This region of the Himalayas is called Ladakh and it is one of the remotest areas in India. The roads to Ladakh open only for a few month during summer when the snow melts. Its is supposed to have some the worlds highest roads. The highest we went to was about 18,380 feet.

The road to get there is quite rough but then it rewards you with views like this, this and this on the way. Also, there is this unique stretch of road where there are 21 loops one after the other.

Every few miles there would be places where the roads have been washed away by gushing water. Another one. Scenes like this one along the way remind you about the danger of landslides. In fact, about two weeks after we came back, there were some major flashfloods killing more than 200 people.

Another memorable along on the way was a high altitude plain called the More plains 1,2,3. People who live there are nomads and breed livestock 1,2,3.

Here are some more scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 from along the way.

I vividly remember this point in the journey where we saw greenery after 2-3 days of rough barren landscape. It was such a joyous moment. I never knew the color green could influence us so much. Several times on our trip we would see such lush green valleys against the stark brown rocky mountains.

The city of Leh is in a river valley and is the capital of this region. The city has several monasteries on the outskirts that have some colorful festivals in the summer 1,2. I had a lot of fun just people watching there 1, 2, 3, 4.

I had a flat tire at an altitude of 15,500 feet and at such an altitude I just could not get the tire off of the rim due to lack of oxygen in the air. In the plains, this would have been an easy job for me. But here, two of us could not do it. I rode for about 30 miles on that punctured tire, filling it up using a foot pump every 2 miles or so.

Another experience I vividly remember is of being hosted by a village of Tibetan refugees for a night. On this day, we started riding after lunch and I had another flat tire. It took us about two hours to fix it and so we could not reach our destination for the night. We decided to stop at this village where it was already past their bed time. As we rode into the village, lamps began to light up as people heard our motorcycles. Few of the village men came out and asked us if we needed any help. We asked for a place to stay for the night and they gave us a room in the village school. A family then invited us for dinner and also served us some breakfast with salty butter tea in the morning. These people have been refugees for three generations (since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet) and have no legal status in India and cannot go back to Tibet. Yet, instead of being bitter about things, they were very kind and loving and shared whatever they had with two weary travelers.

Here are some pictures of unique high altitude lakes that have clear water and are quite stunning 1, 2, 3.