Jispa to Sarchu – Baralacha La, Deepak Tal, Suraj Tal

This post is in continuation with a previous one and a part of my Ladakh travelogue. We rode from Delhi to Jispa on the first 3 days of the trip. The article below talks about our fourth day of the ride, from Jispa to Sarchu. To read the previous parts of the travelogue, please click on the links below.

The journey so Far:

• Delhi to Manali via Bilaspur – Day 1 & 2
• Manali to Jispa via Rohtang Pass – Day 3

The camera had been disbanded and left alone in a corner of our room overnight to dry out more. So as soon my eyes opened on day 4 morning, the first task was to check if everything was all right with it.

Thank heaven it was, and I clicked to my heart’s content, switching between different modes to check it exhaustively. Getting ready for the day was then quick and easy. With my mind uncluttered, a spring was back in my feet. I can get a bit melodramatic at times.

Day 4 – Jispa to Sarchu

We soon departed for our destination for the day – Sarchu. It was hardly about 90 km away from Jispa, and we had ample time to do it in. A longish breakfast break at Darcha ensured that we actually began the day at 9 am.

Jispa to Sarchu Distance

The total distance between Jispa to Sarchu is about 55 kilometers. Even with all the photography breaks, we were not going to take more than 4.5 hours to reach our destination. So why rush. The detour for Zanskar Sumdo came and went, and both our hearts skipped a beat. We really want to go back to that enchanting place and camp there for a night. But all good things in life have to wait.

Bhaga river spreads wide near Darcha

The breakfast stop at one of the Darcha dhabas

A long time ago (two years back I think), a notorious monster existed just before Baralacha La which people had fondly named the Zingzing Bar Nallah – a water crossing on a U-turn.

We had not seen it so far in any of our trips as it always had a bridge, but KD swore it existed and had scared us to death with some horror stories of it. It had to wait though, as two relatively smaller monsters awaited us just beyond Darcha. The first water crossing was relatively easy, but the next one was a sight to behold.

Also Read: How to Plan a Trip to Leh Ladakh – A Complete Travel Guide

The first Water-Crossing

I was fresh from my nightmare of an experience the previous day on a relatively simple water crossing. So seeing this big one, I panicked. The first action was to request Aarti to disembark and take the camera/ tank bag with her. Gunjan had to do the same. KD went first and cleared it without any trouble. So did Sagar, and so did Yeshu.

My heart was beating wildly as I entered it, half expecting to fall head over heels somewhere in the middle. There were many who were standing by, waiting for (I think) the sight of a bike and biker crashing in the middle of the water crossing. Of course, to help the poor biker.

Also Read: Motorcycle Water Crossing Technique & Tips

Thankfully, with a combination of momentum and torque I came out unscathed, and even with dry feet, thanks to a very effective combination of gaiters and Quechua shoes, purchased just for this trip. I really should pause and thank Sachin Gupta for suggesting those gaiters and even offering his Quechua shoes to me for this trip.

Realizing that the girls were unable to find a steady path to cross over on foot, I went back in order to do some hand-holding and that is where the effective combination of Quechua shoes and gaiters fell apart, soaking up as much water as it could retain.

What followed was a very uncomfortable ride all the way to Sarchu, where thanks to early arrival, my shoes could dry out for the long ride the next day. Even the best protection gear cannot help you if the water is half-knee deep and at that momentum. I had learned my lesson. Do not rely on protection all the time, they only work 98% of the time.

Baralacha La Pass & Deepak Tal

The road leading to Baralacha La is a wide, two-laned, extremely smooth highway. The boys took the opportunity to rip and were out of our sight until the next break.

We ambled along, soaking in the beauty of the now deserted road, something that would not change all the way till Tanglang La. Deepak Tal was as green as ever, it even boasted of a dhaba now! The SASE post at Patseo is always a pretty sight with those colorful tents and so is the military base just ahead.

