Reach Manali and check into the hotel. Take the rest of the day easy; walk around if you feel like it, or just rest. There's no riding today, so use the time to get used to the altitude and the mountain air before things get serious.

Manali is where this whole trip kicks off. From here the route runs through Sarchu and on to Leh, then deep into some of the toughest and most remote parts of Ladakh. Tomorrow the real riding starts, so today is really about getting your body and your head ready for it.

In the evening, the group meets at the hotel for a briefing. The team will go over riding rules, safety points, and what to expect once the altitude starts climbing. Worth paying attention here; the next several days bring long rides, steep altitude gain, and roads that can change conditions fast.

Breakfast, then straight onto the Manali–Leh Highway. You'll go through the Atal Tunnel first, and from there the road starts climbing toward Baralacha La. The landscape shifts fast on this stretch; green hills give way to bare rock and open, empty terrain within a few hours.

Baralacha La comes today. It's one of the higher passes on this stretch, so the climb takes a while and there's no rushing it. Once you're over the top, the road drops down toward Sarchu for a long, winding stretch. Altitude starts playing tricks around here too; a bit of a headache, maybe some breathlessness if you move too fast. Drink water even when you don't feel like it.

Sarchu shows up by evening. It sits close to 4,290 metres, right where Himachal Pradesh ends and Ladakh begins. Nothing fancy here, just tent camps for the night, no real hotels this far up the route. Get some sleep early; tomorrow's ride to Leh is long and takes up most of the day.

Leaving Sarchu, the road pushes deeper into Ladakh. First up are the Gata Loops; 21 hairpin bends stacked one after another, climbing the mountain fast. It's slow going and needs full attention, no room to zone out on this bit.

From there you cross Nakee La at around 4,740 metres, then Lachulung La just past 5,000 metres. Pang comes next, a small stop before the road opens up completely at Moore Plains; a nearly 50-km straight run that feels almost surreal after all those hairpins. Flat, wide, empty in every direction.

Tanglang La is the last big pass of the day, and after that it's a long stretch down toward Leh. Between the hairpins, the passes, and that stretch of plains, this is probably the toughest riding day of the whole trip. You'll reach Leh by evening; check into the hotel and rest up properly, because the next stretch of the expedition builds on this one.

Early start out of Leh, heading for Nubra Valley. First comes Khardung La; one of the highest passes on the whole route, and one every rider looks forward to. The climb up is steep, the air gets noticeably thinner, and the view from the top makes the effort worth it.

Once you're down the other side, the landscape opens into Nubra. There's a stop at Diskit Monastery on the way, perched above the valley with views worth the short walk up. From there it's on to Hunder, where you'll check in for the night.

Hunder feels like a different planet after two days of mountain passes; wide open valley, sand dunes, and Bactrian camels wandering around, the two-humped kind you won't see anywhere else in India. The rest of the day is free. Walk around, try a camel safari if you're up for it, or just sit and enjoy not being on the bike for a bit. Get some rest; Pangong is next.

Today's ride follows the Shyok River, out of Nubra and toward Pangong. It's a long day, mostly remote terrain with river views on one side and bare mountains on the other, so an early start helps; there's a lot of ground to cover, and you don't want to be rushing the last stretch in fading light.

Eventually the road brings you to Pangong Tso. You've probably seen photos of it already, but they don't really prepare you for it; the blue shifts as the light changes through the day, and with mountains on every side, it's hard not just to stop and stare for a while.

Check into a lakeside camp or cottage for the night. Take it easy this evening; walk along the water, sit and take in the view, whatever works. Get proper rest too, because tomorrow's ride to Hanle via Umling La is one of the hardest days of the whole trip.

This is the big one. From Pangong, the route drops into the Changthang region; remote doesn't even fully describe it, there's barely any sign of human life for long stretches. Lunch stop is at Rezang La War Memorial in Chushul, a quiet pause to take in what happened there before getting back on the bike.

Then comes Umling La. The road climbs to around 5,640 metres; the highest motorable road on earth, and you feel every bit of that altitude. Breathing gets harder, the bike feels different, everything takes more effort than usual. Getting to the top is one of those moments riders talk about long after the trip is over.

