Cycling the Manali - Leh Highway: Day 4 [Shooling to Jispa]

Date: 16 July 2025
Route: Shooling → Tandi → Jispa
Start elevation: 3,150 meters or 10,330 feet ASL
End elevation: 3,200 meters or 10,500 feet ASL
Distance: 48 kms
Time taken:  hrs
Road: Smooth tarred roads all the way till destination
Connectivity: Jio (Prepaid/Postpaid) and Airtel

The night was comfortable. Onkar still had a sore knee, but nothing that was bothersome, he said. Both of us readied ourselves and freshened up. Took the bicycles down to the ground floor and started mounting the luggage on them. The standard affair on any morning throughout this trip. That done, Aalu Parathas relished and the tab settled, it was time we moved on.

The skies were clear and the sun shone intently. My bum was now sore from all the riding in the previous two days on the saddle, but all of that was to go away as the day passed on. The ride was expected to be easy for today. Rolling inclines and declines all the way from till Jispa. 

The exhilerating descent to Tandi

The ride felt easy. After a short climb, all we encountered was a speedy downhill roll till Tandi bridge. The ride itself is very scenic and one is able to now notice the changine slopes of the mountains; the vegetation had started becoming sparsely arid now. Chandrabhaga kept us steady company all the way till Tandi where it takes its form by the confluence of Bhaga and the Chandra River at the Tandi Sangam, a site of immense spiritual and geographical importance. Chandrabhaga later flows into J&K becoming Chenab there. Witnessing the two rivers, of different shades of blue, from different sources, coming together was a beautiful sight; I couldn't help but notice the cosmic union at play. Of spiritual union, of sharing a path, of a common transformation. Of many stories like that of Sohni and Mahiwal.

Somewhere between Sissu and Tandi with Chandrabhaga river on my LHS

Tandi is a major town before Keylong and not many years before, the fuel depot at Tandi used to be the only one between Manali and Leh. When I crossed it, it was abuzz with people and cars. I was soon on the other side of the Tandi bridge with Bhaga river on my right now. Crossing Tandi, it's mostly a uphill ride all the way to Keylong, the next big town with major facilities and bus depot.

The uphill to Keylong is quite steep and would require frequent brakes. It was 1030 hrs by the time we started our ascent; it was hot and the sun shone with all it's might. I tried making do with any patch of shade that I could find and would take a breather there and sip some water and electrolytes. I cursed myself (yet again!) for not having bought prescription sunglasses for this trip but there wasn't much that could be done now. By 1200 hrs, I had made it to Keylong and waited for Onkar to arrive meanwhile refilling my hydration pack and water bottles. The second order was to buy knee cap which, we were told, will be available only in Keylong next. After Onkar arrived sometime later, we got two pairs (the last in stock!) of knee caps of our size (I didn't use mine, but got one, for just in case I ended up wrecking my knees mid-ride). We also got sachets of ORS solutions to be used for the remainder of the trip along with an Oxygen cylinder, with a quiet hope of not having to use it throughout. The pharmacist, a local himself, was quite knowledgeable and told us how he had to go to Manali to refill his inventory. That was quite a task in itself and was compounded by the fact that it snows in Keylong during the winters and the roads are rendered unmotorable leading to shortage of medicines at times.

We had our lunch (of Egg Fried Rice, I think) in Keylong itself in a nice Dhaba/Hotel just two shops waway from the pharmacy. After the meal, we straightened our limbs and just laid back on our chairs for a while. It was a welcome change to be able to sit on something that covered more than just out tailbones! By 1330 hrs, it was now time to get going again; we had spent considerable time in keylong- but we weren't late.

The ascent continues for some more kilometres before settling for a nice downhill ride all the way to Jispa. But the ascent that continues, surely isn't easy; there a remultiple switchbacks and one can see the motor vehicles making their way up if you strained your neck up hard enough. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds which was the saving grace and made things easier.

Onward to Jispa from Keylong
One can see multiple Kainchi in the background
I like how it all looks so docile but I remember questioning my life choices while tacking those switchbacks

"...that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."
What would your verse be?

After climbing for a couple of hours more (till ~1500 hrs.), it was smooth downhill sailing through the nice roads. Every turn had me marveling at the creator's imagination; it was like being in a dream - a good dream that one would not want to end. The sun by then had managed to wiggle out of the cloud cover and it's rays seemed to fall on the surroundings and flush the whole landscape golden.

Approaching Jispa, a beautiful small town
Many motorists and tourists prefer covering the Manali-Leh journey in two days, taking the night's halt at Jispa at one of the many (types of) accomodations available

By 1700 hrs, we had zeroed in on a good enough small homestay at the fag end of Jispa town and made ourselves comfortable there; The homestay sat overlooking the beautiful valley and the prayer flags fluttered gracefully with the winds. We sat outside having an omelette and some chai, just being.

The Dorje Lakpa Homestay

The late evening was spent taking a wash, charging our gadgets and recouping our energy. The dinner was a delectable affair of some Roti, Rice, Dal and a preparation of Paneer that went over and beyond what either of us expected. 

The dinner that made everything all the more worth it!

The food bill for the entirety of our stay at Jispa

And just like that, that day was over. It was time to hit the sack!
Tomorrow we head closer to Baralacha La.