Winter & Spring

   Losar

   Winter Ladakh

Riding Royal Enfield over the high Himalaya and through the high altitude desert of Ladakh is an experience of a lifetime. Leh Road is open for about three months a year only, from early July to September. For much of its length, it passes through areas so barren that it is entirely void of habitation. The first major pass on this road, the Rohtang pass (13,000 ft / 3,978m), that is crossed soon after departure from Manali, cuts through the Pir Panjal Range of the Great Himalayas. After crossing Rohtang Pass one enters the Lahoul district, which has a typically trans-Himalayan landscape. Beyond Keylong, the main town in Lahoul district, the road follows the Bhaga River up towards its source, passing a few more villages. Thereafter it hairpins up to the Baralacha-La (16,050 ft / 4,892m), which is a tri-junction, with a trail from Spiti also joining in from the southeast. This is the crossing of the Great Himalayan Range, the watershed between the Indus and the Chenab. An hour after leaving Sarchu you negotiate 21 hairpin bends known as the “Gatta Loops” which take you from an altitude of 4210 M/ 13,780 Ft to a height of 4667 M / 15,302 Ft. From here there is an option to continue on to Tso Kar, also called “White Lake” because of salt deposits around it. over a roller-coaster track to the head of Tso Moriri, a magnificent lake, and on to Korzok, a quarter of the way along the lake's 20km length. Containing the drainage basin of these trans-Himalayan lakes and known as Rupshu, this is a landscape of open, windswept high-altitude valleys. Korzok, situated at 15,000 feet (4,572 m) with its dozen or so houses and its gompa appearing like a mirage among the barren hills, is the only permanent settlement in Rupshu. The Leh – Manali road then  brings us over one of the highest passes in the region, over the Taklang-la (5260m) as you continue to traverse the barren landscape, which becomes positively lunar with dusty plains stretching into the distance. Driving through grand, dramatic scenery you arrive at Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

The tours are run typically Delhi to Delhi, and itineraries can be customized upon request. We use only Royal Enfield 500cc 2000 models or newer.