Mountain Lore

We head up into the mountains with the Hyundai i20 and take it to places that no vehicles had been to at this time of the year and are pleasantly surprised by not only what we see but also by how we got there

It’s a love affair that started way back in 1990. Fresh from taking my bachelor’s degree exams I headed to Ladakh for a two-week first trip. Ever since I have been to Ladakh many times, sometimes once a year, sometimes once in two or three and in that odd year, now and then, twice in one year. One of the charms of going to Ladakh is the Manali-Leh highway that can be a boulder and rock-strewn path at times just as soon as the road is open, and at other times freshly laid smooth tarmac if one goes later in the season. This journey over some of the highest and most treacherous passes in the country like the Rohtang, Baralacha La, Nakee La, Lachulung La, and Tanglang La combined with quaint towns, settlements and places like Sissu, Tandi, Keylong, Jispa, Darcha, Zing Zing Bar, Pang, and the Moreh Plains have been etched in the minds of the millions who have been down that route for centuries. One of the highlights of my journey has been the overnight stay in either Keylong or Jispa in the Lahaul valley of the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. Not only is the Lahaul region around the Baga river an area of pristine beauty and another world presenting a stark contrast to the chaos and crowds on the other side of the Rohtang pass, it also boasts of some of the really old settlements of the region. I have been on that road in vehicles as diverse as large SUVs at one end of the spectrum and tiny hatchbacks at the other end. I have flown into Leh in the peak of winters and then explored areas around it. But never before have I or anyone been able to get to this area in the peak of winters by road as the area gets closed in both from the south and the north in the first place and then the east. The road towards the west is still under construction.