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153 KMs Trip meter 18129 KMs
Karzok is the target for the day and i am not sure how many KMs the offroading is going to be. Try to leave Hanle as early as possible. The home stay place had their own shop and even had fuel! Again i was 25 ltrs rich. Rode out of Hanle and the 20 kms was a pain for sure. But just have to keep going. Took a couple of breaks where it felt nice to walk around. Soon i was riding on Black top and reached Loma bridge in like 3 hours from when i started. There were entirely new set of people at the ITBP post. Carried on towards Mahe. Its riding on new road now. At the beginning it was like ride in a desert and then things changed. Wide open spaces, colorful mountains. Some hard to believe. Looked like somebody had played with a gaint paint brush! How can adjacent mountains be of different colors!! The progress was very slow cos no 5 kms i rode continuously with out stopping for a gaze of pic. Wide open spaces where i felt like just keep walking till the mountains. Cant really explain the ambiance but felt great there. Took my time and took break where ever i wanted.
Reached Nyoma and guess what, like the ITBP post at Loma had said BSNL works here. Made much needed call home. Spent like an hour and ofcourse had Maggie. Have been practically living on Maggie since 5 days. Ride till Mahe was also interesting. Reach the mahe bridge where i submit a xerox copy of my permit. I was told that only 20 kms of the 60 kms is offroad. As soon i as cross the bridge, its a ride in a small narrow valley. That to for quite some KMs. Must say felt a bit claustrophobic after riding in open spaces all this time. It was still pretty but. After like 20 Kms the road starts to climb up. Its switch backs into the open and its gets pretty windy. Bike starts struggling! Reach the top of the ascent marked with typical prayer flags like on passes. It was pretty high at 4800 meters. The green grass every where and color full mountains makes everything pretty. Its decent ahead and i am approaching a lake. Its a green one. Definitely not Tso Moriri. Looked pretty for pix but there were dark clouds on the other side of the lake and it was not that big. The road ended and offroad begins. Weather also goes towards bad. Looks like its inevitable to avoid a rain ride and i start to waterproof myself and the luggage. While i am in the process, suddenly there is a lot of wind and dust storm. Cant face the wind at all. Threat of rain and all this. It was scary for a few mins. The winds died down and down came the rain drops. When the road was good it was sunshine and when the road got bad coincided with bad weather! Well gotta keep going. Not sure to take tracks off the main path cos of loose sand and i stick to the gravel road. After i pass a plain on the top and descend to a valley its rocks and when i say rocks i mean rocks. Like side of 3 X 3 X 3 inches! Have no other choice but to ride em out. Had been warned about it by Yogesh. But hotel owner had said that it was three years ago and now maruthi van goes. So the Dhud dhud dhud continues for quite some Kms in rain. Suddenly its all sunshine now making me look like an idiot in all the rain gear. I had no patience to get of em so decided to sweat it out in the rain gear till i reach karzok.
Then then i get the first view of Tso Moriri. Its so beautiful with its deep blue color. The path eases a bit as i get near the lake. Take a few pic stops and now its a ride by the lake for the last 5 Kms. Path is a bit smoother here. The lake in its bright deep blue color just as the promised pix i had seen on net. Made all the effort worth it. Well its a fresh water lake 1000 feet above pangong! Reach karzok and unlike i expected not many options for stay. The first tented acco was prohibitively expensive at 2500 and 3500. The best i got was 1500. Any way its town go in look out. There was one guest house inside the town but it was too dusty. Get out on the other side and saw the Nomadic Camp tents. Got one for like 300 bux and those were good ones. The toilets outside were plenty and clean. Had great dining Tent and i settled in. Met a 4some who had biked to Leh but hired a taxi for the lake trip. They were my company for the evening. After having a fill we went out to get near the lake. Went through a fence and walked a bit before we can get to the water. Then it was all pix and jokes etc. Clouds would let the sun through very rarely to give a couple of good pix. It got windy and chilly and we moved back to the tents. Had a dinner over travel talk and crashed for the day. Will i get to Leh tomm. Things have gone well so far in this circuit. Doze of in the tent.
