Enroute one of the most dangerous roads, from Manali to Leh

I was in a dilemma due to the expense and time involved. When we started planning it finally, a curfew had been imposed in Srinagar. My friend and I, however, decided that we would go ahead with our plan. 

As per our schedule, we reached Delhi on July 14, 2016. We were joined by another friend from Hyderabad. Upon reaching, we took a cab to Manali.  After traversing rugged, hilly terrain and winding roads, the hot breakfast on the next day was welcoming. It was a long 14-hour journey but a memorable one at that. I recall that once we reached, we were welcomed by an evening drizzle and a mesmerising apple farm. 

Manali- Leh route is one of the most difficult routes  to travel  owing to the high altitude passes enroute. The roads are usually closed during winters and rainy season due to  snow, poor visibility and unpredictable climate. They open for two months only. We had  a long night rest at Manali on July 15 to tackle the epic Manali-Leh route journey next day. 

Next morning, we munched on fruit salad and sandwiches  to avoid a heavy breakfast and started our trek. It was a steep climb towards Rohtang la pass and at one point of time, we were unable to cope up with the cold weather. It was literally freezing! Moreover,the air pressure was decreasing and it was quite uncomfortable to breathe. But our body got accustomed to the change in the atmosphere eventually and we resumed our trek to cross Rohtang pass after  a short exploration. 

A few kilometres later we moved into the rain-shadow region. We encountered bare and rocky mountains. After the arduous trek, we reached Jispa, one of the hill stations located at a 13,000 ft altitude. We decided to stay there for the night and once we entered our room, we all passed out as we were tired. We left Jispa the next morning. 

On the next day, we crossed highest motorable passes like Barlacha La(16,040 ft), Nakee La (15,547ft), Lachung La (16,616ft) and Taglang La (17,480 ft). The lack of oxygen owing to high altitude was suffocating. Taglang La is considered to be the highest motorable pass in the Manali – Leh route and third highest in the world. Barlacha La is one of the most beautiful places with the clouds hovering  around mountains. 

I was awestruck by  view of  mountains from vantage points in Taglang La. After a short halt there, we had to cross  many zig-zag roads to reach Chumthang. On the same day, we halted near Upsi after a long drive for a tea- break and witnessed the beauty of the Moore plains. Once permission and registration were sought, we left the place. 

The final stretch was smooth. But there was heavy traffic on the roads. We were completely exhausted by the time we reached our destination and our driver took us to a guest house near Shanthi Stupa. I never imagined that we would be able to make such a  tough journey but it was worth the effort.