The climb for Baralacha La began, and for a change, it was a pleasure to begin a climb a high-altitude pass, unlike the dreaded Rohtang. The next scheduled break was just before the dreaded nallah for a cuppa. We got to know that a bridge had been built bypassing the nallah making our ride up even easier.

The momentum can be seen at this water crossing – it was one of the nastier ones, even that early in the day

Deepak Tal – It looks as tranquil as ever. One of the two lakes between Jispa to Sarchu.

Bhaga meanders through the wide valley just before the climb of Baralacha La begins

A short break later we found ourselves hurtling towards Suraj Tal and managed to reach there by 11 am. The boys were extremely disappointed with the lake this time. So far they had been used to seeing it all frozen and covered in white. However, this time, all the snow had already melted.

​Suraj Tal

The lake was completely unfrozen but the lighting over it was magical. Gunjan was disappointed as well as her expectations were set for a whiteout, and so was Yeshu who had also seen the lake only frozen. Aarti and I, having seen the lake like this the last year, were only too happy to take a break and capture the awesome lighting over it. I climbed a bit to take a shot of the lake including our bikes and managed to do it successfully.

Also Read: Suraj Tal – How to Reach, Best Time, Sightseeing & Tips

Even at 5000 m ASL, my breathing pattern was normal and there were no signs of AMS. This was the first time we had decided to take Diamox from Day 2 since the exhaustion levels were higher on a bike. We saw a trekking group consisting of 5 foreigners descending Baralacha La with an entourage of ponies.

Upon asking the porters, it became clear that they had been on the Chandra Tal – Baralacha La trek, a trek which I have had my eyes on for quite some time but have been unable to do it. But I assure you that sooner or later, this route too will be covered by yours truly.

Wonderful tarmac all the way till the top. The road from Jispa to Sarchu was surprisingly good for most of its length.

Play of light at Suraj Tal was exquisite – typically it’s all white, now a mixture of brown, azure, and black. This is the second lake between Jispa to Sarchu.

One day, I shall leave my vehicle and start walking towards Chandra Tal from here. As always, good things in life will have to wait.

Bharatpur

After spending some time at the top of Baralacha La, we proceeded towards Bharatpur and stopped there to check for Bharti. It was KD’s fourth time on this highway, and over the years he had gotten friendly with a dhaba owner at Bharatpur by the name of Bharti.

Sadly, this time she was not there. It is strange that how these people touch your hearts so much that you remember each and every one of them. In some cases, they remember you too, and it is always nice to be remembered. A quick tea break again. Yes, I know we do drink a lot of tea, and we do stop very frequently at dhabas, but a cigarette is typically incomplete without tea to accompany it with. True story.

The last stretch towards Sarchu was all that was left for the day. The trees had left us long back, and a landscape of brown, black, and white with shades of pink accompanied us now. Sarchu plains never cease to amaze me, their green vastness seeming to go on forever.

Sarchu

Several luxury camps have come up just before the Sarchu check-post, but we had decided to put up at a dhaba immediately after it, which was KD’s favorite. Just before stopping for the day, we did a photoshoot on the Sarchu plains with all our bikes.

The fantastic Sarchu plains begin, the luxury tents can be seen to the right.

Tsarap Chu meanders between the huge plains

​The dhaba was simple and cozy. They had a huge tent where all 6 of us could fit in, and a clean bathroom too (of course not attached). We had a good lunch and decided to snooze for a while. I took the opportunity to just lie down, knowing that sleep would never come to me during the afternoon.

My shoes, which were soaking wet, also got a deserved break and lay in the hot sun outside. Quechuas are difficult to get wet, but once they do, they are even more difficult to get dry.

Also Read: Which is the Best Bike for Leh Ladakh Trip

Currency Exchange

After resting for a while, I came back out to stretch a bit. A “firangi” was loitering around looking quite perplexed. Upon striking a conversation with him, I got to know that the entire group had misplaced the one wallet in which they were carrying Indian currency, and now all they were left with were American dollars.

