Jispa to Leh
An epic day on one of the highest roads in the world - it averages over 4200 metres in altitude . An amazing experience with scenery that is unbelievably beautiful.
It is very difficult to know how to write up the day. This drive is a very challenging - mechanically, mentally, and physically -but worth every hard won kilometre. We were on the road for around 10hrs to cover the approx 260km (have read a variety of distances). We have great confidence in the vehicle and our driver. Magan keeps his vehicles a max of 3 yrs and is diligent with maintenance. He had also organised for us to carry oxygen onboard and we have a big supply of bottled water throughout the trip (not to mention a nice packed lunch provided by our camp in Jispa). We have only known Chandra for a week, but he is a very experienced long distance driver on Indian roads and in the mountains. His attitude to safety seems to reflect ours and I respect the ways he blesses himself each morning he gets behind the wheel. Although we are in a remote area, being India, you rarely spend any time without others being in seeing distance. While there are some totally uninhabited spots there are also many villages & camps and the small villages seem to have a pharmac_. There are certainly some thrill seeker drivers but they seem to be a small minority. There are some that seem poorly prepared with saddlebags seen falling off motorbikes and there are riders that are obviously very inexperienced. There were also quite a few organised group rides on hired bikes. We have some concerns when Mrs RB reads very low on our oxometre, but a drop in altitude & a stop for a chai tea seems to overcome our concerns.
Some of the notable experiences of the day -
Darcha Bridge-at 360 metres is the longest in Himarchel Pradesh.
The 4 huge high passes- Baralacha la, Lachulangla, Taglang La Nakee La. Not sure how many gears changes Chandra made in our manual vehicle through the hundreds of turns & switchbacks where we edged past other vehicles - literally on the precipice at times. The Gata Loops themselves have 21 hairpins.
The Morey Plains are a bit of relief from the bends & faster driving but the driving surface has constant dips & subsidence.
The check points - security & general safety tracking with visa & passports being checked.. The Upshi Checkpoint was rather confusing. We came to a stop behind a long line of trucks. We soon realised they were just parked up for breaks so you venture down the wrong side of the road for a km or so to pass them (not unusual to be on the wrong side in India!). We get much closer to the Indus River here - I think everyone heard of this river when at school.
The terrible working conditions for the road workers - high altitude, cold, windy, dusty, isolated tent camps with scant facilities. There are graders, rollers, rock drills & pop-up concrete plants but still many arduous tasks completed by hand - some respite where shovels are fitted with looped ropes so a second worker can help with the lifting when the shoveller gets tired!
The truck drivers - an arduous job. Apparently many return south empty as it is difficult to secure backloads. They certainly were very co-operative with other drivers during our day. We saw a few accidents & we saw a few wrecks that will undoubtedly remain where they currently rest. There seemed to be plenty of co-operation happening where there were breakdowns & tyre problems. Given the at times atrocious road conditions, I must say I was surprised at how few tyre problems we saw. The drivers hauling the 10 & 12,000 litre fuel loads were doing a remarkable job.
There are plenty of videos of this drive. These are a couple of them.
This shows the different challenges of a different time of year. They were travelling the opposite way
Spectacular Leh Manali Highway | 5 High Passes & 55 Pictures! -
Manali to Leh | Road Trip to Ladakh | Jispa | Baralacha La | Ep 1 - YouTube
Probably best played with no volume. Around the 16min 10sec mark shows the Cold Beer shop of my photo in the next posts- the water was higher & the road surface was rougher the day we went through
Manali To Leh Road Trip | Baralachala pass | Nakeela Pass | Tanglangla Pass |Manish Solanki Vlogs - YouTube
A short video I did- think I caught the only lull in oncoming traffic & the road surface was pretty good at that stage
). I walked (slowly) a little higher. Vehicle objected to re-starting; I should have parked it facing downhill.
