Where the road ends: Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey 2018

The Beginning

The HO 2018 was all about 18 days of riding, but it’s difficult to spare so many days when there’s exciting things happening in the Indian two-wheeler industry. So it was decided that I’ll be doing the second leg of the journey, Leh to Chandigarh. This meant I had to fly into Leh from Mumbai and get on friendly terms with that rather uncomfortable buddy and spoiler of holidays – Mr AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness). This one is known to spoil everyone’s experience of the mountains if you don’t go by its rules. So the three rules to tackle AMS were rest, rest and some more rest. The idea here is to get used to the weather before heading out. So after two days of rest, I was mentally and physically fit to ride in the mountains. RE crew handed over the key of my Himalayan a day before the ride. 

 

 

Route

Leh to Hunder – 128kms 

Time taken: 5 hours

Difficulty level: Easy

The route to Hunder is quite a special one. This route is home to one of the most visited places in J&K, Khardungla. The thirst to reach the highest motorable road in the world and click a picture with that special board in the backdrop makes a lot of tourists explore the world of ‘adventure’. But beyond that pass lies a whole new experience for me, Nubra Valley – a place so majestic that I almost decided to come back the next month. The mountain and its terrains have a unique identity. Unlike Leh, Nubra Valley is filled with colours, thanks to the presence of flora. Its capital, Diskit, is home to a monastery which goes by the name Diskit Gompa. This hilltop monastery offers picturesque view of the valley and the road that lies beneath it. 

Hunder to Leh – 128kms

Time taken: 5 hours

Difficulty level: Easy

A lot of time was spent near the Nubra sand dunes. The stunning silver sand dunes adds a different flavour to the snow-clad mountains. The dunes is home to the Bactrian camels. In fact, a lot of tourists flock to this area for a ride on this animal. ATVs can be rented out as well but only the low-powered ones. 

Leh to Debring – 170kms

Time taken: 5 hours

Difficulty level: Easy

Probably the fastest and the smoothest route of the trip, this route is home to some historical places like Thiksey, Hemis and Rumste. The roads gets wider here, allowing better movements of military as well as civilian vehicles. The look and feel of the terrain doesn’t change much and that makes it slightly boring after a few hours.  But once you cross Gya, the route offers plenty of twisties which are not really safe but clean and smooth. 

The stay for the night was a campsite near Tso Kar Lake. The campsite location looks breathtaking at first, until one realises that it lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. So at night, the wind blowing around the site brought with it severe chill. 

Debring to Keylong- 230kms

Travel time: 10 hours

Difficulty level: Tough

This route is probably the most exciting and fun one in Himalayas. It is home to the famous More Plains. Nearly 40kms of unadulterated plain and smooth roads with a surrounding that is truly majestic. This route extends till Pang which is situated at around 15,419 feet. The iconic Gata Loops with its 21 hairpin turns could intimidate most of the riders out there. This place demands a lot of focus and patience, if one wants to reach Sarchu safely.

Once past Sarchu, there was a drastic change in terrain because we entered Spiti Valley, a cold desert mountain valley situated high in the north-eastern part of Himachal Pradesh. We had to cross Bara-lacha la, a pass at 16,040ft in order to make our way to Zing Zing Bar and from there proceed towards Jispa, first major city in Lahaul. An hour later, we reached Keylong, one of the nicest places I have ever been too. 

Keylong to Kaza 186kms

Time taken: 13 hours

Difficulty level: Challenging

This route is where a human can test his or her limit. The ride is excruciating because there’s no actual roads to ride on. Right from Thorang to Pangmo, the route is filled with extremely challenging terrain. There are roads which are being constructed.

There are river crossings which have to be done with patience and right technique. One has to deal with falling rocks using signs planted along the road. So the speed has to be low and consistent. In short, it is very difficult to get through this route without anyone’s help. So if you are with a group, things will become easier because of team effort. 

Rest Day

For obvious reasons

Kaza to Kalpa – 206kms

Time taken: 9 hours

Difficulty level: Hard

This stretch had sparkling and smooth roads on offer and that’s what most of us wanted. The average riding speed increased. Riders with back problem had a big grin on their face and I for one, was enjoying the gleaming route. The lush green mountains coupled with snow tops gives you mental peace. People took less breaks here, because now everyone wanted to get home soon. With just two more days of riding time left, there was a sense of restlessness among most riders. By then ,they had been away from home for more than 20 days. 

Kalpa to Narkanda – 168kms

Time taken: 8 hours

Difficulty level: Easy

Back to the civilization, they say. It was getting slightly difficult to get used to the traffic, but with caution, everyone had a good hand on their motorcycle’s throttle. While it will take us a few more hours to get to the actual civilization, few of us decided to spend some time around the Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric plant. This plant is known for its mammoth construction effort and how it was created at such heights. As we got close to Narkanda, it started drizzling and most of us were seen riding hard to get to the hotel without getting wet. And a few of us reached the famous Tethys Ski Resort partially wet. 

Narkanda to Chandigarh – 174kms

Time taken: 9 hours

Difficulty level: Hard

We were asked to ride really safe on the last day because we were coming back to the urban jungle. So we skipped the crowded Shimla and took a bypass road instead through Kufri. That route took us through Chail Sanctuary which was home to narrow roads and blind turns. Three hours later, we were on the road towards Chandigarh with an insane number of vehicles around. Plus, there were plenty of construction activities to deal with. Slowly and steadily, everyone reached the hotel safely. Most of us got emotional. A few were proud of their accomplishments and some of us were finding it difficult to let go of this fantastic experience. 

The Bike

The Himalayan was abused, dropped, abused again and it survived all of that. That impressed me the most. The BS-IV variant has improved by leaps and bound. In fact, it reached a point where Classic and Thunderbird owners were left speechless by the amount of thrashing this adventure bike could handle. The overall ergonomics, seating comfort and the tank range makes it a practical motorcycle for the Himalayas. The only complaint I had was the engine. That 410cc single-cylinder motor could have gone with more power. The bike could have cruised at a higher speed, covering more distance. A little more torque in the mid-range would have helped the cause. At high altitude regions like Khardungla and Bara-lacha la, the Himalayan was struggling. But overall, the Himalayan provided a fantastic experience. 

 

 

This is Life

If you own a Royal Enfield and plan to ride to the mighty Himalayas for the first time, do it only with Royal Enfield. They are the best in the business and have been doing this for more than a decade now. They have the expertise, right contacts and most importantly, they have the right attitude towards adventure.