Through Spiti valley

From Bangalore - Spiti Valley, a photo log

We start our journey from Bangalore, on our way to Delhi. This is a view from our train compartment

The famous key maker of Delhi at work on our motorcycle.

Set forth for Shimla  with a nice cup of coffee on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway.We left quite late around 9:30 am which is completely not advised. The heat gets to you after a while.Its better to be on the highway by latest 5:45 a.  While flying into Chandigarh is an option if you want to beat the heat, but, its more important to get familiar and comfortable on the roads before  directly hitting the mountains.

Ahriman in his grandeur

The only attraction for me are the fabulous eating joints on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. Food is cheap and tasty

We stuffed ourselves at the Mayur Dhaba 

Finally some respite with the rains. Keeping rain gear handy through out the trip was indeed helpful.

Headed to Chandigarh

Very common and yet an exciting way to travel. Must try this once...

Posing for the cameras while on their routine check

the first landslide

En route Kufri , Fagu...

En route Kufri and Fagu

Our night halt at Rampur. stayed at one of the HPTDC hotels..

En route Pooh. Started early but turned out to be a really long ride, much more than anticipated owing to landslides.

amazing green, a chill in the sir and roads smooth as butter..at least for now.

Reached Kinnaur

riding right thru'

quick stop over for rajma chawaal for lunch... absolutely yummy food in the middle of nowhere....

 we wait as the landslide is being cleared

 And we start again ....

 the mighty sutlej

 crossing lal dhang

 little bit of slush early on

Preparing for Ladakh - you won't catch me without...

Preparing for Ladakh - you won't catch me without... 

While road trips are adventurous, not all stop overs will have facilities. So for me, being prepared takes a lot of the niggling  worries out of the way. In my view when you are traveling to Ladakh, Himachal, J & K, 12 things I suggest packing include -

1. Be liberal with your medicine kit. In the middle of nowhere you never know what will come in handy. But thumb rule being, no matter who tells you which medicine to take for altitude sickness and anything else, make sure you ask your doctor first. Because what suits others may not work for you at all
2. Carry a torch, a good Swiss army knife and a camping knife as well
3. High SPF. 50+ 
4. Carry more inner wear than clothes... the latter you can always buy cheap while riding. and ofcourse they are meant to be use and throw...
5. Carry cash (remote places and ATM is a chance you are taking) and valid IDs as you need permits for certain areas. 
6. Rain wear, at least during this time
7. Carry light - medium warm clothes - one you can layer versus carrying only heavy duty warm clothes to keep you cozy. The temperature varies vastly so ideally you need to be comfortable through the different terrains
8. Carry a light heating pad. After a long day of riding, highly likely you will need that. 
9. Further carry a support belt for the spine while riding, however consult your doctor first. Some of the routes are rocky and its a wise move to thus be prepared as required
10. I-POD, camera and a book 
11. Sleeping bag and tent... when you make your home underneath the stars.
12. Carry high energy bars, drinks (like "sattoo" which can be mixed with water), some dry food items