[kozhissery]

Idea


After acquiring my beaky (Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT - A foray into the world of adventure biking) I’ve been itching to let it spread its wings. As my cousin Mr. Ajay (Vasuki) had got new Ducati Multistrada 1260S, he was more interested in doing a long trip. After toying with many locations we fixed on visiting Spiti.

The initial plan was as follows





The initial dates were for 20th of August, 2019 so that I can club it with Onam holidays but the rain gods played havoc with our plans and we had to postpone it. Due to other commitments had to postpone indefinitely, but lucky for me got a window in September 20th at a short notice and had to take it or leave it. Decided to go but some of the last minute purchases had to be abandoned like new raincoat as well as testing the new saddle bag.
Beaky had been serviced and was ready for long haul.





The team

1. Ajay (vasuki) in MultiStrada 1260S
2. Lovelin in KTM 390 (heavily modded)
3. Me (kozhissery) in Suzuki V-Strom 650XT

[kozhissery]

Day 1: 20-Sep-2019 – Trivandrum to Madurai


It was decided that Ajay will reach my home by afternoon and we can have lunch together and start by 2pm. On the way Lovelin can join from Marthandam, Tamilnadu. This will allow me to attend office till afternoon and close any unexpected jobs.
I could exit office by 1pm and we could start by 4pm. The first change of plan was that Lovelin got held up with work and asked us to continue as planned till Madurai.
Our first stop was near Nagarcoil for coffee. As we were feeling fresh we continued till outskirts of Madurai.


Ready Ajay?



Oh Yeah



Destination: Madurai
Route: Trivandrum-Poovar->Marthandam->Nagarcoil->Thirunelveli->Madurai
Distance: 343 Kilometers
Cumulative Distance: 343 Kilometers
Start Time: 4pm
End Time: 10 PM
Total Hours on Road: 6 hours
Hotel: Hotel Temple City
Longitude: 78.013321
Latitude: 10.033060
Elevation: 80 Meters
Rating: Mediocre, fit for a tired rider for a night.

[kozhissery]

Day 2: 21-Sep-2019 – Madurai to Chikballapur


Woke up by 6am got fresh and started waiting for Lovelin who arrived by 10am and started our journey by 10:30am. We decided to take Kolar route to avoid Bengaluru and reach Kurnool via Ananthapur, but our ride was hampered by heavy rains at Kolar and we had to take shelter in a tea stall. It was raining so heavily that visibility was very poor and we did not want to take risk. After a couple of tea in about 3 hours the force of rain subdued and we carried on our onward journey with a different target (ride until anyone of us feels sleepy). As it was still drizzling the speed was reduced considerably and could reach Chikbalappur by which time we started to feel sleepy.

Opposite to Kolar Bus-stand inside a tea shop waiting for rain gods to show mercy


Destination: Chikballapur, Karnataka
Route:Madurai-Krishangiri-Kolar-Chikballapur
Distance: 493 Kilometers
Cumulative Distance: 836 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:30am
End Time: 10 PM
Total Hours on Road: 6 hours
Hotel: OYO 35509 Dhana Dhaanya Residency
Address: 36 paresandra cross,aruru, Bengaluru, Karnataka 562104
Longitude: 77.780745
Latitude: 13.590023
Elevation: 700 Meters
Rating: Mediocre, fit for a tired rider for a night.

[kozhissery]

Day 3: 22-Sep-2019 – Chikballapur to Tekriyal


It was not a good day to start. It was raining heavily and it was difficult for us to tie the luggage to bike. As there were quite a lot of electronic items we did wait for some time for the rain to subside. In short we could start by 10:30 am only. As we entered Andhra Pradesh the clouds became clear, the pace of the ride increased dramatically. As we had lost quite a lot of time, taking photos were abandoned. Only photo that was taken was near KIA factory. As we neared Hyderabad the speed were reduced due to traffic and got stuck inside Hyderabad city. We lost more than 2 hours navigating out of the city. All other clicks were inside eateries. By 10:30PM we all felt drained and decided to call the day by around 11PM.