From there it's on to Hanle, a small, quiet village known mostly for its observatory and its dark, star-filled skies. After the intensity of Umling La, Hanle feels like a different world entirely; remote, silent, almost untouched. You'll stay in a guesthouse or homestay here for the night.

After breakfast, head out toward Tso Moriri. Before that, there's a stop at Hanle Monastery, and if permissions line up, a visit to the observatory too; a nice change of pace before another long day in the saddle.
From there the route runs through the Changthang Plateau, about as remote as this trip gets, barely any settlements for long stretches. The destination is Tso Moriri, an alpine lake sitting at around 4,522 metres. Quieter than Pangong, with mountains all around and the water shifting shades of blue through the day. Keep an eye out for wildlife too; this stretch sees more of it than most.
There's a possible detour today via Mig La Pass, close to 19,400 feet. Whether this happens depends entirely on road conditions and permits at the time; parts of it were under construction last we checked, and a few sections are steep enough to be genuinely tricky with a pillion rider. So treat it as a maybe, not a fixed part of the plan.

Back on the road early, heading toward Leh this time. Changthang's been remote for two straight days now; barely a shop, barely a signal. That starts changing today. Villages show up more often, so does traffic, so does the occasional dhaba.
Chumathang comes first. Hot springs here, if you want to stop and dip your feet for ten minutes; most people do. Lunch is at Upshi a bit further on. Neither stop takes long, but both help, because this is a long one on the bike otherwise.
Rancho School shows up near the end of the day (yes, that Rancho School), then Thiksey Monastery just before Leh itself. You'll roll into town by evening. Once the bike's parked, Leh's cafés and market street are worth a walk if your legs still work. It's the last real city stop before Kargil and Srinagar, so eat something that isn't instant noodles while you can.

Leh to Kargil today, and the whole feel of the ride shifts. No more high passes or empty lakes; this stretch is packed with stops instead, one after another.

First up, Magnetic Hill, where cars supposedly roll uphill on their own (it's an optical illusion, but fun to try anyway). Then Pathar Sahib Gurudwara, and a short visit to the Hall of Fame museum, which has some genuinely moving stuff from the '99 Kargil war. A bit further along is Sangam, where the Zanskar and Indus rivers meet in two completely different colours before mixing into one.

The real showstopper though is the Moon Land near Lamayuru. Grey, cratered, folded rock stretching out for miles; genuinely looks like you've landed somewhere off-planet. Hard to believe it's still Ladakh.

By the time all these stops are done, it's a fairly full day even before you factor in the actual riding. You'll reach Kargil by evening, grab dinner, and call it a night. Two states, dozens of passes, and thousands of kilometres in, and there's still one more push left; Srinagar's next.

Last big riding day. Before leaving Kargil, there's a stop at the War Memorial; worth the ten minutes, whatever your itinerary otherwise looks like. It's a sobering start to what's otherwise the final ride of the trip.

Mulbekh comes next, home to a massive rock-cut Chamba statue that's been standing there for centuries. Worth getting off the bike for a proper look, not just a drive-by photo.

From here the road runs on toward Srinagar, and somewhere along the way the terrain starts turning green again; actual trees, actual grass, after days of bare rock and gravel. It catches you off guard a little. You'll pull into Srinagar by evening and check into the hotel. Dinner tonight's probably going to come with a fair bit of looking back; Manali feels like a month ago at this point, not ten days. Sarchu, Umling La, Pangong at sunset, that stretch through the Moore Plains; it adds up to more than most people ride in a year.

Nothing riding-wise today, this one's just about getting home. Check out after breakfast whenever you're ready, no rush.

The team sorts out the airport transfer, so that part's taken care of. Take a moment before you head off, though; ten days ago this whole thing started in Manali, and since then it's covered Sarchu, Leh, Nubra, Pangong, Hanle, Tso Moriri, Kargil, and now Srinagar. That's a lot of road for one trip.

Whatever you take away from it; the cold at Umling La, the blue of Pangong at sunset, the silence out in Changthang, or just the feeling of getting the bike through all those passes in one piece; this is where it ends. Srinagar, with the whole Himalaya behind you.