Rohtang La

The serpentines up there were countless and in the distance we could clearly see the road: A white snake (99% of the cars are white) meandering up the mountains, probably the highest traffic jam in the world (although they’ve limited the number of cars to 1200 per day). We could easily overtake them and luckily, the day we made the final climb was a Tuesday, so the road was closed for the public and only trucks supplying the population on the other side of the pass we’re allowed. We left our ‘base camp’ early and the road was ours :)

The pass itself is rather unspectacular, but it’s the gateway to another world and the landscape changed dramatically behind: Rough mountains and unreachable, snowy peaks, we’re back in the Himalayas! And have never been so high with our bicycles...
Hello Lahaul!

A few Indians were up there though, wearing the funny old-fashioned snowsuits you can rent everywhere along the road since Manali. We were actually wondering for what, but when we reached Rohtang and continued for a bit we saw it: Indian tourists rolling from one side to the other in a few, grey remainings of snow, armed with selfie sticks and dressed with these awful suits. So funny to watch! This is what some of them came all the way from south India for, and some did not even make it to the pass because of traffic jam and lack of time - absolutely insane!Read more