Kia Kya?


Korean in background, Italian, Austria, Japanese in foreground


Selfie!!!




Destination: Tekriyal, Telegana
Route: Chikballapur-Ananthpur-Kurnool-Hyderabad-Tekriyal
Distance: 650 Kilometers
Cumulative Distance: 1,486 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:30am
End Time: 11 PM
Total Hours on Road: 12 hours
Hotel: Hotel Samanya Palace, Tekriyal, Telangana 503111
Longitude: 78.311325
Latitude: 18.345590
Elevation: 400 Meters
Rating: Pretty good, Large clean rooms

[kozhissery]

Day 4: 23-Sep-2019 – Tekriyal to Narsinghpur, MP


Had a very good night’s sleep and started quite early. Except for a huge roadblock in Nagpur we could maintain good speed till we reached Madhya Pradesh. From there onward the roads were quite inconsistent with potholes scattered around. For couple of hundred meters the road would be butter smooth, then out of nowhere you would find a big pothole where the speed would have to be reduced. Apart from it, cows and buffalo were making the roads as its own resting place. By 7PM we all got frustrated, as the ride felt something like an obstacle race, avoid potholes and cows (add to it visibility of black/darker coloured animals made it worse). So we decided to stay at the nearest hotel which had closed parking.



Destination: Narsinghpur, MP
Route: Tekriyal-Nagpur-Chindwara- Narsinghpur
Distance: 630 Kilometers
Cumulative Distance: 2,116 Kilometers
Start Time: 06:30am
End Time: 07:30 PM
Total Hours on Road: 13 hours
Hotel: Hotel Crown Castle, NH 547, Chhindwara Road, Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh 487001
Longitude: 79.19612096
Latitude: 22.9243584
Altitude: 300 Meters
Rating: Not recommended, still can be used to just hit the bed

[kozhissery]

Day 5: 24-Sep-2019 – Narsinghpur to Gurugaon


Got quite refreshed and started by 7:30am with a plan to reach Delhi. On the way confirmed with Suzuki for blocking a time slot for quick check-up, which meant that we have to reach Delhi same day. Ajay also did the same and got the appointment@Ducati. Being our first time to Delhi in bike after the construction of “Yamuna expressway”, we wanted to ride on that. The ride was hampered couple of times by rain and by the time we reached Agra it was past 8:30 PM, and finding the entry to expressway was a daunting task (thanks to GPS - the path took by it was more horrible). To our dismay there was speed limit of just 100kmph which we did not want break and it took a hell lot of time to reach Delhi. It was past midnight by the time we reached Delhi (which included a big break somewhere in expressway).



En-route to Delhi


En-route to Delhi


En-route to Delhi


Destination: Gurugaon, Haryana
Route: Narsinghpur-Jhansi-Gwalior-Morena-Agra-Noida-Gurugaon
Distance: 850 Kilometers
Cumulative Distance: 2,966 Kilometers
Start Time: 07:30am
End Time: 01:00 AM
Total Hours on Road: 18 hours
Hotel: OYO Townhouse 044 Sector 14 Gurugram Hotel Gurgaon
Longitude: 77.03881102
Latitude: 28.46909747
Elevation: 100 Meters
Rating: Worth the money

[kozhissery]

Day 6: 25-Sep-2019 - Delhi Rest day/Vehicle Service Day


Woke up by 8am as we all had to rush to respective service stations. I reached the service station by 10am even-though the time slot allotted was 11:00 AM and in short one hours’ time the vehicle was ready except for washing/drying which took another 1 hour. I was free by 1pm so gave company to Ajay as his scheduled pickup was 5pm. In the evening did nothing much except some minor purchases in some mall in Gurugram. We hit the bed by 10pm. Oh we did try some sweets from Bikanerwala too

Service Time



Customer Lounge@Suzuki Gurugram



Lovelin@Bikanerwala



Lassi!!!


