Motorcycle roadtrip to the Himalayas - A photoblog

Kashmir is one of the most beautiful places in India, and it is rightly so. High mountains and green pine forests, a lively natural setting that is at times far removed from civilisation, Kashmir has it all in abundance. It is spectacular in the spring and the winters, and that is the time when one must visit the place. While nature is not as raw as Himachal Pradesh is, (at least not in the places we went anyway) it still offers great sights that leave you in awe.

Killar village and the world's most dangerous road was behind us, and we took sufficient time (a full evening and night) to recuperate from the rigours of the road. It was quite necessary, considering the nature of terrain and roads we had encountered. Kishtwar was the perfect place to do so, and when we were ready to start again the next morning, we were were rested and looking forward to riding the mountain roads again.

We started quite early, and winding roads took us to the foothills of the mountains again, before we started our ascent to Sinthan Pass. Sinthan Pass is a high mountain pass that is the gateway to Kashmir from the Pangi Valley. The roads were much better for most part, and we were riding easy. The scenery was lush green in some places, and tall trees offered ample shade in most parts.

All that dust, due to rocks hurling their way downhill and into the river.

Mountain roads, gorgeous scenery and one great bike!

The start of the ascent to Sinthan Pass.

The start of the ascent to Sinthan Top. The road turned bad once again.

Yours truly. I love the vivid colours in the picture!

The road was back to its usual habit of being bad all the way to the top of the mountain. It took us a little while, but unlike last two days, we were quite prepared for such terrain. We were aware that the tarmac was not bad all the way and it for only so for a short distance of the climb. We were still in good spirits and were not tired, which made us able to enjoy the scenery and the ride.

A panorama of the Kashmir valley.

Mountain roads like these on the ascent of Sinthan Pass

The tarmac returns

Sinthan top was cold and a fog had set in as we were there. There are plenty of small shops on the top of the pass and it is possible to get cups of tea made of goat milk, and hot maggi . While it is great that we were able to get something hot and warm on the top, it was another to see the wrappers and packaging thrown around without a second thought. Where there are places like this, there is always a lot of trash, and Sinthan top was no exception. Soft drink bottles, styrofoam plates, cups, maggi packages could be found in heaps behind these little shops, and it was a sore sight. At such a high altitude, clearing these things is quite difficult and there is no rules applied about disposal.

Plastic bottles in abundance at Sinthan Top

A fog welcomes us to the top of Sinthan pass.

The roads to the capital of Srinagar were fast and smooth. From the top of the pass, the roads were good all the way and we could make good time. The views were fabulous, as usual. We passed many little villages on the road as we rode towards Srinagar.

We arrived at Srinagar early in the evening, and made our way to a hotel a stone's throw away from Dal Lake. The last time, I had arrived at Srinagar late in the night, and we had left early the next day, so I had hardly got to see much. But this time, we had enough time to take a walk and enjoy the sights around Dal lake, eat some local food and buy some souvenirs.

Dal Lake in Srinagar. There are plenty of house boats on the lake, as far as the eye can see. The lake is nearly 4km long and more than 2k wide at its widest point.