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Enroute to Rohtang
On the road to Keylong is the Nehru Kund (6km) which is a clear water spring scenic spot named after the Late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Rohtang - Palchan - 13 kms
- Palchan - Kothi - 4 kms
The roads are slippery and one really needs to careful while driving. Buses, trucks, sumo's make up the traffic to Rohtang and even we had a tough time clearing the windscreen to take hair pin curves and making way through the fog and mist. Chandrahmod is a slippery area where the tyres of our safari skid, scattered rocks and pebbles greet you at some stretches, some stretches allow only one vehicle at a time and hence the long jams. Worth mentioning the drivers (mostly in sumos) are very friendly and co-operative.
- Kothi - Gulaba - 8 kms
- Gulaba - Marhi - 14 kms.
Kothi is the last village before the Chinese border. There are lots of trees around as also around Manali which was laden with apples. We could not resist climbing onto to one to pluck a few for ourselves.
Marhi is one of the most picturesque places in Manali region. From here there are 16 kms to Rohtang. Thanks to god no landslides and not much jams, we reached Rohtang at 8:15am preferably to be the first to reach there. A vast area on the top of the mountains, like a wide table-top bustling with shops and people horses and so on.
No snow falls at this time, we will have to drive more 4-5 kms to see fallen snow, which we discouraged due to poor visibility. There are many shops like tents serving you food from hot piping tea to maggi or alu paratha to dal chawal. There are movable toilets too at a distance. The beauty from here to view the Pir Panjal of the Himalayas is really something one should not miss.
Nature stands at its height of beauty all the way. On way to Rohtang are high Rihala waterfalls, at an altitude of 2,500 m.The Rihala falls and the Rani Nala are spectacular to view as water tumbles down from exceptional heights. Many movies have also been shot here.
The clouds keep moving and its adds a wonder touch to the existing greenery.
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Posted - August 2009
Mode of trip - Road trip by own vehicle Tata safari
Travelogue - Manali - Rohtang (55 kms) - Road trip & Road map.
Time taken - 3hrs
Day 1
After reaching Manali we just could not wait for the next morning because it was just Rohtang Pass which was much sought after in our Manali visit. Club Mahindra Snow Peaks travel desk helped us assort out with our planning for the next day. Let me share :-
- Rohtang is usually open from May to November.
- The way to be taken is the Manali- Leh highway, which we had heard was the highest motorable road in the world.
- Rohtang Pass connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys.
- Weater is quite unpredicatble in this area.
- Fast wind blows in after noon
- Rohtang - in Tibet language means the house of corpses.
Early morning at 5:40am we set out as to avoid traffic jams and prayed for no road blocks. We were warned of the bad roads, and the longs hours of traffic jams. We also were sarcastic as our friends who had been to Rohtang a week earlier has to return back halfway due to a landslide.
I think we need to have a good preparation to reach Rohtang, because the weather is uncertain - rain, storm and hailstones just come about in a matter of minutes. Warm clothes (the winds chill), a pair of sunglasses and a moisturiser is a must. All along the route you will find shops that rent warm clothing and shoes. But at this time we didnt need one, only kids wore jackets to keep themselves warm.
Deeraj (Club Mahindra) packed us an excellent breakfast of sandwiches, fries, alu paratha and juices early in the morning and as scheduled we moved out.
As we drove on it was raining and the view was hazy due to the moisture clouds. Adding a few pics taken enroute.