Reached Nyoma and guess what, like the ITBP post at Loma had said BSNL works here. Made much needed call home. Spent like an hour and ofcourse had Maggie. Have been practically living on Maggie since 5 days. Ride till Mahe was also interesting. Reach the mahe bridge where i submit a xerox copy of my permit. I was told that only 20 kms of the 60 kms is offroad. As soon i as cross the bridge, its a ride in a small narrow valley. That to for quite some KMs. Must say felt a bit claustrophobic after riding in open spaces all this time. It was still pretty but. After like 20 Kms the road starts to climb up. Its switch backs into the open and its gets pretty windy. Bike starts struggling! Reach the top of the ascent marked with typical prayer flags like on passes. It was pretty high at 4800 meters. The green grass every where and color full mountains makes everything pretty. Its decent ahead and i am approaching a lake. Its a green one. Definitely not Tso Moriri. Looked pretty for pix but there were dark clouds on the other side of the lake and it was not that big. The road ended and offroad begins. Weather also goes towards bad. Looks like its inevitable to avoid a rain ride and i start to waterproof myself and the luggage. While i am in the process, suddenly there is a lot of wind and dust storm. Cant face the wind at all. Threat of rain and all this. It was scary for a few mins. The winds died down and down came the rain drops. When the road was good it was sunshine and when the road got bad coincided with bad weather! Well gotta keep going. Not sure to take tracks off the main path cos of loose sand and i stick to the gravel road. After i pass a plain on the top and descend to a valley its rocks and when i say rocks i mean rocks. Like side of 3 X 3 X 3 inches! Have no other choice but to ride em out. Had been warned about it by Yogesh. But hotel owner had said that it was three years ago and now maruthi van goes. So the Dhud dhud dhud continues for quite some Kms in rain. Suddenly its all sunshine now making me look like an idiot in all the rain gear. I had no patience to get of em so decided to sweat it out in the rain gear till i reach karzok.
Then then i get the first view of Tso Moriri. Its so beautiful with its deep blue color. The path eases a bit as i get near the lake. Take a few pic stops and now its a ride by the lake for the last 5 Kms. Path is a bit smoother here. The lake in its bright deep blue color just as the promised pix i had seen on net. Made all the effort worth it. Well its a fresh water lake 1000 feet above pangong! Reach karzok and unlike i expected not many options for stay. The first tented acco was prohibitively expensive at 2500 and 3500. The best i got was 1500. Any way its town go in look out. There was one guest house inside the town but it was too dusty. Get out on the other side and saw the Nomadic Camp tents. Got one for like 300 bux and those were good ones. The toilets outside were plenty and clean. Had great dining Tent and i settled in. Met a 4some who had biked to Leh but hired a taxi for the lake trip. They were my company for the evening. After having a fill we went out to get near the lake. Went through a fence and walked a bit before we can get to the water. Then it was all pix and jokes etc. Clouds would let the sun through very rarely to give a couple of good pix. It got windy and chilly and we moved back to the tents. Had a dinner over travel talk and crashed for the day. Will i get to Leh tomm. Things have gone well so far in this circuit. Doze of in the tent.
Ride out of Hanle...
Looking back at Hanle...
The observatory....
The Hanle monastery again....
Just me the bike and the path...
Some Goat herder women...
Their all weather homes!
Quite some livestock they got...
I am getting off the road, any one wants to try the road?
Again making own road...
Some sand monsters on the way...
And stone monsters!
Colorful mountains...
Great plains...
I find tarmac as well....
What can i say??
Wonder if they are natural of man made!! Was kinda expecting to sink in when i was walking on the sand for some time!
There i go...
He's a eighty year old man!
Cows finding grass on sand dunes!
the big picture....
After Loma bridge off towards Mahe....
A cloud taking a dump....
The colors begin!
Was much more pretty to look at from the naked eye...
Landscape keeps changing....
Time to add some colors!
A village with huge walls!
Some ride in the desert...
Check to the left,- red, yellow and green!
Took pix in vivid mode, so colors may be wee bit enhanced.. but they are straight off the cam... and looked much pretty to the eye!
Now who spray painted the place???
Reached Nyoma....
Heading towards Mahe...
Quite a contrast on the mountains due to cloud play...
Some more colors...
Get in to the deviation to Karzok...
Its ride in a valley now...
And its a long one...
Love cant be stopped by binding hoofs!
Climbing up to the open...
The tata just went off the road on to the stone'y slope!
Great colors riding up the pass kinda place...
Some white heads....
Is this actually a recognized pass?
Its high at 15886 feet!
Lot of prayer stone piles i guess...
Nearing the weather changing lake!
Road ends and it sure is gonna rain...
But not before a dust storm... it was scary!
The wind dies giving way to rain... First time i get wet in Ladakh... i mean my rain gear...
Then the bone jarring ripple ride....
Pretty plain above... want to take a break here but its raining and sneak out a pic....
The stones are getting bigger..
First view of Tso Moriri lake...
Thats one nasty path....
Getting nearer to the lake....
Now what animal does that belong?
Near the lake now...
And i touch the waters...
Glowing blue color...
Me and my steed there...
Ride by the lake...
The lake at the height of 14889 feet says my fone... approx 1000 feet higher than Pangong!
Typical Tso Moriri pic...
Not only good food other than maggie, its presented well as well!
Walking up to the lake...
Karzok town...
Flowers every where...
White heads around....
The lake looks ordinary without sunlight...
Me there....
Rahul trying out his water proof cam!
The guys there...
I am wearing neck warmer and Amit is shirt less!
Karzok again...
Some more lake pix...
Thats the Nomadic life camp site where i stayed...
A small dam...
Flowers by the channel...
Vertical travel for the day....
1 comment:
this is just awesome one of the best trip i ever enjoyed sitting in front of my laptop...... can't even imagine what u guys must have felt....i am speechless and running short on words great photography BTW...take care
P.S. - please contact me on my email if possible
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