Ladakh Bike Trip – A Ride Of A Lifetime

By Author: Shewta
Total Articles: 21
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This might sound strange but the ‘Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon’ is what led me to take the Ladakh bike trip. You know sometimes you hear something or read something and that word or that thing seems to appear everywhere mysteriously? That’s precisely what I’m talking about here. One fine day, I woke up and saw an email asking me to grant a week’s leave for Ladakh from my junior. On my way to work, I overheard someone in the elevator talking about Ladakh.

The same evening, I was discussing how badly I needed vacation with my husband and the first word that he said was, of course, Ladakh. It seemed as if the universe was conspiring to make this trip happen, and so it did!

I hadn’t been to Ladakh ever nor had my husband. But we had explored a lot of the country on the bike and we thought of doing a bike trip to Ladakh. The last time I had been to Himachal was for trekking in Dharamshala. I’ve such fond memories of our first trek to Triund and what a lovely trekking spot it is. I was still in two minds whether to take the bike trip or opt for trekking in Dharamshala.

I love the mountains and I ...
... was pretty excited about our Ladakh bike trip with just a little fear of bumping into half of the people I know in Ladakh

We spoke to the tour company and checked if everything was organized. This was a 6-day bike trip starting from Leh. We first reached Manali and stayed there for a day exploring the stunning town. The next day we headed to Leh from where our trip would begin.

My heart was jumping with joy as we were reaching Leh. We checked-in at the hotel and also met our road captain and the team. It was important to bond with the team as we would be spending the next 6 days with them. Without much effort, we hit it off with a few and after that, the fun doubled. That day, a few of us stayed at the hotel, some of us went out to explore the Leh Markets.

The next day was for acclimatization and we spent most of the time sight-seeing places such as The Leh Palace and Shanti Stupa. On this day we also took as much rest and kept ourselves hydrated for the trip the next day.

And the day was here! We began our bike trip to Ladakh. I rode pillion and hence had the privilege to take plenty of pictures and videos. Right from when the trip begins to when you cross the Khardung La, reach Nubra Valley, everything is worth a click. The arid landscapes, sand dunes all made up for a beautiful experience. We also stopped at the Diskit Monastery and if you haven’t been there then just google it and you will know what a stunning monastery it is. That night we started at Nubra Valley.

Out of all the days of my Ladakh trip, this is one of the most remarkable ones. We rode to Pangong Lake and spent the day there. The magical part about this day is when you sit in utter silence and watch the transforming colour of the lake with the setting sun. The blue water of the lake transports you to a place of peace and serenity that you might have never experienced before. We spent the night there, under a blanket of the starry sky. For the first time in years, I saw my hyperactive husband basking in the silence of a
place.

And like all good things come to an end so did our trip. The next morning, we rode from Pangong Lake to Leh crossing the Chang La and halting at the renowned Lotus Valley School. We reached Leh late evening on the same day. That night I just couldn’t sleep. My husband was up too and we spoke about how this trip was more like a ‘Therapy’. He said that it made him feel revitalized and he was glad that we took this trip. We made friends with a few on the trip and even exchanged number to plan our next adventure together.

Shewta and her husband went on the Ladakh bike trip of their lives exploring the stark landscapes of the beautiful region of Ladakh. This is their story.