Destination: Gurugaon, Haryana
Route:
Distance:
Cumulative Distance: 2,966 Kilometers
Start Time:
End Time:
Total Hours on Road: Nil
Hotel: OYO Townhouse 044 Sector 14 Gurugram Hotel Gurgaon
Longitude: 77.03881102
Latitude: 28.46909747
Elevation: 100 Meters
Rating: Worth the money

[kozhissery]

Day 7: 26-Sep-2019 – Gurugram to Shimla


Woke up early in the morning so as to start early from Delhi before maddening crowd of Delhi wakes up. By 7am we were out of the city.
Had our breakfast at dhabba.
Around 10am my bike's instrument cluster started to act strangely. The temperature gauge was showing full/overheat, engine lights came. I was scared as we had already traveled quite a lot and was about to reach Chandigarh, and to get it repaired/serviced meant taking the bike back to Delhi . We stopped at a local tea shop, parked the vehicle and fished out the user manual and did some basic check like coolant level, oil etc and everything seemed to be normal. Physically touched the radiator guard and placed the hand near the cylinder/piston area and did not find anything unusual (it was hot, same as it always felt).

Anyway called my service engineer Mr. Satheesh and sales executive Mr. Nandhan of APCO Suzuki for assistance. They were very supportive and said that they would call Suzuki and get back to me. I decided to ride ahead cautiously as the feel of bike was normal except for the indications in the instrumentation cluster. On the move got calls from Suzuki engineer and I explained the problems.

Then noticed that sometimes all the parameters/icons would return to normal and in another couple of minutes the instrument cluster would go haywire. When the pattern was observed, I could make out that on hard braking or when going over potholes the instrument cluster would switch to the opposite i.e. if everything is normal then it would go haywire else would switch back to normal. So I guessed that there seemed to be some loose connection, which Lovelin (who knows a lot about bikes as he tinkers quite a lot) said that would be the only issue as the bike felt as smooth as before. As per the manual too, the icons indicate that either the side stand is down or ignition fuse is bad. So we again stopped at another Dhaba to look for probable loose connection.

In the mean time got call from top engineers from Suzuki to whom I explained the behavior of the vehicle and they expected loose connection/water ingress in the side-stand of the bike. Luckily for us on looking/peeping through the handlebar of the vehicle, saw that the cable-tie of the socket to the instrument console had come loose and was dangling. We just re-tightened the socket and used a cable-tie to reattach it to the actual position. And lo everything came back to normal. Still I was getting the calls from Suzuki who were helpful to whom i explained what I had done and that everything had returned back to normal. But they insisted that I take my vehicle to a Suzuki dealer in Chandigarh and that they can ask the local mechanic to look into the issue over the phone.

In another hour or so reached the workshop at Chandigarh. Even-though there were no mechanic who handles super bikes, they cleaned the socket with air pressure and did some lubrication of side stand with the assistance/instruction from the executive of Suzuki over the phone. The executives of Suzuki Chandigarh were very helpful.

All in all everything went smoothly, just that lost around 2 hours of ride time due to phone calls and visit to service station. After that event there were no issues with the bike. By 1 pm we left Chandigarh and started our ascent to Shimla.
As usual rain gods very upset with us and our ride became very slow due to the fact that roads were slippery (due to slush) and visibility was poor. Hence we decided to end day at Shimla rather that going forward.


Wonderful Paratha with Paneer Burjee (Tasted awesome)


First glimpse of Mighty Himalayas


Photographers on the move


My Beaky



Destination: Shimla, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Gurugram – New Delhi – Sonipat – Panipat – Kurukesheta – Chandigarh - Shimla
Distance: 405 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,371 Kilometers
Start Time: 07:45am
End Time: 06:30PM
Total Hours on Road: 10 hours
Hotel: Hotel Satyam Paradise
Longitude: 77.13816940784454
Latitude: 31.09178602695465
Elevation: 1864 Meters
Rating: Mediocre Rooms

[kozhissery]

