Himalayan Drive's - challenging run to Umling La at 19,300 ft altitude

The mountain pass in Ladakh reminds the Himalayan Rally of the 80s

The 3rd edition in the series of The Himalayan Drive turned out to be the longest and most challenging for 9 days of exciting adventure and fun. The last two editions were to celebrate and commemorate The Himalayan Rally of the 80s and its founder Nazir Hoosein.

It was a deja vu experience for the ex-Himalayan Rally drivers and rally bugs who enjoyed the route of 1981 and 1982 events and they celebrated the 40th Anniversary of a great event. An outstanding motoring adventure was on the cards this time in Ladakh, the land of high passes, and the attempt to go to Umling La, the highest motorable road in the world, near Hanle and Demchok villages on the Line-of-Control (LoC) border.

The flag-off by Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreyu was also witnessed by Peter Hiscocks and Colin Clarkson, who came down from UK, specially to drive a rally prepared ex-Himalayan Rally 118NE.

The first day's run was to Jammu, a 367-km run in a time of 7 hours. Fine weather and a nice highway route, except for the last 50km, due to ongoing road work tested the patience of the drivers.

Next day's run was a long 337 km in the mountains with a driving time of 9 hours including a lunch stop at Srinagar, necessitated a very early morning start at 6.30 am. The road was beautiful but for the usual traffic at Banihal pass due to tunnelling work. The drivers made it in good time for the exceptional lunch stop on the Dal Lake. After a sumptuous meal, it was a wonderful drive around Dal Lake, and after photo shoots, some adventurous souls even visited the Shankar Acharya Temple.

This route through Jammu and Sonamarg was not on the original route but when the floods took place at Manali with landslides and road closures, this was the only low-risk option left to take, the longer route into Leh.