Julay, Ladakh

 

As you cross over from Rohtang and descend into Keylong, “Julay” is the term you will be greeted with pretty much by everyone and everywhere you go. The moment you hear this term you realise that you are now entering a new culture, will end up meeting new people, get exposed to new customs, experience the raw face of Nature at its best and face a whole new landscape in the highest and coldest desert in the world. Ladakh is truly an experience that everyone needs to well … experience … at least once in their lives. And the best way to experience this gorgeous land is by driving in from Manali to Leh.

The Manali-Leh route is tough and according to some, is one of the toughest motorcycle journeys in the entire world. That may have been true in the olden days, but now with the roads having fresh tarmac on them, and having been widened over the last few years, the real danger of riding off the cliff into the valley below has been largely negated. Not so for the foolhardy who can manage to fall of the cliff even when they are riding on the edge of the ocean. There is no point being reckless, particularly on the Manali-Leh road. Enjoy the scenery, marvel at the barren browns and greens and purples and blues, the many colours that the mountains and the sky throw up at every turn of the wheel. Enjoy the sightings of a few birds, look around for the marmots and the wild ass and the ibex and the quail and seldom, the vultures and the eagles. Enjoy dusting the grime from your gear, feel the warm tea as its soaks in through the cold and dampness of your throat, as you sit under a parachute tent, away from the biting chill of the wind. Watch the sun go behind the high mountain painting the sky in all kinds of colours.

My theory is that God never went to painting school. He would have failed miserably. No school would ever teach their pupils to mix the colours in the way God does. Look at the sky during sunset. Greens go with purples. Yellow plays footsie with blue. Orange and turquoise look as if they are long lost brothers. And when all of them get together, they paint a canvas of immense beauty, while you marvel at the magic. Either God did not go to painting school or the syllabus has changed immensely over the years since He was there.

Despite the beauty and exotica of the road trip, it can be very dangerous. It is a high altitude ride and if you are not careful, you could be in for a lot of trouble. Help is almost non-existent except for the few Army establishment en route, and they could be at the other end of the Universe if you need them NOW, can see them in the distance, yet cannot move because of your condition. High altitude can kill, and kill very quickly.

Often people make a mad dash to reach Leh, because that is where they want to be. I find that a little hard to understand. Why people cannot take it easy and stop to smell the roses, I fail to fathom. Not that there are many roses on the way to Leh, but you know what I mean. After crossing the madhouse that is Rohtang, you descend into Koksar and then Keylong. I like to stay the first night in Keylong. It is relatively high (around 10,000 feet) thus helping acclimatisation, it is a city and therefore one does not feel isolated like one would further down the road, there is electricity and the phones work. Moreover, a little short of Keylong is Tandi, the last gas station before Leh, 365km away. And there is a detour I like to do from Keylong … to Udaipur and Triloknath. The drive is spectacular and the temples are gorgeous. Triloknath is one temple I have seen that alternates between a Buddhist monk and a Hindu priest.

As you leave Keylong you feel the terrain changing all around. Vegetation becomes sparse as you climb, people disappear, trees become a distant memory, and civilisation as we know it fades into the dust behind the vehicle. Darcha, Patseo, Sarchu, Pang, are all humbling places. And these are the few places where you can possibly get a cup of tea, maybe some Maggi, parathas, eggs, soup, etc. These are also places where you can bunk in, communally, probably ten to fifteen people, shoulder to shoulder, in the comfort of thick blankets. It is a great experience actually.

As you climb higher and higher you reach the Morey Plains which is a awesome drive of forty odd kilometres and then you reach the highest point on this road – Tanglang La, which at 17, 582 feet is the second highest motorable road in the world. It is high and it can be very cold, particularly if the wind is blowing. But the sheer joy of being at Tanglang La means that you spend more time here than you had probably planned. A walk up to the temple, taking pictures for posterity near the signposts, just walking up and down soaking in the memories, that is what Tanglang La is all about. There are no tea stalls here or else you would have spent a lot more time.

Time to head down. Over the next couple of hours, you descend from 17,582 feet to around 11,000 feet, in Leh. The landscape starts turning green as you climb down from Tanglang La, habitation starts sprouting up and you can almost feel civilisation before you actually come across it. The barrenness of high altitude is left behind and city life beckons. You hit Upshi and Karu and Choglamsar, the lights of Leh are visible in the distance at the end of a long road and soon enough you hit town … and people and traffic. You check into the hotel and slowly soak in the end of a wonderful road trip. You look at the pictures you have taken on the way up, you remember the adventures you have had, you wonder how you have become a better rider or driver in the three or four days you have spent between Manali and Leh. And then you get up to explore the city. And as you walk through the streets, soaking in the whole new culture, you are greeted with the now familiar “Julay”.