Day 8: 27-Sep-2019 – Shimla to Rampur


Woke up to see the sun peeking through cloudy sky and by 7:30am it started to rain heavily. So we decided to wait for some more time to so if rain gods would show some mercy to us. By the time the rain subsided it was past 10am. Packing took another 40 minutes or so and we were on the road by 11am. As we had lost quite a lot of time due to rain, we decided not to stretch and enjoy the scenery and end at Rampur, though initial plan was to hit Sangla which could have been possible if we had started by 5:30 or 6am. But starting at 10:30/11:00 leaves you with no space to try. If this would have been in a four wheeler we could have done it quite easily.
As the saying goes “Himalaya plans for you and you follow it”.
Anyway we decided to see Chail. The ride was smooth and quite scenic. Lucky that we did that. Traffic being sparse and we could enjoy the fresh cool air with the aroma of Pine trees. We did take quite a lot of stops, just to enjoy the scenery and not photo stops.
The ride was quite slow and by the time we reached Rampur it was about 7pm.


Sun and Clouds



Overcast


Just out or Shimla (Clouds still threatening)


Photoshoot



Photoshoot


Photoshoot



Photoshoot



Some random photo


Panorama


Panorama





Destination: Rampur, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Shimla - Chail - Rampur
Distance: 187 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,558 Kilometers
Start Time: 11:00am
End Time: 07:30PM
Total Hours on Road: 8 hours
Hotel: Hotel Satluj View Bar & Restaurant, Ward No.3, NH-22, Near Old, Bus Stand Rd, Rampur Bushahr, Himachal Pradesh 172001
Longitude:77.63162084
Latitude: 31.45082027
Elevation: 948 Meters
Rating: Pretty good room, but no lift and its quite tiring to go 2 stairs up after long ride Very good view from the window

[kozhissery]

Day 9: 28-Sep-2019 – Rampur to Chitkul


Got up early and decided to stroll around to see the river in full glory. The river bank on the side of the hotel was in a bad state so did not venture out into the water. Just took couple of photos and that’s it. Had breakfast and started by 8:30 am to Chitkul. As the distance was around 120 kilometers we decided to take it very slow with lots of photo stops. In some places we spent a considerable time to get good shots, which meant fishing out the DSLR from the depths of the bag. As we approached Sangla the temperature started to dip drastically and it was time to fish-out the inner liners of the riding jacket. By the time we reached outskirts of Chitkul it started to drizzle and in hurry we got into the hotel. Our initial plan was to take some tents but the weather made us change the plans (may be next time). We did stroll around Chitkul and could see some spectacular snow covered mountains. By 6pm it was very cold and with rains there was no point in hanging out in the open, so we headed back to hotel.
By 7PM, I started to get headache and lost all the appetite (typical AMS symptoms). Still crammed some food so that the body would not be weak preventing me to ride. By night the headache got severe and could not sleep properly.


View from Hotel Satluj View Bar & Restaurant


View from Hotel Satluj View Bar & Restaurant


Random Photos


Random Photos


Random Photos


Distance Chart


Photo Shoot - Loved this place


Photo Shoot - Loved this place


Photo Shoot - Loved this place


Photo Shoot - Loved this place


Photo Shoot - Loved this place


Photo Shoot - Loved this place


In and around Chitkul


In and around Chitkul


In and around Chitkul



Destination: Chitkul, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Rampur – Karcham – Sangla – Chitkul
Distance: 123 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,681 Kilometers
Start Time: 08:30am
End Time: 05:00PM
Total Hours on Road: 8 hours
Hotel: Samaa Resorts, Chitkul Heights
Longitude: 78.43773857
Latitude: 31.35116636
Elevation: 3407 Meters
Rating: Ok rooms. Pretty good location.

