"R" for "Rohtang Pass"

The below are the snap shots from an unforgettable trip to Manali. Our day 2 in the itenary was to visit Rohtang pass which I actually want to rename as Rohtang DUR (far) as we spent a good 6hrs on the road to cover a mere 52kms which will not take more than 2hrs! The trip increased our patience, controlled our temperament, taught us to cooperate with each other  and reminded GOD and gave the stark realization that the godly places are always tough to reach!

This was when we started

Now some facts--Rohtang Pass (Hindi: रोहतांग दर्रा) (Bhoti: Rohtang , lit: pile of corpses, due to people dying in bad weather trying to cross the pass) (altitude 3,978 m or 13,051 ft).

It is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km (32 mi) from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.(DO REFER WIKI TO KNOW MORE) and I am dedicating the below poem written long back to this road journey.

Some times road is smooth some times with friction.

Some times Life is real some times with fiction!

Road has many milestones to cross.

Life has many phases to pass!!

Road shows us mirages at times.

Life shows us dreams And dimes! 

Road ends with destination.

Life ends with re-incarnation!

 --------By Afshan----

The first glance at Himalayas was some thing like below which made me sing "Kyun nai lagrahi hai ye dharti gagan . Maine Poocha to boli ye pagli pawan Pyar hua chupke se" - It is a song from the Hindi movie 1942 a love story. Call me mad, I was even changing songs on my I-pod as per the locations.

The below one is the most classic shot . Don't you feel like living in that house along with grazing horses and cattle. Its like living in heaven.

The below pic shows the back yard of the house where we asked permission to go to loo. I clicked so many pictures here. I wanted to stay here for long but as driver started scaring us mentioning the land slides and the traffic jam we left the spot. Isn't the spot dreamy ?

As we started taking turns and zig zags it started getting hazy , foggy and icy. We visited in the month of  July and hence we did not come across snow fall . It was actually the best time to visit Rohtang pass as during winter all the roads will be blocked with ice chunks which are about 5ft in depth.  Sometimes people get stuck due to land slides and when there is no transport they may also die it seems hence the title of the place Rohtang.

Check the snaky traffic line. Not sure how many hot bhutta (corn) and tea breaks we took. Nothing passed the time and we were exhausted as we were stuck at the spot below for a good 2 and 1/2 hours. 

 Finally the traffic moved slowly after a total halt of 3 and 1/2 hrs.

The ice chunk was dirty as there is sadly no snow fall during that time of the year . The road flanked by ice both sides made me sing the song - Ye ishq haai baithe bithaye jannat dikhaye from Jab we met. The song was shot on these roads and I was continuously recollecting the song when our driver mentioned it. Needless to say I tuned in to the same song on my I-pod :) Trips and bollywood go hand in hand!

The day was both sunny and icy which troubled my sinuses. Many people puked on the way. I was later told it is called Acute Mountain Sickness. We ate nothing but still people were following the ritual to puke one by one which made the atmosphere uneasy and I got a bad head ache.

This is how I first saw the ice with my shades on :) Then I realized I have to remove them to actually see the hills , clouds and ice in real shades! We were lured by the shops on the way , who charged some 500 for the jacket and rain boots which we took on rent. Boots were useful but jacket was a waste as it was not freezing.

Aaahh. Isn't the above scene scenic? After all the hard ships , too many people falling sick in our jeep and an unnerving traffic jam it felt worth it when we touched the ice. We were actually on Himalayas. That made me sit on cloud 9 :) 

Yep ! I am holding the ice for the first time in my life!!

I started feeling slightly cold as it was evening 5 and as we ate nothing since morning my stomach started rumbling and the head ache got worse. I just rested on the shining rocks by the side for a while where we got a chance to get clicked again.

 

 

Finally this stall made me happy. We had piping hot ginger chai(tea) and maggi . Where ever you go you can find solace in maggi - the universal food and you can say the staple food of hill stations. Due to dizziness and nausea-tic feeling I couldn't have more than 2 spoons :(

Maggi - hot

The sight of this energized us

Some people wanted to go to bathrooms and I avoided them for the reasons best known to us. They were just booths covered with some wooden planks and there was no water available.

I kept staring at this for more than half hour and the furry mountain dog in the below pic was very cute. Couldn't click it from front. 

 

The below pic is my most favorite. I appreciate myself every time I see it . My best Rohtang pass pic

Lastly my pic with my favorite travel partner - Harnoor from Chandigarh who made me smile all the way with her silly jokes and doubts . She was a relief when ever the journey seemed endless. Enjoyed her company hence a click was must. Among other partners there were Harnoor's parents , 3 fiery, feisty girls who worked in Delhi and Gurgaon, who were very co operative and offered us the middle and front seats when the back seat of the jeep made us sick! Half of the clan fell sick and I just wanted the trip of that day to end but in the return journey we again faced a Jam though it was not a prolonged one!

we enjoyed the sledge ride too on the ice where the person
pushes the sledge down the ice slope.

me with Harnoor

Thus our trip ended and even if the journey was little stressful I can never ever forget this first time Himalaya experience in my life. Lastly the song which one must watch when you read about Rohtang Pass. Do visit when you can :) 

My next dream destination is Leh- Ladakh.  A tunnel is being constructed from Rohtang to Ladakh to travel in all seasons. The works gets halted now and then as its very challenging to build the "tunnel" due to extreme weather conditions. I hope its soon completed . A glimpse of the tunnel below. Next time probably I will go till Ladakh and see a real snow fall. If you to go Manali in December you can experience the snow fall.

The Rohtang tunnel.

Happy weekend one and all !

This is my 18th post for  "A to Z blogging Challenge 2013" !