Keylong – Patseo

Attention to detail. I especially love the flowers, such amazing varieties in an often seemingly barren landscape. Setting off from Keylong we headed toward the base of the Baralacha-la pass just under 5000m.

We followed the glacier speckled valley along fabulous roads gradually increasing in altitude eventually leaving the trees below us.

Gemon village - villagers take full advantage of the short summer, tending to cheerful gardens full of poppies, dalias, zinnias and vegetables of course. I appreciate the way many uses are found for the scourge of the region: plastic, however unfortunately most ends up in the rivers or down the side of steep banks. Much to our support teams surprise, I insisted we dispose of all our waste in Manali (where it was bought), which meant carrying it all the way to Leh and back.

Lucky little Pinsu and his pappa, in Gemon

The region had received unusually high rainfall this season, only too apparent from this flooded river in Jispa. We were lucky that missed the rain, 2 spanish cyclists reported rain everyday on the M-L route and had only been 2 weeks ahead of us.

Our 'old' dhabba haunt that we visited twice last year at Darcha.

Asha and grandma were there to greet us once more with lovely mint honey tea. She said there had been too much rain this year and the season was very quite. Notibly there were also very few trucks and jeeps on the roads.

Leaving Darcha and heading to Patseo - stunning views all round.

Roadside entertainment

Our campsite near Patseo, just below the Baralacha-la pass

Our cosey dining tent where 3-course dinners were served up like magic every night. Tonight we started off with some freshly fried Pakora and hot chips pre-dinner snacks, followed by vege soup, Matter paneer (cheese pea curry), fenugreek rice, green beans, makhani dal, chapatis and cherries for dessert washed back with lemon-ginger-honey tea!

Stunning himalayan flowers, these pinks often give mountains slopes a red hue from a distance and only grow above 4000m.

Mosses, almost illuminous, grow lushly around fresh water streams that feed high altitude wetlands.