If one is not an atheist, it would be quite easy for anyone to relate to this...For the explorer, motorcycle riding is a religion...Amongst many gods, Royal Enfield is one of its avatar...and then comes the pilgrimage destination...the holy grail for the Enfield follower...“Ladakh”...

Over a decade ago,  Gaurav from Mumbai discovered the traveller within him when he encountered the marvels of the Indian countryside on his motorcycle. What followed was 300,000 miles of motorcycle travel and experiences that made his passion even stronger. Gaurav with his friend later formed 60kph – Motorcycle Travel Club, India, a non-profit organization, to share their experiences and encourage more people to take up motorcycle travel...To fulfill my dream of riding bike from Manali to Srinagar, I met Gaurav Jani in Vashist, Manali where he agreed to help me to achieve my dream...He guided me to get the Royal Enfield...

I followed the instructions of Gaurav and finally located the Royal Enfield surrounded by apple and peach forest of Manali...My eyes got widen as I looked at the beautiful machine which was built to cruise the highways, see the countryside and go to the mountains...The beast was standing like an untamed wild stallion...Perhaps it was waiting for its rider and to fulfill the purpose for which it was made for...

...And the perfect biker, who could it be...yes, your guess is correct...It's me...A true devotee of the sacred religion of biking...A Royal Rider...Even having years of experience of riding bike over potholes and crowded road of Bangalore I knew this sacred pilgrimage would not be easy...Every year hundreds of devotees participate in this challenging pilgrimage...many gets successfull and many return back without completing it...

I came here to accomplish my dream which I had been planning for years...Mountains of Manali wished me good luck...Passes of Ladakh were preparing challenge for me...Valleys of Srinagar were grooming to their best to celebrate my arrival...I wanted to cruise through the challenging passes...I wanted to capture the beauty of the valley...I wanted to take home enthralling experiences of the journey...

I met Kirat, Surinder and Deepak...who share the same dream of riding enfield in Ladakh...Kirat and Deepak who spent their entire life in ocean dragged Surinder to Manali for bike trip...Surinder on this "Kahan fas gaya yaar"...The bike trip was their unique way to meet up and to refresh the golden memories of their college days...

After few hours of practice ride in Manali I went early to bed as I needed to get up early in the morning to start the journey...I woke up at sharp 4 O' clock morning for Rohtang Pass...Series of Royal Enfield with their headlamp on, rolling on the road on the dawn'sfirst blush like an army of ant proceeding to their destination....

It was 3rd day of the trip and I was standing at Rohtang Pass, my first milestone...Rohtang, which actually means --Pile of Dead Bodies!!!. It got its name as hundreds of lives lost due to bad weather while crossing this pass...It is famous worldwide for it’s unexpected bad weather tantrums...

After having bread omelette, I had a cup of tea at an elevation of 3979m in midst of snow...As soon as hot tea reached my stomach, I clearly felt the structure of my digestive system and it was very much similar to the picture I had seen in my Biology class books during school days...As I was looking at my breath vapor disappearing in the mountains, I saw an uncontrolled Yak troubling the people around...Iput my helmet on, rode snowmobile towards furios Yak...

I went behind Yak silently...I hold on to the Yak's tail...next moment I was shaken off and I fell violently on the hard snow...My protective helmet dropped off...On the very next moment I was back on the feet...Yak turned around...We both stared at each other...eyes unblinked...This time, I hold on to the Yak's horns and the next moment I was on his back...The fury of Yak vanished instantaneously and he was in my control...

People of Rohtang thanked me...I proceeded for Sissu...The bike trip was not a 100 meter sprint rather it was a marathon...I got tired and was looking for a place to take rest...I saw a beautiful place...A Green carpet, embroidered with yellow and purple flowers, covered by blue blanket of sky...I just sat down there and flirted with nature for a while and again continued my journey...

