Ladakh Ride Day 5 – Amritsar to Ramban

We wake up early morning and packed the rest of the luggage, load onto the motorcycle, and cold started it. We paid the hotel bills and started around 08:00 AM. Our initial plan was to reach Srinagar (Approx 440 KM) by evening so that we could get a full day for sightseeing in Srinagar but ended up riding Amritsar to Ramban.
We refueled in a nearby fuel station and headed towards the highway. Shortly we crossed the traffic congestion near one popular bus stand and reached the four-lane highway.
Roads were pretty much smooth and we started cruising around 90 Kmph and in no time we crossed Batala and Gurdaspur. We stopped for a tea break and waited for 15 minutes to feel the breeze. Still, many Kilometres to cover, so we started, and this time we planned to halt near Lakhanpur toll plaza, yes Punjab and J&K border.
But we ended up stopping near Malikpur, again we had tea and cakes. During discussing road conditions, the shop owner advised taking Samba-Udhampur direct road rather than NH via Jammu. Google maps also suggested this route so we were pretty much confident to take that SH. We reached Lakhanpur and really I wanted to capture the moment to enter the J&K border. So I stopped a few kilometers before tried to set up the Action camera, somehow it started and we captured the moment.
After a few kilometer roads got smoother and quickly we reached samba from where we need to take right towards Udhampur. Roads were being constructed in some sections. But the surrounding beauty was so eye-soothing. We were maintaining around 50-60 Kmph. There were a lot of potholes, hump, and bad patch what made us tired and then finally stopped for a break. We stopped near a bridge, one railway overbridge was there, we captured a few pictures and enjoyed Maggi & Tea.
Reaching Udhampur was a task for us through this kind of road but somehow we managed till Udhampur.
Oh my god, it was more pathetic later. As per locals, almost the entire road till the Jawahar tunnel was under construction which caused massive traffic congestion. With lots of dust and mud in some sections, we literally questioned our decision to reach Srinagar. Then we again stopped and had tea.
Local said four-lane highway is under-construction, and they also suggest us to stay either in Banihal or in Ramban. Otherwise, we may reach Srinagar around midnight. As always we decided to ride as long as possible and would take night halt in case of bad roads.
Through all these bad patches we reached Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, it was like cold water, in the middle of a dessert. Inside this tunnel, we felt like all vehicles are roaring loudly. Few morons drove very carelessly and sometimes even they came to opposite lanes. This 9.2 KM tunnel lasted for 9 minutes only, then we had to face the bad patch again.
Once we thought of staying at Patnitop but we had to drop that plan as well due to a shortage of days.
With all these obstacles we reached Ramban around 05:45-06:15 PM and spot booked hotel Ramban Regency for a cheap price, although the room was good and clean. But the real problem was food. For snacks, we order Tea & Chicken Pakora and Chilly Chicken & Fried rice for dinner. All the items were the worst I ever had. Even my wife fell sick the next day.
As always, we put everything in charge and planned to reach Srinagar the next day, instead of a full day sightseeing we planned to have Shikara ride and roam around local places.
You may also like to check our Amritsar to Ramban Ride video below. This our first series of Moto-Vlog videos. Share your feedback to improve us.
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Conclusion
Being a remote place, a lot of preparation needed before Leh Ladakh Tour, be it mentally or physically. Don’t forget the weather in the Ladakh region is extreme and most of us are not accustomed to it.
So, be prepared and everything in your Leh Ladakh tour will definitely go well. You may also check out below generic posts to make your Leh Ladakh trip successful and memorable. I am sure you will love it.
If you are doing a road trip to Ladakh, you may find my Kolkata – Ladakh – Kolkata on a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 journey helpful.
Lastly, get Leh’ed soon.
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