Day 4: Road to Rohthang Pass

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There has been lot of talk about visiting the snowline. We were told that it would be better if we left Manali early around 6 am. Traffic could be bad in this section. Our alarm was set for 5:15 am and we were ready by 6 am. We frooti, paratha and veggie sandwiches. Mustafa, the driver was ready at the reception. He drove for about 3 kms and then stopped. He requested us to get on another vehicle since only Himachal Pradesh (HP) vehicles can go on the mountain roads. All visitors need to use HP cars/vans. There was a shanty shop close and couple of guys came out and started selling snow suits to us. We refused rent them since we were not planning to ski. IN few minute of this conversation we realized that without the snow suit rental they will not allow us to rent the HP vehcile to go up the mountain. This was not part of the deal according to our program. Now, a four way conversation between concerned parties ensued. Lavanya talked to Vishal in Delhi and that guy was talking to Mustafa. Mustafa was trying to convince the HP guys. Finally, Vishal told us that he will refund the suit rental money and we have to rent the suit if we have to go up. This shop had very few selections that could fit us. But we somehow managed to wear those sweaty and dirty looking suits on top of our clothes. After this unpleasant incident, we left the area by 7:30 am. THe driver looked tibetan 'Bijay'. Around 8 am we began climbing up. The base of Rohthang pass is at 13000 ft. There are areas that even reach 13500 ft. China is not too far from this location. After the first mountain traverse, we were 300 ft, a gain of about 2500 ft from Manali. Here, I would like to divide the whole experience into three parts. The good - landscape - natural beauty of these ranges. You don't need to go to Switzerland. Stunning waterfalls, rock formations, snow capped peaks and green patches. We were taking it all in as well climbed up. We made sure our stomach is empty as we started our ascend. The bad - Facilities such toilets, rest areas or even pull out points are non-existent. The ugly - road condition and traffic - it had rained in the past few days. Certain part of this 10 feet road (2 way) had been eroded. The total distance was about 50 kms. We came to a complete stop after 10 kms of climb. Certain sections of the road above were so bad that only one car from one direction can pass with caution. We stopped in this place for an hour without moving. Vendors nearby were selling hot tea and maggi noodles, taking in good revenue. It was really frustrating sitting in the cold, no restrooms, no food cooped up for hours. On top, there was cold rain outside. The traffic started inching forward around 11:45 am and we we reached the top by 12:30 PM. It was utter chaos on top with no organized parking or any sort of order. One has to alight wherever you can and reach the snow areas by foot. It was very foggy and rainy. We took few snaps here. None of us were in a mood to use snow bikes etc. Our goal was to get back as we noticed going back is similar to coming up. As soon as we got back to our jeep, we were so cold in that suit that we had remove them to stay warm. The visibility at this time in this area was less than 500 ft. It took another hour for us to untangle from the parking area and start our descent. By now, it had taken 5 hours to come up, 30 minutes of snow walking and 1 hour of waiting to get out of parking lot. It would take another 5 hours to get to our hotel. I am in favor of admiring the natural beauty of Himachal! But there should surely be a better way. I am sure, there are other places near Manali on some mountain top that has snow and can be reached as well. It is worth noting about Manali traffic. The city is small and the roads can not handle more than few cars. Here is an example. From the suit rental place to our hotel, the distance would be about 3 kms. Even a slow walker could walk this distance in 45 minutes. By car, it took as an hour!

We returned to our hotel by 7 PM. It has been extremely miserable and a long day with just breakfast that we had packed. We took shower and the rushed to the dinner hall. This is buffet style dinner. They did have good variety, but the taste was so-so. Most of the dishes needed additional spice and salt. We were back in our room by 9 PM. We had to pack our bags since we were leaving the hotel the next day for a long drive back to Chandigarh. We planned to leave by 5:45 am the next day. Since it took us 12 hours to come from Chandigarh to Manali, we decided to play it safe and budgeted 12 hours to go back. Later, we would realize that the 12 hour time is unusually long.

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