Mahindra Monastery Escape 2015

  • Jul 13, 2015
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We embark on a nine-day drive with Mahindra Adventure crossing some of the highest motorable passes across the high Himalayas. What has the Mahindra Monastery Escape has in store? Read on...

Mahindra Thar high up in the Himalayas

A journey to the high Himalayas is perhaps on the bucket list of many; done once, it becomes a habit for many, even an annual habit with some going on an annual pilgrimage every year, on their motorcycles or in their SUVs. Then there are others who spend years planning a trip to the land of the high altitude desert. A customary photo-op or two with signs proudly displaying “world’s highest motorable pass” or the “world’s highest tea stall” and blue high altitude lakes is a given; if you’ve made a trip to the land of the high passes, you have to flaunt it.

But for those, who may not have access to information on where to stay and what to do, or even the right kind of vehicle to do this trip on, Mahindra Adventure has the answer – the MME or Mahindra Monastery Escape.

The Monastery Escape is a road trip organized by Mahindra Adventure to cater to the wanderlust of travellers, especially those who would love to get behind the wheel of a 4x4 SUV (whether one owns one or not).  And unless you sign up with a friend or family, you will get to share the vehicle with a co-driver, like in our case, and you better get along and be nice, because you are going to spend a lot of time on the road with this person.

Mahindra cars line up en route Manali

Day 1: Delhi - Manali

Staying in a hotel in your city of residence feels strange, but that is how the itinerary for the 2015 Mahindra Monastery Escape was planned. We were asked to join the participants and check in to a hotel in Greater Noida, a suburb of Delhi about 50 kilometres away from home.  Car keys handed over, a customary medical check up, ceremonial flag off, pre-expedition briefing and dinner later; we were asked to get up at 2:30 am for the first leg of our journey – Delhi to Manali. It’s not the ideal waking up time for me, but we wake up grumpily and climb on to the SUV assigned to us – a Mahindra Thar.

Mahindra XUV500 leading the Scorpio into the hills

Getting the convoy in position takes some time but we are soon rolling along. The drive to Manali is uneventful, along the plains for most part of the day, except for some mountain traffic on the outskirts of town. In this case, the traffic was of the four-legged variety; hundreds of sheep slowed us down, and after crawling through one herd, we face more; in all, over four different herds of sheep. At one point, Adventure 10, the call sign of the XUV 5oo we were tailing, asked for help, after the driver started suffering from cramps, working the pedals through the herds of sheep. There was the familiar smell of burnt clutches from several cars and we limped our way to the Solang Valley Resort for the night.

Mahindras lineup for the next leg
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Day 2&3: Manali – Jispa

A 6:00 am wake up call, breakfast and briefing over, we make our way up the mountain to Rohtang Pass, the first of the mountain passes on our way to Ladakh. Memories of past journeys; of serpentine queues of cars, slushy sections on the notorious Rani Nallah above Marhi, come to mind as we set out this crisp morning. But today, the mountain gods are with us – the weather is clear, there’s no sign of any mud or slush and save for a brief hold up at the top, we are over Rohtang and beyond into Khoksar and then Sissu, our lunch stop. And the highlight of the day’s drive was the indulgence in some four-wheel driving on the Thar through short cuts down the mountainside.

After a leisurely lunch, it was time to head towards Keylong and then Jispa, our night halt and acclimatization layover for the next day and night. But first, there is an important pit-stop at Tandi, just short of Keylong. Tandi hosts the last fuel station on the Manali-Leh highway, and the next one is a good 295 km away, in Leh. A tank up for our convoy of 26 cars took the better part of an hour and early evening we rolled into Jispa.

