showcase trip · real route, fictional crew
Bengaluru → Umling La, the long way.
Four friends, four Himalayans, twenty-four days, ~7,500 km — ridden, not flown, to a 5,799-metre finish line. This is a Niklo trip opened up for you to poke around; follow it as written and you'd actually make it.
Umling La or bust
1–24 Sep · from Bengaluru · ₹ INR
how the destination got stamped
fly to Leh and rent Himalayans there? saves twelve days of leave
₹2,400 a day × 8 days × 4 rentals… and they're not our machines 😤
own bikes are clean everywhere — the outside-bike ban only covers rentals. papers + the environment fee and we're good
leave approved. 3 votes to 1 — we RIDE 🏍️ sorry Aman
stamped: the long way. 🔨
the boring days are the summit days
Umling La is 5,799 m — nearly 2,300 m above Leh — and the plan earns it gradually: the road climbs through Jispa (3,200 m) instead of flying straight in, a full rest day lands in Leh before the first big pass, every night on the circuit is spent low (Hanle, 4,270 m), and the summit itself is a twenty-minute morning visit, never a place to linger.
Everyone clears acetazolamide with a doctor before leaving, water is 3–4 litres a day, alcohol waits until the passes are behind, and a worsening headache means descending — no debate. Niklo's checklist nags about every line of this.
the shape of it · 24 days
Leg 1 · The highway
Days 1–4 · Bengaluru → Delhi · ≈2,150 km on NH44
- Day 1 — Bengaluru → Hyderabad, ~570 km
- Day 2 — Hyderabad → Nagpur, ~500 km
- Day 3 — Nagpur → Jhansi, ~490 km
- Day 4 — Jhansi → Delhi, ~460 km
boring kilometres, banked early — 5 a.m. starts beat the heat and the trucks
Leg 2 · The climb
Days 5–8 · Delhi → Leh · plains to 5,328 m
- Day 5 — Delhi → Manali, ~530 km (leave at 4:30)
- Day 6 — Manali rest day, 2,050 m: bikes serviced, warm layers out, last big ATMs
- Day 7 — Manali → Jispa via the Atal Tunnel, ~100 km — first night at altitude (3,200 m)
- Day 8 — Jispa → Leh, ~327 km over Baralacha La and Tanglang La (5,328 m). Tanks full at Tandi — last pump before Leh.
every sleep higher than the last by a sane step — the road is the acclimatisation plan
Leg 4 · The long way home
Days 17–24 · Leh → Bengaluru via Srinagar
- Day 17 — Leh → Kargil, ~232 km (Lamayuru moonland, Fotu La 4,108 m)
- Day 18 — Kargil → Srinagar, ~202 km (Zoji La early, chai at Drass)
- Day 19 — Srinagar → Jammu, ~270 km
- Day 20 — Jammu → Delhi, ~590 km
- Days 21–24 — NH44 southbound, the same four highway days in reverse
a different road home, so the trip never repeats itself
leg 3 · ladakh, day by day
- 09:00Environment-fee receipts printed ×6 each
- 11:00Oil, chains and brake check on all four bikes
- 17:30Slow walk to Shanti Stupa ☀️
3–4 litres of water. headache = say it now, not at 5,000 m
🛏 guesthouse, Leh
- 06:30Fuel to the brim + jerrycans ⛽
- 09:30Khardung La, 5,359 m — 20 minutes, no naps
- 16:00Dunes and double-humped camels at Hunder 🐪
the pass jams by ten — leave early
🛏 camp, Hunder
- 08:00~80 km each way down the Shyok
- 11:00Balti villages, apricot orchards, Thang viewpoint
- 18:00Back before dark — IDs checked twice en route
the day everyone calls their favourite afterwards
🛏 camp, Hunder
- 08:00Shyok river road — slow, spectacular 🌊
- 15:00First sight of the lake 💙
- 19:00Thukpa at the homestay
jerrycans ride pillion — no reliable pump from Nubra to Hanle (~300 km)
🛏 homestay, Spangmik
- 08:00Lakeside Man–Merak road, ~170 km via Chushul
- 11:30Rezang La war memorial 🇮🇳
- 14:30Loma checkpost — receipts out
night one at India's first Dark Sky Reserve 🔭
🛏 homestay, Hanle
- 06:30Layers on, tanks full, ~75 km via Photi La
- 10:00UMLING LA — 5,799 m 🏔️
- 10:20Photo, breathe, descend
sleep low, summit briefly — that's the whole trick
🛏 homestay, Hanle
- 07:00Longest circuit day — ~255 km via Nyoma
- 12:30Hot springs at Chumathang ♨️
- 19:00Celebration lamb curry 🍛
first beer of the trip — the passes are behind us
🛏 guesthouse, Leh
- —The weather's day. If it goes unused:
- 10:00Thiksey monastery 🙏
- 16:00Pashmina and apricot shopping
every mountain plan needs one day it can afford to lose
🛏 guesthouse, Leh
the road, and how high it climbs
Every stop on one map and the altitude drawn between them — so nobody meets a 5,300-metre pass as a surprise. The route view builds this from the itinerary automatically.
