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we rested well at the chandrabhaga hotel at keylong. the bicycles have all been assembled last night (i have even gone out exploring the "night life" in keylong and gotten some batteries). after a nice breakfast with views of snowcapped hills from our dining tables, we set off in the morning sunshine and start riding along the majestic gorge of the bhAgA river. this river is well-known in hindu and tibetan folklore; it is now going south to meet the chandra at Tandi to flow west as the chandrabhAgA (we crossed Tandi by car yesterday). the chandrabhAgA or chenab is one of the "pancha-nad"- the five rivers of punjab.

day 3: keylong to patseo (jul 9)

after breakfast, we hit the road at 7:40. some rough roads - first of many water patches. small ups and downs along the bhAgA river valley - downhill entering to jispa. breakfast at a small roadside shop where we meet a wrinkled old woman, who asks for a "pen".

at darcha we meet bicyclists yogi and janantik, who are cycling manali to leh, filming the culture, and staying with locals wherever they can. they are more adventurous than us, and are carrying everything on their bikes. janantik is a film maker and yogi is a musician and their movie on this trip is called milesandmore. they have already had a number of adventures with a family at palchan, and at a monastery for nuns near keylong. a third member of the group has had cycle problems and has taken it by bus to manali; he is expected back any time.

The climb starts after darcha, but it isn't that bad. we are in patseo around 2 pm.

at the pwd guesthouse we meet the caretaker balbir. he is a smart old man, who has managed to learn a good bit of english talking to tourists on the road. yes, there are two double rooms - rs 480 each, so we take both. our names are noted on the register and it's all above board.

Note: last couple of years someone had set up a parachute tent at dipak tal - a scenic lake just before patseo; but this year they have not come, so accommodation is very tight at patseo - just these four beds at the PWD guest house.

soon another bicycling couple from spain show up. they are accommodated on the corridor. before long, yogi and janantik also come by. and also an european motorcyclist, and a car who tents on the lawn. at one in the night the missing friend of yogi and janantik is dropped by a bus. all manage on the corridor. moral of the story - bicycle traffic is going up on this desolate road. try to arrive early at your destination.

it's amazing how you keep bumping into people on this road. we would later meet both the spanish cyclists and also yogi and janantik at leh.

Fact sheet keylong to patseo

JUL 9. Keylong (3145 m) to Patseo (3751 m). 44.5 Km       	

	6km Tayul Gompa [one of the oldest monasteries of the valley having a big
		statue of Guru Padmasamhava about 5m high.  Has a hundred million
	   	mani wheels which ”°turn by themselves”± on special Buddhist
	   	occasions. Temple lamas: wheel last turned on its own in 1986.
	17km Gemur 3290m
	21km ?23k Jispa 3255m  hotel ibex well-known for breakfast 
	28.5km Darcha 33  20m - police checkpoint road goes W to Raru (Zanskar valley) 
		bridge crossing over to E of Jankar river
	38-40km cross a valley - 3800m
	43km Deepak Tal - small glacial lake - good for camping
	44.5km patseo 3720m.   easy day.			[+45k 167k]			
	Lodging at Patseo: PWD rest house.  it's recommended you get there
		early (before 4pm-ish is good) - to get a room.  Otherwise
		too, Balbir will be happy to accommodate you on the balcony,
		or if you have a tent,  you can pitch it on the grounds. 

		Some years, there is a parachute tent near dipak tal, but it
		wasn't there in 2012.

	Food: Lunched at Jispa.  Unfortunately, we missed the "hotel ibex"
		and had to make do with omlets and maggi.   
		This year, a tent food joint had opened near the PWD rest
		house; they can also accommodate some people if really
		pressed. 

	Facilities:  There is no phone connectivity from Darcha all the way
		to Pang, and in fact, pretty much all the way to Upshi.  
		A few army facilities may have wireless phones. 

From Keylong, the next two days we cut through the Lahaul valley, going down the Chandra river till Tandi, and then up along the Bhaga, past the Jankar Nala at Darcha and into Patseo. From here one climbs steadily till the Barala-Chala - which is really two passes - Bara La on the main line we are following, and Cha La going off to the East, towards the source of the Chandra river (marked by the hiking trail on this map). Eventually you reach Sarchu, at which point the route crosses the Tsarap river and goes into the even more barren desertscape of Ladakh.

map source : http://www.lahaulspiti.com/map

day 3 - patseo to sarchu (baralachala 4900m) (jul 10)

Today is the big day, where we will have our first major climb over the Baralachala at 4900m.

the climb starts right away. we are expecting to breakfast at zingzingbar, which is 10km uphill. a sign called zingzingbar comes and goes, but the parachute tent dhabas turn out to be some 5 km beyond this.

The location of these tents can shift every year, depending on local preferences.

amit mohua saumyen nandini: patseo start. nandini with faithful dog

nandini saumyen dog. nandini

saumyen. nandini - snow peaks

 

majestic snowpeaks all around us. saumyen nandini approaching zingzingbar.

 

amit and saumyen gear shift fix on nandini's borrowed schwinn FSport: zingzingbar. mohua saumyen amit nandini at surya tal. this is among the highest freshwater lakes in india.

at surya tal: mohua saumyen amit nandini: snow peaks. nandini

amit about to ride mohua nandini walk snow peaks. nandini

suraj tal snow landscape. mohua nandini: barala chala

am2. nandini amit saumyen: climbing to barala chala

saumyen - two views

am: snow sky wide

mohua nandini long lost sisters. cha la: landscape

amit saumyen snow field

mohua nandini: partners in crime

Fact sheet patseo to sarchu

JUL 10. Patseo [patso] (3751 m) to Brandy Nalah (4222 m) 
    	CROSS BaraLaChaLa (4918 m) 89.3 Km.  
		 [nonstop 32km climb, 1300m ascent;  **** water ****]

	10km Zingzingbar 4150 m - puncture shop
	15km ? parachute tents in season. 4301m
		bridge - last water point before Baralacha La
		     metalled road ends
	28km? (3km before B'La) surajtal 4750m to the right  - 
	    	source of bhAgA river 2nd highest lake in India often frozen
	32km baralacha la 4900 m [100m higher than mont blanc]
		tough non-stop climb over bad roads 
	35km rough roads descent 
	38km bharatpur parachute tent village - popular Lunch stop
	     killi sarai 4600m road going through a valley
	62km Sarchu  4250 m 

	[laura stone has called this "excellent tarmac" - but we found the
	climb down from baralachala an interminable pothole.  road surfaces
	change over completely every winter, it seems.  ]

	Lodging: we get a 4-person tin hut near the river (beyond the bridge). 

manali-leh cycling pages:

* page I: day 0-1: [manali-leh trip homepage]
* page III: day 4-6: [sarchu-brandy nala-tso kar-leh]
* page IV: day 7-9: [leh, pangong lake, masked dance, zanskar]

[bumpy trails bicyclists homepage]     

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