[kozhissery]

Day 10: 29-Sep-2019 - Chitkul to Sangla (aka Baspa Valley)


Woke up early with heavy head and no appetite. Tried to relax for some time but the headache was not even reducing by the hour. Still decided to move on as I did not want to jeopardize my team member's plans. When I said that I’d return back and wait for them in Delhi they also wanted to accompany me, that’s when I decided to proceed further. But beneath my mind I was bit scared as the same day morning I’d read a news about the untimely demise of Mr. Yogesh Sarkar, whom I regarded as bible of Himalayas. If he can succumb to AMS then I stand no chance. My health condition really scared Ajay and Lovelin (Ajay more as he knows me better). So at last we decided to move and take halt at Sangla as it is more than 800 meters nearer to sea level compared to Chitkul. Our initial plan was to reach Sangla and stay there to get acclimatized but rain played havoc with the plan, that is when we decided to stretch to Chitkul. I feel that we should have stayed at Sangla rather than stretching till Chitkul from Rampur. Any way "All's Well That Ends Well".
So with new plan we started by 10 am and with couple of stops we reached Sangla. I immediately hit the bed and after 1 hour of sleep went to the nearby restaurant for some small lunch. After that I walked/strolled around to get refreshed. By around 5pm my headache eased and started to enjoy the scenery. This brought a big relief to me and more to my buddies.
Decided to hit the bed early so had our early dinner and by 8pm I was fully recovered from the headache and started to feel guilty that I could not carry on as planned.


In and around Chitkul


In and around Chitkul



Lobby of Hotel


On the way to Sangla


On the way to Sangla


On the way to Sangla


On the way to Sangla



Destination: Sangla, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Chitkul – Sangla
Distance: 23 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,704 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:30am
End Time: 01:00PM
Total Hours on Road: 2 hours
Hotel: Monal Residency Hotel, Front of Senior Secondary School, Sangla 172106 India
Longitude: 78.2607651
Latitude: 31.4290636
Elevation: 2648 Meters
Rating: Ok rooms. Pretty good location.


Lesson Learned: Do not stretch yourself, particularly if you are riding the bike. Do not ascent more than 1000 meters a day.

[kozhissery]

Day 11: 30-Sep-2019 – Sangla to Pooh


Woke up very fresh, but rain gods still seemed to be upset with us. The sky was overcast up so we decided to utilize the time in taking photos of the bike, oiling the chain etc. By 9:00 am the drizzle stopped and we decided to move to the next destination, which was Pooh. As the distance to be covered was under 100 kilometers we decided to take it in an easy way and drive slowly enjoying the scenery. We started by 10am and proceeded very slowly.
We reached Pooh around 4pm. The hotel is on the first floor and the ground floor was the go-down of the local Kinnour apples. The owner of the hotel offered us quite a lot of apples which were very crispy and sweet. As there was not much to see around Pooh we did hit the bed quite early.

Ajay wandering into the hills


Mighty MS1260S


Mighty MS1260S


Mighty MS1260S


Mighty MS1260S


My Beaky


My Beaky


My Beaky


Photographers!!!


Me and my Beaky


KTM390


Apples!!!


Dam@Karcham


Dam@Karcham


Dam@Karcham


Dam@Karcham


Dam@Karcham


Dam@Karcham


Random Shots


Random Shots


Random Shots


View from Hotel OM Residency, Pooh


View from Hotel OM Residency, Pooh


View from Hotel OM Residency, Pooh



Destination: Pooh, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Sangla – Karcham – Spello - Pooh
Distance: 100 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,804 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:00am
End Time: 04:00PM
Total Hours on Road: 6 hours
Hotel: OM Residency, Above State Bank of India, Approach Road to Village, NH22, Pooh, Himachal Pradesh 172111
Longitude: 78.2607651
Latitude: 31.7604057
Elevation: 2665 meters
Rating: Good Rooms, Beautiful View, Pretty good location.

[kozhissery]

Day 12: 01-Oct-2019 – Pooh to Tabo


Woke up early as we had decided to visit Lake at Pooh and Gue Village before Tabo. Packed up and started by 7:30 am. The first stop was nearby beautiful location where we decided to have breakfast and some photoshoot.


