None of us knew if all our plans would eventually fall right into place and we would be sitting in our beloved Santro and heading towards Ladakh.
Day 1, 27/06/2010 (Delhi-Manali-Rohtang-Keylong)
Abhay, Paggi and I started from Delhi around 1 A.M. so as to avoid the heavy traffic on the Delhi-Chd highway and reach Manali somewhere in the afternoon where we intended to shop for food, sunscreen (spf-60 or more), a petrol canister, daaru, etc.
On reaching Manali we found out that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi was slated to come the next day for the inauguration of the work on the Rohtang tunnel. And because of this, Rohtang pass was scheduled to be out-of-bounds for tourists for about two days starting later that evening. So, we had the option of waiting for a couple of days in Manali or crossing Rohtang that evening itself. Yeah, I know. They weren’t really options. So, we started climbing up to Rohtang in the evening itself.
It was misty and raining off and on. The visibility was extremely poor. There were hardly any cars going up in the same direction. We had already realized that ours’ wasn’t a wise choice to drive up that slope. I didn’t know if I was getting to Ladakh alive.
Slowly and steadily we reached the top and man, it was worth the torture. Surprisingly, the light had gotten better. The peaks were snow-covered and two yaks were watching us curiously. We clicked the customary 3-4 photographs and started to climb down.
Almost, half our way down from Rohtang top there’s a place by name Gramphu. It’s got a couple of small huts that serve food and is a regular stop for people heading towards Sarchu. But the significance of this place doesn’t end there. It’s also the place where the road from Kaza joins the Manali-Leh highway. Though a good 2 extra days long, people tend to use the Shimla-Kaza route when Rohtang is closed.
We continued our journey after a quick bite at Gramphu. It was getting dark and the road was new to us – really good patches were all of a sudden followed by huge streams of water. I think we crossed a good 3 to 4 of those streams before reaching Keylong at 11 in the night. We hit the bed after a quick dinner. The arduous 22 hour long drive had come to an end but the trip had begun.
Day 2, 28/06/2010 (Keylong-Barlachala-Pagal Nallah)
You would be wondering who/what Pagal Nallah is. How can it be a destination point? Read on.
We got our car fixed (Yup, some car part had already given up last night.). Got the petrol canister and the car tank full (Some 5kms before Keylong is the last petrol pump for the next 360kms). And we were on our way by 11 A.M. after a nice sumptuous breakfast.
The plan was to get to Sarchu where we would have bunked in tents inside sleeping bags. The road was good (in patches again). Two of us would get down at every pool of water just so the car crosses easily and doesn’t get stuck. Ours’ wasn’t an SUV. We wiped our feet dry only to wet them again at the next water stream. It was a futile but necessary measure cuz the water was icy-cold already and it would have been a disaster if we would have taken ill at just the start of the trip.
We reached Barlachala Pass. And this was the first high-point for all three of us. It looked amazing – with snow anywhere your eyes could see and the frozen Suraj Taal. We got down, put on our caps and jackets and shades and clicked a whole lot of photographs. Passing truckers would wave at us. It felt nice.
Since we had driven for 22 hours the previous day we had the cushion of time. We were taking things lightly. But luck ran out soon and there we were faced with a huge flowing stream of water (fondly and deservedly called Pagal Nallah). Two trucks and a tempo were already stuck right in the middle. Bystanders were prompt to tell us not to even try to venture into the stream with “our Santro”. They were probably right too. It was evening and the stream was in full flow. The ice that had melted all through the day, under the sun, was now flowing right in front of us.
We were told to try our luck after a couple hours if and when the flow reduces. We waited for 2 hours. And then, 2 more. It was around 8ish in the evening when we decided to stay the night in the car itself and not head back to Zing-zing bar (about 10-odd kms back up from that place). “Not-wise-decision” number 2. As we soon found out that in spite of having all the windows rolled-up, it was hard not to feel the outside chill in that “all 4 sides open” place. All three of us got inside our sleeping bags and tried to think of the days ahead if we survived the cold that night.
Day 3, 29/06/2010 (Pagal Nallah-Sarchu-Moore Plains-Taglangla Pass-Leh)
After 2 days and 2 near death experiences we crossed the Nallah to reach Sarchu at 7 in the morning. Cuz of the dinner skipped last night, we all were a bit altitude sick and wonky. We got better after “i-don’t-want-to-mention”. We had breakfast at Sarchu. Got one of our flats fixed at the mechanic. Incidentally, this is the last mechanic you would find before Leh.
We had driven just a few kilometres when we came across a road sign that read “You are in Paradise now”. We were ecstatic. We were in Kashmir. We had entered Ladakh. You would notice the change in the landscape as soon as you enter Ladakh. And it keeps changing quite frequently – green mountains, red mountains, brown mountains and a silvery river flowing right through. It was just too beautiful. We knew this was the day that people who choose to drive to Leh (instead of flying) treasure after their trips.
We crossed Nakeela Pass, Lachulungla Pass and there we were at Pang. We had a nice dal-chawal meal in one of the huts. Dunno why we picked the hut we picked. Was it because it was the first one in the row of huts or was the girl working there had extremely sharp and beautiful features? Anyway, after having to our heart’s content we started driving again. Soon we reached Moore plains. And it was the most amazing place I had ever seen. A huge desert plain at such high altitude covered on all four sides by mountains, each with a different terrain and look. It looked like a decorated set from an expensive film. Point your camera in any direction, click and rest assured, the picture that comes out would be worth 2 thousand words if not more. Maybe, that’s the reason why a lot of advertisements on TV have been shot there.
We were too engrossed and captivated by the beauty of Moore plains to realize that we had already started climbing up to the 2nd highest pass of the world – Taglangla Pass. The road was steep and you could almost instantly notice the drop in oxygen levels when nearing the top.
Once atop we clicked a few pictures and were all set to head to Leh. There were no more passes on our way now. And the road was pretty decent too. We reached Leh sometime in the evening. It was a small town with loads of people – tourists, natives. Surprisingly, it had a huge and buzzing market place and I think you would get almost anything and everything that you would in any metro.
We checked into the forest department guesthouse and spent the night on a bed, finally.
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