Getting Leh'ed - Day 2 : Noida-Leh-Noida Bike Trip

15 Days, 6 riders, 2800 KMS.

Read about our previous day here: Getting Leh'ed - Day 1 : Noida-Leh-Noida Bike Trip

Day 2 - 21st June, 2015:
Location: Manali

After a tiring ride of day 1, it was time to relax a bit in Manali with visits to Solang and Manali Mall Road for some shopping. Not much was planned for this day as we also had to take full rest before starting out Leh journey from Manali the next day. 

View from hotel window

The day started with drizzles but then the clouds scattered and it kept switching between bright sunshine and cloudy weather.

Mighty Beas river in full valor

It was a clear bright sunny day and we headed towards Solang Valley after a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. Solang is around 20 odd KMs and we reached there around 10 AM.

Solang Valley

Solang valley is famous for its adventure sports activities such as Paragliding, Zorbing, Kart Racing, Dirt Biking and also its serene landscape. Me and Ashish had already tried paragliding during our previous trip to Manali. Others wanted to try their hands on it so bought a ticket of Rs. 3000 each. There are 2 tickets available, one starts gliding from a shorter height and lesser duration (Rs. 1500 per head), the other one for much higher altitude and longer duration(Rs. 3000 per head).

Point where paragliding starts

You have to go via ropeway to reach the high point of the latter paragliding option. A professional also accompanies you during the glide.

Abhilash : "Let the 'glide' begin!"

We spent 3-4 hrs in Solang and then after they were done with their paragliding, we had lunch in Solang and then came back to Manali Mall Road by evening. We had to shop for some riding gears, especially rubber shoes for the journey to start next day and few other essential items for the trip.

We also got our bikes arranged by evening which we had booked in Manali for 10 days tour. We contacted Hadimba Motors for this and their servicing had been good. These folks prep the bikes especially for hilly terrain. Their entire fleet consists of Royal Enfields and you can get your desired one starting from 1000/- per day per bike to 2000/- per day per bike. 

Royal Enfield 350cc getting ready at Hadimba Motors.

You can rely on them undoubtedly.

These people know what terrain lies ahead so they prep the bikes perfectly for the trip and also gave advices regarding how to handle them under unforeseen circumstances.

After a bit of shopping, we came back to hotel room and went to rest for the next day.

Read about our previous day here: Getting Leh'ed - Day 3 : Noida-Leh-Noida Bike Trip