This trip to the land of Passes starts from Manali fondly known as the “Gateway to Ladakh” by motorbikers and covers all the prominent high altitude passes. Luxury bus ticket from Delhi to Manali and return is provided for comfortably reaching Manali from where the ride starts. Keeping the ride comfort as highest priority the default motorbike provided is the mighty RE Himalayan 411cc or RE Standard 500c. This tailor-made motorbike trip to Ladakh will be operated with small group size to ensure the highest safety standards and individual attention to every rider. The non-riders who will be preferring to travel in a multi-utility vehicle will be provided comfortable cars like Toyota Innova or Mahindra Xylo.

The trip will be led by a highly experienced and qualified Road Captain from whom you can learn a few tricks and techniques to make your ride more comfortable and easy in the technical section. He will also be helping you to cross difficult sections like water and slush crossing which is very common in this high altitude ride. The road captain and the hospitality manager travelling in the backup vehicle will be Wilderness First Aid qualified and trained to handle all kinds of medical emergencies. An exhaustive first aid kit along with the foldable stretcher will be available in the backup with easy access. The back up vehicle will be always travelling behind the group sweeping all the riders and ensuring even the slowest rider is safe and with the group. The experienced mechanic who is trained to do quick fixes and repairs to motorbikes will be in the backup carrying all the necessary basic spare parts of the motorbikes.

This trip gives you immense opportunity and time to explore and relax at beautiful Manali and progress your ride towards the high passes like Baralacha Pass, Nakee La, Lachung La, Tanglang La and the highest one Umling La.

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Itinerary:
 

Day 01: Arrival in Manali
The bus usually reaches the Manali bus stand by late morning around 1000HRS. Reach the pre-booked hotel and finish your check-in formalities and utilise the rest of the day for resting and preparing for the wonderful expedition ahead. The timings for the evening expedition briefing will be communicated to you as you finish the check-in formalities.

Ensure you are back on time for the briefing, a detailed expedition briefing will be provided by our Road Captain along with hospitality managers. The briefing will be followed by the motorbike & helmet allotment. The mechanic and the road captain will be there to support you and do the necessary adjustments in the bike to suit your riding style.

The first dinner of the expedition will be served early and we love to call it the ‘Welcome Dinner”. It is the best opportunity to socialise and know each of the team members, which is actually very important for a harmonious and successful expedition.

Day 02: Manali to Sarchu | 210KMS | 8 to 9 Hrs
Today we have an early breakfast and start the first day of the motorbiking expeditions. The first days are always the busiest and time consuming one in any expedition, as this is the day you are just starting a daily expedition routine which gradually becomes much easier and seamless as the days pass on. The extra luggage will be loaded in the backup vehicle and you are supposed to gear up properly as advised in the earlier briefing. Finish the hotel check out formalities and you are all set for ‘Wroooming’ the motorbikes through the winding high altitude roads ahead.

Reach Sarchu by evening. Fresh up and it's time for reflecting on the beautiful and adventurous moments of the day. Enjoy the buffet dinner along with some warm and refreshing soup. We go to sleep early tonight and try to get the maximum sleep before we head towards Leh the next day morning.

Day 03: Sarchu to Leh | 250KMS | 7 to 8 Hrs
After a difficult forced sleep in Sarchu, we wake up early to check out from the campsite after breakfast for yet another thrilling ride to Leh. Today we get to cross some great high altitude passes and other interesting road features before reaching Leh. The road conditions will be pretty much good with well-tarred roads throughout. Just after leaving Sarchu we start our climb towards Nakeela Pass at 4739m, crossing the zig-zag Gata loop which is a series of 21 hairpin bends within a span of just 7KMS. We descended from Nakeela and soon again started to climb to reach the next high pass Lachung La at 5065m.

Soon we reached Pang at 4600m, after descending from Lachung La, which is basically an Army Transit Camp claimed to be the highest in the world. There are many dhabas around, where we will be having our lunch the major options are thupka, soup, instant noodles, dal rice etc. We aim to finish lunch as soon as possible and continue the ride. Then comes the plateau of  Morey plains at 4700m which stretches about 45KMS long. Don’t get deceived by the breathtaking beauty and its long straight stretches, as it is also an accident-prone area due to its uneven road surface. Road Captain will brief you on how to navigate the section safely, closer to the end of the plains we will start climbing the Tanglang La at 5328m which is also the highest in Manali Leh highway.

Crossing Tanglang La we continue straight towards Leh, on the way we cross many small remote towns like Upshi, Karu. From Upshi we will have the Indus river accompanying us along on the left side. We reach Leh by evening, check in to the hotel and relax. 