Mahindra Scorpio at MME 2015

Day 3 was acclimatization; to prepare our bodies for the thin air and our next night halt at Sarchu, at over 15,700 feet above sea level or over four and a half kilometres above the sea. This would be the highest we would be sleeping in the entire journey and acclimatization is essential. Acute Mountain Sickness, or AMS as it is known, can raise its head and hit the fittest person. And the plains of Sarchu, as we have become familiar on previous journeys, aren’t a place to be taken lightly. And already in Jispa, a few expedition members are showing signs of fatigue and symptoms of mild AMS. The stopover is a good thing and hopefully things will tide over.

Mahindra Thar at a river crossing

Mahindra Adventure had a thrilling acclimatization plan in place – a night of fun and celebrations and a day of off-road driving on the river and an outdoors lunch afterwards. Several cars had to be winched out of silt, but Bijoy, Chief of Mahindra Adventure, egged us on to let the Thar loose. “Go, have some fun. We’ll pull you out, if you get stuck,” he said.

It was one of the most enjoyable days in the entire trip. In four-wheel-drive low, the Mahindra Thar eats rocky river beds for breakfast and wades through fast flowing glacial river water like it’s been bred to do this. Sure, the ergonomics aren’t great, the interiors leave a lot to be desired and even though the soft top works all right to keep the air conditioner working in the plains, once in the mountains, the elements creep in, leaving its occupants and their luggage covered in a fine layer of dust.

But the Thar is born for the mountains. And if you are a motorbike lover, you’ll certainly appreciate the Thar like the numerous bikers we encounter on the way, who always have a grin and a ‘thumbs up’ for the Thar. Indeed, the Mahindra Thar is the closest thing on four wheels to riding a motorcycle in the high mountains. And that was reason enough for me to appreciate it and even begin to fall in love with.

Mahindra Thar passing through snow walled roads

Day 4: Jispa to Sarchu

Sarchu has always been etched in my mind as a place where sleep doesn’t come easy. The howling cold winds, temperatures below zero and thin air make spending a night at Sarchu extremely difficult; at least it did on previous occasions. This time around, I was hoping to make peace with Sarchu, looking ahead to a night without incident.

The drive to Sarchu is through another mountain pass – the Baralacha La. Although the name itself sounds frightening, Baralacha La has always been a friendly pass for me. The roads though have improved over the years, and we are greeted with smooth tarmac past Darcha, where we leave Himachal behind and officially enter the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Snow walls on both sides of the road welcome us to the summit of the pass, and our convoy of SUVs create our own traffic jam at the summit. Conversations on the radio reveal that one of our expedition members is showing symptoms of AMS. Expedition leader Raj sounded out a wise warning to not spend any more time on the pass and make our way down to our lunch stop at the Bharatpur tents. Sarchu, our night halt, is only 29-odd kilometres away and it’s only late afternoon. But I know Sarchu, and a night at the tents at Sarchu isn’t particularly appealing to me.

Mahindra convoy deep into the Himalayas

Day 5: Sarchu to Leh

I was in for a surprise; it was the soundest sleep I have had in the past few days and woke up early and fresh, after sleeping under a bright moonlit sky at Sarchu in our tents. The night wasn’t without incident though; a member of the expedition panicked and had to be given medical attention and oxygen in the middle of the night. But yours truly was blissfully unaware of the situation.

The drive that day involved climbing up the famous Gata Loops – 21 hairpin bends and then on to the climb up to two mountain passes - Nakee La and Lachuling La and then onwards to Pang and the More Plains. Tailing the convoy for photographs and at times even overtaking to take position at suitable photo-op locations, Media One (the call sign for our Thar) soon lagged behind as we climbed up the Gata Loops. But the shortcuts we remembered. And the Thar swung into action again, on four-wheel drive low to climb up the mountainside to take up a suitable position ahead of the convoy for a photo-op.

