From the archive record
A motorbike trip to Ladakh is the ultimate challenge for adventurous bikers. The high altitude, the harsh climate, the rough terrain, and the narrow and bumpy roads all make for a cocktail of challenges. Leh was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh district in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. Leh district, with an area of 45,110 km2, is the second largest district in the country, after Kutch, Gujarat. The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, the former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace. This palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. Leh is at an altitude of 3524 metres (11,562 ft