The Grand Tour : I'm off to Ladakh!

Image Courtesy : http://www.bcmtouring.com/
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Been planning, dreaming, thinking, sleeping, eating, breathing of this trip since i got the Bullet for myself. Time has come my friends. It has been a very difficult week at office cause i have been able to do nothing to suppress my excitement of the "Grand Tour". Have been reading emails in office without really understanding a word, running around to get things, plan stuff, send bike to delhi, book tickets and what not. A million thoughts running through my mind. All about the trip. A million things i think of to put on my checklist and then forget them as fast as they flash in my mind. People say its not such a difficult trip but who the hell is in the frame of mind to listen.

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Have spent time at the mech learning a few basic things about the bike like changing cables, removing tyres (and putting them back of course!), tuning carbs, checking fuses, fixing spark plugs etc etc. The bike is already in Delhi though Gati did manage to break the rear indicators and bend the foot peg. With flight tickets done for Saturday i.e. 1st Sept'07 at 06:30 hrs, i can hardly sit still. Getting bored of planning and getting stuff together. Just want to ride now. Enough of dreams. The ride itself beckons!! Ladakh -- Here i come! :)

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Following is the itinerary that we will be following on our trip to Ladakh:

Leg 1

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Day 1, Manali - Rohtang Jot - Kokhsar - Tandi - Keylong - Jispa - Darcha - Baralacha La - Bharatpur - Sarchu, 230kms: The fun starts on the very first day, as we traverse through broken roads, slush, water/river crossings and cross two high altitude passes (Rohtang La 13,050ft and Baralacha La 16,500ft).

Day 2, Sarchu - Gata Loops - Nakee La - Lachulung La - Pang - More Plains - Tanglang La - Upshi - Karu - Leh, 260kms: Another hard day of riding while covering three high altitude passes (Nakee La 15,547ft, Lachulung La 16,616ft and third highest pass, Tanglang La at an altitude of (17,582ft).

Day 3, Leh - Thiksey - Leh and local sightseeing, 80kms: A day to unwind, get the bikes serviced and visit Thiksey and other historical places in Ladakh’s capital, Leh.

Leg 2

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Day 4, Leh – Phyang – Khardung La – Khardung – Khalsar – Diskit – Hunder, 110kms: Conquering the worlds highest Motorable road at 18,380ft and then riding beyond it to the magnificent Nubra Valley, a stone throw away from the Siachen Glacier.

Day 5, Hunder – Diskit – Sumur – Panamik – Sumur – Khalsar – Khardung – Khardung La – Phyang – Leh, 200kms: Sightseeing in the beautiful Nubra Valley and then ride back to Leh via "The highest Motorable road in the world, Khardung La"

Leg 3

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Day 6, Leh – Shey – Karu – Shakti – Chang La – Tanksey – Lukung – Spangmik - Pangong Tso, 170kms: On day six we plan to ride to the largest salt water lake in Asia, Pangong Tso. En route we will be crossing the "Second highest Motorable pass, Chang La (17,800ft)".

Day 7, Pangong Tso – Phobrang – Marsimik La – Phobrang – Pangong Tso: Ride to the worlds highest Motorable pass, Marsimik La, 18,634ft and then come back to the Pangong Tso.

Day 8, Pangong Tso – Lukung – Tanksey – Chang La – Shakti – Karu – Shey – Leh, 170kms: Ride back to Leh for a final night there.

Leg 4

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Day 9, Leh – Nimmu – Lamayuru – Khaltse – Kargil, 293kms: Ride to the town Kargil on the Leh – Srinagar highway.

Day 10, Kargil - Sanko - Parakachik – Rangdum (Suru Valley) - Panzi La - Padum (Zanskar Valley), 245kms: A back braking journey through Suru Valley to the Zanskar Valley, there are no roads for over 170kms and one has to negotiate trails filled with rocks, sand and water to reach the capital of Zanskar Valley, Padum.

Day 11 – 13, Zanskar Valley: Exploring the Zanskar Valley and visit numerous Buddhist Gompas Zanskar Valley is famous for.

Day 14, Padum – Panzi La – Rangdum – Parakachik – Sanko – Kargil – Drass, 245kms: A hard days of riding and we will reach the town of Kargil

Leg 5

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Day 15, Drass – Zoji La – Sonamarg – Srinagar, 205kms: An early morning start should take us to famous Zoji La pass, from here the valley begins.

Day 16, Srinagar – Banihal – Udhampur – Jammu, 300kms: From Dal Lake to the beautiful valley to the famous town of Jammu, the kms pile up.

Day 17, Jammu - Pathankot – Jalandhar – Ludhiana – Ambala – Delhi, 590kms: After a long ride from Jammu, we bid Himalayas a final good bye reach the home base, Delhi.

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And the riders are:

Bhuwan Singh from Jaipur, Rajasthan on his Royal Enfield Thunderbird
Dharam from Bangalore, Karnataka as a pillion with Nilesh
Dheeraj Singh from New Delhi on his Bajaj Pulsar 150
Manik Mittal from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on his Bajaj Pulsar 180
Nagadeepan R. from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on his Honda Unicorn
Nilesh Sundar from Pune, Maharashtra on his Royal Enfield Electra
Saumitra Swarnkar from New Delhi on his Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi
Sparsh Arun from New Delhi on his Bajaj Pulsar 150
Sunil Gupta from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on his Bajaj Pulsar 150
Suyash Sonawane from Pune, Maharashtra on his Bajaj Avenger
Umesh Soman from Mumbai, Maharashtra on his Honda Unicorn
Yogesh Sarkar from New Delhi on his Bajaj Pulsar 180 (I end up thinking of Yogi Bear, the furry cartoon character every time I think of Yogesh!)

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The itinerary is from my friends site : http://www.bcmtouring.com/ladakh-2007/

You can visit his site for frequent updates cause i'm going to spend my time chilling. Won't really bother about a few web pages of my blog cause i'll have a lot to soak my senses in!! Adieu!!