Markha Valley

Leh - Kargil

Once rivalling Manali-Leh as the classic ride of the Indian Himalaya, the Leh-Srinigar Hway has been cast into shadow by the continuing political tensions in Kashmir. The road, which skirts the Line of Actual Control between India and Pakistan, has been the target of Pakistani shelling and crossfire, while bombs and shootings continue in Srinigar, and between Drass and Kargil. All the same, every year cyclists decide to ride between the two, usually without incident. The road is heavily militarised with increasingly frequent police checkpoints as you approach Srinigar – the upshot of this is the excellent condition it’s kept in. The landscape is also beautiful – with pea-green glacial rivers, crumpled mountainsides like rhino hide and the wonderful gompas of Lamayuru, Alchi, Likir and Basgo. West of the Zoji La, the barren Ladakhi landscape is supplanted by the lush and pretty Vale of Kashmir.
One possibility is to cycle half of Leh-Srinigar, until Kargil. The 240km can be comfortably covered in 3 1⁄2 days, provided you don’t lose yourself wandering around the lovely gompas. Once in Kargil, you can then cycle down the rough Suru Valley - overshadowed by the lovely Nun Kun Massif (7,000m+) and bristling with glaciers – to Padum at the valley head, from where you can trek over the Zanskar range to rejoin the Manai-Leh Hway at Darcha 8 days later.

Spiti Valley

Manali-Leh