Morning Scenery from Hotel in Pooh


Morning Scenery from Hotel in Pooh (Peeking Sun)


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh - I think this looked like some helipad area


Beautiful


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


The place where we had Breakfast@Pooh


Buddies


After that we moved to the lake where we reached by 11am or so. I felt that it was waste of time (or just a place that we can say that we covered it). To reach the lake we have to park the vehicle and walk some distance without the direct visibility of the bike which I did not feel comfortable as all our bags are tied to it.


Lake - I think this is Nako Lake


Lake


Lake


Lake


Lake


On the way to Gue Monastry


On the way to Gue Monastry


Destination: Tabo, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Pooh – Samdo – Gue (Village – Detour) - Tabo
Distance: 110 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,914 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:00am
End Time: 04:00PM
Total Hours on Road: 6 hours
Hotel: Hotel Mentok Dumra, Opposite to Serkong Public School, Tabo
Longitude: 78.38532149791718
Latitude: 32.0955491065979
Elevation: 3235 Meters
Rating: Good clean rooms.

[kozhissery]

Day 12: 01-Oct-2019 – Pooh to Tabo (Continued)

By 12 am or so we started our journey to Gue village. Paid a visit to the monastery and to see the mummy of Lama. The location is quite grand and we decided to spend some time there and did have some coffee too.

Mummy@Gue Village


History of Mummy@Gue Village


Coffee Break@Gue Village


Coffee Break@Gue Village


Coffee Break@Gue Village


Coffee Break@Gue Village


Monastry@Gue Village


Surreal View@Gue Village


Surreal View@Gue Village


Surreal View@Gue Village




Once we got fresh decided to chug on with lots of stops to enjoy the scenery. We did encounter few road blocks due to land slide but not much delay, hardly 15 minutes and bikes were allowed to move.


On the way to Tabo


On the way to Tabo


On the way to Tabo


On the way to Tabo


On the way to Tabo




By 4pm or so we reached Tabo. The guys at the hotel us told that we were very lucky as there was one more big land slide and none of the vehicles were allowed till 6pm (don't know when the vehicles were allowed after that). Even by 8PM the expected guests of the hotel were still stranded and now news till the time we hit the bed. But by morning we could see a tempo traveler parked in front of the hotel but no idea when they came in.

Apple tree in full bloom@Hotel in Tabo


Apple tree in full bloom@Hotel in Tabo



In the evening we visited the Tabo monastery and paid a local visit to the bike repair shop to get our chains oiled and get some petrol for Duke.


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


Lovelin did some night photography too.



Destination: Tabo, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Pooh – Samdo – Gue (Village – Detour) - Tabo
Distance: 110 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,914 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:00am
End Time: 04:00PM
Total Hours on Road: 6 hours
Hotel: Hotel Mentok Dumra, Opposite to Serkong Public School, Tabo
Longitude: 78.38532149791718
Latitude: 32.0955491065979
Elevation: 3235 Meters
Rating: Good clean rooms.

[kozhissery]

Day 13: 02-Oct-2019 - Tabo to Kaza


After a good night’s sleep we woke bit early to pack things and move quickly to visit the Tabo Monastry as we were not satisfied by the previous day’s visit due to the fact that lights were fading. We did have plans to visit Dhankar Monastry and Dhankar Lake before reaching Kaza

Lovelin woke up to oil the chains - we had done it previous night at a shop.



We reached Tabo Monastry by 8:30am or so and spent a considerable time over there.

@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry


@Tabo Monastry



After that we started for Dhankar Monastry.

Stopped en-route for some Photo shoot


Stopped en-route for some Photo shoot


Stopped en-route for some Photo shoot



Destination: Kaza, Himachel Pradesh
Route: Tabo – Dhankar – Dhankar Lake – Dhankar - Lingti- Kaza
Distance: 65 KMS
Cumulative Distance: 3,979 Kilometers
Start Time: 10:00am
End Time: 08:30PM
Total Hours on Road: 5 hours
Hotel: Hotel Hotel Le Karze, Main Market Kaza, Upper, Kaza, Himachal Pradesh 172114•095012 38060
Longitude:78.07212263
Latitude: 32.22596233
Elevation: 3627
Rating: Good clean rooms.