Mahindra Thar cutting corners

Ahead of Lachulung La we headed into Pang and then the climb up to More Plains, a vast stretch of grassland high up in the Himalayas. Over 40km of the More Plains, we climb up to Taglang La, known as the second highest motorable pass in the world and the highest we would encounter on this drive. A stop for lunch at Rumtse just after the descent from the pass, and then a straight drive later we roll into Leh in the evening, looking forward to a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

The Hemis Monastery we visited during MME 2015

Day 6&7: Leh

The days in Leh were optional. For those who wanted to, a part of the convoy was despatched to Pangong Tso – the emerald blue lake on the Indo-China border. Having spent considerable quality time with Pangong on my last visit, pitching the tent on the lakeside and sharing a beverage of choice on a star-studded night on the lakeshore, I was not too keen on a ten-hour drive to and from the lake to take a few ‘selfies’. A few of us who stayed behind, and we spent the better part of the morning over a lazy breakfast and a picnic by the banks of the Indus.

The next day, some of us hired motorcycles and rode in and around Leh, visiting the Hemis monastery and the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers at Nimmu, with the Magnetic Hill and Patthar Sahib Gurdwara thrown in as attractions on the way. Leh though offers a lot, for those seeking to do some shopping or for others who like to indulge in some culinary delights. And indulge, we did.

Martyr tombs at Kargil

Day 8: Leh to Srinagar

For most travellers, the stretch from Leh to Srinagar is done with a stopover, either in Kargil or in Drass. For the more adventurous kind, it’s a straight run from Leh to Sonamarg across the Zoji La pass or even onwards to Srinagar, a drive involving anything from 12-14 hours. For us however, there is a hitch. There is no accommodation available in Kargil for 62 people and Drass is just a small hamlet where even a small group of friends find it difficult to get any sort of decent accommodation. 

So, it’s a 2 am departure from Leh, so hardly any sleep on the last night and a long, arduous drive, first across Nameek La and Fotu La and then a brief stopover at the Kargil War Memorial. It’s an eye-opener for many, listening to the sacrifices made by soldiers during the 1999 war, narrated by an Army Havildar. Names, which have become synonymous with war folklore like Tololing and Tiger Hill, are right in front of our eyes to behold their magnificence; as well as amaze at the hostile and impossible terrain to wage a war and win back strategic territories occupied by the enemy.

Mahindra cars line up for another leg of MME 2015

The rest of it is a straight run to Sonamarg, for a late lunch stop and then onwards to Srinagar, our destination. But in between lay the treacherous Zoji La. In terms of altitude, it pales in numbers to other mountain passes we have encountered on our journey so far. But what it lacks in altitude, it makes up for in attitude. Zoji La can give vertigo to the most seasoned of mountain travellers. A narrow track over the mountain and convoys of oncoming trucks make it one of the most difficult sections of the entire adventure. We make it across, giving way to convoys of trucks, and then on to Sonamarg and Srinagar, after nearly sixteen hours on the road.

Mahindra Thar was our capable offroader at the MME 2015

Conclusion:

The Mahindra Monastery Escape is an adventure. You sign up paying Rs 1.5 lakh per car for two people and only need to worry about refuelling the car at the end of every day. The folks at Mahindra Adventure manage the rest of it - itinerary, food and lodging and even the SUVs. There is also a service team with a pick up full of spares should you encounter any mechanical problems on the way.

Then there is that sense of camaraderie at every night halt and rest day. You make new friends; get to know new people and share memories of a collective experience, one that you certainly will remember for some time to come. But then a convoy of 26 SUVs may look cool in a photograph or in the rear view mirror, but it also has its own shortcomings. Sometimes it feels slow, sometimes it gives you a sense of creating your very own traffic jam, and sometimes there just isn’t enough accommodation available for everyone to stay at the same venue. 

Would I want to do it again? Sure, I would. But I would prefer going on a drive across the high mountains with a smaller group of people, preferably a group of friends, at our own pace and chalk out our own itinerary. And a 2 am departure to drive across mountains isn’t quite my idea of having a good time. But that’s just me. In the end though, the Monastery Escape is great fun and I would probably relive most the times spent with the Mahindra Thar.

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