2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 1: Cheerful Chandigarh To Neat Narkanda

The Prelude

Being an auto journo has always had its fair share of crests and troughs. Many of you may find it hard to believe but things in this profession can also qualify to be written in a scroll and tucked away as a monotonous memorandum. That, as I am sure you’ll agree, doesn’t sound promising. But then one of those days come when you are in gear for your day-to-day tasks and your immediate senior suddenly calls you up to have a light chat about the Himalayas.

‘I love hills!’ were my exact words. Taken aback with my immediate burst of elation, he asked me whether I’d like to explore the Spiti Valley in the Himalayas. It was that moment when I realised that none of the synonyms for the word ‘Yes’ would do justice. But since I had to balance my initial spat of overly saturated excitement, I said, “Yeah, sure.”

Arrival in Chandigarh

The wait of a month went past in a jiffy, at least in my head. And then I found myself in Chandigarh. A sense of déjà vu kicked in to refresh the memories of ‘The City Beautiful’ when it was home to me nearly a decade ago. 

It was during our pre-drive meet in the evening that we got to know who all are in the pack. We had a mixed bag of businessmen, doctors, salaried executives, media personnel and a whole team that organised the entire trip. Hours went by and we were finally ready to head out at 8 am the next morning.

Day 1

Media 1. That’s what the new-gen Scorpio which I would be sharing with a freelancer for another media house was stickered with. Radio checks were in place when I was wondering in the parking lot to see what kind of SUVs made up the convoy. Most of them were new Scorpios. There were two Thars, three old-gen Scorpios, one Getaway and one Legend. Yup, Legend. A rare specimen that was produced to celebrate 60 years of Mahindra’s existence in the automotive world. Chances are you won’t find one on the move as only 60 of them were ever produced.

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Soon after the flag dropped, we found ourselves hurtling towards the Himalayas. At the foothills, we encountered a completely totalled Hyundai Verna (previous-gen) on the other side. While traffic moved slowly in a counter-flow, the sight of the wrecked car was a disturbing eye opener for everyone. Hilly roads might look great from a distance but won’t spare you if you take them for granted.

Wishing for a speedy recovery for the unfortunate passenger(s), we marched on to enter the Himalayas. Roadworks were on and hence we couldn’t really enjoy the first sight of natural skyscrapers. After about three hours of weekend traffic we finally arrived at our first scheduled stop for some snacks and beverages. The lip-smacking ‘pakode’ coupled with a cup of tea and a scenic view is how Barog welcomed us.

After an hour’s stop, I took the wheel and we were again on road to rise higher in altitude. Bio breaks were in order soon as we were all told to keep ourselves hydrated to tackle the tumbling oxygen levels. 

Something that I and my co-driver agreed upon was that the Scorpio felt a bit too smug. As if the 5,000 feet uphill climb was just too easy for it. No problem. We’ll see how it fares towards our lunch halt in Chharabra, past the crowded city of Shimla.

And you know what, the Scorpio barely broke a sweat. There was always enough torque to get it going and although the steering felt devoid of any real feedback, its direct nature kept things at bay. The lunch at the Wildflower Hall was just as delicious as the place itself was beautiful. The picturesque property gets covered in snow during winters and, at times, also becomes inaccessible. It is must visit place if you are anywhere near it.

The lead, Hari Singh, literally had to push everyone out of the place to ensure a timely arrival in Narkanda later that day. He, by the way, is one of the lucky ones who own a Mahindra Legend. The ‘Legend’ tag is quite apt to what Hari Singh is to the Indian rally scene. We learnt that he is a five-time national rally champion and Asia zone championship winner. He has been relentlessly working to popularise the rally culture in India. In short, we were being led by a legend in a Legend.

The last fifty or so kilometres towards our overnight halt in Narkanda were dealt with ease, and we had much time to spare for a steep drive up to the Hatu peak, which stands at 11,152 feet. That’s 10,000 feet above Chandigarh! The place is home to the Hatu ‘Mata’ temple which, according to local belief, is the temple of ‘Mandodari’, the better half of ‘Ravana’. The view from this height was breathtakingly gorgeous.

Then came the moment when most of us started to feel a bit dreary. The convoy drove down approximately 3,000 feet towards the Tethys Ski Resort where, after a roundup from the support team and a brief for the next day, we finally crashed to grab the much-needed Zzzs by 10 pm.

Part 2: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 2: Neat Narkanda To Serene Sangla

Part 3: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 3: Serene Sangla To Nippy Nako

Part 4: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 4: Nippy Nako To Killer Kaza

Part 5: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 5: Spiti Valley Explored

Part 6: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 6: Killer Kaza To Majestic Manali

Part 7: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 7: A Day In Manali And Then Back To Chandigarh