Leh Ladakh is usually not a place to visit by an accident. People spend lot of time in planning. Specially if they are planning a bike ride to Leh - Ladakh from Manali or from anywhere else in India. We too didn’t visit there just by an accident but it was a spontaneous plan !
Casual Discussion To Final Plan
19ᵗʰ April 2018, we were planning to travel to Delhi for official purpose for a week. Travelling all the way to Delhi from Bangalore made us think if we should plan some trip nearby Delhi. Someone suggested that let’s go to Leh — Ladakh and we were done with flight bookings in next half an hour. Spontaneous plan of 4 days Delhi — Leh and return ! Woo hoo !!
Delhi — Leh , Return Flight Tickets : ₹ 8,443/- inclusive all taxes through Yatra.com
Packing !
We were off to Delhi on 24ᵗʰ April morning with just essentials.
2 Jeans , Couple of Thermals, Jacket , T-shirts, Pair Of Socks etc. Basically what I could fit on carrier of Royal Enfield.
Take Care Of Yourself !
You must carry First Aid Kit, Medicines, Sunscreen (Yes Mighty Himalaya shines bright !), Tablets for Altitude Sickness (Diamox).
For Bikers
Whether you are riding or a pillion rider certain tings are must : elbow/ knew guards, helmet, sunglasses, gloves , bike riding mask.
You can lend Biker’s Kit there in Leh along with bikes
Day 1 !
26ᵗʰ April 2018, we had our flight from Indira Gandhi International Airport , Delhi to Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh around 08:30 am.
We landed at Leh around 10:00 am. Cold weather was really pleasant! Extra jackets was not needed yet.
Bobby Deol was our co-passenger . He was heading there for shooting of new film Race 3. 49 years old actor suffered through altitude sickness on landing and lost his consciousness . Though all 5 us were perfectly fine, we were alarmed after this incident.
Hunting For The Stay
We headed towards Leh city in hired cab outside Airport. We checked some Airbnb stays but it was utter disappointment! Unavailable !! That made us think for a moment if we did a mistake by not doing advanced bookings. After exploring that place for a while we arrived at this place — Hotel Horizon. It was a decent place for 5 of us to crash in the night. Anyway we didn’t have plan to spend to much time at hotel.
But I think it was a good decision we made to stay there at that moment. Its owner Mr. Ejaaj helped us with arranging bikes and procedure for permit. That saved our lot of time. Meanwhile we dumped our luggage to our rooms and got adjusted to the place, had some heavy breakfast.
I stuffed myself with 4–5 omlets and my friends had some parathas etc. We knew we are not going to get proper lunch if we start our expedition immediately.
Expedition Started
While we were talking to locals around, they insisted us take rest on the day we arrived. According to their experience, people take some time to get adjusted to weather at such high altitude. Unfortunately we had just 3 days in our hand to cover as much as we could. So we decided to cover Leh and nearby places that day — Hall Of Fame, Magnetic Hill, Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, Confluence of the Indus-Zanskar Rivers, Shanti Stupa.
Hall Of Fame was reminder that land of Ladakh has seen blood bath several times during wars over past centuries.
We started riding ahead chasing the wind. By now it was late afternoon when we took a halt at Pathar Sahib Gurudwara. It was the first time I was visiting a gurudwara. Such a peaceful place ! We were super hungry so we had our lunch in Lunger there and moved on towards Magnetic Hill.
It was an amazing ride in the valleys of Himalaya. We were touched by the eternal beauty of mountains, rivers flowing in valleys, smooth roads. I was a pillion rider riding behind Abhilash and capturing the beauty in phone. Airtel had good 4G and I was going live on Facebook in-between.
Leh had only Airtel and BSNL network. Once you cross Leh and start riding towards Nubra, you get only BSNL network.
It was truly magnetic ! We were not at all ready to leave that place. Riding on that road is literally every rider’s dream !
We spent quite a lot time around the confluence admiring serenity of the place. Soon we realized it’s about to sunset, so we started heading back.
By the time we were at Shanti Stupa, it was already dusk. Cold was increasing. We started heading back to hotel. Now we really needed something to keep us warm ! A Bonfire !
I already mentioned ! Mr. Ejaaj was a really good man! He arranged really good food, Morpheus Brandy and bonfire to keep us warm.
Now we had adjusted to weather, bikes and road. At least that’s what we felt.
Day 2 — Khardung La — World’s Highest Motorable Pass
We started next day around 10:00 am. Well, thats not what we had planned for. Earlier day when we went to bed, we planned to get up early around 07:00 am and start riding towards Nubra Valley via Khardung La. Obviously ! we were not realistic. It was freezing cold in the morning and we got delayed. duhh !
“Expected” time to reach Nubra Valley from Leh is around 4 hours.
Again after heavy breakfast with no hopes of proper lunch we stated towards Nubra Valley. This time it was with half of our luggage. Other half of our luggage we dumped in storage room at Hotel Horizon including our laptops. We had trust in Mr Ejaaj that he will take care of it.
We made our fuel tanks full and started riding towards mighty Khardung La.
