Ride Highlights
- 6 beautifully serene lakes including the world famous Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, two very beautiful rarely visited lakes, a sweet water lake and Tsokar on our way back to Leh.
- 3 Highest Mountain passes- Umling La (19300 feet), Khardung La (18380 feet) & Tanglang La (17480 feet)
- Nubra Valley– High altitude coldest desert
- Changthang- We will be visiting Hanle village. It’s a very beautiful village with lot of wild life around. It is also known for Hanle Monastery and Hanle Observatory, which is the world’s second highest Astronomical observatory.
- This ride offers a great mix of riding terrain (off roads, tarmacs, sand, broken tarmac all of it in just one ride)
- Spectacular, diverse, colourful landscapes of the Himalayas, wild life at places and plenty of locations for photography.
Photo Gallery
Ride at a glance
Duration: 8 nights 9 days
Ride days: 7
Total Distance: Approximately 920 km
Terrain: Tarmac, Broken tarmac, off road, sand patches
Accommodation: Hotels/ Home stay/guest house/ Camping
Difficulty level: Moderate
Max Altitude: 19300 feet
Daily Avg distance: 160 km
Daily saddle time: 6 Hrs
Who should join?
If you are looking for new routes to explore and challenging terrain to ride on this is the ride for you. This ride is for someone who wants to experience Ladakh beyond regular tourist spots.
Experiences
The Highest Hight is an experience and not just another motorcycle ride. It will take you on ride to some of the best motorcycling terrains, show you the wildlife everyone wishes to see when in this region and make you fall in love with landscapes. Unmatched beauty of this region will provoke you to take that camera/phone out and click!
An experience to be in the mountains and feel the absolute calm & peace!
Motorcycling:
This is the reason why probably you are reading this document! This is our expertise and we know how to make this experience a memorable one. We have been doing this a long time and know what makes a great ride! So, trust us, the motorcycling experience is going to be the best ever!
The ride takes you to the highest places in Ladakh, through some of the best landscapes and well the terrain on each day going to be interesting! Starting with Nubra Valley and ending Leh via Tanglang La, the ride offers a mix of terrains. It has a good number of off roads, beautifully smooth tarmac roads and treacherous, dusty, steep roads towards Highest passes in Ladakh.
Imagine riding through serene landscapes, empty land wherever your eyes can see and a sweet company of nomads and wildlife all around. Some roads will be along the rivers which in itself is a very calming and though provoking experience. This is exactly how our ride is going to be! This will definitely quench your thirst for adventure at least for some time. All this without worrying about the breakdowns because hey, we are there for that. Just relax, breath and ride on!
Wildlife:
The ride goes through some of the naturally rich areas of Ladakh. We are riding in the region where we will get to witness a lot of wild life around.
The whole Changthang region is a treat for wildlife lovers. It is the home of Tibetan wild ass, as well as the rare black-necked crane. On our way to Hanle, we might also be able to spot golden ducks, Tibetian wild antelopes (Gazelles), Square headed fox (Tibetan sand fox) rabbits, jackals to name a few. While the nomads with their cattle is not exactly wildlife but it is definitely a very beautiful site to watch!
Photography:
If you love clicking picture, this ride is an opportunity for you to explore and expand your photography skills. The entire ride goes through such scenic places that anywhere you click becomes a great picture. But what is more interesting is that unlike any other crowded tourist destination, we will be going to places and routes less explored. Clear shots of mountains, lakes, people and local culture is what you should really look forward to.
We will be spending good time at Hanle where if the sky is clear, you can shoot the stars and the amazing timelapses.
You can go around and explore some wildlife to click, it is indeed a treasure of subjects for budding photographers.
Places of interest in this ride
Nubra Valley
Nubra valley needs no introduction. The major attraction is definitely Khardung La. (18300 feet) It is one of the high passes in Ladakh and is a getaway to Nubra Valley. Nubra Valley is a deep-cut gorge created by the combined effects of Shyok and Nubra (Siachen) rivers. A high-altitude cold desert, Nubra Valley is actually an extension of the Tibetan Plateau (Qing-Zang Plateau) that starts in China and extends up to Ladakh. This valley in the plateau separates the Ladakh Range from the Karakoram Range.
Nubra valley is a home to a very unique, double umped camel. It is a fun experience going camel back riding on sand among the beautiful landscapes. Nubra is also very well known for its sand dunes at Hunder.
Changthang region
Located on the southeastern part of Ladakh, Changtang is famous for its landscape, wildlife and natural beauty.
The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary is a high altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the Ladakhi adjunct of the Changtang plateau. It is important as one of the few places in India with a population of the kiang or Tibetan wild ass, as well as the rare black-necked crane.
Hanle
Hanle is a one of the interesting places in the Changthang region. It is possibly one of the world’s most enchanting, serene and breath-taking places.
