Day 16 8 May Escape from Ladakh - road trip across the mountains to Delhi

Photo above - travelling in Convoy across the mountains out of Ladakh, and on to Delhi.

Leaving under cover of Darkness

At 3am on a dark cold high altitude Leh morning the unscheduled adventure begins. A road trip across the Himalayas and south to Delhi to get a flight out of India.

It felt a bit like we were eloping under cover of darkness. I have really enjoyed time in Ladakh, land of high passes. It has been challenging at times physically with the cold and the altitude, however the people have been unbelievably welcoming, generous and kind, and the landscape and scenery has been magnificent at times.

So with the airport closed due to the political crisis unfolding in nearby Kashmir and Pakistan, we have decided that the only option is to try and get to Delhi by road, where can get a flight out. The first stage is a 12 Hr or so drive through the mountains to a town called Manali 450km away, which we hope to reach by late afternoon. Then the plan is to drive from there out of the mountains and south to Delhi through the night, hopefully arriving early to mid morning. I have a flight at 5pm, but probably need to arrive by 2pm at Delhi airport.

The trip begins

As you would expect no traffic on the road as we left Leh. We were soon on the open road. Unfortunately the main route to Manali is blocked by snow at this time of year so we have to go via a more minor route through the mountains. As we turned on to this road we joined a six or seven car convoy all doing the same route, taking tourists out of the area and down to Delhi.

The road straight away started heading up into the mountains and there were constant small rock falls to avoid, and some bigger ones the had to be driven through! After 1.5 hours we ground to a halt for a checkpoint, that did not open until 5 am. Here the convoy became about 15 cars. Once through the rock falls continued and the road started to get worse.

The road worsens

We were heading up the Zanskar River valley which was turning into a steep sided gorge. A steep drop on one side down to the river, on the other a volatile rock face. It was becoming a spectacular but dangerous road. Being single track , if not less, it was just as well no one was coming the other way. There were long stretches of just gravel and rock where the road was clinging to the rock face. The road is only open two days a week. The rest of the time it is closed for repairs or construction.

At several points we had to drive across rivers. At the third and deepest of these, one of the cars got stuck. Not sure what happened to him. Shortly after we came to the third checkpoint at 6.35am. amazingly, soon after we came across a tiny village which had a store. Everyone stopped for a cup of tea and supplies.

Another long stretch of “world's most dangerous road” style gravel road, and we entered a wide flat plateau surrounded by snow capped peaks, and dotted with little villages. In this valley, another checkpoint at a village called Zangla where our passports were checked. Shortly after the road became two lane tarmac. A bit later we stopped at the village of Padum at 9am for bybreakfast!

A bit of a breather

Moving on the road continued in the same vein clinging to the side of the gorge, but as a two lane tarmac road, so it felt a lot less scary. There were still patches of gravel road, which in reality were effectively compacted rock fall. At one point we saw Bardun Monastery perched on a rock overlooking the river, with snow capped mountains in the background.

The thrills continue

After we left the village we had breakfast in, the convoy largely split up and we're spread out along the mountain road at different points. We ended being in a convoy of three. There then followed an extensive stretch of single track gravel/rock/dust with scary drops. Mostly the road was up and down and stuck at about 3500-4000m, but we had a pass coming up that would be much higher.

I kept thinking that the worst bit is over, then there is another stretch which seems worse. And by that I mean narrower, bigger drop, no barriers, loose surface, water cascading across the road, edge falling away etc. At about 11am we joined a good two lane highway that looked fairly new and allowed us to go above 20km/h. Then we came to another checkpoint at the village of Kargyak to check passports. Not long after, the road started ascending again through some spectacular snowy mountain scenery. It was a joy to be doing the pass on a descent road until…

We reached 4500m, and it started snowing, and huge piles of snow started appearing at the side of the road, and then before we knew it the road was slushy and muddy and slippery. Thankfully we did not meet anyone coming the other way. When we reached the top of the Shinkla Pass (5047m) it was snowing too hard to stay long and enjoy the moment.

Coming down off the pass

Going down the other side there was a lot more snow, but the tarmac road had returned, although in places it had been washed away, and was in places like a riverbed. Coming off the pass, we joined another river valley with decent road, and made good time for a while. Descending steadily, we came across another checkpoint at 1.10pm. Just over 10hrs travelling and we were about 100km out from Manali. As we went down we started to see trees and greenery rather than just bare rock and snow.

The longest tunnel and the real India starts, in Switzerland

We then started ascending yet again to go over another pass. This was quite green, and almost felt alpine because the villages had swiss style chalets, some quite brightly coloured. At 2.30pm we reached Atal Tunnel, the entrance of which is next to a river and in front of a sheer wall of rock, immediately disappearing into the mountain. It is 9km long and is the longest tunnel in Asia. At the exit there were hundreds of cars and people who had come to look at the views down into the alpine style valley with it's tall slender trees, and take selfies by the tunnel exit. The hubbub and number of people really made it feel that although it may not look it visually, we had definitely entered the real India.

We continued down the valley, where there were increasing numbers of towns and villages, all with the distance chalet style buildings and advertising some adventure activity of some kind. Zip lining, ballooning, rafting, paint balling, para gliding, bungee jumping etc. It can all be done here. And there were thousands here to do it, and it was only a Thursday.

Manali at last

We finally reached Manali further down the valley at 3.30 pm after nearly 13 hours and 450km of driving mountain roads. Delhi is another 560km, and to do this journey we hooked up with another driver, who was from Manali. The valley here seemed to have shed the alpine look, and the coloured towns built up the hillside in thick forest looked more South American.

As we set off we continue heading down out of the mountains. About half an hour after leaving, we stopped for some food in a local cafe. As we say there it started raining, although it did not last long. The first rain we had seen in two weeks, although we had seen some snow.

In the end it took another three hours to completely come out of the mountains. This included passing through about five fairly long tunnels. Along one section still high above the river in the valley below, we came across some monkeys playing around, running across the road.

The final 300 odd km stretch

As we finally got on to the flat and out of the mountains, we hit the main highways, and started our drive through the evening and night, into Delhi. I had forgotten how crazy the driving is in India proper. People just drive and keep going. If there is something in the way, they hoot the horn to say that they are coming through. There is no lane etiquette, any space will do to squeeze through. Look out for the slow moving tuk Tuks and tractors, or the cows crossing the road or even lying in it!

Watching all this unfold in the dark at 50mph was quite hypnotic, although it did not really help me to get any sleep. We stopped a couple of times for short breaks, but we made good time, and finally arrived in Delhi at 3am, a full 24 hrs after we started, pretty much driving the whole time. It was a bit stressful at times going through the mountains, but an amazing experience, and really the only way to get out at the time.

A part night in Delhi

As we had arrived much earlier than we had expected, instead of going straight to the airport, we checked in to an airport hotel. Tomorrow, I will babe Delhi airport to catch an afternoon flight to Dubai, where I should have been two days ago. If I can do that, I will be back on track for my continued travels.