There are so many places pending to write about and I am the only person who has to write. While I clear the old ones, I do new trips and collect more content for myself. Like for many years I wanted to write about a road trip I did in 2016 but could never share it because I wanted to show you new places. So today finally on the occasion of Republic Day of India, I have brought to you an adventurous journey of 'Baralacha La'.
The Himalayan mountain range in India is spread across 11 states and it is spread over 2500 km in India. From this figure, you can guess how big a Himalayan region we are living in in India. Today, from the womb of this Himalayas, I am taking you to Baralacha La located on the very famous Manali-Leh highway, which is the second mountain pass of this highway and it is situated at 4850 meters. If I talk about today, then due to heavy snowfall, this mountain pass is closed for everyone.
In winters, there is about 40 feet of thick snowfall here and due to so much snowfall, it is impossible to reach here. Although Baralacha La Pass is just a mountain pass, no one lives here and there is no village here. This area is famous only because from here travelers travel further to Zanskar and Ladakh. This pass comes within the boundary of Lahaul Valley and as soon as we cross this pass, we enter the border of Ladakh.
It is May 2026, I and my two friends were waiting for the official opening of Manali-Leh Highway for many weeks, this long wait was completed in the last week of May. Our main purpose was to roam on this highway as well as do its recce so that we could organize a running event here. We did not have any vehicle which was 4x4 so we talked to a distant friend and got his jeep.
We put 3 rucksacks, a three person tent, 3 sleeping bags and 3 mattresses in the jeep and left from Delhi. The first goal was to reach Manali which is located about 600 km away from Delhi. We left early in the morning and after reaching Manali late in the evening, we stayed in a room so that the next day we could cross Rohtang Pass early in the morning and enter Lahaul Valley. Our plan was to stay at Jispa which is 140 km away from Manali. So, we left at 7 am the next morning and headed straight for Rohtang Pass.
Rohtang Pass is the first mountain pass of Manali-Leh Highway which is 50 km away from Manali and is located at 3978 meters. The tongue of the jeep came out while climbing 50 km uphill, meaning the jeep had to work very hard to reach such a height. There is snow all around on the pass, tourists are playing on the snow, making snowmen, slipping, throwing snowballs at each other and taking photographs in the snow. We stop for 15 minutes on the pass.
After crossing the Rohtang pass, there is a board on which is written “Welcome to Lahaul Valley”. Lahaul valley is green, has a broken road and the Chandra river flows below which after going to Tandi, meets the Bhaga river coming from Baralacha Papighalkar and flows further as Chandrabhaga and flows towards the Pangi valley like a wish-fulfilling snake. Both my companions are sitting inside the jeep where there is seating space for only 2 people and I am in the back space where there is no window.
The dust flying from the tyres is coming straight to me, I wear the mask I have brought with me so that the dust does not go into my nose. If the road had been built, so much dust would not have come. Soon we reach Jispah which is 140 km from Manali. Here we will stay tonight, there is Padma Lounge in Jispah where we rent a room. Witness the sunset in the evening and the falling temperature at night.
Next morning we leave at 9 am towards Baralacha pass which is about 52 km from here, it should take maximum two hours to cover this distance but it did not happen because the road has broken due to snowfall and there are high walls of snow on both sides of the road, the water of which is melting and turning the road into a river. A path from Baralacha pass also goes to Chandratal which can be reached only on foot. Once me and @naveen.jogta tried this hike on foot but we could not cross the Chandra river so we had to return.
Anyway today we will stay at Sarchu so it should take us one more hour to reach there because the distance of Sarchu is only 30 km from here to Baralacha pass. The jeep is running smoothly, the speed is about 10-15. I am thinking that we should not have brought such an old jeep because if this jeep breaks down here then we will be in trouble because there is neither a petrol pump nor a mechanic here. Before evening we reach Sarchu where the people of Kashmir and Zanskar provide tents to the tourists.
Today's journey ends here, tomorrow I will tell you the description of the journey beyond Sarchu. So see you tomorrow, till then take care and keep smiling.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from Sony h100 point and shoot camera and edited in lightroom, post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.
[//]:# (!worldmappin 32.75848 lat 77.42000 long An Adventurous Road Trip to Baralacha La (16040 ft) d3scr)