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This is the story of my motorcycle ride to Khardungla Leh J&K, India —

Ghaziabad

• June 30, 2019, the plan is to ride on my 11 years old motorcycle to Worlds highest motorable pass: Khardungla
• Khardungla holds strategic objective for Indian armed forces, owing to its proximity with China and Pakistan
• Khardungla is notorious for its difficult terrain, climatic conditions and high altitude
• Unpredictable snow and rain, make Khardungla worse, specially for two wheeler riders
• This is my second trip to Laddakh region. As planed, left at 3:15 AM from home

• This is one of the hottest days of north Indian summers. By noon planning to reach J&K
• At Karnal i realized that my luggage carrier is broken and hanging from one side
• My eyes started searching for a welder and soon found a welding shop and get it fixed

• Somewhere near Phagwara in Punjab, decided to take lunch at a road side eatery called dhaba
• Reached Mukerian. Again a small halt at cold drink shop and enjoyed talking with an old man and his son

• Arrived in Samba and instead of going towards Jammu, decided to take a short cut to Udhampur, J&K
• On Jammu Tawi river bridge, spend few minutes to click pictures and take some rest

• Road from Samba to Udhampur is not of good condition, but its fun to ride through zigzag climbing road

Udhampur

• Taking minor stops here and there, finally arrived at Udhampur around 9:00 PM
• Able to find a place for the night, hotel Subhash. After a small bargain, settled in room
• A small meditation session, helped me to balance my energies after almost 670 kilometers journey of today
• Next morning, heading towards Srinagar, passing through bridges, tunnels and valley on NH 44
• After almost 30 minutes ride, arrived at Chenani Nashri Tunnel
• Scrounged delicious apricots, famous in this region. Apricots fulfilled my glucose need for the entire day

Banihal

• A small hill town, Indian railways has recently marked its presence in this town
• This is auspicious season of Ramadan and mosques are playing soothing prayer on loudspeakers
• Next week is going to be Eid al-Fitr, the holy festival of Muslims

• After few minor stops, arrived at Jawahar Tunnel, which is operational since 1956
• Post this tunnel, starts the beautiful Srinagar valley. Titanic point gives you the first glance of it
• Took a noodle (Maggi) stop at Titanic point, captured first view of Srinagar valley in my phone camera

• Talked to some of the south Indian riders, who were riding from Kottayam, Southern India
• Only few kilometers from Titanic point, arrived at the 4 lane NH 44. Which is a nice road
• Ride on NH 44 is smooth. I cherished every moment while riding through the beautiful valley

• Took several stops, while passing adjacent to several towns like Tral, Anantnag and Pulwama etc
• Armed forces are everywhere on NH 44, constantly reminding the sensitivity of this zone
• My motorcycle has started showing tantrums and i am cleaning its spark plugs every 30 mins
• Either adulterated fuel or any carburetor related issue is affecting my motorcycle

Srinagar

• For almost 3 hours ride through NH 44, arrived at the heart of Srinagar, the famous Dal Lake
• Weather is cool here, tourists are flocked around the lake. Took a minor pause near the bank of lake
• Small boats called Shikara, seeking tourists. Big houseboats are placed at some meters inside the lake

• A curious kid is attracted towards my motorcycle. Kids family, gets involved in our interaction
• Before saying good bye, this family suggested to visit a nearby Hindu temple named Kheer Bhawani
• I am not able to find any mechanic here, owing to Ramadan days, all mechanics are retired early for the day
• After deciding to find a mechanic tomorrow early, started riding for another 20 kilometers towards Ganderbal
• Entire Srinagar is busy, lots of life around mosques and roads crossings. I am getting good feelings
• After stopping here and there to talk to local people, i realized that people are very helping
• Armed forces everywhere, which is making me never forget that i am in disturbed region of my country

Ganderbal

• After riding for almost 30 kilometers through town roads, entered in Ganderbal
• A left turn towards Tula Mulla and another 8 kilometers, reached the Kheer Bhawani, a Hindu temple
• Temples security, an entire company of armed force, made me feel strange
• Entire temple campus is secured with barbed wires and its gate is secured with barricade and fish nets etc

• Temple Security is able to recognize from my dialect that i belong to central India
• The central part of the India, has a significant contribution in India Armed Forces. Most of the young boys from villages, join armed forces
• Temple has a guest house, run by J&K governments tourism department, at the charges of 500 rupees

• After settling in guest house, visited the temple. Meditated there for few minutes
• Goddess Maharagya statue, is based in a small water pool, pool water changes its colors with time

• Strolled on the roads of temple premises and listened to the prayers on near by mosque
• Enjoyed Aloo Dum (Fried Potato) and Urad Daal (Lentils) and ended with a glass of milk
• Back to the guest house and packed for tomorrow, before meditation and retiring to bed

Hazaratbal

• Back to Srinagar to get my machine fixed. Searching for mechanic around Hazaratbal Shrine
• Hazaratbal is situated on the Dal Lakes northern bank. The shrine is believed to have hair of Prophet Mohammad
• After getting a temporary fix, which i will later realize as my mistake, restarted for Sonamarg
• Reached at Sonamarg Entry point. Plan is to reach Kargil today after passing Sonamarg and Zozilla pass

Sonamarg

• Ride to Sonamarg, was trouble-sum, owing to my motorcycle but the entire route was scenic
• Sonamarg is the best part of entire Kashmir valley so far, entire valley is flocked by tourists

