20/10 – Manali – Leh Highway – Episode 2

 

We were up at 6.30, the guys (Damien and the driver) had a Chai (tea), I thought it would be wiser to skip it, due to my tendency to get road sickness. Before leaving I took a few pictures, there is finally some blue sky today but on the mountains surrounding us there is snow…. We hope that the pass will be open!

 

We left at 7.30am for a full day in the car… yeahhh (I am sure you can hear my enthusiasm…). 30 minutes after leaving the guys had another Chai by the road, and then we started climbing again, the view of the valley with the sun coming up was magical!

 

The higher we got, the greyer it became, with a lot of fog (or was it low clouds?) and the mountains around us got whiter. The weather even was bad at some point, we could barely see in front of us and it was snowing. We passed a big group of truck (at least 15 of them). Soon after, the sky was suddenly blue and the mountains were covered in snow.

9.30am: 1^st people of the day to reach Baralacha La!!!! The pass is at 4850m high. We stopped to take pictures and play a tiny bit in the snow. But apparently it was enough to get our wheels cold and get got stuck, not being able to drive up the small slop. Luckily 2 other passenger cars helped us adding extra weight on the jeep (by putting themselves on the jeep sides and jumping up and down). It was a funny experience, a bit scary that we were really stuck, but exciting!

15 minutes later, we were all back in our cars and on the road again to Leh! The scenery changed drastically, within 1h the snow had completely disappeared and we were facing a desert scenery. We stopped in a small village called Sarchu for lunch around midday. 

 

 

By that time I was dying and wished we were in Leh already, I was just lying helplessly in the place where the guys ate. They still had a few stalls open and horses for day treks in the area, but Bules told us that by the 25^th everyone would be gone.

Back on the road, the scenery change as fast as we burn the kms. Around 1pm we pass the sign telling us we were half way (between Manali and Leh) which was a bit depressing because we have been driving for a day and a half…

One of the big highlight of our drive were the “BRO” signs by the side of the road. BRO is the Border Road Organisation that takes care of the road, they have brilliant sign to make sure people don’t drive too crazily/fast.

At one point the road is just a massive flat stretch in the middle of a valley, this is when I understand where the word “Highway” comes from, because so far it was only small, curved roads made of stones sometimes. But for a little while, we had the feeling we were in the US (Route 66 or something like that): brand new tarmac, road going straight and you can’t see the end… this was fantastic (unfortunately as you can imagine it did not last…).

It was time to climb again (more slowly this time) to reach the 2^nd highest motorway pass in the world: Taglang La at 5328m high. We reached it at 6pm, Damien went out to take pictures, I tried to follow him, but I manage to only take 20 steps and my head was spinning, I could barely breath and my legs felt like jelly, so I went back in the car. Bules explained that it was due to the high altitude, which is poor in oxygen.

It is around that time, that our packed of crips decided to explode, we had seen it inflate more and more since the beginning of the ride. We were not expecting it to pop, and all of us got scared, thinking that it was a wheel or a gunshot… When we realised what it was, we had a good laugh!

We raced through the remaining 2h30 of driving. We even stopped to clean the jeep with water from the river (our driver had frozen hands after that…). After a few more police check (and bribes) we reached the Indus Valley. At the same time as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains. The scenery was stunning, we went pass a few monasteries on top of rocks, they looked exciting!

We arrived in Leh taxi stand by 6.30pm. Time to say goodbye to Bules and hop on a local taxi to reach the guest house. Bules explained that only local taxi are allowed to have passengers in Leh/Ladakh (one of the reason why he had to bribe a few cops on the way). Just before leaving us Bules told us that this morning he thaught we might have had to go back, that we might not have been able to go through the pass... I am glad, he only told us that now!! Otherwise I would have freaked out!!

The local taxi nearly got us lost, luckily we had the number of the guest house and he called them to find out where it was. By the time we arrived it was pitch dark, and we were in the middle of a blackout (but did not realised it until the family welcomed us with candles). We thought for a while that the place was closed, then Damien got in and it looked like a building site… We got scared for a few minutes thinking that we got scammed…

But in the end it was just a dark evening, during a blackout and yes some parts were in construction but only because the family is extending the guest house! We had tea and then we went straight to bed, too tired and too sick to go out and eat dinner.

