Preface
We explored the mighty Pangong lake and planned to reach Hanle by evening. The distance we had to travel was less, but our calculations was entirely wrong and even after sunset we were still 60kms far from Hanle and fyi we had just travelled 120kms till then. We reached Hanle very late at around 8 PM and it was hard to find stay as the entire village was extremely dark. After a long search, we found a beautiful homestay at a good cost with food included.
Plan for the day
The D-Day had finally came and we were about to climb the roof of the world, the Highest motorable pass of the world, the mighty Umling La, at a gracious height of 19,024 ft above the sea level. The plan was simple, travel to Umling La and return back by afternoon, depart to Tso Moriri Lake and reach by evening or sunset.
Hanle->Photi La->Umling La->Nurbu La->Hanle->Nyoma->Karzok(Tso Moriri Lake)
This was a very very long journey, never ever imagined that we would be traveling this far in a single day. We had planned to cover almost 350kms in a single day which is massive in places like Ladakh. But we would be missing Tso Moriri if we don’t reach by evening as we had to be present in Ladakh at any cost the next day to explore Kargil, Drass and other places on NH-1.
Preparation for the day
We woke up early to prepare for the lengthy day. The homestay was very good and we had good morning tea and might breakfast before leaving Hanle. The day would be lengthy but we were ready for it. This day would be one of the most memorable of my life as it’s been my dream to visit Umling La ever since I came to know about it. To be more honest, I had written a detailed blog explaining about Umling La in one of the first 5 blogs of VentureVista, read it here.
Different roads to Umling La
Umling La is located at a very very remote place, just few kms from actual China where people actually live. This provides connectivity to Demchok which is partially in China today. So there are multiple ways to reach Umling La for tourists. The easiest one would be to come to Hanle and continue ahead.
- Loma – Hanle – Photi La – Chisumle – Umling La
- Loma – Hanle – Nurbu La – Chisumle – Umling La
- Loma – Dungti – Demchok – Umling La (The older road to Demchok. In a very bad condition)
- Karzok – Chumur – Chisumle – Umling La (Not allowed mostly as roads run parallel to China)
Fourth one is the most challenging one, very adventurous but not allowed mostly. The third is very good but again same issue, might not be allowed sometimes. The first one is the most popular one followed by the second. Mostly everyone go and come back with first route as its comparatively less risky and climb isn’t too steep.
We being too adventurous thought of taking the Photi La road which itself is a great adventure as we were not much informed regarding the restrictions in third and fourth route. But actually the second route is the most secluded one with a different experience altogether.
Preparation for the journey
After good food, we left our luggages at the homestay itself and started with only the essentials. We happened to meet local taxi driver and he guided us the 2 ways which helped us later. We started with the Photi La route. This was the first view of the lovely, silent, untouched, pristine Hanle village. The first sight of Hanle monastery left me in awe. We took the diversion to Photi La and then started the real adventure.
The magnificent Photi La climb
Once we took the diversion, the views looked stunning, just marvelous. After sometime, the climb started. The climb was so steep, so steep, so steep that Hanle is at 14,500 ft and Photi La is at 18, 124 ft. The distance wasn’t too much, hence the altitude gain was too intense. The roads very entirely deserted and we were the only riders in that road. So I was a little tensed as well.
The curves were extremely steep and we had to go continue with only first and second gear in the entire journey. The roads were narrow, but the climb was steep. But the views!! oh mann, felt like we were in an entirely new planet. Long long range of snow capped mountains all around with beautiful landscapes, the best I’ve ever seen. I proudly appreciated my decision of taking this route for a memorable journey.
Photi La – The 6th Highest Pass of the World
Finally after climbing and climbing and climbing, we finally reached the Photi La pass, the 6th Highest motorable pass of the world, which is a few mtrs away from the rest of the top 5. Due to the rapid climb, we felt breathless, numb, but everything was worth it. Now starts the real fun, we would be descending now until 16,000ft and then would climb again.
This was the most ridiculous part, but was a crazy experience. This experience taught me one little thing, it’s not just the destination, but the journey matters a lot and unexpected experiences like this makes the entire journey more memorable. I’d always love to take this massive route again in coming days for sure.
The climb to Umling La
As time passed we were getting closer and closer to the Highest Motorable pass of the world. Once we get down from Photi La, the road from Dungti converges and straight ahead leads to Chumur. In between there’s a diversion from Chisumle bridge where Umling La is almost 30kms from that point. This road is again very beautiful in between the lovely mountains and fabulous views.
We finally reached the world famous bridge which is called the Bridge to Umling La. This is the part of newly constructed road to Umling La connecting Demchok directly from this region. Umling La sits on top of this humongous mountain. The journey finally started and we started the climb.
The climb was mostly in plains and there were a lot of bikers who were on the journey. Few SUVs and military vehicles were on the way too. The satisfaction of getting closer to the highest motorable pass was intensifying. As we went ahead, again the climb was getting steeper and the cold was increasing rapidly too. There was no live snowfall, but the leftover snow was still there as there is frequent snowfall in such high altitudes.
Once we climb 17,500+ ft we finally read this magnificent board, You’re now higher than the Everest base camp. This was such a mind blowing feeling. Usually airplanes fly around 30-35k feet and on 15-20k feet on short flights. Due to issue in cabin pressurization, if they want to get out of trouble, they have to get down to 10k feet for safe breathing oxygen and we were already in 18k feet which was astonishing.
Reaching Umling La
Finally after a long terrible morning journey, we reached the roof of the world, the biker’s everest, the highest motorable pass of the world – Umling La!!. The height was hitting everyone so loud. The happiness and satisfaction was on the peak. The experience was unreal, will continue with the same note in the next blog.