Day 04: Leh to Nubra Valley | 158KMS | 6 to 7Hrs
After a full day's rest, we start our ride again to Nubra Valley through the highest motorable road Khardung La Pass at 5359m. We need permits to continue towards the Nubra Valley and then to Pangong Tso as per our schedule. The crew facilitates the permits the day prior itself for the smooth start of our ride. The road towards Khardungla is well paved and tarred till South Pullu and checkpoint before the pass, from here to North Pullu which is about 15KMS from Kahardung La is unpaved and mostly muddy, loose rocks and melting snow. Once in  Khardung La we will have some quick photo sessions and continue our ride. Due to very thin air and high altitude, it is not safe and advisable to stay for a longer time on top of the pass. We ride down to reach North Pullu to have our lunch. We finish our formalities in the checkpoint and select a dhabha with good seating arrangements and nice food for scrumptious lunch. Here there are many restaurants and hotels to select from and we get pretty much every kind of Indian and Tibetan food to order from.

After lunch, we continue our ride towards Nubra Valley. It is a beautiful valley which is also where the River Shyok, a tributary of River Indus, meets River Shyok. The valley formed actually separates the great Himalayan ranges from Karakoram ranges in Ladakh. After crossing the village Khalsar, the road forks towards Siachen on the right which leads to the villages like Sumur and Panamik along the Nubra River. We will continue towards the left leading us to the headquarters of Nubra Valley Diskit and then to Hunder. A quick stop to visit the 32m  high Maitreya Buddha statue in Diskit monastery and continue towards Hunder. Between Deskit and Hunder lies the famous the white sand dunes of Nubra Valley where the amazing double-humped Bactrian camels graze. Enjoy some quality time in the dunes along with a few good photo sessions and camel rides. We reach Hunder and check in to the luxury camp pre-booked. Staying in Nubra will be much more comfortable than in Sarchu due to the lower altitude and better greenery. 

Day 05: Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso Lake | 241KMS | 8 to 9Hrs
We check out from the camps after breakfast and start our ride towards the much-awaited Pangong Tso Lake. Today’s ride is unique because of two major things, one, we will not cross any high altitude passes today and two, it is one of the least travelled routes in the whole trip. The outer world came to know about this route from Nubra to Pangong Tso via Agham and Shyok village only about a decade ago. It became very popular since the last couple of years when the road conditions became better. Earlier the option to reach Pagong Tso from Nubra was coming back all the way to Leh and then taking the route crossing Chang La Pass to the lake or another treacherous and unpredictable route of crossing Wari La pass and Changla.

Most of our ride will be along the beautiful Shyok river and crossing the major villages like Agham, Shyok, Durbuk and Tangste. There will be few deep water crossings, rocky patches and some slushy wobbly patches. We have our lunch at Durbuk, good options and a variety of vegetarian food is available here like Chowmein, Thupka, Instant noodles, Daal Rice etc. After Durbuk we ride straight towards Tangste and then to Spangmik, riding along the lake in the last stretch.

We check-in into the luxury camps pre-booked and spend our late evening stroll along the serene lake. The expansion, beauty and the calmness of the lake can take anybody to a natural trance provoking the inner happiness and satisfaction.

Day 06: Pangong Tso Lake to Hanle
Enjoy the beauty of the lake with rising Sun and later reach camp for breakfast. We pack and leave towards Hanley after breakfast. On the way, we will visit the spot where the famous 3 Idiots movie climax scene was shot. Spend some time there for a few photos and say a quick Goodbye to the mesmerising Pangong Tso Lake. The road towards Leh is pretty good except few muddy patches.

Soon after leaving Pangong Tso lake, we will cross the Merek Village and then Chushul the will ride this route to Loma bridge and take a turn towards Hanle.

Day 07: Hanle - Umling la Pass - Hanle
Today will be riding to the World’s Highest Motorable pass at 19300ft. Be ready for the most exiting day of the ride. After Breakfast we will start our ride Umling La at the height of 19300ft, which is a newly opened and the Highest pass in world even higher than Khardung La. Overnight in Guest House, hotels are not available because of the remoteness.

Day 08: Hanle to Leh
After breakfast check out and ride to Leh. We will start our day for the last leg of the ride. We reach Leh by late evening and check into our pre-booked hotel.

Day 09: Leh to Sarchu | 250 KMS
After experiencing the wonders of Ladakh, today we will head towards Himachal Pradesh. Riding along the Leh-Manali Highway, we'll navigate some of the highest motorable roads, tracing the majestic Indus River. Crossing the pinnacle of Tanglang La (5328m), the route unfolds through the scenic Morey Plains to Pang for a lunch break. Continuing toward Manali, we conquer more high passes, including Lachung La (5059m) and Nakee La (4769m). The thrill continues with the legendary Gata Loops' 21 hairpin bends before reaching Sarchu for a well-deserved rest and campsite dinner. Overnight stay awaits.

Day 10: Sarchu to Manali
As our bike trip draws to a close, seize the day to its fullest. After breakfast at the campsite, we'll embark on our final ride along the Leh-Manali Highway. Kickstart your bike and ride through the iconic Atal Tunnel and picturesque villages of Lahaul Valley. After reaching Manali, return the bikes. Trip ends.