On the banks of river Chandra in Sissu, Goldrop campsite is nestled between the Palden Lhamo Dhar and a most propitiated Gyephang Peak, at an altitude of 3400m...As soon as sun went down I entered the Royal Swiss tent and jumped into cozy bed...The warm bedding of tent and melodious murmur of the river Chandra lulled me to sleep...

I woke up with the morning's first light...Sunrays falling on the green layer over mountain were soothing to eyes...Greenery never looked more sweet and simple...I was feeling completely energized for the long journey to Sarchu...

The greeneries started diminishing after Keylong...On the way, I saw man made lake at Patseo called as Deepak Tal...Glacier water accumulates in Deepak Tal and makes it perfect spot to have snapshot from each angle...

From Patseo, suddenly the terrain changed its characteristics. It turned to the dry arid Ladakh styled look with a blink of an eye. It was majestic. Barren land all around and leading to tall snow capped peaks in the backdrop...

Suraj Tal, third highest lake of India is the source of Bhaga river which joins Chandra river downstream to form Chandrabhaga river which is known as Chenab in J&K. Legend has it that Chandra was the beloved daughter of the Moon and Bhaga was the only son of Suryadev, the Sun god. Both of them once ran into each other at the Baralacha La and it was love at first sight however their love was not approved by their parents and they were not allowed to marry each other. Sun god wanted to entrust his son the task of bringing light to the world in the form of days while Moon god wanted to assign the job of lighting the nights in the world to his daughter Chandra...

I was standing at Barlach La...My shoes were completely wet while crossing stream of water on the way...this was the mistake which I had done...In such cold I was afraid to get frost bite...The legend of Chandra and Bhaga continues...The disapproval of their parents broke the hearts of the two young lovers but they were not so easily defeated. Together they both decided to elope, meet at Baralacha Pass again where they had first met and perform their eternal marriage themselves without their parent’s approval. They both came down to the agreed spot but Chandra reached a little ahead of time than Bhaga. When she didn’t find Bhaga at Baralacha La, she wandered off in search for him towards Kunzum Pass and then started to circle back to Baralacha La again. Just when she reached Tandi, she saw Bhaga coming down from the opposite direction looking for her. They both consequently met and the celestial marriage was performed...

My shoes were completely wet...My feets were getting cold...I untied my shoes and put it upside down so that water seeps out from it...I was worried...entire road was full of slush...I should have brought waterproof shoes...Suddenly I saw melting snowman...He gave me two polythene and advised me to put on over shoes...I did the same...thanked him and continued my journey...

Kanaka Raju, the Hyderabadi Nawab, had a dream to leave his mark on this land...After having ginger lemon honey tea which was prevalent in trip...he was contemplating to overtake some rider...

By evening I reached Sarchu...Sarchu was approximately in middle of Manali and Leh and was perhaps the coldest place in the journey...After having dinner I went inside tent to sleep...In the middle of night I woke up...I was unable to breathe...My nose was clogged...Somehow the night passed and I was alive...

Ziga and Denis from Europe and Joseph from Singapore travelled all the way to have the adventorous bike trip...Ziga, the man of few words, always looked like an astronaut on his riding gears...He was travelling around the world along with Denis to get the challenging roads where he could ride bike mercilessly...On the other hand, for Joseph it was a way to explore Himalayas...

I reached Gata Loops...Gata Loops is series of 21 hairpin bend that takes you to the top of high altitude pass Nakeela, at a height of nearly 16,000 ft. It is the 3rd high altitude pass out of 5 on the Manali-Leh highway...Localites are afraid of this place, not of its height or cold but something else. Even they warn people not to halt at this place...They believe a Ghost live there in the road...As per the popular legend, sometime around a decade back, engine of the truck died down while passing through the bend. As this happened, a light snow began falling simultaneously. The truck driver, leaving cleaner behind, jumped out of the truck and started moving towards the nearby village to seek help, which was situated at a distance of about 40 km...

