YHAI National Himalayan Mountain Biking Leh
Day 6 - Ride from Sakhar-2 to Haniskot
The morning started off really early and it was all misty and chilled outside. And to make life more adventurous since there was shortage of water we had to go down to the stream to get fresh. The water was really chilled. A simple task as brushing our teeth & washing our face became a challenge. Our hands were really numb because of the chilled waters. Luckily tea was ready and we used it as a heater to get feeling back into our hands. In all YHAI expeditions it is well known that they only serve vegetarian meals. The only exception to this rule is eggs for breakfast. Sakhar-2 was that camp where we had eggs for breakfast. Well Akhilesh being a vegetarian meant and extra egg for me :)
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| View on Leh Srinagar highway |
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| Camp @ Sakhar - 2 |
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| Getting set to leave from Sakhar - 2 |
We got ready and loaded our bikes. Mithun briefed us about the route. We were supposed to cycle till Khangral & then connect to the Srinagar Leh highway and reach our next camp at Haniskot. And as promised Sumit would be joining us at Khangral to accompany us till Haniskot & complete the expedition with us the day after till Lamayuru via Fotu La pass. The route from Sakhar-2 till Khangral passed through many villages and thus we got to interact with a lot of locals and especially children.
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| Akhilesh with the local kids |
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| Cute :) |
Fortunately for us it was Sunday and thus all the kids were at home so we got the most their attention. They were more than excited to play with us and wanted to ride with us. We took some of the smaller kids for a ride while let the slightly older kids to take our bikes for a spin. Hopefully that made their Sunday enjoyable and it definitely made our trip more exciting. One very distinctly features in all the kids were milky white skin with rosy pink cheeks. All the kids here are blessed with cuteness and the climate certainly helps them maintain the freshness and glow on their face :)
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| Local kids |
Just as we moved ahead we saw a structure atop a hillock resembling a palace. The structure however was in ruins. We didn’t know what it exactly was but it resembled some historical structure.
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| Between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
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| Between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
Riding another km and we hit another local village. Here too we were surrounded by local kids. They had similar demands and we didn’t want to disappoint them so we obliged them and took them for a ride. The kids were also more than happy to pose for photographs with us. One piece of suggestion I would like to give to future participants is to try & select a batch wherein your journey from Sakhar-2 to Haniskot happens on a Sunday. Though we didn’t plan for it but we were more than happy with the co-incidence. You don’t want to miss interacting with these kids. This is the only route wherein you will get to interact with the locals.
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| With local kids :) |
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| Rasta roko for chocolates :) |
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| Sunflower against the clear blue skies |
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| Cutie :) between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
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| Cutie :) between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
Just as we were about to leave from there; the local kids created a human barricade and demanded for chocolates. It was so cute. We left from here (though we didn’t want to) and made our way through another village wherein we saw one of the local using the handloom. It was really nice to see him intricately weave the threads into a beautiful cloth. By now we were very close to Khangral & there was a small army check post here. I stopped by to take some rest and the army jawans were more than happy to invite us over.
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| Between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
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| Between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
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| Between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
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| Rest time between Sakhar - 2 & Khangral |
The last patch of uphill cycling finally leads us to Khangral. Some of our fellow participants were already here along with Sumit & Mithun and as usual we were the last ones :)
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| Last stretch towards Khangral |
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| Last stretch towards Khangral |
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| Akhilesh with Sumit @ Khangral |
We parked our bikes and opened our lunch boxes. Lunch as usual for us was a session of jokes and laughter. This time we had Sumit & Mithun for company. These guys are really awesome. They get along so well with us that it’s hard to fathom the reality that we are in company of the 2 best cyclists in India.
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
After an extended lunch break we finally left from Khangral & now we were back on the Srinagar Leh highway. The views were really mesmerizing and the journey was even more exciting since we got to cycle alongside Sumit. We would have cycled for about 2-3 km but the view doesn’t change one bit. Such is the magnitude of the surrounding. We are at such an altitude that the small villages and fields in the valley such appear to be the same even after cycling for 2-3 km.
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
Just as we were cruising along the Srinagar Leh highway we happened to meet a foreign couple who were cycling towards Srinagar. They had a 2-seater bicycle with their entire luggage loaded on the bike. It’s amazing to see foreigners on a soulful trip to India to explore these lovely destinations. We had a chat with them which is when they informed us that they were looking out for a place to halt for the night while their friend was also on his way & was left behind. They requested us to pass a message to him since we would most likely meet him while we were cycling towards Haniskot.
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| Akhilesh with a foreigners bike between Khangral & Haniskot |
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| Between Khangral & Haniskot |
We stopped at a tea stall for a break. By now since it was 4 PM and we had a comfortable couple of hours till sunset’ we made the most of the time here. While we were having tea the foreigner couple’s friend came along. Sumit guided him about his friend’s whereabouts.
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| Sumit giving directions to friend of the couple we meet |
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| Just before Haniskot |
We finally left from there and our next target was to reach Haniskot. The Haniskot camp was located on a hillock and the last 1 km really tested us. But we finally made it to the camp and as usual we were the last one’s to reach. The Haniskot camp was actually a property owned by J&K tourism but not in use. This was rented out by YHAI for this expedition.
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| Just before Haniskot |
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| Just on the entrance of Haniskot |
We parked our bikes and the next task was to get fresh. Here too we had a different variant of water problems. The restrooms didn’t have direct water connection since the location was not in use for sometime. We had to get water from the hand pump outside. The walk to the hand pump and the actual task of pumping water would become a challenge because of the chilled climate. This was easily the coldest camp. Touching the hand pump sent a feeling of shock in the body :)
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| Behind the Haniskot camp |
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| Haniskot camp |
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| The famous hand pump @ Haniskot |
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| My bike |
By now it was time for soup followed by dinner. The task of having dinner was also a task since it was really cold outside. But the food provided the much needed body heat. Speciality of the camp was “Gulab Jamun” for dessert. We certainly made the most of it. It was time to call it quits with mixed feelings. Tomorrow would be the last day of cycling but it would also mean we attempt to scale the highest point on the Srinagar Leh highway; Fotu La pass :)
Many more memoirs to share .... Sachin
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