First Snow ! ❄️
I was about to experience first snow of my life. As we started crossing higher altitudes my hands started freezing. I was not wearing helmet or any of the biker’s kit.
I know ! I just advised you not to do so. I paid price for it soon!
Soon we started spotting ice in the valley and we stopped at one fine spot where it was a frozen stream.
It was a high time to brace myself . I wore gloves and sat back on the bike little shivering and holding my mobile tight. I was hoping that I could be able to get my hands out whenever I want to click pictures.
Warning ⚠️
We were at South Pullu check post. While we were completing formalities with permit, we spoke to soldiers and some bikers riding back to Leh. We learned that it snowed heavily that morning and that means we might have to return back to Leh. But we had made our minds and we were deterministic that we are not going back after coming so far !
We started riding again and just before Khardung La rough road started. We were stuck because of land slide. Workers told us it would take around half an hour to clear further road.
It started snowing and temperature started dropping down. It dropped to almost -8°C. We were freezing, my feet were numb. I could feel cold in my bones. I somehow managed to pull extra pair of socks from side pocket of my bag tied to carrier. Few worked made a fire inside a tin bucket but it was not helping much. We were still determined to go further.
Soon 4 wheelers created traffic there. We envied them for a while finding them relaxing comfortably in there.
We heard workers shouting “road is clear” and we heaved sigh of relief and kicked our bikes. It was damn slippery because of snow. We rode another 100–200m and we arrived at Khardung La Pass. Yaay!!!
We parked our bikes and we went to the Rinchen Cafeteria — Highest Cafeteria in the world. There we had hot Maggie noodles and Kashmiri Kava ! Absolute delight !!!
Meanwhile it again started snowing!
Soon after snowing stoped we decided to move towards our destination. It snowed so much in mean time that road was full of snow and traffic jam. (Nothing new for us Bangloreans except that high altitude and snow). We had to push our bikes through slippery snow. People were trying the same with their 4 wheelers and some were just waiting for snow to clear.
We couldn’t push our bike for too long and eventually we got stuck in traffic. We spent time admiring beauty of the magnificent Himalaya meanwhile.
Within next hour traffics was clear. We continued our ride towards Nubra Valley through mountains covered with snow. Rough road continued for next 15 kms. We realized that we are running behind schedule but we had no option but to go with the same pace. Soon we reached down the hill — North Pullu Check post. We rushed to a dhaba nearby and first thing I did was removed my shoes. My feet were still numb and couldn’t feel them. One of the dhaba owners asked us to come and sit inside their hut. He arranged a gas stove for us so that we could warm ourselves. He offered us tea. We were so relaxed now. We enquired about road ahead and stay at Nubra.
Deja Vu !
We decided to stay at Hunder in Nubra Valley which is tourists attraction. We were hoping that we would reach there before sunset. Soon after we passed a small village Khardung, Abhilash noticed my bleeding gums in the mirror. We took a halt. Gowtham, Sweekriti, Ashwini joined us in next few minutes. We asked Ashwini to ride ahead until next village — Khalsar. We checked condition of our bike, if everything was okay. Abhilash was suspecting some issue with tyres but we didn’t really notice anything to worry about. Somehow I felt something is not right. It was like a day dream, Ashwini said- “I was riding slow but at least I didn’t fall”. I ignored my “stupid” thought and we started riding.
I was lost in admiring mountains, cold weather and clicking pictures sitting behind Abhilash. Suddenly Abhilash screamed “NAYANESH !!!” I was off the bike, almost flying in the air. I was thrown towards the valley. Somewhere in midair I could see bike and Abhilash skidding. Very next moment I was on the ground full of stones and skidding down on not so steep slope. My head was towards the valley and I was trying to slow down myself with my knees and elbow. I somehow managed to turn around myself so that I can get hold of something. Every rock I was trying to hold on started rolling with me. Somehow I stopped in next couple of second and immediately I made an effort to climb up. Meanwhile Sweekriti and Gowtham were there. Gowtham was helping Abhilash and Sweekriti offered a help to me to pull me up. I refused. I was bit scared if I pull her down too ! I managed to climb up by myself. I asked Sweekriti if there are any wounds on my face or head. I had a glance at myself. I noticed my jeans was torn around my left knee and my knee was bleeding badly. I tried moving my leg in consciousness now. I couldn’t feel any pain. Soon I realised I was okay, I started looking around for my phone. It was lying on it’s screen in the stones. Sweekriti got it for me. It was okay except a minor scratch on screen guard. Now I was even more relaxed.
I looked at Abhilash he was not bleeding but his cloths were in similar condition like mine. He was not injured from outside. He could feel pain in his shoulder but it was bearable. Abhilash told us what exactly happened. Brakes and handle of our bike was jammed and he couldn’t take turn. Fortunately we were riding somewhere between 20–30 kmph. Abhilash kicked the disk brake when he realised we are moving towards valley. Sudden brake couldn;t stop the bike, instead it turned upside down.
