solo female cycle India | The Wandering Nomads

Making ghee (butter) with a grandma, India 2013.

Making ghee (butter) with a grandma, Spiti Valley India 2013.

Spiti valley was easily my favorite route in all of the Himalayas; I loved the feeling of immense solitude that came from going hours without seeing anything or anyone, and I had two wonderful homestays with various women which showed me a small window into what life above 4,000m looks like. The road through Spiti valley is notoriously rocky, but it’s worth every ounce of energy dispensed to be isolated in these high beautiful mountains.

A lovely ladie in the high Himalayas who took me in, 2013.

Making ghee (butter) with a grandma, India 2013.

Lovin the snow! India 2013.

Monkeys, India 2013.

Camping in the rain, India 2013.

One of hundreds of funny signs all over the Himalayas, India 2013.

Cow dung, India 2013.

Herding goats! India, 2013.

A typical Himalayan empty road, 2024.

Reflection, India 2013.

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One of the most beautiful passes in the world between Kashmir Valley and Ladkh.

After leaving Jammu, the capital of Kashmir valley which is the Muslim majority disputed territory that borders Pakistan in north-western India, we headed up and into the Himalayas along a mostly paved road which took us over a beautiful pass before landing us in the not-so-pleasant town of Kargil. From there we took the turn off south which leads to Zanskar valley. Though we weren’t able to make it all the way down to Zanskar valley due to the snow (late May), we really enjoyed cycling there and back through this very beautiful region (Suru Valley) and would highly suggest it to others who come this way.