Rohtang Pass

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connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahul and Spiti valleys, Himachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh

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Rohtang Pass Photo - Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh, India

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On Top of the World - Looking Down on Creation

by koshkha

Northampton, United Kingdom

February 24, 2013

Best of IgoUgo Back to the car and we set off for the top, bouncing and screeching up the road until we eventually came to the pass. A weary sense of ‘Is that it?’ came over us both. A few scruffy stalls selling food and drink, a few warmly dressed people roasting ...Read more Back to the car and we set off for the top, bouncing and screeching up the road until we eventually came to the pass. A weary sense of ‘Is that it?’ came over us both. A few scruffy stalls selling food and drink, a few warmly dressed people roasting corns on the cob and a massive number of sturdy but well-kept ponies waiting for business. The horse men swooped, we were offered a crazy price and so we waved them away and headed off to take some photographs looking back into the valley from which we’d come. It soon became apparent that it was pretty stupid to have driven all the way up to the pass and then not have gone the final distance to the top to get the best views. The pathways looked treacherous and we could hear the ice cracking under the feet of the ponies. A few wary and probably rather foolish people were trying to walk up the steep slopes, through the snow in their silly rubber boots. The horsemen spotted us and swooped again. This time it was a different set of men but their prices were the same. I can’t imagine they would have won a lot of business with the Indian visitors at 950 rupees per person (about £12) for a ride. I couldn’t help but think that we were getting stung with a pre-agreed pinky tourist mark up. I got them down to 1500 rupees for the two of us (about £18) and hoped I wasn’t about to be fleeced for a ride of about 5 minutes.

The horses were stocky little things with glossy coats, well brushed manes and a general sense or being well cared for. They were in marked contrast to the horses we’d encountered a few days earlier which looked so sad and neglected that we’d refused to ride them. The guy we negotiated with took our money up front (more alarm bells ringing), called over a colleague and he brought two ponies with him. We hopped on which wasn’t too hard as the ponies weren’t very tall but was a bit clumsy because we were wearing walking boots and so many layers we looked like Michelin men. The saddles were comfortable and had a rail to hang onto at the front since the reins were taken by the handler. I have pretty good balance so I just got my camera out and shot a lot of totally blurred and crooked photos from the pony-back, realising later that just because I felt secure, didn’t mean my camera wasn’t feeling nervous. I was happy that there were no whips or sticks used on the ponies and most of the communication between the handler and the beasts was by clicks and whistles.

The pace was gentle and careful and I think the ice had only formed that night or in the past couple of nights as the ponies seemed puzzled by being able to see the water flowing underneath the surface ice. As their little hooves broke through the ice an stepped between the boulders, I felt safe and confident that the animals knew what they were doing. After the first climb we came towards a flatter area where many of the locals dressed in old ski-suits or teddy bear fur coats had gathered. I thought to myself that if we got dropped off by them after only a 10 minute or so ride, we would have been right royally ripped off but my cynicism was out of place. The ponies kept plodding on and we passed families having picnics in the snow, local traders trying to sell coffee and tea from portable flasks and people who’d clearly never seen snow before taking complete leave of their senses. A pair of beautiful hairy yaks were standing around for children to ride or people to take photos, and two young men had brought an inflated truck inner tube on a rope and were taking turns to ride it down the hillside. A couple of people had hired skis and were coming to the realisation that there were too many rocks and not enough snow.

The ponies plodded past all of these and took us to the highest point on the mountainside beyond which nobody else had gone at that point. We slid off and went for a wander, taking dozens of photographs and admiring the views. Looking at the ski suits I commented to my husband that it looked like a scene from a 1980s C&A ski-wear catalogue (apologies to the younger readers who don’t remember the days of C&A but think puffy pastels and cheap construction in a time before cool snowboarders with their trousers round their butts. For those who (sensibly) chose to avoid the ski-wear which included all the women in saris who couldn’t possibly have got them into a ‘jump suit’ style outfit, the popular choice seemed to be massive thick faux-fur coats

Many walked up the hillside, a few took ponies like us but the most popular choice seemed to go by quad bikes. These were much noisier, also expensive but they couldn’t go up the snow covered mountain sides as well as the ponies. If you think that you’d like to walk, just keep in mind that at an altitude of 4000m the air is very thin, even gentle exercise is exhausting and altitude sickness is a risk. Take it slowly and let the ponies or the quad bikes take the strain. We were happy to get back on the ponies and make a slow descent, snapping away at the scenery as we went.

Views from the top were absolutely beautiful. We could see in both directions and the snow was still new enough to be bright, white and clean and was present in such a quantity that you could still see the rocks for contrast in the photographs. Despite the ridiculously cold temperatures, I was lying on a rock setting up my gorillapod and shooting off dozens of shots of the snow against the bright blue skies.

Back to the issue of the lack of toilets at the top. By this time I’d spent about two and a half hours being bounced around in the back of the car, another hour or so sitting on a pony and the breakfast coffee and juice was getting insistent. With hundreds of people around it was no big deal for hubby to go off and do what men do – especially in India where they do it openly on the streets of every major city and shamelessly in the countryside. I took in the scenery and eventually identified some rocks which I thought were pretty well hidden and headed off to answer the call of nature. I didn’t really want several hundred Indian’s laughing at my pinky backside and I didn’t want to scare the horses either.

Getting back to Manali was a lot quicker with gravity on our side and no need to stop for tea and we were back in a little over one and a half hours. Despite all good intentions to go into town, we simply curled up on the bed and went to sleep for most of the afternoon. Never underestimate how tiring a few hours at high altitude can be.

If you are an Indian who has never seen snow before, then Rohtang pass is a must. We were there at the very beginning of November and the snow and ice were quite fresh. Much earlier in the year and I think the views would still be amazing but less impressive without the snow. If you want to ski, then take some proper advice before you hire equipment and get too excited. Even with a lot more snow, I just can’t see how anyone could get in good ski experience at Rohtang pass without knocking over dozens of people in pastel snow suits or bumping into a photogenic yak. There is skiing in the area, but this is not the best place to do it. If you’re just a European who’s a bit blasé about snow and can’t see the point, then by all means don’t bother but for me part of the delight is seeing so many people who’ve never seen snow before having a fabulous time. And of course the other reason to go is to experience the beautiful scenery.
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On Top of the World - Looking Down on Creation