Srinagar was never in the plan but, everything happens for a reason. It’s God who decides the path of our journey. Srinagar was no different.
THE MORNING
Day 3 began with the same sense of urgency as the day before. By 8:30 AM, we arrived at the Royal Enfield Service Center to begin a thorough technical analysis of the “rogue” bike that had been causing us trouble. After a systematic diagnosis, the technicians identified a critical flaw in the starter and fuel pump relays, which they promptly replaced to restore the bike’s reliability.
Since four of us were riding together, we prioritized collective safety over everything else. Because I own the exact same Himalayan model, I decided to proactively replace my relays as well, eliminating the risk of a similar breakdown in the high-altitude wilderness. Meanwhile, the other two bikes underwent comprehensive check-ups to ensure they were peak-ready.
Our experience at the Srinagar Royal Enfield workshop was nothing short of exceptional. The staff was incredibly professional, and the service manager, in particular, went out of his way to ensure our machines were expedition-ready. I highly recommend a pit stop here before you head toward the high passes; the peace of mind you gain from a professional inspection is worth every minute spent. You certainly won’t regret the detour.
AFTERNOON
By the time we finally managed to leave the service center, it was already 11 AM—nearly noon. We rushed back to the hotel to pack our gear, realizing that our window for a daylight ride was shrinking. The collective decision was to depart immediately after lunch, but for a vegetarian like me, finding a suitable meal in the meat-dominant Lal Chowk market proved to be a time-consuming challenge.
We spent a significant amount of time scouting the area, eventually walking about 500 meters before discovering a small restaurant that served vegetarian fare. With our options exhausted and time running out, we had no choice but to settle there. The food was average at best, providing just enough fuel for the road ahead, but the detour cost us a precious hour.
We returned to the hotel, and after another 30 minutes of meticulously bungee-strapping our luggage back onto the bikes, we finally rolled out of Srinagar at 3 PM. Given the late start and the heavy traffic on the city outskirts, we revised our goals for the day. We knew we could only manage to reach Sonamarg before nightfall, which would serve as our first official camping destination of the trip.
THE JOURNEY TO SONMARG
The distance from Srinagar to Sonmarg is approx. 80 Kms which generally takes 2 hours. But, it took us 7 hours.
Starting, at 3PM from Srinagar via the city market is always a bad plan. The place where we were staying, the road passes through markets which are generally packed at that time. We have to go through the packed roads, which took us 1.5 hour just to cross the Srinagar.
THE AMAZING GANDERBAL
After few kilometers from Srinagar, you starting to see the sind river, which passes along the route. No matter how late you are, one just cannot miss the chance to have some pictures at this amazing river view.
After fighting through the dense, exhausting Srinagar traffic, we finally broke free into the open road and stopped at a scenic pull-off for a quick tea break. The location was breathtaking, offering a perfect vantage point to witness the crystal-clear Sindh River rushing past against a backdrop of towering, snow-dusted mountains. The air was so crisp and the view so tranquil that I have made it a personal tradition to stop at this exact spot on every subsequent trip I’ve taken to the valley.
Our brisk, 15-minute ‘chai’ stop quickly stretched into a 45-minute photography session as we scrambled to capture the raw beauty of the landscape. Since we had only 60 kilometers left to reach Sonamarg, the lost time didn’t worry us.
However, the mountain gods had other plans. Just as we geared up and prepared to pull away, the familiar sound of a failing engine cut through the silence. To our absolute shock and frustration, the same Royal Enfield Himalayan that had just been “fixed” in Srinagar refused to start once again. The sense of relief we felt just minutes ago vanished, replaced by the realization that our technical nightmare was far from over.
THE DEVIL RETURNS
We exhausted every trick in the book to revive the Himalayan, but the engine remained stubbornly silent. The frustration was palpable; we had just come from a supposedly “thorough” service center check-up, yet here we were, stranded again. It was already 5 PM, and the golden hour was fading fast. Our plan to reach Sonamarg in daylight to set up our campsite was quickly slipping through our fingers.
We felt completely paralyzed by the situation. After a brief, heated discussion, we called the Roadside Assistance (RSA) once more to lodge a fresh complaint. However, we knew Srinagar was a long distance away, and any support would take at least an hour—if they even came at all. The uncertainty was the hardest part; we had no idea what the underlying issue was, and the thought of retreating to Srinagar for the third time was demoralizing.
