Preface
We finally made our way to the Highest Motorable Pass of the World after a lovely journey via Photi La pass, the 6th highest motorable pass of the world. We again had a descent before climbing Umling La and after an amazing journey we finally reached here. The moments at the top was just mind blowing. Read our experience of reaching Umling La here. Continue ahead to know more about our experience of exploring the pass and epic journey to Tso Moriri lake later.
The challenges
It was a sense of accomplishment, sense of satisfaction. So many what ifs, what mights. The planning and execution needed a lot and lot of courage as the people we mostly met came with the package bike trips, their personal bikes, on contrast we came on a rental bike without package and guides. So the chances of getting stuck at some remote place was always haunting us, as we never know what might happen.
We didn’t have any backup vehicle, no oxygen support, no backup fuel for emergency, no companion riders, no guide nothing, health was another issue due to rapid cold winds and very high altitude. Only thing I was trusting upon was the performance of my bike, my riding skills and my thorough research and planning. One thing is clear, if you have the zeal to get it done, you’ll do it no matter what. That’s we conquered many mountain passes at ease.
How does it feel to be at 19k ft.
After an astonishing journey, we were experiencing how the altitude of 19,024 ft looks like. This is the highest altitude I’ve ever reached till date and probably would never go higher again. The treks mostly we do falls below 15,000 ft and this is massive. There are hardly any treks in India which are above 19,000 ft and this would be done only by experienced mountaineers.
The experience was completely different. The cold was too much even during hot sunny day without snowfall. I was feeling little dizzy and numb as the oxygen available was less than 50% and any activity involving strain on body would make you feel breathless for sure. So its always recommended not to jump, run or walk fast.
Experiencing the Highest Pass
So at the top of the pass, once you reach after a small turn, you find 2-3 yellow boards mentioning Umling La along with the height and motivational quotes. The other side is the view of large mountains which are higher than Umling La. On the right side, there is the parking area along with oxygen centre, small cafe and a room which has the record of Highest motorable pass by Guinness.
There is frequent military moment to Demchok which can be reached by the ongoing descent on the continued road. We wouldn’t be going there as there are some restrictions for tourists in Demchok and the other roads going from Demchok.
We stood in the small line of bikers to get our pictures on the epic yellow board by BRO. BRO builds this marker on almost every high pass to showcase the victory of connecting such deadly mountain ranges with such amazing weather roads on difficult weather conditions. We clicked many pictures to save the memories of reaching here for the first time.
An army truck came on the way and as our bike was parked a little on the road, he asked me to take it out and park on the other side. The key was kept at some other place, so having no option I lifted this heavy bike and moved a little, but as he said to park on the other side, I had to push hard to cross the road and once I parked, I literally felt breathless due to lack of oxygen.
Highest cafe
Along with the highest pass, there is also a small cafe to feed the tourists on the pass. The temperature is maintained to normal inside to prevent from cold and serves small basic stuff like coffee and stuff. We had a coffee and felt better from cold and dizziness. Its never recommended to stay at that altitude for a longer time. So we started our descent soon.
Umling La descent
Once we left Umling La, the cold started to reduce and we wanted to go in a good speed as we had a lot of distance to cover. Since we were already on time, we planned to reach Hanle soon and get to Tso Moriri as soon as possible. We reached the Chisumle bridge and took the second route as planned via Nurbula Pass. Read our journey via Photi La here.
The road was heading towards Chumur, the scariest road to Tso Moriri lake, but we wouldn’t be going with it as we aren’t allowed and not safe as well. Even the roads are in a very bad condition, or just think that roads doesn’t exist at all. After a short journey, we headed right which would take us to Hanle.
The Nurbula way to Hanle
This is another peak journey of Ladakh. There doesn’t exist road at all, you’d be just riding and riding on the muds. The landscape again here is entirely different as expected. The distance wasn’t too much, but we werent moving at all. Added to this, there was rapid descent as well, so one mistake you’re gone. Even I was worried what if any part of the bike breaks down due to such terrible roads.
We finally managed to get down and then started a plain road to Hanle. It isn’t a road, its just a huge ground with mud and we have to locate Hanle, ride in that direction. No map nothing. Another interesting thing is, the road from Chisumle to Umling La, Nurbula Top to Hanle doesn’t exist on Google Maps. So ask the locals and continue ahead.
After reaching Hanle, we didn’t waste much time. Just packed the bag, refueled from the can and started our journey was it was just 2PM and we could cover a lot of distance.
Journey from Hanle
The roads around Hanle is one of the best in Ladakh. The entire circuit around Nyoma, Loma, Hanle, Leh has the best roads ever. We took advantage of the best roads and continued at a great speed to reach on time. The road till Loma had a narrow single lane with much military movement. So we reached soon and took a stop at Nyoma to refuel our bike again at the highest fuel pump of the world and had lunch as Tso Moriri was still far.
Journey to Tso Moriri
The road from Nyoma to Leh is the best ever. The road is wide and the traffic is very less as well. So we could cruise at a very good speed. With the same speed, we could even reach Leh by night as well. But we took diversion from Mahe towards Karzok which is on the bank of this lovely lake.
It was already 6PM in the evening by the time we reached Mahe and we were 60kms far. The road again would be very deserted and I wasn’t sure of the road condition. But luckily the road condition was good and hence it wouldn’t land into any trouble because riding bike at night in those areas is a different danger. There would be ravines beside, lake beside and one mistake we’d be gone. So we had to be very careful.
We rarely sighted any vehicle on the way and this increased the tension. But we were used to the road conditions, riding in cold and such roads, so took it slow and steady on a dark night. It was at a higher altitude as well, so we encountered many hairpin turns too.
Reaching Karzok
Finally after a long journey we finally came closer to Karzok. We could hear the sound of lake but we couldn’t see it due to pitch darkness. The road was just above the lake and we were riding on the side of it, again one mistake we are inside the lake. We carefully crossed the road and finally reached Karzok, our destination for the day.
This is a very remote and special village I’ve visited. There is a limited electricity connection and the village is very small as well. Due to the limited number of homestays, the prices was high too. Finally we found a good stay at decent price. There is no mobile network here except BSNL for calling. So forget online payments. Even the electricity is unsure. But the beauty of this elegant village could be explored only in the morning.
Conclusion
We finally reached the rooms dead tired, but with tons and tons of memories. We covered almost 340kms totally from morning and this included visiting 2 magnificent pass – Photi La and Umling La. Hence this day is remembered for various reasons. We didn’t have much to do tomorrow, just explore the village for a while and head towards Leh for next circuit.
