Bike trip Ladakh May 19. - 31.

[dirk]

Hello, thanks for the friendly welcoming - here are my first questions. Many thanks for your help and, not to forget, congratulations for this great forum.

I arrive in Leh on May 19th. by plane, early in the morning. On May 31. I have to fly back to Delhi. So I have 11 days to travel around. In my introduction I already wrote to be a photographer: I want to see the country with its beautiful landscapes, but also the people in their villages, where and how they live.

Can anyone give me some advice, how to plan this 11 days? The first days I will need for acclimatisation, perhaps some small trips near Leh to get a feeling for the bike. Later I want to see Nubra valley, the beautiful Pangong Lake, Moriri Lake, if there is time enough, Srinagar and Zansgar. To much for 11 days? I don`t want to race through the country, need some time to stay with my camera at beautiful places.

Another question: Anywhere here in the forum I found the email address of a store in Leh to rent a bike. ('phuntsoggopa@hotmail.com') I already sent a mail, but perhaps is there another store? I am not looking for the cheapest one, I need a bike in very good (technical) condition and prefer to pay a little more for this.

Last question for today: For some regions I need a permit to get in. Which regions are this and how long will I need to wait to get the permits?

many thanks again, and please don`t lough about all the mistakes in my post. I am a German and my english is not the very best.
Regards from Taiwan, Dirk

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Originally Posted by dirk

Can anyone give me some advice, how to plan this 11 days? The first days I will need for acclimatisation, perhaps some small trips near Leh to get a feeling for the bike. Later I want to see Nubra valley, the beautiful Pangong Lake, Moriri Lake, if there is time enough, Srinagar and Zansgar. To much for 11 days? I don`t want to race through the country, need some time to stay with my camera at beautiful places.

Dirk you can try and follow this itinerary:

May 19: Rest in Leh

May 20: Do some sightseeing, if you are feeling alright then check out the motorcycles on offer and contact a travel agent or your hotel (you will need to do this first thing in the morning) to get you the permits for Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri and Dah and Hanu else delay the below itinerary by a day.

May 21: Go to Dah and Hanu village, since you are interested in portraits, it would be an exciting place for you as the inhabitant are supposed to be of pure Indo-Aryan race and look quite different from Ladakhis. You can come back to Leh or stop over at Alchi/Nimmu or head to Lamayuru for the night.

May 22: Come back to Leh and do the Monastery circuit i.e. Shey, Thiksey, Hemis etc. and rest. I guess Thiksey would be a good option for you as there are quite a few young monks there that you can photograph.

May 23: Leh - Khardung La - Sumur (Nubra Valley), you can also stay at Hunder and Diskit, but I personally found kids at Sumur a bit friendlier and they would come to get a high five while I was riding past.

May 24: Roam around in Nubra Valley

May 25: Nubra Valley - Leh

May 26: Leh - Chang La - Pangong Tso

May 27: Pangong Tso - Chang La - Leh

May 28: Leh - Chumathang or move on to Tso Moriri if you don’t find interesting subjects between Upshi and Chumathang

May 29: Chumathang - Tso Moriri (Korzok)

May 30: Tso Moriri - Tso Kar - Debring - Tanglang La - Leh

Now the above makes for a tight schedule, so you can either skip Pangong Tso or do it as a day trip in a taxi. That won’t give you enough time, but you will get an extra day for either of the above places or for Leh itself.

Adding Zanskar and Srinagar wouldn’t be possible in 11 days.

Originally Posted by dirk

Another question: Anywhere here in the forum I found the email address of a store in Leh to rent a bike. ('phuntsoggopa@hotmail.com') I already sent a mail, but perhaps is there another store? I am not looking for the cheapest one, I need a bike in very good (technical) condition and prefer to pay a little more for this.

There are plenty of motorcycles available on rent in Leh, while you will not find a proper enduro bike, you can get a Pulsar 150/180 which are light and relatively powerful street bikes and are capable tourers. If you can get a Karizma, then that would be even better but that might not be available. You can also rent an Enfield for its classic british bike charm, but it is heavy and not as fuel efficient as pulsars, which mind you is quite important in a place like Ladakh as you won’t find any petrol pumps in Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri area and would need to either carry spare fuel or get a bike which can do 450-500kms in a tank full.

Bikes available for rent are generally in bad condition so check throughly before renting one, Dah and Hanu shouldn't be difficult so it should help you familiarize with the bike and let you know how it behaves.

Originally Posted by dirk

Last question for today: For some regions I need a permit to get in. Which regions are this and how long will I need to wait to get the permits?

Nubra Valley, Khardung La, Tso Moriri, Dah and Hanu. Permits can be arranged in a single day, however on weekends and national holidays, the DC’s office is closed and they are the ones who issue permits. Since you are a foreigner, you would have to go through a travel agent to arrange for permit as foreigners are only allowed roam in a group of four and that too with travel agent.

However once you get the permit, you will be let through to all the areas without any issue/bribe. Just remember to get 15-16 Xeroxed copies made as you will have to submit a copy of the permit at each check post that you come across while traveling in the restricted area (basically these are border areas). Also keep your passport, visa and international driving license handy while traveling.

[dirk]

Many,many thanks! This is a big help for me.
Permits:
Is this correct: I can travel alone (as a foreigner) when I apply for the permits in a travel agency? Or do I need 3 more names of travelling "ghosts" to apply in the same time for the permits?
regards from Taiwan,Dirk

[Yogesh Sarkar]

You don't need to do anything, including names and passport details of other members of "your group" would be done by the travel agency. You just need to give them the photocopy of your passport (maybe visa as well), they will take care of the rest and give you the permits in the evening.

[dirk]

Originally Posted by Yogesh Sarkar

Dirk you can try and follow this itinerary:
May 26: Leh - Chang La - Pangong Tso

May 27: Pangong Tso - Chang La - Leh

May 28: Leh - Chumathang or move on to Tso Moriri if you don’t find interesting subjects between Upshi and Chumathang

May 29: Chumathang - Tso Moriri (Korzok)

May 30: Tso Moriri - Tso Kar - Debring - Tanglang La - Leh

Hi Yogesh,
I have a question to your itinerary:

Why go back to Leh after visiting Pangong Tso and start again from Leh to Moriri lake? In my map I saw a road from Pangong Tso south-east along the chinese border via Chushal-Dachung Yogma, after some kilometers turn right to Mahe. From there direct to Moriri lake. Back to Leh via Kiangdom at the south end of Moriri lake to Pang, short detour to Tso Kar, then TaglangLa pass. Have you ever used this roads, is it practical?

A problem can be the gas for the bike-is there anywhere a gas station on the route?

Still 12 days before I depart , really excited....
regards, Dirk

[pushpinder]

All I can add is, All the best!!!

rgds

Have fun!

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Dirk those areas are right along the Chinese border and even Indian bikers have a tough time getting permits for them, for foreigners it is a completely no go area.