Cycling the Manali - Leh Highway: Day 2 [Manali to Marhi]

Date: 14 July 2025
Route: Manali → Palchan → Marhi
Start elevation:  2,050 meters or 6,726 feet ASL
End elevation: 3,360 meters or 11,020 feet ASL
Distance: 35 kms
Time taken: 10.5 hrs
Road: Mostly tarred
Connectivity: Jio (Prepaid/Postpaid) and Airtel

We were up early; It had rained the previous night but the weather seemed to be clearing up as the morning pressed on. Onkar was co-ordinating with the bike rental for the tubes and we were informed that the tubes couldn't be delivered for some reason and we'd have to get it on out own. This was a bummer given we were specifically asked to start early for Marhi and scouring for tubes early in the morning would only make delay us. Anyways, we dialed multiple bike stores enquiring for tubes and one of them said to have it in stock but ould only open an hour later. 

Stuffed Paratha, Dahi and some Omelette at a small and nice dhaba tucked deep inside old Manali
First of the many standard breakfasts for some days to come 

Decision was made to make use of the time to have our fill of carbs for the day ahead, wait for the store to open, buy the tubes, come back to the AirBnb, load the bike, mount up and then roll. By the time we were on the road, it was already 1100 hrs- dismally late. But there was nothing much that could be done but to keep steady progress.

Short pitstop just after exiting Manali for minor adjustments and preparing the electrolyte solution
The clear weather and beatiful tufts of clouds made for a beautiful scenery

For the most part (and that is an understatement), the ride to Marhi is uphill and before you realise, you would want to stop and catch your breath. Our progress was excrutiatingly slow with more stops than progress. That was how it was going to be.

The switchbacks just after Nehru Kund

We were advised to go to Atal Tunnel instead thereby bypassing the Rohtang Pass (skipping Marhi) directly to Sissu for the day reducing a day on our itinerary; We however, in all our wisdom, decided against it. It turned out to be a good decision as much of what we went through made for nice, hard memories. Not to forget, the roads after Palchan were achingly beautiful with myriad small waterfall in the distance (consequence of the rains the previous day) and little to no one on the way. Note that bicycles (or non motored vehicles) are not allowed in the Atal Tunnel and if you were to cross it, you'd have to hitch a ride on some empty pick-up truck which might take some time; plan accordingly.

A breather some distance before Palchan
Looks might be deceiving; Don't mistake these pretty roads for an easy ride

We reached Palchan little after noon. The road straight goes to Atal Tunnel while taking the steep right turn, quite literally going up hill, takes you to Kothi, Gulaba, Marhi, Rohtang and beyond. Once can also choose to break the day's ride in two and bunk at Kothi (there are a resonable number of stays available) or push on to Marhi like the two of us did. 

On such endurance rides, carbs are of utmost importance as they fuel the powerhouse and 30-40 gms of carbs per hour (give or take) is what I was focusing on ingesting. That meant I could eat whatever I wanted and as much I wanted, so long my gut was able to keep up with the intake. An understated priviledge of such events! No surprise that we had Hide-n-Seek biscuits and Coca-cola at Palchan to our heart's share!

By the time we crossed Kothi and started our ascent to Gulaba, it had started drizzling on and off, nothing that would make us put our rain ponchos on though. It was already half past one; We were still making slow progress. Think covering less than 10 kms per hour; From Palchan to Rohtang it is switchbacks after switchbacks, and for just the first day, it sure is a hellish ride. In Kothi somewhere, we stopped for our Lunch of Dal-Chawal which took a looong time coming despite being told "Dal-Chawal jaldi ho jaega". While we were running late, the view from the restaurant made up for the delay.

Kothi has vast expanse of Apple orchards for as far as the eye could see

The lunch set us back by Rs. 340 (220 for the Dal makhni and 120 for Rice) and we were on the road soon after. It had started raining now and out came our rain covers; false alarm, though- the rain, now a drizzle, stopped and off went our rain ponchos. This hide and seek went for some time and we cared little about it. 

We were desperately trying to cover some lost ground for we knew it'll be late by the time we reached and we didn't want it to be dark by the time we reached. Fortunately for us, we had company in the form of a furry mountain dog who trudged on with for for, I think, a couple of hours atleast; between switchbacks, she would disappear and then come back again taking a shorter route through the bushes. However, just before the Gulaba checkpost, she slid into oblivion, which, truth be told, was a little heartbreaking; it was oddly comforting with having her around and sometimes trailing us and the other times, escorting us.

The dog

As we gained altitude, the weather seemed to open; There was hardly any traffic on the route, save for some pick-ups running past us and some BRO camps and workers getting the days hard work in.

Oh the comforting sun!
It was uplifting to feel its rays on us

It was almost 1800 hrs by the time we had started climbing the last set of hairpin bends just before Marhi, and the sun had, by then, set. The could had come down (or did we go up?), and it was a strange feeling to be cycling uphill on the narrow roads and not being able to see the drop below.

Looked like the Highway to Heaven!

By 1900 hrs, we had ascended the last set of hairpin bends and we were only one switchback away from our destination for the day. It had been a long and tough day with constant tussle between the mind and body and also time. We were happy to finally have it in our sights and took some time to relish the scenery in front of us; it looked magical. Now what I think of it, maybe the magic lied in the efforts we had taken to get there; the whole process of getting there was then bearing the fruits of our efforts which was how we felt. Maybe it has something to do with pushing ourselves to mental extremes, only to realise there are no mental extremes. Maybe.

Onkar expressing his ecstacy after (almost) having had it!
If you strain your eyes enough, you can see a human figure walking away in the road in the distance; He was a local shepherd, with his two cows, who invited us for a cup of Chai to his home.
His home: a tarp cover propped up by 5 bamboo poles.
Throughout this journey, there were several instances when I was moved by the generousity of people strangers to us, who opened their homes and offered whatever (little) they had    

Marhi has no accomodation as such if you are travelling on your own (like us and not through some tour operator), and has some dhabas that operate there round the year barring the winter months. We were told by most that they were prohibited from allowing travellers to halt for the night in their dhabas and directed us to one called Chamba Dhaba. It was run by migrants from Bihar who let us in for Rs. 250 per night per person; there was a rudimentary bunk bed which we could make do with; hygiene may be an issue in places like such and that is where our sleeping bags came to good use. 

Chamba Dhaba, Marhi

After having a meal of Roti and some Paneer Curry, we made a call back home, recalled the day's events and hit the bed expecting a good, sound sleep for the night; except it never came. For the both of us, the night was spent tossing and turning and has been one of the uneasiest nights so far for me. We don't know the exact cause but attribute it to fatigue for the most part. 

Day 2 was finished.