Into Thin Air itinerary

DAY 1 Fly London to Delhi

We’ll transfer you to our hotel in Delhi where you can spend the evening exploring the sights and smells of this crazy city, and acquaint yourself with the wonders of Indian traffic.

DAY 2 Delhi to Manali

We travel by air-conditioned coach for the 14hr journey up to Manali in the foothills of the Himalaya. We’ll be driving along sections of the Grand Trunk Road, made famous in Rudyard Kipling’s Kim.

DAY 3 Manali (1900m)

After yesterday’s bus epic we take some time out in Manali to acclimatise and get our heads around the challenge ahead. It’s worth going for a walk around the orchards from where you can see the peaks of the Pir Pinjal – tomorrow’s objective.

DAY 4 Manali – Marrhi (approx 36km)

Don’t scoff at the mileage today – those 36km are all uphill! We camp at Marrhi (3303m).

DAY 5 Marrhi – Keylong (approx 86km)

From Marrhi kilometer markers count you down to Rohtang La (3988m), the first of our passes. The landscape becomes bleaker as the views and weather get more dramatic – rolling clouds billow over the pass and often rend apart to reveal a dazzling blue sky behind and high valleys sliced by rivers and waterfalls. Enjoy the bumpy descent off the pass into the ruggged Lahaul Valley – you have now crossed from monsoonal India to the south face of the Great Himalaya range.

The road between Khoksar and Sissu can get washed out. We spend the night in a guesthouse in the small market town of Keylong (3145m), the last place to stock up on good supplies (and internet) until we reach Leh.

DAY 6 Keylong – Patseo (approx 44.5km)

Keylong’s valley is dotted with small villages, shady poplars and rivulets. This is the last permanent habitation until the villages on the far side of Taglang La, over 250km away. Beyond Keylong the road is hacked out of a narrow gorge high above the Bhaga River, with wonderful views across to the glaciers on the other side of the valley. Once we cross the Bhaga River at Darcha there are some switchbacks uphill then a steady roll to the parachute tent camp at Patseo (3715m) where we camp near its tiny lake.

DAY 7 Patseo – Sarchu (approx 58km)

The climb up Baralacha La (4918m) starts just after Patseo. It’s a tough climb through a bare rocky landscape with only two distractions – the army camp of Zing Zing Bar and the turquoise lake of Suraj Tal just before the pass. You’ll be feeling the altitude here but then so you should – you’re crossing the Great Himalaya range. Depending on how recently the army has deployed its roadworkers the descent can be rough but with magical scenery of marbled pink mountains rising from the Yama river, set off by swathes of green and glacial lakelets. The tent camp of Bharatpur lies at the base of the descent, beyond which the road shuttles you through a gorge and out on the wide Sarchu plains (4408m) where we camp for the night.

DAY 8 Sarchu

We take today off in Sarchu to give our bodies a chance to catch up with the acclimatising before we hit the really big passes.

DAY 9 Sarchu – Whisky Nala (approx 55km)

Today starts easily with a flat spin of 25km to the base of the Gata Loops, 21 switchbacks which winch you up from 4222m up to 4627m. But you’re not finished yet – it’s another 10km uphill to Nakeela La (4937m) before you can rest your legs and freewheel down to Whisky Nala (4802m), a camping ground in the dip between Nakeela La and tomorrow’s objective, Lachulung La.

DAY 10 Whisky Nala – Pang (approx 30km)

Yesterday’s hard work pays off today as it’s less than 8km from Whisky Nala to the first 5000+m pass, Lachulung La (5077m). From Lachulung it’s downhill all the way to Pang along a bumpy road which skirts a high, grassy pasture then drops through a river gully with bizarre hoodoos and turrets sculpted by the wind. Pang (4552m) is a scruffy collection of parachute tents which are cosiness itself – we commandeer one to ourselves and hang out drinking chai and watching the Tatas go by.