When the driver returned, the cleaner had passed away by then, due to hunger and severe cold. Grieved by the death of the accomplice, the driver arranged his last rites. The corpse was cremated at that place...As years passed, people passing through the same destination complained about hearing uncanny noises. Some even said that they saw a young man at this place who requested them to lend him something to eat and drink. And if they didn’t oblige to his wishes, something eerie happened with them. Whenever people offered him a water bottle, it used to slip out of his hand. Many mishaps followed and the place earned an unnatural reputation all across the state. In order to silent the evil spirit, various ‘havans’ were organized here...

It was a scary place...but I was trying to be brave...Iparked my bike and started roaming around...Suddenly the Ghost of Gata Loops appeared in front of me...The Ghost tried to chase me...I threw my water bottle to pacify the thirsty ghost...but probably the ghost wanted human blood...I ran towards my bike...I quickly started my bike and accelerated it fully...I escaped the ghost and the haunted place...I was about to reach Pang...

Abhishek Tosaria...founder of Motorcycle Diaries India...figurehead who gives inspirational speeches and rally the group of riders, has covered more than 270,000 km and conquered the Himalayas...To cover such a long distance, physical and mental fitness is required...His holistic approach to fitness is indeed commendable...He takes turmeric milk before the start of trip to boost his immune system...After reaching Pang, he started counting the riders who reached there alive...

16 riders from 6 different countries gathered together near Pang Gorge to have a memorable snapshot...Keeping our lives in danger,  ready to face death we continued our journey, leaving trail of fire on the entire road ...On the way, every vehicle, no matter how big...gave way to us...Every girl, no matter how hot...turned her head and gave us a smile...

We left Pang and were riding on Morey Plains....A 40 km of straight spectacular stretch...It was clear sky...smooth road...Fed up of riding 30-40kmph for the past two days, I accelerated my bike fully and speedometer was touching 100kmph...I continued to accelarate...but bike was not picking up speed...I was in high altitude...Density of oxygen was less...Enfield was not able to breathe properly...neither was I...

Altitude changes attitude...I kept on accelerating...Perhaps, I wanted to speed up to 160kmph...Perhaps, I wanted to cross the limit...Perhaps, I wanted to leave behind the riders who were ahead of me...A slight turn, a slight bump came...I applied break...I tried to control the heavy beast...but it was too late...bike was off the road and was running on the gravel...It was out of my control...Handle bent completely on the left and bike slipped on the gravel...

Construction for drainage system beside the road was in progress...Bike continued to get friction against gravel and went inside the drain...Next moment I was flying in the air...Bike started spinning against the drain horizontally and I started rotating in air vertically...My senses stopped working...Everything seemed washed out...

After a few seconds of flight, Mother Earth pulled me down with her love of gravity...My body found its coffin...I fell down on my back and I was perfectly fitted inside drain. Dust was settling over my body...Perhaps my spinal cord broke down...No...I was alive...Perhaps blood was dripping out of my body to fill the dry drain...No...I stood up...I came out of drain heroically...I was covered with thick layer of dust...I looked at my crashed bike, its engine was stopped...I scrutinized my body....no blood...minor bruises on left leg and on right hand...I was damn lucky, my riding gear saved my life...Sight was still appearing like a washed out image...My heartbeat was overriding the sound of surroundings...I was not able to hear anything else...I was standing on the deadly road with my thumbs down, a signal for help to my fellow riders who were behind me...

Leh...Finally I reached the Land of Lamas in Backup Van...I sighed in relief...I dragged my injured body to hotel room....I wanted to take rest...I took painkiller, dropped my body on bed and closed my eyes...I was not able to turn my body whole night...Night passed slowly...Morning light hit through my window and I woke up...It was rest day and the day for sightseeing...I saw Leh palace from distance and wanted to visit the palace...Somehow I was able to walk...I reached Leh palace...Leh palace is being restored by Archaelogical Survey of India...It is nine storeys high and is open to the public...I went up to the roof...The roof offers panoramic views of Leh and surrounding areas...The mountain of Stok Kangri in the Zanskar mountain range was visible across the Indus valley to the south, with the Ladakh mountain range rising behind the palace to the north...

