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Day 11: Pang – Sarchu - Keylong
Sunday, July 29, 5 am
The cold and not-to-clean tent doesn’t give us a good night’s sleep.... By now, we are used to living life in our saddle bag and tank bag—a small cost to bear for an incomparable experience. Today, the plan is to try and reach Manali. Reaching Manali today will also decide if we will have enough time to ride back to Pune. Failing this, we will have to transport our bikes to Pune, and return via train or air. We reckon that Manali is achievable in a day provided heavy rain doesn’t play spoilsport, and Mr. Moody – Rohtang Pass – treats us well. As we have done on most days, we begin the day with tea and biscuits for some energy. The Polish couple leaves around the same time as we bid adieu to pretty little Pang. We wish them luck, silently hoping that they make it to Manali hale and hearty.
Keylong is approximately 180 kms and we cross a few more easily maneuverable passes.
What strikes us at this point is the fact that now we’re doing a lot more downhill riding than uphill climbs. This is a clear indication that we’re steadily coming back to mother earth with each pass that we cross! Another telling indication was the increase in road traffic density and the increase in population in general. We see a huge team of SUVs snaking their way to Ladakh as part of a Mahindra Adventure Club activity. We now spot a number of Indian cycling enthusiasts at the smaller passes. That’s quite a good feeling J.
Just before Sarchu, we realize that we are descending the Gata Loops—a series of 21 sharp hair pin bends. The twisties are a lot of fun, but call for the undivided attention of all three bikers. Aniruddha steadily shoots ahead. We see him waiting for us nearly a mile after the Gata Loops.
A little ahead, on one of the mountainous roads in Himachal Pradesh, we find ourselves riding on a steep road that’s narrow enough to let just one vehicle pass. And as luck would have it, we come face-to-face with a huge truck. The road is so narrow, that with a truck standing on that road, there’s not even enough place for a bike to squeeze in. So we pull over to the right side (which, incidentally is the wrong side for us as we are descending). Sanjay sticks the bike as close as possible to the mountain’s wall along the road, and even with that the truck is barely a few inches from us. On the left side is an exceedingly deep valley. We hope for the truck to pass without touching us or the rim on the deep end. Phew! Are we relieved when the truck passed and both these things don’t happen! Sumit and Aniruddha also do the same thing, and we are on our way again.
By 11am, we are in Sarchu which is in Himachal Pradesh. So, we are finally out of Jammu and Kashmir. We stop for a bread-butter-juice break to refill our dipping energy levels. Sumit sticks to his usual Maggi order. From here on, Keylong is approximately 130 kilometers and roads are apparently better than before. We meet a foreign biker who has just crossed Rohtang—he tells us that ascending Rohtang will not be an issue but descending it on the Manali side will be difficult because of the slush, but Manali is doable today.
As we ride on, the landscape is steadily transforming and we see more green patches, more people, and better tar roads. We spot numerous luxury tent camps along the route. The charm doesn’t fade, but somehow it’s not comparable to the beauty of the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.
We reach Keylong by—the administrative capital of the Lahaul and Spiti districts—at 2 pm. There’s not much doubt that Manali can be reached before sunset. But somehow, Sumit is skeptical about crossing Rohtang at this point. He insists that we take a break at Keylong and move onward the next day. We relent and decide to stop over at Keylong. We find a comfortable place, settle in, have lunch, and just snooze for the rest of the day. Also, today is the day when we finally get a chance to call home after 4 long days. Needless to say, parents have been a bundle of nerves all this while, and are relieved to receive our call.
It is at this point that we also chalk out our return journey—because this pit stop at Keylong has killed our chances of reaching Pune on time if we choose to ride back. Anu decides to take a flight back from Delhi. Sanjay, Aniruddha and Sumit are keen on riding back to Pune via Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Baroda and Mumbai, provided it wasn’t raining heavily. The journey could be covered in 4 days.
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