All about the Nitrojains Leh Ladakh biking trip in June 2016.
Day 12: Jispa to Manali via Rohtang la Pass 29th June '17
Another surprise for us lay in the morning when we woke up. Jispa is really beautiful with mountains on all sides and really awesome weather. We met many professional birdwatchers and photographers here. Since we had reached late at night (it had become almost 1.30am last night), we did not realise how beautiful Jispa really was!
Surrounded by mountains at Jispa
Nitrojains at Jispa
Puneet posing with the majestic mountains
VR view of Jispa valley (use any VR viewer such as Google cardboard)
Panoramic view of Jispa valley
There is a sudden change in the landscape as we headed to Manali. The barren, brown mountains gave way to lush green mountains as we headed towards Manali. There was also gradual increase in the number of vehicles and tourists now, as Manali is a very famous hill station in India.
The distance from Jispa to Manali is only 138km with the small Rohtang La pass to cover. The roads are good being a major highway and you will can ride fast and cover distances easily. The entire road is along the Chenab river flowing on one side upto Khoksar, which is just a little way before Rohtang la Pass. You will find many waterfalls along the way and lush greenery all around.
Jispa to Manali 138kms
Suvinay posing against wallpaper like scenery
Nitin at one of the many waterfalls/ gushing river on route
Rohtangla Pass is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km (32 mile) from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India. Compared to the other passes we scaled so far, Rohtang seems like a baby at an elevation of 3,978 m (13,050 ft). However the road from the Jispa side of the pass is really bad. It is full of potholes, rocks, and twists and bends. In start comparison the road from Manali to Rohtang is fully paved and pristine in condition!
The Jispa side road scaling Rohtang pass was one of the worst we encountered on the entire trip and we were lucky not to have fallen down while scaling the pass. There was hardly snow when we reached Rohtang and tourists were also very few.
Advice: If you are coming from Manali towards Rohtang, you will need a permit to cross the pass. You can get the pass at Manali itself. However when coming from Jispa side to Rohtang, no pass is needed. The pass is also closed for many months of the year so please check online if the pass has opened up!
From Jispa towards Manali
Twisting roads to scale Rohtang la Pass
Completely broken roads on the Jispa side of Rohtang la Pass
Advice: Even though the distance to Manali is less and the pass is at a less height, keep some time on hand as the roads and really bad and going will be slow.
Bullet Enfield reaches Rohtangla
Rohtang la pass (fully covered in fog)
Nitrojains conquer Rohtang la pass too!
Video shot at Rohtang la pass
VR view of Rohtang la pass
Panoramic view of Rohtang La pass
Just a little ahead of Rohtang towards Manali lies Solang valley which is famous for adventure sports like trekking, paragliding and zorbing. Its a scenic place and almost all tourists visit the valley to take part in adventure sports.
Paragliding at Solang Valley
Vultures spotted at Solang Valley
Panoramic view of Solang valley
Manali is a hotbed for adventure sports, temples and trekking. Like most other hill stations in India it is really crowded during peak seasons and it seemed we had entered into another world altogether. Gone was the peace and solitude experienced in Leh/Ladakh, where it was difficult to find more than a group of people at a time!