It was 7th day of trip and it was the day most bikers were waiting for...The mission was to ride bike upto the the highest motorable pass of the world..."Khardung La"...I didn't want to take risk...but I didn't want to leave the challenge for which I came for so far...I put on my riding gear for safety...I got another Royal Enfield to accomplish my mission...Few inital kilometers from Leh, road was smooth and I was able to ride comfortably...Then came the rough road to test my will...At each bump it felt like someone inserted thousand needles in my backbone at once...I slowed down to 5kmph and started taking help of both foot to balance...

I was the last one in my group to reach Khardung La...I saw the board in which it was written Khardung La Top...Mission accomplished...My vision was becoming blurry again...Again it was feeling like a dream...I parked my Royal Enfield and went inside tea stall situated on the Khardung La top...I had a cup of ginger lemon tea at an altitude of 18,380 ft...I came back to my senses...I decided to travel in backup van till I feel well...

I came back to backup van...Isha was playing with snowball...For some people Leh was Land of Lamas, for some it was Moonland but for Isha it was MaggiLand...Maggi was banned all over India...However the stock was available in remote places of Leh...Knowing this fact, she packed her backpack and came for bike trip...In entire trip, Maggi was her Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner...Also, she smuggled Maggie as much as she can to her city...

We reached Nubra valley after crossing the awe-inspiring Khardung La...Winding channels of the Shyok and Nubra Rivers crisscross the wide and flat Nubra valley...From a distance, the valley seems parched and dry. However, the valley mainly consists of prime farm land...

In Hunder, I was restless...I was doubting whether I'll be able to ride bike again or not...I stepped outside of my room...Lost in my thought, I walked long way over ocean of sand...When I came back to my senses, I looked around...It was empty desert...I felt like I was caged in sand dune surrounded by mountains from where I can never escape...

I looked at my footsteps but they were washed away by wind...I found footsteps of camels which were intact inspite of the wind...I followed the footsteps and reached to the herd of camels...I was surprised to see that unlike other camels they had double humps...I was suspicious about them but in the middle of desert they were the only hope...I asked them the way to my hotel room...It seemed like they ignored my question...But after sometime, one of them slowly raised his neck and showed me the way to mountains...

I had no choice but to follow the direction showed by the double humped camels...I got closer to mounains...I saw a Buddhist Monastery...It was Diskit Gompa, the oldest and largest Buddhist monastery in the Nubra Valley...It belongs to the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism...It was founded by Changzem Tserab Zangpo, a disciple of Tsong Khapa, founder of Gelugpa, in the 14th century...Diskit Monastery is connected to Mongol mythology in that the monastery is believed to be the place where an evil anti-Buddhist Mongol demon once lived and was killed near the monastery grounds but is said to have been resurrected several times...Today, the wrinkled head and hand of the demon are believed to lie inside a temple in the monastery...

Near Diskit Monastery there is 32 metre statue of Maitreya Buddha, facing down the Shyok River towards Pakistan...Maitreya, in Buddhist tradition, the future Buddha, presently a bodhisattva residing in the Tushita heaven, who will descend to earth to preach a new dharma when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have completely decayed. Maitreya is the earliest bodhisattva around whom a cult developed and is mentioned in scriptures from the 3rd century CE. He was accepted by all schools of Buddhism and is still the only bodhisattva generally honoured by the Theravada tradition...

I felt inner peace...Also, I got the direction of my hotel from a localite....He gifted me a magic cap...As soon as I put it on my head, I realized a secret...According to theancient tradition, the Bullet Baba will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma of biking on Bullet... According to scriptures, Bullet Baba will be a successor to the present day Anmol Bhuinya (also known as footpath rider of Bangalore). The prophecy of the arrival of Bullet Baba refers to a time in the future when the dharma of riding bike will have been forgotten by most on the terrestrial world. This prophecy is found in the canonical literature of all major showrooms of Enfield...I was enlightened and I moved back to my hotel room happily...

