Ladakh Bike expedition tops the list of best adventure experiences in the Land of High Passes. The adventure of riding the bike through snow-covered mountains, narrow steep roads, and ancient monasteries, is the dream of every adventure enthusiast from around the world. Whether you are a professional or a beginner, Ladakh provides new adventures to its travelers at every corner.
Situated in the Northern most part of India, Leh Ladakh is one of the most popular destinations in Jammu and Kashmir. The view of snow-capped mountains, cold desert, beautiful valleys and ancient monasteries in Leh Ladakh has no comparison to any other destination. Leh Ladakh is the most popular biking destination than any other among youngsters nowadays.
The ideal time to explore Leh Ladakh on your bike is from June to September as the weather used to be the most beautiful and exciting at this time. The snow has melted, the place starts to become alive and nature at its best to serve its visitors.
While adventurers’ visits this land during winters as well to experience some of the beautiful landscapes that keeps open whole year.
The ideal time it takes to explore Leh Ladakh with the bike is approx 10-15 days depends on many factors such as weather, the route you are taking, from where you are starting, which places you are covering etc.
Many people nowadays worry about the bike they should have for Leh Ladakh trip. There is no mandatory bike to have for this trip but it should always be with high displacement engine, good build quality and moreover reliable. There are so many people who cover this adventure on their scooters, cycles and even on bikes which are less than 120CC, but as they don’t give any guarantee you cannot rely on them.
The most important is the physical and mental fitness of the biker. Because these are the two factors that will lead you to successfully and comfortably cover the route. There are many chances of suffering from “AMS” or the Altitude Mountain Sickness because of low temperature and less oxygen if you are not mentally and physically fit.
ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET is one of the most popular bikes in Ladakh road trip. Actually, the trend of biking trip to Ladakh was started by Royal Enfield. Due to the good availability of service stations, this bike is safe and reliable for Ladakh bike trip.
Due to its build for off-roading experience, ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN is very popular among adventurers. Even it is very easily available to hire in Ladakh. It has a strong engine of 400 CC, which is enough to make your trip smooth and hassle-free.
With good power, speed, racing machine and moreover light weight make KTM Duke 390 the extensively used bike in Ladakh trips. Its tubeless tires and more than 350 CC make it one of the best bikes to have on Ladakh bike trip.
In the matter of adventure and touring the king of all bikes is BMW GS 1200. Not only for Ladakh trip but for any kind of adventure trip or any trip in the world BMW GS 1200 is considered as the best bike.
BAJAJ DOMINAR 400 Is the one out of the best productions of Bajaj motorcycles for the adventurous trips like Ladakh. With the good quality of machines, technology and 400 cc engine, this bike is very much suitable for Ladakh mountains and stepped narrow roads.
Other bikes that can be considered for Ladakh Bike trip are ROYAL ENFIELD CLASSIC 500, ROYAL ENFIELD THUNDERBIRD 500, CBR 250, BAJAJ AVENGER, Hero Impulse etc.
If you don’t own a bike but Ladakh Bike trip is your dream than there are several bike rentals are here that provides bike on per day charges basis to make your Ladakh dream come true.
You can hire a bike from Manali where per day charge is approx Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2000 with a security deposit of Rs.10, 000 to Rs.20, 000 or if you are from Delhi you can easily hire a bike from Karol Bagh where per day rental charges is approx Rs. 800 to Rs.1200 with a security deposit of Rs.10000 to Rs.12000. The original copy of ID Proofs, driving license is must to submit.
Don’t forget to take the test drive before renting because it can spoil your experience on hills. Click here for amazing Ladakh tour packages tailor made for you!
A Leh Ladakh bike trip basically starts from Delhi and goes with Manali to Leh.
The basic places that particular route covers are:
Delhi – Chandigarh – Manali – Jispa – Sarchu – Leh – Nubra – Pangong – Leh – Kargil – Srinagar – Pathankot- Delhi.
Where you are provided accommodation, food, sightseeing etc in your package included.
The next worry that comes in biking tour is petrol and maintenance. The average distance for Leh Ladakh bike tour is approx 3000 to 4000 kilometres depends on the route you take and places you are covering. The average petrol that needs to cover this distance will take around 80 to 120 litres of petrol (varies according to circumstances) that will cost you approx Rs. 6000 to Rs.10000.
You can hire a mechanic for your Leh Ladakh route on per day wages if you want to be secured. If you already book a package for your biking trip than the maintenance charges and petrol charges are not be paid extra.
There are several twin-sharing and luxurious hotels available in Ladakh and in its route, to make your Ladakh visit smooth. The average rent for per night per person is approx Rs.500 to Rs. 3000 depends on the hotel and the services you choose.
If you book the package you don’t need to pay any extra accommodation charges.
Ladakh offers multiple delicious cuisines ranging from Indian to continental to treat all your taste buds but if you want to try some authentic dishes of Ladakh that you must start your day with the Khambir, Ladakhi bread and some butter tea or apricot jam. Another traditional dish is skyu that is very delicious and popular here. If you want to try Ladakhi noodles then ask for thenthuk or can try steamed dumpling momos and noodle soup thupka as well.
The cost of the meal depends on the place you choose for dining. If you eat from stalls or Dhabas then it may cost you Rs.100 to Rs.200 but if you go for some restaurants then it will cost Rs. 500 or more. So keep the budget according to your preferences.
Visiting Ladakh and not bringing any souvenirs from there is not considered a complete Ladakh trip.
You can go to the main Bazaar for Stuff like silver or turquoise jewellery, Thangka paintings on silk, prayer wheels, carpets, stoles, rugs, woollen clothes many other things but many shops have price tags here which are mainly costly than others without any bargain.
If you want to have something for your loved ones that also at reasonable prices than you can go to Moti market or Tibetan refugee market on old Leh road. The stuff here is beautiful and also at good prices.
Every trip has some essentials that visitors need to carry and when it about Leh Ladakh bike trip it becomes more important.
So, here is the list of some important things that you must carry:
Documents: Your original documents and their multiple copies should always be with you as you can require then during hiring bike, accommodation etc. Keep a printout of your itinerary, hotel reservation slips and flight tickets as well.
Clothes: Carry comfortable, warm and light clothes. Because of the low temperature, you will require it a lot on your trip. If you opt for outdoor activities like trekking, skiing, paragliding, etc. then Warm sweaters and two heavy jackets are necessary.
Shoes: Pack shoes according to your comfort but that should be warm and with good grip. Pack sneakers or sport shoes too, you don’t know when may require them.
Toiletries: There can be rare shops in Leh Ladakh so pack your essentials from your home. Don’t rely on hotels.
First Aid Kit: Altitude mountain sickness (AMS) is very common in Ladakh so it is necessary to pack some basic medicines with you.
Bottled Water: As already mentioned there are very rare shops in Ladakh so it will be good to pack Clean, safe drinking water with you.
Sunscreen and Moisturizer: weather conditions at this beautiful place can be extremely harsh and cause damage to your skin so it will be a good idea to pack some sunscreen and moisturizer with you.
Cash: ATMs are quite hard to find in Leh Ladakh, so it will be better to have some cash always handy.
Electronics: Last but not least you should always carry chargers and extra batteries for all your electronic devices.
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