Blogs from Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia

Das aufregendste Ereignis des Tages fand schon um 6.30 Uhr statt. Wir stellten nämlich fest, dass es bei der Tankstelle gegenüber Benzin gab. Eigentlich hat es die ganze Zeit über Benzin gegeben, aber keinen Strom, um es hoch zu pumpen. Die Männer an der Tanke schleppten Tonnen und Behälter herbei, die sie sofort füllten, für Die kommenden stromlosen Zeiten. Die Nachricht sprach sich schnell herum, wir scharten uns unter die lokalen Autobesitzer und am Ende des Tankvorganges schüttelten wir allesamt unsere Fahrzeuge, damit ja auch der letzte Hohlraum im Tank ausgenutzt wird. Dann gab's Frühstück und wir führen los.... read more

'Gruelling', 'strenuous' and 'tough' are all words we've seen to describe the road from Manali to Leh, usually combined with the phrase 'only want to do it once'. It is also time consuming and with time being precious and these warnings ringing in our ears we had pre-booked tickets to fly back from Leh to Delhi. The road is only open from June to September, for the rest of the year Ladakh is cut off by snow on the high passes. A few months before the trip we had watched a programme 'The World's Most Dangerous Roads' where they took 3 ice road truckers, stuck them in Indian lorries with a local 'co-pilot' and sent them off over the Indian Himalayas to make deliveries. Only after seeing it, shortly before the trip did we find out ... read more

We started from keylong this morning @ 7 am and reached mandi by 7pm. We first went into Tandi and went to the petrol pump there but found that it was closed then decided to skip and take chances to reach Manali. Had breakfast at Tandi and then started. Tried to get petrol in lot of places on the way but in vain. Some how Ravish managed to get .75 lts of petrol in some road side shack. We reached Rohtang pass by about 9:30am. Had lot of fun at the top did some power sledging and took lot of picutres and spent about 2 hours there. The ride till there was fun. We were all excited in seeing a board which read Manali 51kms but our happiness was short lived. The road between Rohtang and ... read more

Today we were supposed to press on to Sarchu passing over the Baralacha La pass at 4830m. There we were to spend the night in tents before turning around and heading back to Manali the way we'd come as the way from there to Leh was impassable. Unfortunately the news of the way ahead was that it would be very wet, rivers would be high and probably bridges washed out. We'd then arrive wet and cold at the tents with no way to dry out or get warm (no power). The decision was that we'd have an unplanned rest day at Keylong, instead. A small group would take a ride up to the next town in the direction of Sarchu, about 11km, where the tour leaders would visit a child they sponsored there and have lunch. ... read more

Dear Travellers, There are very few who know about this land of Gods. The largest district with the least population in Himachal Pradesh is Lahaul & Spiti. From Tourism point of view I would like to draw your kind attention towards this part of the world. As soon as you cross the Rohtang pass from Manali section you will find the difference in the landscapes, climate, purity, spiritual bliss and pure nature. What else to expect? The culture and tradition of this land is completely different from what you have seen so far. Within this small community there are five major dialects which are totally different from the rest. Tinan Valley, Ghar Valley, Pattan Valley , Mayyar Valley and Todh Valley have their own dialects. The cultivation of green peas as a cash crop in the ... read more