. The eeriness and the stark resemblance to Mars-scape continues.
My bike stalls just after Lachlug La. I believe it is because of the rarified oxygen. Alok comes by, and stops to help. The heat, the terrain and the rarefied oxygen make every move seem like a massive effort. The two of us take almost half an hour to open the spark plug, clean and put back, what should normally take less than 10 minutes. Finally Alok finds that the electrical contact is loose. This is tightened and we move on.
At around 2pm we are at Pang. This is the new place for Pang establishment. Earlier, it is told, these dwellings were near the Pang army camp. Now they are moved earlier on the road and closer to the riverbed. Again, we see some 5-6 tents made of parachute clothes and groups of travelers – the first and only group of Indian tourists traveling in a bus.
We have a nice and simple lunch at Pang, and start our climb. About 20km of the climb, and we come face to face with one of the wonders of nature on this route – a 40km wide desert at 15,000 feet! … This is the famous Moray (Molay?) Plains.
The first sight of Moray Plains fills you with wonder. It is miles and miles of nothingness. It is a flatland you can only imagine in your dreams. There is no sign of civilization anywhere. Even whatever small semblance of road is on the plains, gets washed away every year. So you are basically staring in the face of raw, untamed, and mighty nature.
The plains are difficult to ride due to their ‘desert’ nature. Even the Rann of Kutch is easier. Here it is all slurry, gravel and sliding. Alok has a fall – third of the day. He and Rini are fine, but the bike does not re-start.
We gather around the bike, trying to figure out where the fault could be and at the same time avoiding all the depressing thoughts about the current state of affairs for us – we are in the middle of nowhere, with no food, no supplies, not enough water. It is already quarter to five and is getting dusky. Leh is at least 100km away, with Tanglang La (the world’s second highest pass) in the way.
Finally Tim discovers that the electricals are not working, so the problem must be with the fuse. The fuse is changed, and viola – the bike roars once again. Gladly, we hop on ours and start the journey, hoping to regain the lost time. We still have the desert to cross, with its sand dunes and storms (in one on which poor Tim gets caught). We manage to cover the 40km stretch somehow and start the climb to Tanglang La.
Note: At the end of Moray Plains, there are some ruins of an establishment – a town, or a transit camp maybe. This adds to the mystery of the landscape – and is also a great shooting location, if you manage to air-drop and air-lift actors and crew.
It is steep and hard climb to Tanglang La. To add to the character, it starts drizzling. So we cover our luggage, get into raingear and scale the world’s second highest motorable road.
At Tanglang La, it is amazingly windy. There is a small post and a broken toilet. The sun is almost setting, but we have to move on. There is no way one can stay here at a mind-boggling altitude of 17,600 feet!
So we quickly start off for what seems to be the final difficult leg of the journey. After about 20-25km of steep climb-down, the road becomes better both in terms of incline and also surface, and we can pick up speed.
We reach Rumtse, the first town in the Leh valley, and stop for some chai. Basically, Rumtse is the end of your hardship. Here on, the road is mostly flat, through a beautiful valley and next to the Indus River. There are small villages and hutments on both sides at regular intervals, so you feel like you have come back to Mother Earth.
From Rumtse, we move on to Miru, and then Upshi, which is 50km before Leh. The evening silhouettes in the dusk light show a beautiful riverbed along which the road winds its way. By the time we reach Upshi it is 8am, and is pitch dark. It would have been impossible to ride on if the road was as bad as what we encountered earlier in the day. However, we are told that the road from Upshi to Leh is like an airstrip, and rightfully so.
So we decide to move on and reach Leh once and for all – no matter how late and how much time it takes. The rest of the journey is almost magical, as if we are in a spaceship, with various little dots of light floating around and we crossing space-stations after space-stations. The biggest among them is Karu, some 32km before Leh. This is perhaps the largest Army base in that area – the base camp of the mighty Chushul Eagles – almost a city in itself.
In the dark, we also cross Shey, the capital of ancient Ladakh, now only having an excuse of a broken palace and some monasteries. I ride like a wind, with a hope to reach the destination of a warm bed and some hot meal as soon as possible.
The entry to Leh is pleasant. We find our way to the main market, then move to the Upper Changspa area and search for guesthouses. Tim and I separately discover this place called ‘The Glacier View’ – which is going to be our home for the next 6 days.
Tired, exhausted, sun-burnt, hungry and thirsty, we dump the luggage in the rooms and head towards KCs – arguably the best place to eat in the town. The food, the ambience and the Pink Floyd played on large screen at KCs gives a great backdrop for the four of us to congratulate each other – for this stupendous success of the ride. We have made it! We have survived, and we are in Leh !!!!
- Shreekant
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