Next day we moved back to Thiksey village in Leh...After having dinner we built fire camp...We divided ourselves in two groups and started playing Antyakshari...It was fun to memorize songs which we forgot in the busy life of city...Amrish with his melodious voice sang old famous songs...Gossip master Sunny entertained us with his life story...We sang till the last spark of fire...Then we moved to our tents...Some of us had plan to wake up early in morning and offer prayer to Maitreya Buddha in Thiksey Monastery...

Next morning, we got ready to cover Pangong Lake...I was travelling in the backup van...On the way I saw last green region before Chang La...I came out of van and I inhaled fresh air as much as I can as we had to cross Chang La...Chang La, third highest motorable road is guarded and maintained by the Indian Army (due its proximity to Chinese border)... It is falsely claimed that the pass is named after the supposed sadhu Changla Baba, a myth propagated by the dedication of a temple at the pass to the supposed Changla Baba...Its colder than Khardung La and density of oxygen is even less...I moved back to back up van where oxygen cylinders were kept ready in case any biker gets dizzy...Don't know about other bikers but I was almost faint when the back up van was crossing Chang La...

Finally we reached Pangong lake...a blue unending stretch of water...Riders parked their bikes, kept their belongings in their respective wooden house...It was cold there...I put on my heavy jacket and came out to capture the beauty of Pangong lake...

I took a picture of Pangong lake when the sun was getting ready to hide in the west...The crystal clear transparent water borrows its blue colour from the sky...Colour of Pangong keeps on changing as per the intensity and direction of Sun Light...It is an endothermic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m (14,270 ft). It is 134 km (83 mi) long and extends from India to Tibet. Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies in Tibet...

I moved forward and reached to my group...They gathered together at a place, perhaps to show off their dancing skill...Cameron learnt quickly how to dance in Indian style...I also joined the gang...The ripples in water were forming and deforming as if they were following the music...It seemed as if Pangong was celebrating our arrival and was dancing with joy with us...

I moved further...I was walking beside the endless lake...I looked at stacked stones that people had been stacking to make cairns since ages...Earlier they were used as messengers, signs and landmarks in unoccupied lands...Locals suggest that they are also known to bring good luck for travellers...I stacked some pieces of stone...made a wish for my quick recovery, so that I can cover remaining journey on Bike...Next day I moved back to Leh where I took complete rest...

It was 11th day...It was drizzling in Leh and I was getting ready to leave Leh...By this time, I was comfortable enough to ride Bike on the smooth road of Leh-Srinagar highway...I refuelled my bike to full tank...With heavy heart I bid adieu to Leh and continued my journey to Srinagar...On the way I saw a mountain...It appeared as if its soul was getting dissolved in the limitless sky...I stopped for a while to look the scenery closely...

I looked back to the road...It was endlessly straight, disappearing in moutains smoothly...I came back to my bike, had the last glimpse of evaporating mountain and started my bike...

I was rolling down effortlessly....Speedometer was displaying 80 kmph...but I was careful...especially in turns...I reached to a place where moonlike landscapes carved into the Greater Himalayas...It was Lamayuru...The moonland of Ladakh...I spent some time there, had lunch and again continued my journey to Kargil...

By evening I reached a small village in Kargil...On reaching Kargil, a slight feel of fear entered my heart...I was feeling uneasy, I had to stay there for entire night...I just imagined me sleeping inside tent...And in the middle of night, Jet planes flying around, dropping bombs...Tanks surrounding the tent...Terrorists pointing machine guns on my head...

It was getting dark...I saw the snow capped mountains...Behind the mountains was Pakistan...This quaint little village had experienced heavy shelling by the Pakistani army during the Kargil War in 1999, until India recaptured the surrounding peaks and Kargil...

