Chapter 4: Hanle and a rush of emotions!

Can you spot the Hanle Gompa Monastery?

Hanle, a quaint village in the South-Eastern territory of Ladakh changes a person from within. It has the world's highest observatory, one of the clearest skies in the world and is also a gateway to the Umling La, once a highest motorable road in the world before Mig la was opened in early October 2025. It is the gateway to an adventure that every motorcyclist dream of!

The Plan: The plan was to stay at Hanle for 2 nights and 3 days. Reach Hanle on day 1 and indulge in 'Dolce far niente'. The next day was for conquering Umling La and return to the homestay and rest for the second night and finally bid adieu to this beautiful land on day 3 for Pangong Tso.

The Route: Leh- Upshi- Nyoma- Loma- Hanle

The violet mountains made every turn into a visual spectacle with Indus leading the way!

The Upshi Nyoma route that we had chosen to venture into Hanle is a visual spectacle. The mountains here appears purplish/ violet due to the presence of Iron and Manganese. The most part of South Eastern Ladakh lies on an ancient volcanic and sedimentary zone. These minerals oxidise over millions of years staining the rock surfaces as purplish/ violet due to manganese while a few appears to be reddish or brownish due to Iron oxides. The intense UV radiation along with huge temperature swings and extreme lack of moisture results is chemical weathering without much erosion that helps these minerals layers stay exposed rather than washing away and explains the vivid colour as well.

Refuel Stops: When starting from Leh, it is advisable to refuel your bikes here and also keep your jerry cans full. Carrying 10litres of backup fuel is a must when starting for Hanle. The last refuel option would be at Indian Oil petrol pump in Nyoma, one of the highest petrol pumps in the world. In case you are planning to move towards Pangong from hanle then either you ride back a few kilometres to Nyoma and get the refuelling done there or carry additional fuel to reach Pangong directly from Hanle. It is advisable to carry the additional fuel as it always helps specially when you are in such a deserted region.

Standing at world's highest petrol pump, thanks to Indian Oil

Day 7, 6th June: We started from Leh and rode towards Hanle. Riding through the broken rocky patches, crossing river beds and a couple of off roading patches, our ride into this one of a kind territory had been amazing. After Loma check point the roads that we came across was as smooth as butter and all thanks to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). While heading towards Hanle you will be riding through the heart of the desert and sudden desert storms may leave the roads covered in sands too at some points making the struggle real. However, riding through the vast stretch of this beautiful piece on earth, we reached Hanle by 4:30PM and headed further 5kms towards Pungguk village. 

We were staying with a local family there and only after visiting their home I realised how privileged we are. Imagine stocking piles of food by travelling to Leh and then coming back with all the groceries shopped. There is no market in Hanle. Imagine waking up to a chilly morning to find the water frozen to ice in the tank. Imagine the hardships that these villagers go through every day, yet they learn to smile, laugh and live life to its fullest. No regrets, no complaints. It's true that nature is the greatest teacher that shapes a character rooted in humility, patience, resilience, adaptation and harmony. We were at 14500+ ft and finding a roof above our heads, a warm blanket to tuck ourselves into and getting hot water whenever needed was nothing less than luxury for us here.

Humble abode at Hanle, our home for 2 nights

Day 8, 7th June:

The long awaited dreams would be coming to life today. It was time to ascend the Umling La and our excitement had no boundaries. We started but could not find the road to Cobra loops so we later took the normal route via Photila pass. The winding roads and the altitude gain were like unending at one point of time. The motorcycles struggled for oxygen yet it never gave up. After our final climb we were standing at Umling La and all three of us were left numb. I am sure everyone shed tears of joy. A long awaited dream that finally came true, riding to the highest motorable road in the world on our very own motorcycles. It was worth all the struggle we went through just to breathe. This day will remain etched in my heart forever.

We spent about 20 mins and came down from Umling La and stopped for lunch. The next part of the ride was quite an exciting one, riding through cobra loops. This road is not known by all. After speaking to one of the cafe owners we got an idea of the route via the King Cobra loops and finally succeeded finding our way back to Pungguk via the King Cobra loops. A continuous stretch of off-roading for approx 40kms till you reach Hanle. This was one of the best rides in our entire trip. A vast stretch of land with no human trace throughout except the 3 of us. By evening we came back to Pungguk and settled for the night. The hot water provided by the homestay owners felt so refreshing after the brunt we all took. A good night sleep and our days at Hanle will be over soon but I promised to myself to visit this place again soon.

Umling La: Living the dreams..

Day 9, 8th June:

We started our day a bit early today. All of us including Rajan and Mousumi wanted to visit the Observatory before bidding goodbye to this place. We visited the highest observatory in the world and started our journey back to the homestay about 10 mins from the observatory. 

Mousumi, me, Rahul, Sayantan and Rajan bhai from the left indulging in some fun :P

After reaching the homestay it was time to load our luggages again and start our ride towards Pangong.

To know more about our ride to Pangong stay tuned for our next part!