[India] Day 4 – Rohtang Pass

We left Solang Valley on a high from the Zorbing adrenalin rush, but that was quickly dampened by the news that they were not letting anyone pass the gates into the Rohtang pass.

Midway up the mountain was a guard point, the minute we saw several tourist vans parked along the road, we knew there was trouble. Apparently the mountain pass was closed due to an overturned goods lorry which they have been trying to clear for days. We were willing to wait it out…how long more could it take right? Another 24hrs max? We spent a good 2 hours trying to negotiate with them to let us go up the pass and wait.

We even considered going as far as we could by car, and trekking across the pass on foot.

The Rohtang Pass is at an altitude of 13,051 ft (3,978 m) and is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas some 51 km from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.

It has the reputation of being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards in winter and landslides during the monsoons.

I just heard that the Indian government has begun building the Rohtang Tunnel which promises to be safer and faster.

When we near the top of the mountain, we saw easily 100 vehicles wrapped around the hillside, parked bumper to bumper. These people have been here for days, hoping that the pass would open up soon. We could probably spare 1 day, but more than that and we would be compromising the rest of the roadtrip.

If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the line of cars dotted along the mountain.

We had to make a decision…