Cycling Ladakh: the Himalayan Highway Road by bicycle

Like almost every desert, the temperature ranges from night to day are heavy, and today is no exception: our cyclo-computer shows peaks at 40°C. We suffer when the climb gets harder. Then we pass Thiksey Monastery, on the top of the mountain, dominating the valley, and further, we sight Stakna Monastery. Some km further there is Hemis, the biggest monastery in Ladakh, but we cannot see it, and today isn't ideal to climb the mountains to see it.

We are happy with visiting and sleeping in Lamayuru. Near Hemis and further, in Upshi, there are signs indicating Pangong Lake, which we know is beautiful, but to reach it by bicycle we would need three cycling days!We choose to follow the original plan towards Tanglang Pass, cycling in a canyon until Lato for almost 30 km. The landscape has changed, the brown mountains, even if without any sign of plants, are different from the yellow desert. The street climbs with the usual gradients and thanks to the fresh temperatures we reach Rumtse (4200 m), the last village with a covered repair for the night, before the campsites of the next days. No Wi-Fi in the Homestay which offers a "room with attached bathroom" (with shower!), and tonight as well we prefer our sleeping bags to the rugs with heavy blankets.

The lady at the Homestay which yesterday served us dinner and which has long brown hair, today welcomes us in a green and red uniform and tells us she's going to school. Yesterday she told us that from October to March they wait for the snow to melt. I asked myself how her life will change when she'll be at the University in Leh and will discover the web and social networks... Let's get back to our trip: today we'll have to pass 5358 m, the Tanglang Pass. Despite we chose Rumtse as starting point, the ascent will last 31 kilometres. The sky is partially cloudy, and the landscapes aren't special today. We have to measure the efforts since we're fully loaded. Seeing the wings of a giant eagle above our heads carries away the effort. Four hours of focus to check the breath and a lot of commitment: this is our secret to reach today's pass. Let's be clear: we started training months ago, in our local mountains, near Pesaro. For all the Himalayan trip we take Diamox, the suggested diuretic not to suffer the dizziness caused by the altitude, which can be very dangerous in some cases.

Getting to the top is a satisfaction, thanks to the cheering “Giro d'Italia” style by the bystanders, clapping their hands, taking pictures and shouting “Bravo!”. A pleasant surprise awaits us for the descent: instead of a gravel road, this has just been paved! After the descent, the upland begins until the end of the trip. At every spin of our wheels, there's a new show: the valley is challenging, but its beauty enlightened by the sun is wonderful. So we proceed for at least 40 km, among shepherds' campsites and wild animals in the distance. It's a unique experience meeting a Kiang, a sort of small wild horse living in bunches in this valley: he tolerates a picture across the street. The last kilometres are hard, for the exhaustion and the strong wind which slows us. We see the descent leading to Pang, in which camp we will spend the night. Not before the sight of an amazing canyon with spectacular rock formations.

Pang is nothing more than a group of tents and walls with plates on it, hosting dormitories and restaurants. Obviously, in order to identify them as restaurants, you have to use a non-European evaluation scale, and if you are not able to adapt to these situations, you better not travel here. Pang, like all the other villages in this area, flourish in March and disappear in September, following the flow of tourists and commerce.In October the first snows force everyone to get back to the city, shepherds included. The Himalayan Highway Road from Sarchu towards Manali, despite it is the only connecting way, looks different than a road and probably it was paved until some years ago, but now you have to cycle on a rocky and gravel base, pushing your bikes to the limit, with a lot of patience and balance. For the first 7 km, you ride in unique scenery, with sandy and steep walls, where some vertical rocks emerge, reminding the city chimneys.Then the ascent begins, with some hairpin turns on the canyon below. The road crosses the valley along the river Tsarap for 14 km. Today it looks like all the bikers, military trucks and the usual Tata had an appointment here, to vomit on us a lot of dust, making us two white riding spots. Lachung Pass is 5064 high, but we're used to it. After the descent, we enjoy a milk tea in the small tent campsite, to then go up again 4 km to the next pass, Nakeela (4738 m), where finally we meet the asphalt again and get 22 km down. We're actually drugged by the same setting repeating over and over, or maybe we're just worried about the heavy clouds coming above our heads. We don't have time to enjoy the earthy smell (like at home) of the rain, that we're in the middle of a storm with hail! We're in the plain of the river Tsarap, 20 km from Sarchu, chosen for the night. But during a rainstorm in this area the temperature can drop to 6°, so we're caught by it and we cannot wear our adequate clothes... if this happened at 5000 m, it would have been a "cold" descent. The forecast was promising some days ago, so we almost run from Leh. In Sarchu all the buildings are made of metal sheets: walls, roof and an external toilet. I'd like to describe the details... and I'll let you guess if the rice we'll have tonight will be followed by chickpeas, beans or lentils. All kidding apart, I have to admit I always enjoyed this food, like momos and chapati. The only thing I refuse to eat is some white-ish soups, clearly made by powder products.

The basmati rice is accompanied by vegetables, chapati and scrambled eggs, and is usually served with black tea. If the storm put us in difficulty arriving in Sarchu, the starry night without any form of light pollution is appealing. The owner of the local, a 22-year-old guy called Chamba, who lives in Chumikgyalsa near the river Bhaga, rents the rooms and cooks the food for the visitors. He's chatty and funny and tells us many interesting stories about these areas. He studied until he was 13 years old, to then helping his family in dairy products and rugs production. He hopes the Internet will arrive in this area, so he can use his smartphone.