Dorji...Our backup van driver was quite amiable...He was kind of story teller and didn't let the people bored who travelled in his van...Having years of experience of driving on the rough and dangerous roads of Ladakh, our safety was his main concern...He was following us with his back up van to handle the emergency situation...He assured me that the area was safe and Indian army was doing commendable job for the protection of Indian borders...

Next morning while my journey to Srinagar, I stopped at Drass War Memorial...To commemorate the victory and the Indian Army soldiers who laid their lives during the war, Drass War Memorial was built by the Indian Army here, at the foothills of Tololing Hill where the Battle of Tololing was fought. The memorial, which is also known as 'Vijay Path', has a sandstone wall which has names of all the Indian Army martyrs of Kargil war, a Pak sentry post captured at Tiger hill, a Pak living bunker captured at Tololing, a giant Indian flag at the foot of Tololing, a real fighter jet, a cafeteria and a souvenir shop. We could even see Tiger hill from a distance...

To see the gigantic Indian flag hoisted at the centre of the memorial, I entered the main alley with the biker couple Jyothi and Shishir...Jyothi owns Avenger and Shishir owns Harley and both of them have done lot of bike trips...Once Shishir got an urge to have Banarasi Paan...He travelled all the way to Banaras from Bangalore, enrouting Orissa...In Orissa he was stuck in cyclone...But iron willed Shishir reached Banaras defying Orissa cyclone and grabbed a Banarasi Paan...Shishir's dream is to participate in 'Isle of Man' the World's deadliest Bike race...We came out of Drass war memorial...I looked back at the war memorial...On one of the gates I saw these words...''When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today." These words will remain in my heart forever...

I saluted the Indian Army and continued my journey...I reached dirt road...I slowed down my bike...On both sides of roads, land was covered with green grass...It was Drass...Looking at the greenery, I recalled quote from the movie-King Arthur..."Oceans of grass, horizon to horizon, further than you can ride...The sky, bigger than you can imagine...No boundries...Some people would call that freedom...That's what we fight for-our land, our people"... Drass is widely recognized as "The Gateway to Ladakh" and it is the second coldest inhabited place in the world (-60 degree centigrade), after Siberia...During the summer months the valley completely changes from a snow-bound place to a lush green meadows with colourful fragrant flowers enhancing the beauty of nature...

In the midst of howl of cold wind,  I heard whispers of twin flowers...I went near to them and tried to decipher their secret language...Their unified voice was indicating some sort of danger...They told me about the beautiful but dangerous pass ahead and warned me not to stop there...I gave them a smile, thanked them for their advice and I moved ahead...

Unlike the barren mountains of Ladakh, Kashmir was quite green...The snow patches along with green algae were creeping down till the bottom of mountain...I was feeling as if I was riding bike through a dried up river...

The flora dramatically changed to a less green and more rocky terrain as I reached the famous Zoji La Pass...Roads on either side of the pass was a bit gravelly and slushy in rain....This mountain pass was spread over a surface distance of about 10 kms...Heavy snowfall and avalanches during winter on this stretch cuts off the Ladakh region from rest of the country for more than six months from November to June every year...

Though it was the most challenging pass in the whole Leh-Srinagar highway...The scenery of Zozilla was not less than any of fairy tale land...Ignoring the advice of twin flowers, I stopped at Zozilla pass...Within few minutes the road was blocked by heavy trucks...I understood why I was being warned of this place...I quickly started my bike and somehow managed to cross the pass in time...I sighed in relief...I could have stuck for hours there...

As soon as I came out of Zozilla pass, heavy security by Indian force was visible every few kms...I stopped at Sonamarg and had lunch with Royal Riders...then I continued my journey to Srinagar...I reached Dal Lake where I took a Shikara and entered in a House Boat...It was gettting dark...I looked at the silent and serene evening of Dal Lake...It was mesmerizing...I took a sip of Kahwah (Kashmiri local tea) and again got lost in my deep thoughts...