15 Things To Keep In Mind While Planning Your Ladakh Motorcycle Trip

Leh is definitely one of the most beautiful places in India and you should definitely visit this place at least once in your lifetime. In case you love riding motorcycles and do go on motorcycle trips here and there, trust me its a crime if you don't take your bike there. Keep these pointers in mind and go ahead and do that Leh motorcycle trip you always wanted to.

1) The Routes

There are two major routes to reach Leh. The Jammu -> Srinagar -> Leh highway and the Manali ->Leh highway. Both routes are extremely scenic and I would personally suggest that you take one route while going there and the other while coming back.

Srinagar Leh Route

Srinagar Leh Route

Leh - Manali Route

Leh - Manali Route

Although for whatever my experience counts, I think its better to take the Srinagar highway while going and taking the Manali route while coming back as the ascent to higher altitudes is more gradual in the former route and acclimatizing yourself to the altitude is easier in this way.

2) The best time to travel

The roads to Leh are only open for about 6 months a year for the tourist on both the routes. Starting from mid May - June first week to about mid October - November. So the months from June to September should be a safe bet. But then July August being monsoons could get a little tricky on the passes (Zojila pass in the Srinagar - Leh highway, Rohtang pass on the Manali - Leh highway). So basically June and September are the best months to travel but hey you can always be a little adventurous in the monsoon months.

Zojila pass. Although I was there in June, it was raining that day. Monsoons would be far worse I guess

P.S. If you are travelling around Independence day (Aug 15), the Kashmir valley can upset your itinerary a bit as a lot of separatist groups call out bandhs and strikes during this period.

3) Altitude Sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is a real bitch. Taking some precautions doesn't make you a wimp

Different people have different immunity levels towards altitudes. You are the best judge on how much your body can take. Some people are severely affected and some are just mildly affected. A mild case of AMS just feels like a slight hangover. Thankfully I was just mildly affected and however stupid it sounds, I have been drinking since the age of 18, so I knew how to deal with a mild hangover. However read up on AMS and the precautions, medicines etc you can take before you start this trip

4) Drink a lot of water, eat properly and keep some sweet stuff handy

The internet is full of articles on the health benefits of water. Trust me its not overrated. I am generally not very particular about my eating habits but once I hit the higher altitudes after Srinagar and till the time I wasn't back in the lower altitudes of Manali, I religiously ensured that I have 3 to 4 litres of water everyday, proper meals and chocolates / biscuits for energy every now and then.

5) Wear a Balaclava or use a piece of clean cloth to cover your mouth while riding in very high altitudes

Image Source

At high altitudes oxygen levels are low. One tends to breathe from the mouth when riding on high altitudes. Since you are breathing hard, you could end up inhaling water vapours present in the air and water could deposit in your lungs. Sounds scary. Ok I read about this somewhere before the trip. I am not really sure if it is true. But then why take chances. Although I must add, when I stopped in between rides, I could feel the wetness in the cloth that covered my mouth.


6) Go easy on the alcohol. Trust me, the views are enough to give you a high

And you thought I was kidding

I love alcohol. I make no bones about it. But drink responsibly. Alcohol causes dehydration and does not really help with altitude sickness. Know your limits and try not to reach there. Never ever push the limits in these parts.

7) Leh isn't exactly the place to try this out

Warning: Do not try this in Leh

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Do not physically exert yourself too much in these parts. Even brisk walking in such high altitudes can take a toll on you. Take your own sweet time for anything you do. After all a vacation is just meant to slow down your life a bit. Conserve as much energy as possible till the time you feel you are very well acclimatized.


8) Points 3 to 7 are not to scare you. It's just that it doesn't hurt to be careful

Frankly I did not face any health issues and I guess most people will not. I can act all cool and frivolous about it but then I did take precautions. I did happen to meet people on the way who suffered from some sort of AMS in these parts. So once again, do read up on AMS before you embark on your Leh trip. If you feel any discomfort do stop and enquire in Army camps for medical treatment (They have oxygen cylinders and other such stuff) and check about medicines you can or cannot have
Again I am not sure of this but I did hear Dispirin for headaches is not advisable in such high altitudes.

9) Inner Line Permits / Protected Area Permits in Leh

Indian citizens require Inner Line Permits (ILP) and foreign nationals require Protected area Permits (PAP) to travel to Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso lake, Tso Moriri lake etc. You can find a lot of tour operators in Leh city who can arrange this for you or you could just head to the DC office in Leh and get the permits yourself. Will turn out to be a lot cheaper if you do it yourself and its not a very complicated process. Keep some extra passport size photographs with you when you are travelling to Leh.

P.S. It seems like there is a circular issued by the Leh DC office that starting from May 1st 2014, Indian nationals do not need an ILP and they just need to provide a valid photo id in the checkposts to go to the above mentioned places. However foreign nationals still need to get PAP. However I am not completely sure of it. Please do check about the veracity of this information. If true, its a huge relief. 

11) Wear protective gear. However headmasterish it sounds, it does save lives and limbs

These are very remote areas with no signs of humanity across long stretches. Medical attention in case of an untoward accident may be a little difficult. I had a really bad accident and I had to ask a truck to carry my bike some 300 Kms from Sarchu to Mandi across the Rohtang pass but thankfully owing to my protective gear I was unscathed.