• Stopped here for few minutes and cleaned my machines spark plug and headed towards the notorious Zozilla
• While climbing towards Zozilla, passed the Baltal. Famous pilgrimage to Amarnath temple starts from here

Zozilla pass

• Zozilla is the first high pass of our trip at the height of 11,575 ft
• Condition of motorcycle and the difficult terrain is making it more difficult for me
• An army convoy has made it farther difficult. This pass is lifeline to connectivity between Laddakh and Srinagar
• During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Zoji La was seized by Pakistani supported invaders.
• The pass was re-captured by Indian forces in Operation Bison, with the surprise use of tanks
• Zozilla has a special place in Tank battles because it is the highest altitude at which tanks had operated in combat
• Stopped for few minutes at Zozilla tiger temple, maintained by Border Road Organization (BRO)
• BRO has a big contribution in maintaining the roads of such difficult zones of India
• Zoji La tunnel project is on the way to cut the travel time from 3 ours to 15 minutes

• Passed the zero point, which is famous for snow boarding. Tourist mostly visits untill here

Zojila War Memorial

• This war memorial is 27 Km from Sonamarg on NH1D, after crossing Zero point
• Dedicated to the soldiers who made supreme sacrifice during 1947-48 war with Pakistan

• Arrived at the Kargil check post. Registered here, to enter into Kargil valley

Draupadi Kund

• This historical valued place is at left hand side 18 kilometers before Drass, after crossing Zojila
• Draupadi Kund is a small lake situated in a hamlet called Pandaras, it is the only high altitude lake in Drass

• A small restaurant serves tea and Maggi at Draupadi Kund. Took a minor pause here and met Samir and Umar
• Samir and Umar riding on a scooter. I gave my sweat shirt to Umar, who was not wearing anything warm

Mushku Valley

• This valley is 8 km before Drass. Popular for wild flowers during summer in the deserted Ladakh region

• At the left hand is a small Indian Army Roll of Honor for the martyrs, died in the Operations Vijay & Rato Khukri

Drass Memorial

• Kargil War Memorial, is built by the Indian Army, located in Drass, in the foothills of the Tololing Hill
• The memorial is located about 5 km before the Drass city across the Tiger Hill
• Memorial is dedicated to the martyrs of Operation Vijay. Each year, 26 July is observed as Kargil Victory Day

Drass

• Drass is also called The Gateway to Ladakh, at the height of 10,800 ft, is the coldest place in India

Kargil

• Kargil is the second largest town in Ladakh after Leh
• Roads from Kargil to Leh is worth to ride. Tomorrows ride will be the best part of the entire journey

Mulbekh

• Around 45 kilometer after Kargil, is the famous Chamba Statue in Mulbekh
• A striking enormous figure carved into the rock face on the right hand side of the road
• This figure is Maitreya Buddha. Some people believe it dates to the Kushan period in the early centuries

Henasku

• After crossing Mulbekh, at the left hand side is a road sign to village Henasku
• Henasku is a small village also known as Zbayul, which means the invisible village in the local dialect

Namikla

• Namika La or Namika Pass at 12,139 ft altitude, is a high mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway
• Namika La is one of two high passes between Kargil and Leh

Fotula

• Fotula at 13,478 ft altitude, is a mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway
• Fotula is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed Zozilla
• There is a Prasar Bharati television relay station serving Lamayuru located on the pass

Lamayuru

• Lamayuru is situated on the Srinagar-Leh highway 15 kilometres from Fotula
• Lamayuru has a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. which is one of the largest and oldest monastery in Ladakh

Khalatse

• Starting Khalatse, entered the heartland of Buddhism: Stupas, Mani stones and prayer flags everywhere
• Riding at the bank of the Indus river, the people are almost all Buddhist. Khalatse is also famous for its apricots

Confluence of Zanskar and Indus Rivers

• This famous confluence is near Nimmu. River rafting and famous Chadar track, starts from here

Magnetic Hill

• Magnet Hill is the entry point of Leh. The layout of the surrounding slopes create the appearance of a hill

Gurudwara Pathar Sahib

• The famous India Army maintained Sikh temple, running langar (food from guru) throughout the year
• The legend of this Sikh temple is that the first Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev was mediating here
• A daemon threw a big boulder down a hill towards the guru. and the rock turned into wax
• There is an impression of the guru’s back on the rock. Folk tales aside, this is a very calm place

• After spending around an hour there and eating delecious guru prasad (langar), started towards Leh
• The road to Leh is so beautiful and smooth. You can speed at full throttle on such an amazing road

Hall of Fame

• Arrived at Indian Army maintained Hall of Fame, singing the glory of Indian armed forces history in region

Leh

• Arrived in Leh, the next immediate need is a mechanic. The search took us to famous mechanic of Leh: Tashi
• Tashi is a legend, soon he figured out that the carburetor jet is disturbed. Fuel tank is also cleaned by him
• Within one hour, my machine is ready to roar again for Khardungla. Hunt for stay soon ended at nearby place

• Visited the Leh market at night. Enjoyed the famous pizza at Sorriso, and it was really delecious

Khardungla

• Next morning, it was time for getting the permit to visit Khardungla
• By noon, permit was done. In noon ride to famous Khardungla started
• After 1 hour wait at south pullu, all riders allowed towards Khardungla
• Within 1 hour from south pullu, i reached at the Worlds highest motorable pass: Khardungla

• Some of my favorite pictures from this ride