Pang to Keylong – June 22

[Himyatra – 2018 This is part VIII of the series. You can read the first part here.]

Today, we were to push as close to Manali as possible. If yesterday was the day of the lakes, today was the day of the passes. We would cross as many as five high altitude passes.

I spent some time looking for my lost specs, but it was futile. Finally, I reconciled to the fact that I had lost them. After a quick breakfast, we finished the morning ritual of packing Girija, and left around 7.30.

After an initial descent, the road started ascending and entered a valley, which seemed to be made of very fragile, brittle mountains of sand. It looked as if all the mountains around us would just disintegrate in heavy shower.

This arch is just by the side of the road. Looks very fragile.

Looks as if the road might just wash out in one rain

Very narrow roads with blind turns

And on one such turn, a car with Maharashtra registration came up, and the driver greeted us in Marathi.

Patil family doing a tour of 18,000 km

The car belonged to the Patil family from Jalgaon. They were on a tour of India. Their plan was to do 18,000 KM in 65 days. Just three of them, husband, wife and a kid. We wished best to them, and both the cars went on their ways.

There was a lot of accumulated snow quite nearby. The valley was very narrow, so there must not be much of a sun to melt the snow.

As we were driving, it also started snowing.

We came across a couple of frozen waterfalls.

Frozen waterfall

And soon, at around 8.30, we were at Lachung La (Altitude 16,616 ft). We stopped at the pass, took photos. It was quite cold, as it was snowing. We crossed a few bikers there. Hats off to them, as they continued despite all the hardships. Someday, they will proudly tell the stories of their exploits to their grandchildren. 🙂

The descent was gentle, and soon we reached whiskey-nala, a small settlement in a valley.

Whiskey Nala

There were a few dhabas serving food and drinks. We ate some hot food and started on our way.

Dhabas at whiskey nala

In just about 5 kilometers, we reached another pass, Nakeela (Altitude 15,547 ft).

After about 20 minutes, we were descending the famous 21 hair pin bends of the Gata Loops.

It is a very scenic route. There is also an interesting story about the Ghost of Gata Loops. Apparently, a truck broke down at Gata Loops. The cleaner was not well, so he stayed back in the truck and the driver went seeking help. It got very cold, and the driver was stuck. In the meanwhile, the cleaner died in the truck. It’s said that even todate, the cleaner’s ghost still haunts the loops.

After the Gata Loops, the road really levels of and goes along the Tsarap river for quite a long stretch. The mountains around the Tsarap are quite bare but have the typical Ladakh stark beauty.

Then we crossed the Brandy Bridge on the way to Sarchu. All these names, like Whiskey Nala, Brandy Bridge seem incongruous in Ladakh. They must be names given by the Himachalis or Punjabis who visited these areas.

The banks of the Tsarap river are carved by the flowing river, and have many interesting formations.

And finally, we are at Sarchu.

Sarchu is the border town between Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Our permits were checked here again. As soon as you cross over into Himachal, you start noticing the difference. In Himachal, you are welcomed by the sign board of a Wine Shop. 😀

At Sarchu, we filled the Diesel tank from our emergency reserves, as we should be getting to a petrol pump later today. After Sarchu, there are a lot of campsites on the side of the road. These look like permanent camps.

The road starts winding upwards along the Yunam river. There seems to be a lot of snow and the river valley seems to be narrower as compared to valleys in Ladakh.

At around 1.15, we are at Baralcha La (Altitude 16,150 ft).

The valley after the pass had a lot of snow and water

As we started the descent, a prominent peak loomed into the view.

You can see a prominent peak in the background.

There was water flowing on the road, and a lot of road construction activity was in full swing.

All along this road, and in fact almost along all the roads in Ladakh that we went over, the work for laying the fiber optic cable is in full swing. Even in the photo above , the red cable you see is the fiber optic cable. Once the work is complete, the connectivity problems we faced should be a thing of past.

Around 2 PM, we crossed the beautiful Suraj Tal, the source of the Bhaga River.

Suraj Tal

After crossing the Suraj Tal, the road now goes all along the Bhaga River.

By now, it was past 2, and we were hungry. So we stopped at a road side dhaba at Zing Zing Bar (Another name inspired by Punjabis? 🙂 )and had a late lunch. Here, there was a lot of choice and the menu was quite big as compared to in Ladakh. Also a variety of packaged food and bottled drinks seem to be available.

We passed through Jispa. It looked like quite a well to do town. All along, the river was on our left. The valley is very narrow, but there is really a lot of vegetation. There are orchards on both sides of the road. At one place, we saw a hanging glacier on the other side of the river.

Around 5PM, we were in Keylong. We spotted hotel Chandrabhaga, which seemed like a great place to stay. It is a hotel run by the HP tourism department, and has a fantastic location. However, all of us wanted internet connection today, and we had gathered that it will be available in Keylong. Ajit had a deadline for his Mumbai Mirror article, and he must have internet. So Ajit went in the hotel and asked if the hotel had internet , and the manager told him that there is none. Also, Keylong doesn’t have a petrol pump. The next town, Tandi, has it. So, we decide to move ahead, go to Tandi, fill diesel, and then look for a place to stay.

Hotel Chandrabhaga

So, we went ahead to Tandi. It’s a small town, where the Bhaga river that we have been following from Suraj Tal, meets Chandra river, that originates in Chandra Tal, and flows further as Chandrabhaga. The confluence is beautiful. Chandarbhaga then meets Chenab further down.

Confluence of Bhaga and Chandra river at Tandi. Bhaga is on the right and Chandra on the left. They become Chandrabhaga and then meet Chenab

The petrol pump in Tandi is very busy, as there is no other petrol pump nearby. While we were waiting to fill our tank, and the emergency supplies, we inquired. Again, we were told that there is no internet in Tandi. So rather than risking going ahead, we decided to go back to Keylong and stay at hotel Chandrabhaga.

After checking into the hotel, the manager told us that we can get the wi-fi signal in the dining room. We were incredulous. Is there internet? We asked. No. Said the manager. There is only wi-fi. Lesson learnt. Ask if there is wi-fi, not internet. 🙂 That was a pleasant surprise.

The rooms were pretty clean and had great views. They also had geysers, so we had hot water baths.

Since we had a free day in Manali, Ajit and I started thinking about leaving for Mumbai a day earlier. Balya reluctantly agreed. So Ajit put the wheels in motion. Through his Mumbai office, he got us a booking for 23rd evening 6 PM on a volvo bus to Delhi. He also got our flight rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Ajit managed to complete and send his article in time. We had a great dinner. And decided to wake up early, and leave before 7.30 to beat the traffic in Rohtang Pass. We thought that it would be enough time for us to reach the bust station on time to catch the 6.30 bus. We were destined to learn otherwise.