The following morning he gives us some dried yak cheese, which his mom brought him from home. Sarchu is the last village in Ladakh, after which we'll enter the Himachal Pradesh. We start cycling in a welcoming valley, surrounded by the usual majestic mountains. The paved road gives space to a hard gravel rocky road, just when the scent starts. We are so focused not to fell down the bikes, that we cannot enjoy the view. After 10 km we meet a small tent village, and the asphalt comes back until Baralachala Pass, at 4850m.

 

Sometimes we don't follow the rules and ride on the right side of the narrow road, in order to avoid the steep unprotected fall we would have to face in case of error. Then we have to ask some policemen blocking the road the permission to overtake a bulldozer cleaning the road from a giant rock that has fallen down on the road. Now we're scared: we have to check on the rocks above our heads! It's the first time we see snowy peaks and a glacier: it means we're out of the desert, and getting down, we start noticing the grass, and the green plants. Then we're welcomed to civilization by some electricity lines. We spend the night in Jispa, a touristic village which has many offers, from the restaurants to the sleeping facilities.

It's an easy stage this one, just passing the Rohtang pass, the last effort before the long descent to Manali. The cloudy and dark day doesn't give justice to the beauty of these lands, getting greener and greener. We slowly climb down towards the valley of the river Bhaga, even if sometimes there are some steep hills, offering a scary view on the canyon. Of course, there is not a single railing, like in the totality of this route. Another detail: to indicate danger there are no signs, but small mountains of rocks. After 30 km, near Tandi, at the end of the valley, we turn right and follow the river Chandra. The first kilometres are a bit scary for the presence of many rocks fallen from the mountains above... There are no signs of humans passing through, so we continue cautiously: one eye to the canyon and the other to the mountain above. A few km from Khoksar, over the river, we see the construction works for the tunnel to Manali. With this tunnel, the Rohtang pass will lose his charm of a tough road to reach Ladakh. It's loved by bikers and bicycle tourers, but I'm sure the life of these valleys will improve: they won't be exiled during winter. We're in Khoksar. Nothing special, just some homestays before the bridge, where we're staying before the last stage.

Last stage, end of the trip. We still have to climb the last pass, Rothang. We have breakfast at DolmaLast, where the lady owning this Dhaba is curious and is clearly thirsty of information from us: in an improvised English, she tells her trip to reach the village with her husband. Three days of a bus from Kathmandu, because there's no work in Nepal and she came to India during the good season, leaving her son home. In her words we recognize a deep love for her land: Kathmandu is big and beautiful, has rich shops, supermarkets and a delightful climate. Used to the idea that Indians came to Europe to seek a job, I understand this internal migratory movement. It's sunny, and I enjoy riding today. We have company: three wild dogs which we adopted, some Tata, touristic buses and trucks. Weare for sure tired by all this up and down, but this must be the toughest climb of all the journey, with gradients touching 9%. After 6 kilometres the road is impossible to ride on, and for 5 kilometres we fight against mud, gravel and rocks, jumping on some rocks and then sinking into the mud... Everything is overtaken with some stubbornness and training. We notice the clouds moving fast towards Manali: they're low, moved by a strong wind, and they move up. At the peak, at 3978 m we dive into the fog. We have to say goodbye to the dogs who followed us lately before taking the last descent where we have to use lights to see better!

 

The more we climb down, the more the vegetation gets luxuriant and green, it's like crossing a giant botanical garden! The Himalayan chain opens to the monsoons, bringing frequent rains. Never seen so many eagles! they allow us to film them, flying very low. We climb down 2000 metres for 50 km: it's my first descent so long! We'll have to check the brakes once home. We're finally in Manaly, and after a visit of the city, we'll have to worry about the transfer to Delhi and then, unfortunately, pack the bikes and get back to Italy, remembering forever this adventure on the Himalayan Ladakh by bicycle.

We cycled Ladakh almost 900 km in 11 stages, to which we have to add 74 km to climb Kardun Pass at 5600 m above sea level. The total elevation gain, counting this last climb, is 14.474 m. It's important data, considering the heights and the load on our bicycles.

We were forced (we forced ourselves) to carry a lot of clothes in case of bad weather and a tent in case we couldn't reach a village: our bicycles were very heavy. So at the end of a trip like this, you will feel tired. We have to add the ability to adapt to India. “First time in India? Did you do your spiritual exercises?”, well NOW I can understand these questions. A bicycle journey isn't easy and even after 1000 km through Jammu and Kashmir and the Himachal Pradesh you can appreciate it. The risk is to see only the flaws, so clear to the Western eyes...

 

If you look for comfort, it would be better not to face a trip like this, because except in Srinagar, Leh and Manali, where the standards are average, in other villages you won't meet what you expect, especially in the second part of the journey, where you won't have electricity or water, and where you'll have a list of drugs to carry for emergency. Even food requires a good amount of adaptation attitude and avoiding the spiciest dishes, you'll end up eating almost the same boring rice, vegetables and chapati. In the cities, you'll have restaurants from all over the world and street food, even if we suggest choosing cautiously. I personally didn't suffer from the typical traveller diarrhoea, drinking water from the bottles and avoiding fresh and not boiled vegetables.

 

Unfortunately, even the basis of the hygienic rules aren't respected, so you'll have to adapt quickly to the first time in India. The same goes for some beds, where linen and pillows won't help... so you'll have to carry your own sleeping bag. Hence, either you hate it or you choose to discover its culture and essence piece by piece, which a western traveller could miss at a first sight.

There's a picture, taken in Leh by the friend and colleague Emanuele, showing me walking in a street next to a cow, a small one, like a company dog. I think it could be a good recap for this trip, translating dense situations, sincere smiles, respect, meetings with all these cultures melted in one spot. It's a peaceful immersion in a new sensorial universe, full of images, strong sounds, smells, capable of stimulating future travel experiences and generate the need to understand the culture of this amazing country.