Slept in a giant double bed in Nirila Guest House, in Leh.

355 km driven today

To know more about the Manali - Leh Highway, check the Wikipedia page

19/10 – Manali – Leh Highway – Episode 1

 

7.30am, time to leave Naggar for real! Goodbyes are always hard. While waiting for our take away breakfast we took a few photos with the staff, I am going to miss them. The taxi driver arrived on time at 8am, but we don’t leave until 8.30.

Our taxi driver, Bules, is friendly and speaks good English, this is a relief because we are going to spend 2 days with him in a car! He was fine with me sitting at the front. His jeep is quite spacious, the only problem is that my seat belt is broken… I dunno if it is too make me feel safe, but then the driver decided not to wear his!

The scenery changed so much, the Kullu Valley is really green, with tall trees. After Manali, we started to head up, trees thinned out and we started to see big boulders. We reached the 1^st police check point soon after 9am. Quick toilet break and picture with the jeep!

 

 

 

The 1^st stretch is from Manali to Rohtang La (La = pass). A lot of people do the trip for 1 day. On our way up we started to see a lot of Indian families wearing one piece ski suit (it was not THAT cold). We stopped just before reaching the pass for our driver to get breakfast, we went to a stupa to get some last shots of the Valley.

The roads are particularly bad and not always wide enough for 2 cars, so imagine the problem when 2 trucks are meeting… On top of the mountain, at Rohtang La, there was some snow! We briefly stopped to take a picture, unfortunately we had already passed the sign telling us about the altitude. Rohtang Pass is at 3,978 m.

Right after the pass, on our way down, we saw a cyclist checking the view. Bules told us that some people do cycle between Manali and Leh, it takes them between 3 weeks and a month, but this is not the right month for it right now. He also told us that it is more common to do it on a motorbike, it takes around 2 weeks. I guess I could enjoy it more if it was hotter and with the wind on my face (I would feel less sick).

 

 

The road is long and after the pass we go down into Lahaul Valley. At the bottom of it you have 2 options: right towards Spiti Valley and left inside Lahaul and towards Leh. We turned left. It is nearly midday, we reach the 1^st village in Lahaul, Kokhsar, and our 1^st police check. Bules takes care of everything, we just need to sit tight, or like Damien jump out of the car and take pictures (while I am recovering from the drive… I can’t believe I signed up for 2 days of this…).

The scenery changes quickly, along with the colours. It is beautiful! We are following a river. 30 minutes later we pull up at a petrol station, nothing special about it, until I notice the sign telling us that it is the last filling station for the next 365km! We better not have a problem!

 

 

 

Talking about problem, we met people that parked their jeep last night by the side of the road, and could not find it this morning, until they looked down… The ground had collapsed under one of the wheel and the whole car went into the river… bad luck!

We arrived at Jispa around 2pm, the 1^st place we wanted to stay was closed for the season (not good), luckily our driver found one that was open, and even served us hot lunch! It is starting to get cold… After our lunch, we went for a walk along the river. The colours were stunning (clear blue, brown and grey but also green to yellow!)

Still a bit dizzy from the road, I decided to lie down near the water for a little while. We mainly walked upstream, to get closer to the mountain with the snow cap (wondering if it was a good sign or not…). The bed of the river is actually huge, but at the moment it is off season so the river it pretty small. 

 

 

Walking on the river bed, we noticed some sand, I had to take some: can you believe it SAND from the HIMALAYAS!! (okay not completely the Himalayas but so close!!).

 

 

 

We walked a bit more, and when we started to freeze we thought it was time to go back to the lodge. We sat in our room under the cover, reading and listening to some music for a while. Then we had dinner and once we were back in our room it was pitch black: power cut! Which means: no light, no hot water, nothing!! It lasted all night.

Slept in separated single beds in the freezing Padma Lodge, in Jispa.

157 km driven out of 479

To know more about the Manali - Leh Highway, check the Wikipedia page