MrPolak

Here are my two contributions from the "Not Necessarily Fully Loaded Touring", or NNFLT, chronicles:

CCrew

Hmm, lets take a wild guess. Looks just like one of the tunnels in the Smokies in between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge?

-Roger

hanshun

my first tour, overnight from Halfmoon Bay to Santa Cruz and back, great experience with more to come.

MrPolak

Very observant! Smokies, yes, but a but farther East. The bike is sitting in the exact same spot in both pictures and you might be able to see Craggy Gardens on the top pic just around the corner. This was a return trip from Mt. Mitchell. Blue Ridge Parkway is closed between Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell making for very serene and pleasant biking.

SDG

This is an image from my 2007 tour of Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh state of India.

cycotourer

What time of year/season was the photo taken?

SDG

2nd September (2007).

You can find the account of the ride at https://sudipto.dg.googlepages.com

Sudipto.

Al Downie

AH!!! AMAZING!!! I'm hoping to get into the Spiti Valley in September this year! We'll be riding from Leh, north into Nubra Valley, then back south to Manali, then either A) going through Spiti and around to Shimla, or B) going as far as we can into Spiti then turning around and heading for Kullu airport. Depends on remaining time, and information about what the Shimla roads are like.

Can you tell me - did you have to arrange any special permits to travel through Spiti? If so, will I be able to get one at Keylong? AND... what's the road from Nangia to Shimla like? On the map it looks like it might be very busy (compared to Ladakh!), which makes me not so keen.

Off to read your website right now. Brilliant! Thanks for the photo!

SDG

That is a great route you have planned! I have not been north of Himachal, so I cannot say anything about the road conditions there, but from what I have heard, the traffic on the Manali-Leh route is much worse than on the Shimla-Namgia/Khab section (Hindustan-Tibet road). This is because the first road is strategically much more important than the second and there are convoys of army trucks running all day. However, for that very reason, repairs on the Hindustan-Tibet road are not as prompt. Anyway, I would suggest you cover at least the Spiti section up to Tabo - the terrain is just amazing.

About permits - Indian citizens do not need any, but foreign citizens need permits to travel the section between Jangi in Kinnaur and Tabo. These permits are very easy to get and are available with the District Magistrate at Keylong.

Sudipto