Bhubaneswar: A group of 13 adventure junkies from the city conquered one of the highest motorable roads in the world - Manali-Leh-Khardungla - on bicycles.

The 10-day expedition covered around 550km through a number of high-altitude passes. Braving scorching heat, shivering cold, sandstorm and spine-chilling hailstorm, gravel and almost non-existent roads and glaciers, the cyclists aimed to promote tourism of Odisha during their journey. The team had done a lot of research before embarking on the trip.

On the way, the cyclists covered six high-altitude passes namely, Rohtang pass (13,050ft), BarlachaLa pass (16,150ft), NakeeLa pass (15,547ft), LachungLa pass (16,616ft), TanglangLa pass (17,582ft), and KhardungLa pass (17,982ft).

Apart from the passes, the cyclists also covered various glacier-driven water bodies namely, Raani Naala, Whiskey Naala, Brandy Naala and lakes namely Deepak Taal and Suraj Taal.

"The route is considered as one of the toughest routes of the world. It had many extreme challenges and adventures of high-altitude in low-oxygen levels," said Sanjeeb Panda, IPS officer, a member of the team.

A lady cyclist, Sipra Hota, was also a part of the adventure. "Although the journey was very tough, but the adventure was one of a lifetime," she said.

"We were mesmerised with the scenic views of surrounding majestic mountains and emerald green valleys," she said.

The cyclists belong to the Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club that conducts trips on a regular basis to promote it as an eco-friendly mode of transport among the masses. They regularly practise mountain climbing.

In 2015, the team had taken up a journey of 1,252km from Bhubaneswar to Bhutan. Before the journey, they have been on long distance trips. They have travelled from Bhubaneswar to Vishakapatnam and also to Boudh district.

They had also undertaken a journey from Vietnam to Cambodia in 2016. The 16-day expedition had covered around 2,000km from Hanoi to Phnom Penh through Ho Chi Minh.