Chalo.
Accross some of the hightest mountain passes in the world
Appr. 9 days / 480km
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Leh to Manali is an amazing scenic ride traversing some of the highest passes in the world making it a very challenging ride. The average elevation of Leh-Manali highway is more than 4000m and its highest elevation is 5328m at Tanglang La mountain pass. It is flanked by mountain ranges on both sides featuring some stunning sand and rock natural formations.
The highway has stretches of good tarmac (especially from Leh up to Pang) but also many damaged stretches and under-maintenance portions. Except for convoys of army trucks and motorbikers, it's absolute peace and calmness cycling this route. You'll only hear yourself gasping for air on ascends and going wooooohoeee on descends..
In short
Pics
Route & map
Where to sleep?
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This ride is feasible without carrying a tent, it will save you some weight on the bicycle which will count climbing the passes. The small settlements of Debring, Whiskey Nullah, Pang, Sarchu and Zing Zing Bar with their dhabas (parachute tent camps) are reachable in 1 day cycling distance and they are cheap (average of 100 rupees). They are very basic but I found them also quite comfortable. It's on sharing base so there is a possibility you will try to get some sleep while a group of Indian motorbikers are having a loud party next to you. No other option than to join them at that point..
But if you have a tent and want to camp, you will find plenty of beautiful wild camp spots. It's advisable not to camp on the passes but always descend and look for a spot there, this for weather conditions (less wind and less cold) and also for health reasons (altitude sickness)
Other places like Upshi and Rumtse you will find houses that also offer accomodation for tourists. In Sissu you can find a couple of homestays and some hotels. Keylong has a wider offer on hotels.
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What to eat?
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Between Leh and Keylong there are hardly any restaurants to find. Only dhabas and small eat stalls where you can buy Maggi noodles, maybe some bread omelet and dal bhat, instant soups and some packaged food like cookies and chocolats,...
Be prepared and bring snacks and energy bars, the distances between the different settlements can be long and there is nothing to find in between. In every settlement you can buy bottled water and softdrinks or chai.
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When to go?
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The road is open for only about four and a half months in a year in summer between May or June, when the snow is cleared, and mid-October when snowfall again blocks the high passes.
I did the trip beginning of August. I was very lucky with the weather as i had hardly any rainfall and the temperatures were enjoyable (not too hot in daytime and not freezing cold in night). But it is advisable to bring warm clothes for night and also put on lots of sunscreen and regularly repeat this.
The peak travel season is during May and June when a lot of tourists visit Rohtang pass. There is less chance of rain in these months as the monsoon hasn't arrived yet but this is also very unpredictable.
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Do I need special permits?
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To cycle this route you don't need any special permits or papers. If you would take a turn into other regions like Tsokar Lake,... you will need a special permit and you will have to apply in advance for this. On route from Leh to Manali you will be stopped at several police checkpoints to registrate your passport and visum.
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How to navigate?
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A map or navigation system is not really necessary for the trip because once you leave Leh and start heading towards Manali there is just the one road, which all of the busses and trucks also take.
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Does my phone work up there?
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In Leh you can buy a SIM card that will only work around that area (so your SIM card you bought elsewhere in India won't work here). You will need to give them 4 identical passport pictures and it will cost about 300 rupees. But even with the SIM card there is no garanty of good internet connection.
Most hotels and restaurants in Leh offer free WIFI but most of the time it didn't really work.
Keylong was the first place after Leh I could use wifi in a hotel. My 3G signal started working once crossed Rothang pass and cycling into Manali.
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Where can i withdraw money?
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There are no ATM's in between Leh and Keylong but the good thing is you won't be able spend too much money along the way. Only cheap accomodation and food.
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How safe is it?
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I was cycling alone and felt very safe, there is not too much people out here but there is enough
traffic you could wave down in case you would have a problem. ​The biggest danger is the
heavy army trucks speeding on these rickety roads. Most of the time they're in convoy and you will
hear and see them coming from far away, so i sometimes anticipated by stopping and getting
aside the road hiding my mouth and eyes from the dust.
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Other safety points are stated by the army check post while registrating in Grampu.
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Do I need to take special precautions regarding altitude?
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It is advisable to get used to the high altitude (and lower oxygen) by staying some days in Leh and taking it easy before heading off. This to prevent from getting acute mountain sickness: headache, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. The advantage of cycling is you will gain high altitude meters much slower than motorbikes or cars, so there is less chance, but still, you will feel that there is less oxygen and so normaly you will feel tired much quicker. Especially the first days.
You can also try taking diamox tablets. They should help preventing altitude sickness.
Start
Leh
Day 7
Keylong
Day 9
Manali
Day 5
Sarchu
Day 3
Debring
Day 1
Upshi
Day 8
Sissu
Day 6
Patsio Lake
Day 4
Pang
Day 2
Rumtse
Start elevation: 3500m
Highest point: 5328m
Total ascent: 9611m
Leaving Leh it's an easy ride all the way up to Thiksey. Make a stop here to visit the beautiful Thiksey monastery. After Thiksey it goes mainly flat, bits slightly uphill, up to Upshi. In Upshi you will find basic restaurants and accommation.
Overnight: when entering Upshi, to your right, you will find a building a bit hidden next to the river which is made into a dormitory with about 15 beds, it's clean and cheap (200 rupees). Friendly owner has a teashop accross the street.
