Twenty-nine people, a fleet of Tata Hexas and Harriers, and a whole lot of energy was what it took to make an adventure come alive.
That’s how MotorScribes Summit Quest panned out. Spread across 12 days, the drive was an adventure into the very heart of the Himalayas.
The expedition was flagged off from Chandigarh and stitched a route through Narkanda, Manali, Jispa, Leh, Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso and Sarchu before returning to the starting point. After a 2,500-km long road trip, one thing was certain – this journey left everyone with a set of memories to last a lifetime.
The roadtrip was planned to test the endurance of both travellers and the machines. The route was challenging as the convoy had to cross a total of eight high altitude passes on the way. With the lowest one at 10,800 feet and the highest nearly at 18,000 feet, we were literally reaching for the sky.
What started with lush pine forests and temples perched on the edge of the lower Himalayan hills slowly gave way to treeless landscapes with ancient Buddhist monasteries built into hillsides.
As we climbed higher, vistas of snow-capped peaks and huge snowdrifts were replaced by parched Himalayan plains at 15,000 feet. The Tata convoy travelled through some rough roads and across gushing snowmelt but seemed to have the power to endure everything.
The night sky in Nubra Valley, scattered with millions of stars, and the 100-feet tall Diskit Buddha statue framed against them were sights to behold.
It was truly sublime to sit quietly by the expansive Pangong Tso (lake) and take in the varied hues of blue reflecting off the water. The Himalayas had that charm: just when everyone thought they had a hang of its scapes, there was something new to feast on.
It is these collage of images that will make up memories for the travellers who decided to venture into the land of the gompas.