These protective gear are a life saver

It kinda looks cool too.

Just for context, this is how the bike looked after the accident

12) Carry some extra petrol in some stretches

Specially on the Leh Manali highway and say if you are travelling to Pangong Tso or Tso Moriri lakes. Like I mentioned before, these are vast stretches without any humanity so expecting a petrol pump might be a little too optimistic. Its not uncommon to find that you have covered some 300 to 400 Kms without a petrol pump in sight.

Forget humanity, I do not think anything lives in these stretches

Although the few and far in between villages that you cross, you may get to buy some petrol in the black market at more expensive rates. But not advisable to buy from the villages as the petrol could be spurious and could be a little troublesome for your vehicle. The Jammu to Leh highway is alright. Fill up in Srinagar. After Srinagar the frequency of petrol pumps will reduce but then you will have one in say every 150 to 200 Kms

13) Carry motorcycle spare parts, get a mechanic to check your bike in Leh and if possible learn some basic things about fixing your bike.

Carry extra clutch cables, accelerator cables, fuses, tubes, a puncture kit, air pump etc along with you. From Jammu to Srinagar to Leh you will still find mechanics on the way. These mechanics may have the skills to fix your bike but maybe not the bike spare parts you require. Ask your local neighborhood mechanic for some lessons and common problems and fixes before you start the trip. On the Leh - Manali stretch, you will hardly find any mechanics. So get your bike checked by a mechanic in Leh. There are lots of them there.
But most importantly keep praying that nothing goes wrong.

14) Be nice to every truck driver on the way. Build on your Karma points

If things go very wrong, trucks are your best way out. These guys have the space to carry your bike to the next town when you are in a absolute fix. Truck drivers are nice people and will help you out although some negotiation skills may be handy

15) Keep some days spare in your itinerary if you have that luxury

Your itinerary can be upset for a host of reasons. Some roads may be closed because of weather conditions, you might need a little more time acclimatizing, your motorcycle develops a snag and takes time to fix

About Me:

A 7 month motorcycle ride that took me to every state in India, parts of Nepal and Bhutan and one town in Burma. These blog entries are inspired by this trip. Stories about people I met, stories about places I saw. Things that intrigued me, things that amused me. They say traveling changes you, they say traveling inspires you and they say a lot of other stuff. I don't know. I think a gun on the head is a better way to change people. I just hope that my travel stories entertain you

Right now I am in the process of writing a book based on this trip and figuring out the difference between a writer's block and procrastination.

You can find more information on my Facebook page and Instagram account

I am sure there are a lot more things to this list and possibly some mistakes in this list. Please do add / correct them in the comments for the benefit of anyone who is planning a trip. Also if someone has more info about the Inner line permit circular do mention in the comments.


P.S.
Click this link for Srinagar to Leh pics
Click this link for Leh pics
Click this link for Khardungla pics
Click this link for Leh to TsoMoriri pics 

The World Is A Much Kinder Place Than What Its Generally Given Credit For

Me: "Sir yahan pe ATM kahan hoga" (Where Can I find an ATM here)

BSF guy: "Yahan Moreh mein toh koi ATM nahi hai" (There are no ATM's here in Moreh)

Me: "Aas pas koi ATM hai. Mere jeb mein sirf 120 rupaiye hain aur mujhe raat ko hotel room book karna hai yahan" (Is there some ATM nearby. I have just 120 Rupees in  my pocket and I need to get a hotel room for the night)

BSF guy: "ATM toh aapko Imphal mein hi milega" (The nearest you'll get an ATM is in Imphal)

Yes many good stories start by "I only had x amount of money in my pocket" and this one is no different. Here I was standing some 500 meters from the Burma border in Moreh with Rs 120 in my pocket and the nearest ATM some 100 Kms away in Imphal. The funny part is that I was actually coming from Imphal after checking out of the hotel late in the morning. Even more funny is the fact that since clearing the hotel bills had left me with Rs 120 in my pocket I had gone to an ATM just outside the hotel and seeing a queue of some 8 people waiting to withdraw cash, I in my impatience decided to hit the road and withdraw cash from some ATM on the way. Seems practical enough except for the fact that I conveniently forgot about withdrawing cash. In my defense I can only say that riding on the roads can be such a high that often it makes one forget a lot of things.

So here I was on the side of the road lighting up a cigarette and taking stock of my situation (Statutory warning: Cigarette smoking is injurious to health). I was screwed. Moreh was one place I was eager to explore (See the entry on Moreh here) but Rs 120 would not even get me a hotel room, let alone other things. I could try if the hotels would accept cards but when the nearest ATM is some 100 Kms away, one can make an educated guess that it would be a near impossibility. Heading back to Imphal was also difficult as it was already past 4 and the security situation in Manipur ( read entry on Manipur here) makes it impossible to drive on the roads once its dark. I was totally screwed. The thought that "The Clueless Rider" was such an apt name for my trip suddenly struck me. I did manage a wry smile at that.

