Moving south from Ladakh a 16 hour minibus ride took us from Leh and Manali. Though it's a national highway following a crucial ancient trade route, the road is seriously rough going and quite precarious. Seemingly endless switchbacks took us over three massive passes--Taglangla sports the world's second highest road at 5,330 meters (over 17,000 ft), and Rohtang (which literally means "pile of corpses") is one of the deadliest in the Himalayas.
The journey was long, cold and at times nerve-wracking but though and through extraordinarily beautiful.
First Light
Boarder crossing check point entering Himachal Pradesh, at 5:30 AM a man in the tent checked our passports.
Tea Stop
The red tent is an outhouse with a premo view!
Our no-frills minibus caravan with bald tires, shot suspension, no seat belts and no heaters, plus the same driver does all 16 plus demanding hours--India at its finest.
Desolate tent camps sever the ancient route.
The scene changed dramatically as we made our way into Himachal Pradesh.
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