2017 TVS Himalayan Highs: Riding a Zest to Khardung La!

Leh City

D-day dawned and I was all packed up for an early-morning flight from Mumbai to Leh. If you are planning to go there yourself, let me tell you – acclimatisation is important. Fortunately, when I landed at the Leh airport, the temperature was a “pleasant” six degrees. All the altitude sickness was catching up with me; however, my excitement at the very prospect of venturing on this incredible journey essentially helped me survive at 11,500 feet. 

The sunny vales, crisp cold air, complete with glimpses of snow-clad mountains, and the general friendliness of the people made my first day in Leh city a captivating experience...

On the second day, we got the opportunity to interact with the participants. Meeting the diversified group that TVS had gathered was a heartening experience. For instance, one girl belonged to the Asansol city of West Bengal and participated to inspire other girls of her city in their endeavours. Another girl was on this ride to overcome her fear of riding, developed after she met with an accident eleven years ago. The youngest participant was 18, while the oldest was 33. Breaking stereotypes, all of them arrived from different corners of the country to best the Himalayan Highs.

After sightseeing at places like the Sanchi Stupa and the War Memorial, we visited the Shey monastery. The Shey monastery is one of the few monasteries in the world that serves as a school for Nunnery. A visit there served as a motivation for the girls as they brought together two different approaches of female empowerment. The girls chatted with the nuns, exhibited the scooters to them, and rode along with them in the courtyard of the monastery.

Ride to Khardung La

The day finally arrived. The ride to K-top begun early morning. My steed, as I mentioned earlier, was a matte-black Zest 110 (it matched my helmet too!). The Scooty was running on knobby tyres, and the only other modification done to it was the change of air-intake position in order to prevent water from seeping into the intake. When I first saw it in the morning sun, I recalled a piece of advice that was offered to me – don’t push yourself; take it easy, give up if you can’t handle it.

But once astride the scooter, all geared up, those words didn’t matter anymore. The ride started on a lazy, sunny morning through the town of Leh and from there on, we kept ascending progressively. From Leh city to Khardung La, the total distance was approximately 39km, but the altitude difference was around 6,900ft. We travelled from Leh’s elevation of 11,482ft to Khardung La’s famous 18,380ft.

The confident girls up ahead in the convoy were in control of their rides, having ridden through the worst terrains already. Meanwhile, I was behind the pack, thoroughly enjoying the Zest. The road was nothing but clean tarmac, sweeping across the mountains. There were no barricades and the mountainside fell steeply down to thousands of feet. The view from the edge of the mountainside was bewitching and it kept getting better with every turn. The temperature dropped with every sweeping bend and my confidence on the scooter grew with every kilometre passing by. 

Hauling my hefty weight on an ever increasing incline, I could see the speedometre needle hovering between 45-55kmph. That was way more impressive than I anticipated. The breathtaking mountain views took a back seat as it turned out to be the most engaging and enthralling ride of my life. 

I had previously owned an old TVS Scooty Pep and I remember it to be sturdy, lightweight and reliable. On the other hand, this was my first introduction with the Zest 110. I was told the Zest has an impressive acceleration, and it handles well. And I found it to be true. The handling was very precise and being lightweight, it was easy to direct the scooter into the mountain corners. Given the admirable control of the Zest, it was possible to even soak up the views of the mountains while riding. The Zest 110 exceeded my expectation by a fair margin.

Around 15 kilometres ahead of Khardung La, the smooth, unbroken strip of tarmac ceased to exist. There were no signs of a road at all. Now there were boulders, craters, slush, sand, water and every other nightmarish terrain that you can imagine. The dropping temperature did little to deter the humble Zest, as it took everything in its stride and soldiered on.

The low body weight of the scooter was felt to be a blessing on these bad roads where the Zest just tip-toed through the worst of the terrains without any difficulty. Both my hands were now white under the gloves. It was getting difficult to breathe. At one point in time, we were riding higher than the airplane that just took off from Leh airport. However, the sheer joy of pacing through on a Zest, running at its full potential, kept me moving on.

Khardung La

And finally, we arrived. Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world, is fairly overrated. Additionally, the swarm of the tourists and their smoke-emitting vehicles clogging the roads did little to elevate the experience. However, at 18,380ft, nothing can compete with the view of sheer breathtaking snow-clad mountains on all sides.

I admit it is a milestone, but the real credit goes to the beautiful roads that led us there. My fellow bikers waving in appreciation as they passed by us, the pleasant temperature and the lack of oxygen, coupled with the breathtaking views, makes you want to appreciate life more than you do back home. The Zest, on the other hand, impressed me beyond imagination.

I am already looking forward to going back there again. Pretty soon.

Photography by TVS and Abijith Vilangil