On the way to Hanle, it seems like you’re on a different planet altogether. Its enchanting beauty — so eerily calm — imparts the feeling of being lost in an alien land. There is some wildlife to spot along the way: mostly wild asses, golden ducks, rabbits, jackals. You can also see a few nomads along the roadside, in their makeshift tents and surrounded by their cattle and dogs. It is a lovely site to witness.
It is the site of the 17th century Hanle Monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Hanle is also home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory. It is the world’s second highest observatory.
Pangong Tso
Pangong is the highest salt water lake. It is known for its unlimited and changing colour shades of water and mountains. Pangong is what they call “a gem of Ladakh region” It has such serene landscapes that can only be experienced and are difficult to describe in words.
Located on the banks of Pangong lake, Spangmik is a small settlement of Changpa nomads who subsist on agriculture and pashmina goats. The village is situated between Pangong lake and Thang Chenmo mountains close to the Chinese border.
35 km west of Pangong, another picturesque yet sleepy village is Tangtse. Its name means “on the top of a hill or a crag”, referring to a small mound over which the village sits. The fort is believed to be older than Leh palace and is largely in ruins these days. These two sites are among many beautiful places that people usually drive pass in a hurry to reach Pangong.
Tso Moriri
Tso Moriri is a sweet water lake in the Changthang Plateau and is situated near a small village named Korzok. It is surrounded by snow-covered mountains and dessert with deep blue brackish clear water! Isolated place amidst nowhere, ideal for adventure seekers and nature lovers. It is rich in fauna and is protected by Tso Moriri wetland conservation reserve.
Day wise Detailed Itinerary
We will meet, greet, assist, and transfer you to Hotel in Leh. Free day to acclimatize to the high altitude. Remember, rest is very important on this day as the body needs to acclimatize well before we hit the road. Dinner at Hotel.
Start your day early. Post breakfast we will go for a ride around. The terrain of Himalayas is going to take you by surprise.
Once we are back at the hotel, relax a little and start packing for the ride. As next day is when we actually begin our ride. Sort out riding gears, pack your bags. Dinner at Hotel.
Get ready, have breakfast, and hit the road. Ride towards Khardung La (18380 Feet). The view from top of the pass is amazing. One can see all the way south over the Indus valley to the seemingly endless peaks. This ride till top of Khardung La is just mesmerizing. Beautiful views all around. After spending some time at the pass, we’ll head towards Nubra Valley.
Roads parallel to Shyok River towards world famous lake Pangong-Tso. The beauty of Pangong is well known and it is a must visit when you are riding in Ladakh. Simply amazing views of both mountains and lake together.
The route is full of adventure and there are some good off-road patches. The sand patches in Himalayas are going to be challenging and test your riding skills. The views are breathtaking. In evening we will witness sunset behind the golden mountains of Pangong.
Get ready to hit the unexplored road towards Hanle. Less explored is where we thrive. This is our forte and we are sure that you will love exploring this new region with us.
The ride will continue along the Pangong Lake. We will be covering complete length of Pangong Tso during this ride. The sudden change in terrain is exciting. The shades of mountains in this region stand out and you cannot get enough of these colourful beauty!
Post breakfast we will start our ride. This is a very important day of the ride as we will be riding to the Undoubtable Highest Motorable pass- Umling La which is at 19300 feet making it higher than Khardung La.
Overnight stay at Hanle.
We will take an adventurous road on this day!
On this day, we will be witnessing beauty of two very rarely visited lakes namely, Rayul Tso & Chilling Tso!
Another route is the usual one. You will see the different colors of mountains, wild horses & scenery like wall paintings. The beauty of the place changes once we take left turn from Mahe Bridge. The last 25kms of ride is boon for off-road lovers. This route is very scenic & good place to experience plateaus in Himalayas.
Tsomoriri is not as big as Pangong Tso but it has its own charm & beauty to experience it. It’s a sweet water lake.
***Based on the weather condition and route permissions, we will choose a route on that day itself! ***
On the way to Tso Kar witness huge Phosphorus Mountains. The roads are very lonely yet scenic enough to sooth your eyes. It is hard to believe that Tso Kar is Salt Lake in the Himalayas as Pangong Tso. Visit Tsokar, here you will spot lots of wild animals like Tibetan wild ass, rare black-necked crane, Mormot etc.
We will continue our journey from the famous Moore Plains. Situated in a plateau, it is a relatively flat piece of land located at the altitude of 15,400ft. This is one of the amazing sights to watch. We will make a stop to click photographs of these plains. Make the most of it, you can get some really nice shots here.
Roads to Tanglangla is icing on cake. This is one of the most comfortable journeys towards another high pass Tanglang-La. Overnight stay in Leh. This will be your last night in Leh.
Post breakfast, check out from the Hotel. Bid adieu to all the group members.
Feel free to get in touch with us for more details.
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