Karcham, Himachal Pradesh, India
Well, this is a road trip and in especially this trip, the road is as important as the destination. There will therefore be multiple posts on the significant drives.
This was always one of the objectives of this trip - to drive on the Great Himalayan Tibet Road, that is the gateway to both Kinnaur and Spiti districts. In the good old days, this really went to Tibet. Upto a place called Kaurik in India and then across the border into Tibet. Alas, today it simply ends at Kaurik. The border is closed.
I started off from Narkhanda with the objective of entering Kinnaur. The road upto Rampur is brilliant - smooth tarmac and a wide road makes lovely driving. Great sceneries and the river Sutlej keeping company all through. After Rampur, there were innumerable landslides, the effects of the monsoon clearly visible. They usually clear up the landslide pretty quicky , but the road gets damaged. Every year they rebuild, and every year the cycle repeats. Man remains puny in front of the mighty Himalayas.
Even with all the landslides and damaged roads, it was a pretty smooth drive.
There's a massive hydroelectric project at Karcham - the road goes right besides the river and the dam for a long distance. Very very nice. Traffic has dropped off and there's only the occasional pickup or the Maruti Alto (90% of the cars here seem to be the white Alto - Maruti has completely sewn up this market)
In the photos section below, is a sample of the drive from my dashcam (I still don't know how to weave the video into the text !). The dashcam is a recent
addition to my companion. Not for any love of videography, but simply as
a defensive mesure. You see, on Indian roads, its only a matter of time
before you touch somebody or somebody touches you. Things get ugly very
soon with road rage and increasingly its an excuse to extort money.
Dashcam footage can prove your innocence and be your defence. With the
amount I drive, its become a necessity now. Since its there, I thought I would give you a bit more of an actual feel of the drive. Its a minute and a half - have a look.
At Karcham the road forks. The right fork goes to Chitkul and the China border. The left fork is the Himalayan Tibet highway going on to more towns in Kinnaur and then on to Spiti. I took the right fork as a detour. I will go to the end and then retrace back and continue on the highway.
Dada
2018-09-24
Beautiful drive and great experiences.
indigoite
2018-09-24
@Dada - Thanks man. Yes indeed. Your next trip ?
Anuj
2018-09-24
Nice video. Gives a sense of the drive and the road. Considering its right after the monsoons the road condition is decent. Alto is the ideal vehicle in the hills. The roads are narrow and parking is scarce(especially int the cities).If there was a state vehicle for Himachal, then it would be the 800/Alto. BTW because of the hills the surface area of HP is greater than Punjab and Haryana combined though the stated land area of all are comparable.Good trivia to know :)
Suja
2018-09-24
I had to look up and plot your drive in Google maps as the names of places are all so unfamiliar to me! I call myself Indian but the India known to me is rather a minuscule one, not even a small fraction of the real extent of the country. I'm glad to see new parts of it through your experiences Ramesh! I enjoyed the video, it says so much more than a photo..
Kannan
2018-09-24
Nice journey, to read and imagine. Pictures and video are beautiful. I can quite relate to altitude sickness, Shanthi at the receiving end in Darjeeling and Gulmarg. I read heavy rains in HP. Take care.
indigoite
2018-09-24
@Anuj - Thats an amazing tidbit. HP is more tall than broad and so I can well understand that it must be true. Wow !
indigoite
2018-09-24
@Suja - These are remote parts of India Suja. Its only in the last 10 years that they have even come up on the traveller's map and that too only the serious traveller. You left India long back !!
indigoite
2018-09-24
@Kannan - Nice to see you here; thanks for coming. Really ? Shanthi is that prone. Poor thing !
Sandhya Sriram
2018-09-24
These pictures are so beautiful:) the dashcam thing is very clever
The Million Miler
2018-09-25
The dashcam footage was simply awesome! Nice road, looks a bit spooky but the road surface seems to be free of potholes. Drive safe though!
indigoite
2018-09-25
@Sandhya - :)
indigoite
2018-09-25
@Kiwi - Nice, isn't it, especially for an ace driver like you to see. Road are not too bad, although there are enough of pure dirt and trail stretches.
Vaingluory
2018-09-25
The dashcam video was awesome! Can we request more in future posts too please?
indigoite
2018-09-26
@Vaingluory - Flattered. Now the dashcam has to work overtime !
Gils
2018-09-28
Mamma oor roadsa idhulaam!!! Foreign polaruku. Semma visuals
indigoite
2018-09-28
@Gilsu - Come and bring the lady and junior here to sample it yourself !
Vincy
2018-10-01
Its getting interesting as the drive progresses. got to install my dashcam - thank you for the reminder. such lovely roads, its difficult to resist the temptation to drive.
Vinod
2018-10-03
Superb video! Loved the idea of the dash cam for safety. Curious - do you listen to music/podcasts while driving?
indigoite
2018-10-03
@Vincy - Yes, its becoming a necessity in India nowadays. And yes, take your car and come here Vincy. What about a "Babes Driving Trip " !!
indigoite
2018-10-03
@Vinod - No, I drive mostly in silence.