The first phrase that strikes you in such a situation is ‘never keep all your eggs in the same basket. Anyway, the deed was done, and now they were in a soup. With no currency at all, their ride till Manali was in jeopardy. He requested me to take 100 dollars in exchange for INR of an equivalent amount.

Thankfully, I had some spare cash lying around for emergencies just like these. Eventually, my first ever high-altitude currency exchange happened. That was also my first high-altitude profit! Just hope that those dollars were not fake. I’ll get to know it soon enough though – my colleague will use them on his trip next week.

Also Read: How to Prepare your Bike for Leh Ladakh

By evening, I was getting a bit cranky and decided to head off somewhere and explore areas near the river bed. The dhaba guys told me of a bridge over Tsarap Chu going to the village on the opposite bank. They warned that the road is pretty bad and boulder-strewn, but said reassuringly that the bike should be able to cross through.

Exploring the valley around Sarchu

It was supposed to be only about 7 km away. Aarti decided to join me too, and together we left. Immediately after the dhabas, a track went straight towards the driver, which was a bit sandy and strewn with a lot of stones. After a bit of exploring and going at the edge of the riverbank, we located the bridge at a distance and took the final descent.

WanderB was doing fine, but we were horribly missing our Tata Safari here. The problem was that at places that were too sandy or boulder(y), Aarti had to disembark and walk a bit. She was not too tired, but not feeling too energetic either. The last 200 m were too rocky for her to be sitting on the bike, so she decided to stay back while I went to the bridge.

The bridge was too narrow to be able to carry a Safari to the other bank, but smaller cars could’ve just made it. The drop on the other side of the bridge was considerably steep, so I decided against taking it and returned to pick up Aarti.

Back to the Camp at Sarchu

The short excursion was fun, and we soon returned to our dhaba to have chai!

The track was sandy at first. But then it became completely bouldery

I went to the bridge leaving Aarti behind. But came back soon since there was hardly any scope of going ahead, and the RoI did not seem to be worth it, honestly.

​The rest of the gang were up and about by the time we reached back, and the evening was spent playing with the cute dogs there, one of which was called Sho Sho. We chatted a bit with the dhaba owners as well, who was originally from Nepal but now settled in Kullu valley.

The tents came under the jurisdiction of Keylong for which they had to pay an annual fee of about 15k. They typically pitched their tents in June and stayed there at max till mid-October. Last year they had converted their shack into a pucca tent, making it easier for them to leave stuff rather than carry all of it every year.

AMS at Sarchu

Our fourth day of the trip from Jispa to Sarchu came to an end and we tucked ourselves in for the night. But they say that the worst night of them all is the one travelers spend at Sarchu on their way to Leh.

For us, it was no different. Being right on the highway with many trucks passing by, noise pollution was on the higher side. Not to mention some snorers in our group. No, I was not one of them, and since Aarti is reading this too, she also wasn’t.

The last beam of light – before the sun sets completely.

Sarchu by dusk

Gunjan was the first one to feel giddy after reaching Sarchu and was badly affected by Acute Mountain Sickness. She was not able to sleep, getting up frequently to get some fresh air. Thus Yeshu, who is generally a sound sleeper, was not able to catch much shut-eye the entire night.

I was sleeping next to a pole supporting the roof. This kept me from sleeping the way I wanted to. I kept shifting the whole night, hardly getting any deep sleep. Poor Sagar, who was sleeping next to me, was terrorized the entire night each time I moved. And poor KD, who was sleeping next to the entrance kept feeling cold air gushing inside the tent the whole night.

• Journey Ahead: Sarchu to Leh – Arriving in Ladakh

We somehow braved the uncomfortable night, only to get up groggily on the longest day of our ride. Not a good idea. It was only by 7 am the next day that we all finally managed to shake off our laziness and proceed towards our destination for the day, Leh. Please click on the link above to continue reading the next part of this travelogue.

Jispa to Sarchu – Conclusion

I hope the travelogue, pictures, and information on traveling from Jispa to Sarchu were of help. If you have any questions or need any other details, please feel free to ask in the comments section below or at our Community Forum, and I will be glad to answer.