On the 8th day we had plans to go via Vari-La but since the pass had still not opened and our camps at Tso kar and Sakthi had not been supplied adequately we decided to retrace the route which meant going back via Khardung-La. This time the legendary group photograph took place at the sand dunes of Nubra Valley and what a spectacle it was. The ride back to Khardung-la was better as the sun was merciful and was shining in its full glory. Most of the snow we had encountered had melted which led us to a new problem; deep water crossings. It was with guidance that most of us managed to make good use of our powerful motorcycles and rode through it. This time Khardung-La was still cold but sunny and we could spend considerable time taking photographs and enjoying the moment on the top of the world. We camped at Rumptse that night after crossing over Upshi.
On the 9th day it was Rumptse to Sarchu with a quick dash across More plains. At Sarchu most of us were quite relaxed now as we had got quite acclimatised to the weather and no had started to soak in the scenery.
The 10th day saw us fuelling up for contingencies we moved on to Keylong via Barlach-la; luckily for us it was not blocked or completely snow laden. At Keylong some motorcycles did need some work on them as they had taken a battering. Despite being built strong the harsh terrain and riding conditions do take a toll on the riders as well as their mounts.
N the 11th day from Keylong we took a different route again to explore the Spiti Valley by moving towards Gramphu instead of Rohtang and then after some really challenging water crossings and extreme rough roads reached Kaza. The Lahaul and Spiti Valley landscape is again a different aspect of the Himalayas resembling the North American Grand Canyon region as exclaimed by some. The ride to Kaza was definitely eventful as we also passed pretty close to Chadrataal and saw amazing sights. The ride up the Kumzum-La pass was made more exciting with rains having washed out most of the roads and replacing them with muddy fast flowing streams.
On the 12th day after tanking up from Kaza we headed towards Kalpa where in we descended further into Kinnaur valley region of Himachal Pradesh or the lower Himalayas. The roads had now become better but were still a set of winding twisties around cliffs. Rain had started now and we were all getting drenched as we were riding down into warmer and more populated areas. Kalpa was definitely a sight to see with the Kailash Mountain in the background and lush green valley in the foreground.