Lasa to Kathmandu with Exodus

Funguspunt

Am thinking of going on this tour, has anyone done it? If so, any advice?

Michael

Al Downie

I thought about cycling that route for a while, unsupported, but the more I found out about it the less excited I was. It seems that there's precious little Tibetan culture left in Lhasa, just a tiny section of the town, as hordes of Chinese people are being pushed in by the Chinese Government. Effectively, it's just not Tibet any more.

As I spoke to various people who'd been out there, I found myself being steered towards a route in Ladakh (Northern India) - from Leh to Manali and into the Spiti valley. The Spiti valley will take us right up to the Tibetan border, and it's the route which most of the Buddhists are taking when leaving Tibet to travel to Dharamsala (current home of the Dalai Lama). The route is pretty challenging - higher than anything on the Lhasa/Kathmandu road (6540m!), and through equally dramatic landscape. We're going unsupported, but there are tour companies which will offer almost the same route - have a look at http://www.keadventure.com/

But it doesn't pass Everest basecamp, and it doesn't have the longest uninterrupted downhill section in the world!!! Two major advantages of the Friendship Highway route!

GyatsoLa

I have no experience or knowledge of Exodus, but having seen some of the organised trips out there, I'd be a bit wary. They tend to operate on a very tight schedule which gives very little opportunity for acclimitisation or recovering from any little illnesses. The result is that a high proportion of people doing them tend to end up spending a fair chunk of their trip in the sag wagon.

If you didn't want to do it solo, and if you are not on a very tight timetable, I'd suggest just visiting the cyclists hangouts in Lhasa such as the Spinn Cafe and then negotiate with other cyclists to share the cost of a jeep or truck in support. This would probably be much cheaper and give you more flexibility.

I'd agree with Al Downie about Ladakh. I've done Lhasa to Kathmandu solo, and been to Ladakh (twice) with out-there-biking.com. The Friendship Highway is spectacular, and a memorable trip, but for a variety of reasons I think Ladakh has an edge. There are fewer permit/visa problems, its generally a lot cheaper, the people are nicer, there are fewer political issues, and on balance the landscapes are even more spectacular. The downhill on the final stretch of the Friendship Highway is memorable, but for my money the equivalent downhill in Ladakh - the drop down to Manali - is even better as its shorter and sharper. Its not so nice going uphill though!

toshmund

Have never done any of the Exodus Himalayan treks, but have used them for Iceland (which was a local guide - superb) Tour of Mt Blanc and Corsica. They are slightly more expensive than the average trekking company, but their organisation is always second to none. If you were intent on doing it supported, I would recommend to do the Exodus option. Good company.

andrew_s

I did it as a CTC tour a while back.
Having read about various companies' offerings, it looks to me like Redspokes are the only lot that will give you a reasonable shot at riding the whole route. Even on their schedule it will be hard, although it will be easier now than it was then as a lot more of the route is surfaced.

Note that because of the increased restrictions because of Tibet protests and the Olympics, one of the travel companies (KE Adventure?) has suspended all their Tibet travel until things settle down.

The best day's ride is from Rongbuk to Tingri by the back road (track), should you go that way, and the ride up the Gyatso La was the hardest - 4h to do 22km, into a 30mph headwind.

satanas

Al Downie wrote:

The route is pretty challenging - higher than anything on the Lhasa/Kathmandu road (6540m!)

Indeed, this is higher than any road anywhere in the world - I suspect the writer has added 1000m or so! FWIW, the highest pass in the world is normally said to be the Khardung La, ~30km north of Leh in Ladakh, usually listed as 5602m. There are rumours that some of the passes in western Tibet may be up to 5800m, but AFAIK this is still hearsay, not proven fact.

I'd also recommend riding in the Indian Himalayas - great place, great scenery, great people!

Al Downie

Ah - blimey - you're right of course. What a dummy! I meant to write 5640m, which still differs from the figure you've written, but I've seen many different altitudes quoted for Khardung La elsewhere on the web, including reports from people whose GPSs disagree significantly with the stated height on the sign at the top! I've got no idea of the exact height.