Only 30km but the climbing work start. All the way uphill but the amazing beautiful scenery makes up for the hard work. Good asphalt road.
Overnight: in the settlement of Rumtse on your left you will find a restaurant that also offers quite clean rooms
Another 32km steep climbing and windy roads up to Taglang La pass, but all the way up good asphalt road. You are now 5.328 m high. There is a small parachute tent on the top selling some drinks and small snacks. From the top to Debring it's a very nice 15km descend. Be careful as the nice tarmac road turns into gravel and putholes for about 7km just after the top. Debring is a small settlement of about 4 parachute tent dhabas. You can sleep in the tents and have some basic food.
Overnight: camping in Debring
Rumtse to Debring
Appr. 47km
Good nice asphalt road all along the Morey plains. If wind picks up, as it usualy does in the afternoon, this can be a tough one (getting headwinds every day you slowly start to realize one of the reasons people cycle it the other way..). Going down into Pang is a 5km pleasant descend, and just before you will enjoy a very nice view of what looks like a big canyon. Fabulous views!
Overnight: Pang has around 10 parachute tent dhabas and even a sort of small brick guesthouse (overpriced). I stayed in Janta dhaba tent dhaba (100 rupees)
For me this was a rather tough day with a long distance. If you want you can break up the ride and overnight in Whiskey Nullah (dhaba tents available there). Get an early morning out of Pang and start with climbing Lachulung La pass at 5,065 m. The road after Pang gets a bit bad at times, you will gradualy get more gravel, putholes,... But this was one of my favorite rides as the surroundings were amazingly beautiful. After Lachulung La you will descend into Whiskey Nullah, you can take a midday break here but if you want to continue to Sarchu don't hang around for too long. Climb up to Nakee La pass at 4,739 m and after there are some km's still to go until you reach the 'famous' descend of 500 m through the Gata loops (22 hairpin bends) untill you reach the river. By now it will probably be afternoon and if wind picks up this can be a tough 24km cycling into Sarchu. It goes slightly uphill almost all the way into Sarchu.
Overnight: 2km before entering Sarchu, you will find a tent camp to your right. They rent out tents and i paid 300 rupees (but i'm bad at the bargaining game :)). They also serve food. I prefered this place over the many dhabas in gloomy Sarchu as it was more like a big truck stop place. If you have bit more energy left, you could also cross the bridge and some km's further up there are more and bigger tent camps.
Just after crossing the river in Sarchu, there is a army check post where you need to registrate. It's quick and easy. After you have a stretch of flat road leading towards the climb of Baralacha-la, which is long and tough. You will pass past little tented cafes in Baratpur before the final stretch of climbing to the top. After Baralacha-la, it's an amazing fun descend passing some stunning small mountain lakes, on good tarmac road. You will pass Zing Zing Bar (the parachute tents are not located in the actual settlement of Zing Zing Bar, which is bit further down and just 2 houses big and a boring place). I would advise to overnight in the tented camp next to Patsio Lake, a small stunning lake (look for a friendly guy named Krishna, he'll take you for a boatride on the lake)
Overnight: Tent camp next to Patsio Lake. Tents have real beds and bathroom (toilet and water) inside the tent. I paid 500 rupees inclusive of dinner. Again..not good in bargaining so you might get it for cheaper
Good tarmac easy ride, passing by towns of Darcha and Jispa, you slowly are entering back into civilization. Surroundings are getting greener and you might have to get your shoes wet crossing a couple of road rivers. Take a left into Keylong, which has everything on offer, hotels, restaurants, atm, wifi,...
Hotel: Dupshen hotel, Keylong (600 rupees for a double room)
Keylong to Sissu is only 31km but when i was passing many long stretches of the road were in a bad state and there were many road construction works. Road goes up and down and ends with some climbing into town of Sissu. The view of the waterfall across the river and opposite the town is quite spectacular. There are many accomodation options here, you can do a tour of the home stays and pick your best spot. I took Snow Town home stay with a room with view on the waterfall and a very nice family room were the lady host serves very nice food.
Overnight: Snow Town home stay (500 rupees private room dinner inclusive)
Easy 15km flat ride to Koksar, where you will have to registrate at a checkpost. But arriving into Koksar and especially the 5km road to Gramphu is one of the worst roads. Especially when it rains or has rained in the hours before, the road will turn into one big mudpool, making it almost impossible to cycle. At Grampu, which is just a crossroad for people who want to take the turn into Spiti Valley, there is a small tea stall. Have a chai and get ready for Rothang-La. I found Rothang Pass heavy but not as difficult as some passes done days before. It's 'only' 15km and even though the first 10km are a true struggle on very bad road, the last 5km is good tarmac road and it zigzags gradualy uphill. I guess you have to get lucky with the weather up here (big change of rain) and traffic (it can get very busy with tourist cars). The next 50km ride downhill into Manali is true pleasure. The views on the green surroundings and waterfalls you will come accros are simply stunning. Don't rush down but take the time to take it all in and ENJOY!
Overnight: Manali, Tourist nest guesthouse (600 rupees)
Roadbook
Leh to Upshi
Appr. 47km
Upshi to Rumtse
Appr. 30km
Debring to Pang
Appr. 52km
Pang to Sarchu
Appr. 77km
Sarchu to Patsio Lake (Deepak Taal)
Appr. 63km
Patsio Lake to Keylong
Appr. 45km
Keylong to Sissu
Appr. 31km
Sissu to Manali
Appr. 85km