the prep — suggested because the stops are in Ladakh
Pay the Ladakh environment fee online
The Inner Line Permit was scrapped for Indian tourists in 2021. Instead, pay the Environment & Development Fee at lahdclehpermit.in — ₹400 once, ₹20 a day, and a voluntary ₹50 to the Red Cross Fund, so about ₹590 all in for a week. Carry several printed receipts: checkposts on the Nubra, Pangong, Hanle and Umling La roads collect them. Foreign nationals still need the Protected Area Permit through a registered Leh agent.
Carry ID copies for each traveller
Aadhaar or passport photocopies for the permit form and each checkpoint.
Sleep at Hanle, day-trip Umling La
The pass sits at 5,799 m — don't sleep anywhere near it. Stay at Hanle (4,270 m, homestays, India's first Dark Sky Reserve), ride up via Photi La in the morning (~75 km), spend twenty minutes on top and descend.
Get a BSNL or Jio postpaid SIM
Prepaid SIMs from outside Ladakh do not work. Postpaid Jio, Airtel and BSNL work in Leh; Airtel reaches Pangong's west end at Spangmik and Lukung, Jio patchily, neither on the south bank, and BSNL is the only bet at Hanle and beyond.
Withdraw cash in Leh
ATMs exist only in Leh and Kargil; Nubra and Pangong are cash-only and UPI rarely works.
the bike list — suggested because this is a motorcycle trip
Full riding gear
Helmet with a clear visor, armoured riding jacket, gloves, knee guards and boots that cover the ankle.
Rental agreement and RC photos
Photograph the bike from all sides at pickup, plus the agreement and RC; check the rental covers the states you are entering.
Basic tool kit and spares
Spark plug, clutch and accelerator cables, spare tube or tubeless kit, chain lube and a foot pump.
Luggage straps and a rain cover
Bungee cords or ROK straps with a saddlebag; dry bags for anything electronic.
Fuel jerrycan for the long stretches
5 L covers the gaps where pumps are 150 km apart.
Plan sane riding days
Under 250 km a day on mountain roads and a stop every 90 minutes.
The full lists are public: motorcycle trip checklist · high-altitude checklist
the money
- KFuel kitty, Bengaluru → Leh₹46,000
- AFuel kitty, circuit + ride home₹42,000
- RRooms & homestays, 21 nights₹38,000
- SFood & chai, whole trip₹24,000
- ASpares, oil top-ups, one Sarchu puncture₹6,000
- REnvironment fee ×4₹2,440
settle up · 3 transfers clears ₹1,58,440
Sana → Aman ₹8,390
Sana → Karan ₹6,390
Sana → Ritu ₹830
the chat, next to the plan
receipts printed ×6 each. lose yours and you're explaining yourself at Loma
day 8 is 327 km with four passes. carbs and sleep tonight, everyone
day 8 is 327 km with four passes. carbs and sleep tonight, everyone
and tanks full at Tandi — last pump before Leh
oximeter packed. whoever laughs first gets tested hourly
…and it stays out of your family WhatsApp.
Your crew's version is 60 seconds away.
Make the trip, drop the invite link in the group chat, and watch the pins land.