Gowtham and Abhilash tried to fix bike but it didn’t work. It was 06:30 pm by then. I was worried because we were in the middle of nowhere and it was about to dark. No sign of any help. We stopped few cars passing by and tried to seek some help. People were very cooperative but they were also clueless what would be best option for us. After wasting another 10–15 mins, we decided that Abhilash and Gowtham would push the bike on slope, until Khalsar. Sweekriti and I hitched a ride until Khalsar where Ashwini was waiting for us. He had already heard about accident so he was extremely worried.
It was almost dark by then. Villagers suggested us to visit government clinic nearby. Ashwini and I went looking ahead for it and asked Sweekriti to wait at dhaba cum home of a gentleman named Dorji. While we were looking for clinic, another villager passing by told us that it must have got closed by now. He suggested to visit Nurse, pointing to her house. We knocked the door. Nurse came out and she told us that clinic is closed and she is alone with her baby. We told her about accident and requested her if she can do temporary dressing at her home.
After looking at our pitiful situation , she went to next door and asked 3 small kids to accompany her to clinic. We just followed her down the road. She opened clinic for us. After dressing was done, she kept on advising us to visit hospital at Diskit — the nearest district place. We asked her about charges but she said it’s a government clinic and medical services are free of cost. We insisted her to take some money as a token of gratitude. But she refused it. Finally Ashwini just offered a KitKat to the kids and we left the place saying a Good bye!
We returned back to Dorji’s Dhaba. He offered us hot water to drink, soup and Maggie. We were waiting for Abhilash and Gowtham. We started worrying by now as it was complete dark and there were no streetlights. Ashwini and Dorji rode back to check how far both of them have reached and if they could help them. In next half an hour all of them reached at the dhaba. They were completely exhausted. It was around 09:30 pm. We decided to park the damaged bike there at Dorji’s place and ride towards or destination.
Now we were 5 but 2 bikes. Ashwini and Abhilash on — Royal Enfield 350 and Gowtham, Sweekriti and I on another RE -500. Hunder was another 16kms. This was completely different and thrilling experience for us. We were the only riders on the entire road. No sign of anyone on the way. Full moon, dark sky full of stars and 2 Royal Enfields chasing the wind!
We reached Hunder around 10:30pm. We were looking for a stay and arrived at a place called — Skylark Nature Resort. While we were finalising deal, we learned that —
In entire Nubra Valley electricity is available only during 07:00pm to 11:00pm.
We settled for ₹7,000/- for 1 night 3 rooms.
By the time we finalised, it was 11:00 pm already and electricity gone! Owner was a very kind person. He arranged for a nice dinner for us even though we we late and bonfire in the yard meanwhile. He offered his cellphone to send message or make a call.
Only BSNL Network works in Nubra Valley, if you are lucky !
Exploring Nubra Valley!
Next morning after we got ready, we analysed our condition. We were in no condition to ride back on 2 bikes again. We called owner of the bikes and informed him about the accident and mutually agreed on leaving the bikes and the bikers kit at the same resort.
After exploring around the resort, we finalised a Scorpio to explore Nubra Valley — Sand Dunes , Diskit Monastery- Maitrya Gompa.
The view of the valley, magnificent statue of The Buddha everything was so beautiful that I almost forgot the pain and climbed few 100s of steps of monastery.
On our way back we decided to have lunch. Suddenly strong wind started and quickly it got converted into sand storm. We could hardly see beyond 4 to 5 meters. This got us really worried because we had to catch our flight back next morning. We couldn’t think of staying back at Nubra. We made up our mind to move slowly after lunch. Fortunately we came across people travelling towards Nubra from Leh who comforted us saying, it’s manageable ahead.
Nostalgia !
Every place on the way back was giving us goose bumps. Specially when Abhilash and Gowtham saw the route they covered in the dark. A road between tall mountains and steep valley was really terrific ! We passed our accident point and similar other points where we could see stones carved “in loving memory” of someone. We were lucky !
This time we reached quickly at Khardung La Pass. We wanted to play in snow but we conveniently forgot that we were travelling in the car with closed windows. The moment we stepped out of the car we just froze ! Earlier on bikes, our body was adjusted to the climate change. Now it was totally different freezing experience.We had coffee and Maggie like it’s a routine and moved towards Leh.
Pack Up!
We were about to reach our earlier stay — Hotel Horizon. After travelling so much Abhilash and I were totally in exhausted state. My legs were swollen badly. I needed a comfortable bed and warm room. Mr Ejaaj helped us find more luxurious place. We picked our bags from Mr Ejaaj and moved to another hotel — Hotel Ladakh Imperial.
Finally, looking at comfortable stay I crashed on the bed! Relaxed for a while and then we stepped down for dinner. We were about to have dinner when bike vendors reached to the hotels. They had picked bikes from where we had left. Abhilash, Ashwini and Gowtham had hard time negotiating with them on repair charges. I was not able to move around much, so Sweekriti accompanied me over a dinner.
Final Pit Stop !
Next day morning we had to board flight back to Bangalore via Delhi. We could barely meet closing time at Leh Airport. By the time we reached Delhi my legs were badly swollen. I was barely managing to walk, my phone was still dead so I couldn't contact Aakanksha.
3 years to this trip but when I look at the mark on my knee, it sends chills through the spine when it reminds of some of those moments we lived at Leh - Ladakh.
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