Baralacha La, Sarchu, Pang, Tanglang La, to Leh
[Prev: Manali – Rohtang – Jispa]
In the morning, we started towards Leh – our destination for the night. The check post at Darcha, just a few kilometers after Jispa, proved to be no problem as we had our permits on hand. We had filled up our fuel at Tandi (the last fuel station for 350-400 kilometers around, so pay heed, self-driven adventurers!) yesterday, so we embarked on the arduous (for the car) climb of the ice-packed Baralacha La. At a top height of 4830 meters above sea level, Baralacha La is the first of 4 passes before Ladakh valley, the others being Naki La, Lachung La and Tanglang La. Of these, Tanglang La is the last and highest, at 5360 meters. But we will get there at a steady pace.
The road is broken and overrun by waterfalls – literally, there is a danger of being swept into the valley by the current of cascading water – which are difficult to negotiate if one is not careful. As for the moment, we climbed carefully through the packed ice that had formed walls on both sides of the road after being cut through. There is barely space for two cars to pass in most places.
Once you have negotiated Baralacha La, you will come to the settlement of Sarchu. While many people aim to cover the stretch from Manali to Sarchu in one go, we strongly advise staying at Keylong or Jispa to make sure you have enough time to cross Tanglang La the same day as Baralacha La.
In all of Ladakh, which starts after Sarchu, the wind is cyclonic. We had a quick, simple meal of local ingredients with rice and lentils at Sarchu, and pushed on to cross the relatively easy passes of Naki La and Lachung La, and thus reached the next valley – with a small group of tents announcing itself Pang – marking the transition. Be warned about the upcoming stretch of very, very smooth, asphalt road –we named it Jumpy Roller Coaster Road due to its regular drops that made our cars jump into the air at speeds close to a 100 kilometers per hour!
After the fun drive that lasted about 20-30 odd kilometers, we turned upwards towards Tanglang La, which tops out at 5360 meters above sea level. As soon as we looked ahead into the upward valley, we could tell it was going to be stormy. True to nature, snow started falling just as we started our climb, at around half past five in the evening. It is not too long a pass, but driving in fresh snow is a devil in itself.
We kept up our spirits and soon saw an Audi Q5 that we had helped replace its burst tire (seriously!) earlier, catching up to us. We let it pass ahead and followed in its tire tracks, and caught up with a few trucks that were paving the way through the fresh snow accumulating ahead. After three hours of painstaking braking, slipping, sliding, wiper-jamming driving, we felt the snow weaken, and as we rode down the smooth road after Tanglang La, relief was the most prominent feeling in our minds!
From here on out, passing a few quaint towns like Sosoma and Upshi, we crossed Karu (the turn for Pangong Tso lake (coming up next) and reached Leh at 11 in the night, booking a great room but getting overcharged for bread omelets and tea. Nevertheless, it had been an exhilarating day, and we looked back at our photos and adventures late into the night.
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