Monday 1 July - after breakfast of toast and tea in the dining hall with the Royal Enfield Bikers we set off on the way to Leh with a first stop at the petrol station.
The road followed the Wakha River and in the valley floor were small fields and hamlets.
We made good progress until we came across the BRO at work clearing a landslide and had to wait along with a growing line of trucks for a lane to be cleared.
After some 30 miles we reached Mulbeck which itself is at 10,600 feet and here the scenery changed markedly almost moon like in its desolation. The road then rises up to the Namika La Pass which is 12,200 feet above sea level.
The road descends before rising again to Fatula Top which is the highest pass on this section at 13,479 feet as
The final approach to Leh is across a totally featureless sandstone plain with the outskirts of the town being marked by large army camps and finally the airport which doubles up as the air base. Our destination was the Hotel Nalanda which had the benefit of being away from the main town centre !
The road followed the Wakha River and in the valley floor were small fields and hamlets.
We made good progress until we came across the BRO at work clearing a landslide and had to wait along with a growing line of trucks for a lane to be cleared.
After some 30 miles we reached Mulbeck which itself is at 10,600 feet and here the scenery changed markedly almost moon like in its desolation. The road then rises up to the Namika La Pass which is 12,200 feet above sea level.
The road descends before rising again to Fatula Top which is the highest pass on this section at 13,479 feet as
The final approach to Leh is across a totally featureless sandstone plain with the outskirts of the town being marked by large army camps and finally the airport which doubles up as the air base. Our destination was the Hotel Nalanda which had the benefit of being away from the main town centre !