A heavy silence fell over the group as we stood by the roadside. The gravity of the situation started to sink in, and for the first time, we began to voice the question we were all secretly fearing: Was this the end of our trip? We didn’t even know if we could safely continue our journey or if we were forced to abandon our Ladakh dreams before they had truly begun.
The Sunset Vigil: Waiting for Rescue
After lodging the official complaint with RSA, we received a callback from the same Srinagar service center we had left just hours ago. Being 30 kilometers away, we engaged in a series of long, intense technical discussions over the phone to diagnose what was actually happening with the bike. Finally, recognizing the gravity of our situation, the center agreed to dispatch an engineer and a mechanic to our remote location. By then, it was already 6 PM; we knew the sun would vanish behind the peaks in less than an hour.
Our group consisted of seven riders, and we faced a difficult tactical decision. Reaching Sonamarg during daylight was vital for scouting a safe campsite; otherwise, we would be forced to pitch our tents in total darkness on unfamiliar terrain. Consequently, we decided to split: three of us surged ahead to secure our spot in Sonamarg, while the remaining four stayed behind to assist with the repairs.
The wait felt eternal. It wasn’t until 7:30 PM that the engineer finally arrived, his headlights cutting through the growing shadows. By this time, the atmosphere had shifted dramatically—the daylight had almost entirely surrendered to a piercing, high-altitude dark, and the air had grown biting, cold, and increasingly windy. We stood on the shoulder of the road, shivering but hopeful, as the mechanical surgery began under the glow of our flashlights.
THE SOLUTION
Engineers checked the bike thoroughly and decided that the problem actually is a fuel pump. The fuel was not reaching to the engine at the time of ignition. They pointed out that the fuel pump is faulty.
Those who don’t know, fuel pump is a very important part of Himalayan, it pumps the fuel from the fuel tank to the combustion champer, without that working engine just cannnot start or function.
Fuel pump is an expensive part, it costs around 8K. However, we were not at worry as the bike is under warranty and the part will be free. However, it requires a deeper analysis and a video proof for the company to replace any part in warranty.
Because of this approval and evidence process it took engineers more time to fix the issue. It was already dark around 9PM. when they finally fix the issue. We desperately hoped the repair would hold, knowing that another breakdown would jeopardize our entire journey. Already we wasted our 2 days on it.
We are very grateful to RE and specially the engineers who worked during the chilly evening with no light and fixed our problem. Royal Enfield is offering the best service to my experience.
NIGHT RIDE TOWARDS A RISKY MOUNTAIN
After the fix, we four started our journey towards Sonmarg which was not far however, no one of us was ever there and we had no idea of the road conditions. It is dark and late but, we have no option to stay where we are and only option is to reach Sonmarg.
We started and to some extend the roads were good but, after crossing 40 Kms, the roads were either bad or having lot of potholes, which means we could not ride faster and our speed was around 20-30 Kmph.
We reached Sonamarg around 11 PM and pitched our tents alongside our friends, working blindly in the pitch dark.
A Midnight Feast and a Freezing Revelation
Our shortest and most effortless day morphed into a grueling, marathon ordeal—easily the longest day of our journey so far. Exhausted and wind-burnt, we finally gathered around our camp stoves under the vast, starlit sky to prepare a makeshift dinner. We relied on our “ready-to-eat” supplies, quickly heating up packets of Rajma Rice and Pasta. In that moment, the simple, steaming meals felt like a luxury, providing a much-needed morale boost after the technical failures that had plagued us.
By the time we actually managed to crawl into our tents for some much-needed rest, it was already well past midnight. The silence of the mountains was absolute, broken only by the shivering of our own bodies as the temperature plummeted. The air turned brutally chilly, biting through our layers with a persistence we hadn’t anticipated.
However, the cold wasn’t our only enemy. It turns out we had all made a massive, fundamental mistake during our setup—a blunder so significant that it rendered sleep impossible for the entire night. We lay there, wide awake and trembling, as the realization of our error sank in. What exactly went wrong during those dark, frozen hours? Keep reading, and I will reveal the details of our “survival” experience in my next blog. The freezing night was only just beginning.
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