DAY 11 Pang – Tso Kar (approx 47km)

Just five switchbacks up from Pang the scenery transforms itself into a large plateau sliced by a deep canyon and fringed by snow-capped mountains. The light and scenery here are dramatic as cloud shadows sweep across the sky, plunging the plateau into darkness or flooding it with light. We take a small detour off the highway to camp on the shores of Tso Kar, a salt lake in the heartland of the Changpa nomads.

DAY 12 Tso Kar – Lato (approx 73km)

We rejoin the highway and the plateau’s reliable tailwind whizz along for a glorious few kilometres to the base of Taglang La (5300m), the highest and last pass on the Manali – Leh Highway. The climb is steady and good tarmac – by this point in the ride you will notice the cars and motorbikes struggling more than cyclists who are now well-attuned to the altitude! From the pass you’ll be able to see Tso Kar shimmering to the southeast and even better you can truly enjoy the downhill, knowing that there are no more passes now until we reach Leh. We drop off the pass alongside the power-blue Gya river and as we lose altitude small white-washed villages bounded by kidney-shaped barley fields start popping up. This is Ladakh proper: prayer wheels, chortens, old ladies in fusty garb. We finish the day at Lato, the prettiest and lowest of the villages at an easy 4000m.

DAY 13 Lato – Leh (approx 71.5km)

From Lato the road funnels you through a fantastic gorge of reds and greens, with the strata and fins of the rock shooting skywards. Eventually the gorge opens out at the pashmina goat farm near Upshi and you emerge, blinking, into the remarkable light and open vistas of the Indus Valley.

The road rises and falls as we follow the Indus river west from Upshi to the army camp at Karu, past which it’s either flat or downhill to the Buddhist monastery at Thikse. The traffic picks up as we reach Tibetan colony of Choglamsar then swing north for the final push to Leh for a hot shower, very well-earned wood-fire pizza and plenty of bottles of Godfather beer!

DAY 14 Leh

Leh is a fascinating small town which used to be the main trading post between India and Central Asia. We take today off so you could either relax in the guesthouse or explore the warren-like lanes, the outlying Shanti Stupa and Leh’s many German Bakeries.

Day 15 Leh – Khardung La – Leh (approx 75km)

This is the Big One, as Khardung La (5359m) is officially the highest motorable road in the world! The round-trip to the pass takes about 7 hours unloaded and overlooks Leh and the Indus Valley for most of the climb. It’s not steep though the road at the top has the consistency of muesli. Still, all the effort will be forgotten once you’re standing in front of the prayer flags and Khardung La’s pass sign for the unmissable cheesy photo. We’ll then freewheel back to Leh for yet more Godfathers and all-round congratulations.

Day 16 Leh – Delhi

All too soon it’s time to leave the mountains and fly back to Delhi. Leh’s airport is the highest civilian airport in the world and our flight path takes us straight back over the Himalaya – the mountains we’ve just climbed on our bikes – back down to the Indian plains.

Day 17 Delhi – London

Fly back from Delhi to London.

...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

Price

Excluding international flights

£1650 per person including the £300 non-refundable registration fee

Including international flights
£2350 per person including the £300 non-refundable registration fee

What's included

Domestic flight from Leh to Delhi

Minibus and coach transfers

Full board accommodation – twin room / tent sharing

Full on the road support

Maps and GPS support

What’s not included

Indian visa

Inner Line Permit for Khardung La

• All prices are subject to change due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, seasonal variations and supplier tariff revisions.
• All bookings and travel arrangements are subject to Greenrock Limited standard terms and conditions.
• All travellers must carry full personal medical and travel insurance before leaving for any trip.
• All cyclists must bring their own bike.
• Greenrock withholds the right to change the route based on the weather or any other changeable factors.
• There is a single supplement of £200

Min Cyclists – 10

Max Cyclists – 30

........................................................................................................................................................................

Into Thin Air

days until Into Thin Air