Chapter #4 - Snow Fiesta

As we left the Army base, it was time for a totally different terrain. We had been driving through lush green forests laden mountains since we left Chandigarh but now was the time for a change. 

One important thing which I forgot to mention in the previous blogs is that we already had a 10-liter fuel in the jerry can. The last petrol station on Manali - Leh highway is in Tandi which is around 110 kilometers from Manali.  Remember to store ample fuel and get fuel tanks filled because there will be no fuel station for the next 370 kilometers. 

The next station was Zing Zing bar and one more water crossing was waiting for us but as we had a taste of it before, we were careful this time and went through it pretty well but one thing we could not prevent was getting our shoe water-soaked. We knew pretty well that if we keep driving like this, we are going to get sick before reaching Leh. Anyway, we kept on driving and did not stop at the Zing Zing Bar as we wanted to reach Sarchu at any cost. 

The surroundings were straight out of a postcard. After around one hour of careful driving ( because of what happened before the army base), we finally reached the entry point of the Baralacha pass. This pass is really important for the transport of goods and services. This pass is in the region of Zanskar which is one of the three mountain ranges. The other two are Pir Panjal and the great Himalayas. If this pass is closed ( which it usually is, in winters), No one can reach Ladakh via Manali.  We were approaching the pass and we were fully loaded with warm jackets, mufflers, gloves. Unfortunately, our shoes were all wet because of water crossing and there was no sun for them to dry out. Do not expect sunlight near Baralacha in the months from June - July.

This is how it looked like as we got close to Baralacha. Beautiful isn't it ??

As we got closer and closer, the temperature dropped drastically and wet shoes were making it worst. The slope was getting steeper with every 100 meters and trucks were struggling to keep the momentum and as we entered the pass, we were welcomed with big walls of solid ice on both sides of the road. It was all white, pure white !!

The lake in Baralacha was frozen and finally, we had to stop as it was chilling and we were cold. I had to touch the Activa's engine to get some relief.  

Here are some shots of the white world !!! 

There isn't much to do at Baralacha except falling in love with nature. There is no shop, no eatery...nothing at all. Just snow, snow, and snow. 

After spending some time at Baralacha, we continued driving. The next station was Bharatpur, another setting for tourists to rest and stay for the night. We did not stop there as we already had wasted a lot of time while crossing Baralacha. Remember, it is not a great idea to drive at night in mountains. Reach to the destination before sunset.

The roads were really good and world-class. All the credit goes to the Border road organization. 

We drove and drove and finally were close to Sarchu. Sarchu is a small camping ground and a temporary base just at the border of Himachal and Jammu Kashmir. There were two check posts. One on the Himachal side and one on the Jammu and Kashmir side. The road is full of fine gravels and sand before Sarchu, so we had to be extra careful as chances of slipping were extremely high !!

We finally saw the campsites along the road to Sarchu. Here is one video, please excuse the shaky video. The place was awesome. Bring a badminton or cricket set or football and you can enjoy the sport in the lap of nature. There is too much space.

Enjoy the video !!

Finally, after driving for more seven kilometers, we reached our destination. Registered ourselves at the posts. Rathore wasn't feeling well due to AMS ( Acute Mountain Sickness) so he wanted to rest. We finally booked two beds as it was a night stay. We ordered two coffees and a single plate of Maggie noodles. In fact, maggie is the trademark food of mountains. It is a different kind of satisfaction. The cost for a single bed was around 200 INR per night which was way too cheap and there were a lot of blankets stacked on the beds as it was too cold at Sarchu. 

Here are some shots of our stay and the inside !!

The inside was too cozy and was the perfect setting for bone-chilling weather of Sarchu. Rathore went to sleep after having a cup of coffee as he was not feeling well, probably due to a sudden increase in altitude and change in weather. I, fortunately, did not have any issue and had two plates of maggie before jumping onto the bed. We charged our phones and other gadgets. Remember, all the stays, tents, hotels at Sarchu are dependent on solar energy, so be wise and use it as needed.

The night was extremely chilled, the sky was crystal clear with no air, light pollution at all and at around 8 pm, we had very light dinner and went to sleep as we wanted to leave Sarchu as early as possible in the morning as more steep climbs were waiting for us like Gata loops, Lachungla pass, Tanglangla Pass.

Please do comment and like, share. The next post will be from Sarchu to Leh town !!!