Cycling in Ladakh, Zanskar & Kashmir | Incredible Indian Himalaya

I’ve loved cycling since I was a kid, from back when I received my first 10-speed bicycle and used to occasionally cycle 13 km to the beach in the summer (one way, the bike went on the roof on the way home after a sunburnt day at the beach), which seemed like such a long way away. Since then, I’ve always lived and traveled with mountain bikes, exploring California, Hawaii and Colorado by bike and renting them whenever I traveled, which was most of my younger life. Cycling is my favorite escape, a great way to clear the head and put things in a positive perspective, and the best way to experience a place, to get incredible vistas, and also to notice the little details that might otherwise be missed.

Since moving to Nepal in January 2001, I’ve always cycled around Kathmandu and explored the Kathmandu valley on bikes, and later left bikes in Manali (Himachal Pradesh) and Leh (Ladakh) in the Indian Himalaya. Kamzang Journeys started running our supported cycling trips – generally camping – about five years ago, though I did some shorter cycle touring trips in India before then: Rajasthan, Manali to Dharamsala, bits of Goa and Kerala.

CYCLE THE HIMALAYA!
Cycle the Himalaya | Guided (Awesome) Bicycle Trips
Cycle the Himalaya | Photos

Cycling through Ladakh and Zanskar in the Indian Himalaya is some of the most spectacular, challenging and diverse bicycling in the Greater Himalaya. For the past decade, we have been exploring cycling routes in Ladakh, Zanskar, and Kashmir, either as exploratory trips or camping trips with our cycling friends. Biking both on and off-road, we’ve explored ancient trade routes throughout Ladakh and Zanskar’s ‘sky’ kingdoms, cycled over high Himalayan passes, traversed high altitude salt-lake regions, camped with nomads during the shearing season and spent countless afternoons drinking salt-butter tea with locals in traditional Himalayan villages, our idyllic campsites bustling with curious children and Ladakhi grandmothers spinning their wool.

We start our bicycle journeys from Leh, the capital of Ladakh, once a major stopping point (often for entire winters) on the Silk Route. There are numerous cycling options from Leh: north takes you into the desert world of Central Asian Nubra valley over the Kardung La (incorrectly marketed as ‘the world’s highest motorable pass), renowned for its ancient Buddhist monasteries, sand dunes, Bactrian camels, ancient Buddhist monasteries and willow-filed oasis villages. Sublimely beautiful, desert-like Nubra valley was once also a major stop along the ancient Silk Road, a route to Baltistan and Yarkand. Cycling west along the green and mighty Shyok and Nubra (Siachen) Rivers leads to the border of Pakistan, several ‘lines of control’ between India, Pakistan, and China, with massive glaciers, snow peaks, and of course Indian Army barracks.

Cycling east through diverse landscapes leads to the spectacular Pangong Lake (and Tibet, if you could cross that restricted border), turquoise Lake Tsomoriri and the otherworldly Tso Kar salt lake. As we journey through these wonderful regions, we spend lots of time with Tibetan and Ladakhi nomads, shopping for exquisite woven textiles (the wool from their own sheep, Pashmina goats and yaks) and visiting their nomadic yak-wool tents, always cozy with the dung fires burning, often with the rare chance to witness the churning of butter in a goatskin, or the making of fresh goat and sheep yogurt. These nomadic settlements are timeless, vignettes of Ladakh from centuries past.

On last summer’s Sky Kingdoms cycling trip we got to explore very newly opened (once-restricted) roads, often cycling on sandy trails, on dirt jeep roads, and crossing small rivers, perhaps the first westerners who had been allowed to cycle through that remote part of Ladakh (at one point we were three km from Tibet (China), and someone’s phone switched to China Mobile service). On this Sky Kingdoms trip, we cycle along the Indus to reach high altitude, green, nomadic regions: the otherworldly Tso Kar salt lake, turquoise Lake Tsomoriri dotted with Tibetan and Ladakhi nomadic settlements, and the spectacular Pangong Lake. En route, we encounter rare bird and wildlife, camp with Ladakhi and Tibetan nomads, visit historic Buddhist monasteries where the daily cymbals and chanting resonates throughout the valley, and cycle through traditional villages bustling with summertime activity, where life continues as it has for centuries, often stopping for a cup of salt-butter tea with locals …

Summers in the Indian Himalaya are wonderful. Campsites are green and breathtakingly beautiful, cycling days are long and sunny, glacial rivers sparkle and Himalayan panoramas from the passes are spectacular. There is always plenty of extra time built in for exploration on our cycling trips, and the region is a photographer’s dream. And the grassy campsites with intersecting streams are perfect for an afternoon wash, and an easy way to clean the bikes. We see few tourists as we explore some of the Indian Himalaya’s most interesting regions, and have plenty of time for chai in small villages, shopping at local fruit and vegetable markets and cold beers in the evenings at camp!

On our equally amazing Great Ladakh, Zanaskar & Kashmir cycling trip, we bike through far-flung, sublimely beautiful regions of northern India, all the way to the alpine Vale of Kashmir. After cycling through lovely Sham valley, we spend a few days of cycling into the ‘Brokpa’ region of Dha Hanu, a stunning region of walnut, cherry and apricot trees, grape vines and granite boulders which follows the Indus River. The Dha Hanu valleys are green with willow-lined villages, the climate is balmy. Cycling through the scenic, Muslim Suru Valley, we pass by the Nun and Kun peaks and glaciers, camp at remote Rangdum Gompa and cross the Pensi La pass to reach fabled Zanskar, where we’ve scheduled several days for exploring this sublimely beautiful region of Buddhist monasteries and traditional villages by bicycle.

We cycle past glaciers snaking their way through remote Zanskari valleys, biking over the renowned (and feared in Silk Road days) Zoji La pass, we cycle through a landscape of green pastures peppered with Gajjar and Bakarwal nomads herding their large flocks of sheep, goats and horses in the verdant valleys. We finish this epic cycling trip in Srinagar, in the Vale of Kashmir, one of the most prized jewels of the Indian Himalaya, described by Kashmiris as ‘heaven on earth’. Srinagar is famed for its floating gardens and markets on Dal and Nageen Lakes, the fascinating historic Srinagar, the pashmina weaving and other Kashmiri crafts, its heavenly Mughal Gardens, the Shankaracharya Temple and its wonderful houseboat stays. In the floating world of Srinagar, we stay on a houseboat, paddle Dal Lake in a shikara and tour the Mughal Gardens, the perfect ending to an amazing bicycle adventure!

For those with more time, we encourage staying and exploring more of Kashmir! Around Srinagar are some of the most beautiful valleys and villages in the Indian Himalaya, as well as some of the world’s most idyllic alpine scenery. Highlights are Dacigram National Park, Manasbal and Wular Lake (the largest lake in Asia), Yousmarg, Naranag Temple (the oldest in Kashmir), Sonmarg and Pahalgam.

What’s Next?
Next summer we’ll explore (by mountain bikes) the classic trekking route from Himachal Pradesh and Lahaul, over the snow-covered Shingo La, through Zanskar and all the way to Ladakh and Leh. The Indian Army has been working on connecting these remote regions by road for about 20 years, and now this remote jeep pushed its way almost all the way across the Himalaya and Zanskar ranges, providing an alternative route in and out to villagers living in these often inaccessible regions. Stay tuned!