MANALI: Cars plastered with rally stickers line the streets of Manali: a telltale sign that the Raid de Himalaya — one of the world’s toughest off-road rallies — is set to get underway from this otherwise-sleepy town.
Now in its 19th edition, the Raid will see over 170 participants set out on Sunday morning to take on the treacherous terrain of the Himalayas, with temperatures as low as -15°C and altitudes of up to 17,500 feet.
Some are nervous, some confident, but all excited. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” says Rajratna Ramteke, sitting beside her husband Nityanand, whose hands are on the wheel and eyes glued to the road.
The couple from Nagpur have done rallies before, but this is their first time at the Raid. “We’re excited. A little nervous, but more excited!” she beams, quickly adding, “How about you? Are you prepared? Things are going to get tough as we head up!”
Come Sunday, participants will head to Kaza via Gramphoo and Losar. Leg 2 will see them return to Gramphoo and reach Pang via Sarchu. Over the following days, they will cross Leh, Kargil, and Pensi La, before returning to Leh to reach the finish line. But not all will be that lucky.
“The first time I came here, I failed royally. I didn’t complete it,” says Vishwas SD from Bengaluru. “But the next year, I finished third,” he says.
Things can get dangerous here, and there’s no guarantee that all participants will emerge alive. The organisers have a chopper and at least 10 ambulances to deal with any eventuality.
The nervousness shows on first-time contestant PV Chaitanya’s face. Standing beside his KTM Duke 390, the youngster from Visakhapatnam admits that he’s “a bit nervous”, but is sure that he will have a good time.
“I was supposed to do this with a friend, but he couldn’t make it. We’ll do it together next year,” he says, and heads off to complete his pre-rally scrutiny.
The Raid is divided into three categories: X-treme Cars, X-treme Bikes, and Adventure. The event will cover about 1,850km over a span of seven days.
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