They say when death is staring at you, your whole life flashes before you. Let me give you another pearl of wisdom from my travel experiences. "When you end up in a soup, you identify the point which led you into this situation and starting from that point in time, your life flashes before you". Standing there on the side of the road all images were flashing before me. The queue outside the ATM, the hustle and bustle of the Imphal city, getting out of the city and riding through the Imphal plains, paddy fields on both sides of the road and a mountain on the horizon in front of me, reaching that mountain and starting the ascent to the mountain which in another 65 - 70 odd Kms will take me to Moreh, the innumerable police and Assam Rifles checkposts (some 6 to 8) in that 70 Km odd stretch where I had to stop and prove my identity and intentions. Suddenly the flash of images paused at one particular police checkpoint and I knew I had found the rope to cling on and get out of the swamp.

There is a Tamil community settled in Moreh (Read that story here). On one of these checkposts, I had met a Tamil guy on his way to Moreh and we had struck up a conversation. Pretty normal when you are dressed up in a biker attire and the fact that my motorcycle had a Tamil Nadu registration just helped matters. He had invited me to visit the Tamil Sangam office when I was in Moreh. I had other things in mind and I made a mental note that I would pay him a short courtesy visit the next day on my way back. But desperate times call for desperate measures and I had to seek the help of the Tamil Sangam. The earnestness in his invite just gave me the confidence that my night stay will be taken care of and I will have a wonderful story to tell people about once I am back and trust me the story just gets better.

Hope is a wonderful thing. In a split second I had everything sorted out. I have Rs 120 in my pocket. I'll ask the Tamil Sangam for a place to put up for the night. Spend not more than Rs 70 on dinner. The next morning keep aside Rs 10 for the entry ticket to Burma. (You can take your vehicle till the first town Tamu some 12 Kms inside on the Burmese side of the border without any documentation processes). Skip breakfast. Head back to Imphal with Rs 40 in your pocket in case of any emergencies. This time make sure to withdraw cash from the ATM even if a hundred thousand people are in queue. Check into hotel and eat like a pig. With the comfort that this small ray of hope provided, I headed to the Tamil Sangam office in Moreh.

I reached the Tamil Sangam office and there were two men seated inside. I told them my sob story and about the Tamil guy I had met in the checkpost and requested them to help me out. They said their secretary is about to them and I waited for him indulging in some small talk with these guys. Soon the Tamil guy I had met on the checkpost arrived and very shortly after that the secretary too arrived. He too lamented about the fact that there are no ATM's in that town but added that SBI ATM was going to be open next month. I replied that I might not be staying here for a month. I only planned to stay one day here. I don't think he got my humour but he did get my predicament and a room was arranged for me. The generosity did not stop there. I was provided dinner by them, the next morning I was provided breakfast by them and they even sent one of their workers to accompany me to Tamu in Burma the next morning. Even the Rs 10 entry ticket was paid by the Tamil Sangam.

But there's more to the story. A man named Anand Rao had accompanied me to the restaurant for dinner the previous night. Over dinner and after dinner we had a conversation on the history of the town, the political and millitancy issues in these parts and a host of other things. As I was about to head to my room, he took out a 1000 rupee note and handed it to me. I was overwhelmed. I told him that I did not need the money as my needs have been more than taken care of. He insisted by replying nonchalantly that they pay more ransom money to the millitant groups and the police there and its a non issue and it will be helpful in case of some emergency on the way back. I kept the money not because I needed the money that much but more because I needed this memory. All my requests for details about his bank account to enable me repay the amount by online transfer later on fell on deaf ears.

The next morning as I was about to leave, I tried convincing the Tamil Sangam secretary for a bank account number so that I can transfer the money back. I don't know what he understood but he told me there is no need to transfer the money but to write an application that "Rs 1000 for George Aikara so and so on a all India bike trip in Moreh on 3rd and 4th Sep2013". I wrote that application and was about to start my bike when a guy comes in and hands me another Rs 1000 note. I clarified that I had already got the money yesterday from Anand and I did not need more cash. The Secretary responded that Anand gave that on personal capacity and this 1000 rupees is from the Tamil Sangam. This time I just refused. I thanked everyone profusely and left off to Imphal.

I had come in with Rs 120 in my pocket and I was leaving with Rs1120 which could easily have been Rs 2120. If you ever happen to be in Moreh, do visit the Tamil Sangam and ask them about me. I will remember them fondly throughout my life and I hope they do too. Also if you happen to meet Anand Rao, please buy him a beer.

And yes the SBI ATM might have come up in Moreh by now, but carry enough cash anyway :)

About Me:

A 7 month motorcycle ride that took me to every state in India, parts of Nepal and Bhutan and one town in Burma. These blog entries are inspired by this trip. Stories about people I met, stories about places I saw. Things that intrigued me, things that amused me. They say traveling changes you, they say traveling inspires you and they say a lot of other stuff. I don't know. I think a gun on the head is a better way to change people. I just hope that my travel stories entertain you

Right now I am in the process of writing a book based on this trip and figuring out the difference between a writer's block and procrastination.

You can find more information on my Facebook page and Instagram account