The Most Awaited Longest Weekend

..Phew. Done with packing finally. Got couple of free hours before cab driver picks me for the Mumbai airport, so here goes a post at such an odd hour. This to me is the longest weekend I could ever have. I have been planning this for months and now as the the D-day approaches closer, it feels quite excited. Here is what I think we are going to do in next 10-15 days.

Ladakh 2007

Day 1, Manali - 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 - 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.

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

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

Day 6, Leh – Chang La – 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 – Chang La – Leh, 170kms: ride back to Leh for a final night there.

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

From this day I plan to part from BCMT group who would head for Zanskar valley. I would have loved to go along with them, but have no enough leaves :(

Day 10, Kargil – Drass – Zoji La – Sonamarg – Srinagar, 205kms: An early morning start should take us to famous Zoji La pass, from here the Kashmir valley begins.

Regular update about the ride progress should be available here. See you till then. Coming back to (normal) life on 17th Sep. Bye..

(Using BSNL throughout the trip #09420536757)