Travelogue kwid

Travelogue

Renault Kwid AMT to Khardung La

In India, if you ever want to enjoy a four-wheeled adventure of a lifetime, then Ladakh is the place to go — specifically Khardung La. So that’s where we headed, driving the Renault Kwid AMT, and here’s an account of our journey Story: Harket Suchde

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Photography: Saurabh Botre

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Travelogue

O

n a humid and sweltering morning I stand smack outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the heart of New Delhi, with passers-by giving me strange looks before their eyes flicker to and pause at the car that stands but a few feet away from me. There’s no denying that the Renault Kwid is an eye-catcher, an attribute that is only amplified when there’s a photographer with his camera and all his attention focused on it. After a brisk nod of the head from Saurabh to signify that he is done with his shots, we hop in, twist the AMT dial to Drive, and drive off, the air-con mercifully blessing us with a waft of cool air. The in-car GPS (yeah, the Kwid has a touchscreen with Media NAV), is set to Manali, our destination for the day. With the music blaring (it has USB, Bluetooth, and Aux-in too), and the car shifting gears automatically, I quickly get into the groove behind the wheel and start to cover distance. The modern and innovating digital instrument cluster quickly climbs to bold numbers.

Renault Kwid AMT to Khardung La

Soon enough, the crowded city streets of New Delhi gave way to the NH 44 — the longest highway in India in terms of total distance covered. It’s a wide six-laner that is thankfully bereft of too much traffic, allowing me to exploit the Kwid’s dexterity and its 1.0-litre threecylinder mill to flex its muscles. As consistent triple-digit speeds see us cross Panipat, Kurukshetra and Ambala in quick succession, I hit the Chandigarh bypass and dispatch it with similar ease, only at a slightly slower pace due to the narrowing roads and increasing traffic on this bit. Soon enough, though, the Chandigarh bypass was behind us, and after driving over steel-structured bridges that forded over tributaries of the deep blue Sutlej River, we arrived at the absolute foothills of the Himalayas at Swarghat. From there it was a long drive almost constantly uphill, stuck behind slow trucks. By the time Manali’s twinkling lights shone through the Kwid’s windscreen, we were well into the night. We gave in to the temptation of deep slumber almost as soon as we arrived at our hotel room.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan marks the beginning of this road trip

Bridge over the River Beas

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Travelogue

Renault Kwid AMT to Khardung La The following morning, we were up at the crack of dawn, the Gulaba check post, the entryway into Rohtang Pass, being our destination. Before that, however, we decided to make a detour into Vashisht and grab a quick but wholesome breakfast. The view from the restaurant overlooking the valley and peaks was mesmerising. After breakfast it was time to fulfil bureaucratic requirements at the check post. I had gone online the previous day and filled in the necessary form and paid the Rs 50 required for the permit to go past the check post and, armed with a printout, I was waved through to the other side.

We were well and truly in the mountains now: treecovered, snow-capped, mesmerising, tantalising, breathtaking, titanic mountains. Tearing my eyes away from the landscape and gluing them on to the roads was becoming increasingly difficult now, but you’ve got do it, so I forced myself to wrench my eyes away from the skyline to focus on the path ahead. A good idea, too, because from Gulaba there was a winding road leading straight through the clouds and up above them. The Kwid’s fog-lamps helped with visibility in the misty (Left) A spot of brekkie at Zingzingbar Driving above the clouds at Rohtang

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Travelogue bits, and the car’s Outback Bronze shade shimmered in the sunlight as we broke through the cloud cover — driving above the fluffy white balls of vapour, jammin’ to some tunes and enjoying the clean, fresh, and invigorating mountain air.

Keylong and Jispa flew past, and we arrived at Zingzingbar, where we had a delectable breakfast of momos and omelettes before checking in at the check post and driving on. Making easy work of the water crossings and mud patches just after Zingzingbar, thanks to its impressive 180 millimetres of ground clearance, and showing impressive cornering stability around the curvaceous tarmac that followed, the Kwid just kept on ticking, and the miles just kept on flying by.

The roads got decidedly worse after crossing Baralacha La, all the way till Sarchu, our rest stop for the night. The thing about Sarchu is that you have to live in tents, although for all you non-trekkers out there, it’s not as bad as it sounds. For you can opt for a Swiss tent which is

Renault Kwid AMT to Khardung La super-insulating, and coupled with the thick bed-sheets and blankets campsites typically offer means you’re nice and cosy, even when night arrives and temperatures plummet. In fact, our tent even had a western-style bog with running water (only in the daytime, though). If you are layered up enough and can stand the cold, step outside that cosy tent once the sun has set and look up into the sky. The heavens appear draped in a jewelstudded robe of velvet, glowing in the bask of the everlasting light. So many stars litter the sky, more than you will have ever laid your gaze upon. With an imprint of that spectacular night sky emblazoned on to my cranium, I left Sarchu in my rear-view mirror the following morning.

The road led through the thoroughly enjoyable Gata Loops and two more passes in Nakee La and Lachung La, where the Kwid’s competent suspension shone through once again, before I arrived at Pang and then the larger-than-life More Plains. The More Plains are

absolutely fascinating, because the sheer size and expansiveness of this 40-km stretch flanked by mountain ranges will mess with your head and confuse your sense of proportions. That is until you focus on a flock of sheep grazing in the plains about halfway between the road and the mountains, looking like a bunch of cotton candy littering the expanse, then you realise how truly massive those mountains are.

From More Plains, we crossed Debring, where we stopped for another quick bite, and took on the second highest motorable pass: Taglang La. Here I need to mention the phenomenal work that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) does to keep these roads serviceable and open. Every year the rain and landslides destroy the roads, and every year the BRO works hard to get them back to mint condition again. Taglang La is a shining example of just how hard they work, because at least 95 per cent of the tarmac was immaculate and, coupled with the gorgeous vistas on offer, meant that the drive was something out of a dream.

Renault Kwid AMT

Price: Rs 3.79 lakh (ex-showroom) Engine: 999 cc, DOHC, petrol Max power: 68 PS at 5,500 RPM Max torque: 91 Nm at 4,250 RPM Transmission: Five-speed, automated manual transmission (AMT)

The historic Thikey Monastery just outside Leh

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Travelogue

Renault Kwid AMT to Khardung La After Taglang La comes the Leh Valley. You drive past charming little towns with the road running along the Indus River, and then suddenly it all just opens up and the mighty Sutlej is roaring alongside you. But a scant 20-odd km before Leh is the resplendent Thiksey Monastery. The 12-storey complex is a treasure-trove of Buddhist iconography, and its history can be traced back to as early as the 15th century. The Shey Palace, former summertime abode of the Kings of Ladakh. The crumbling edifice, built in 1655, is captivating none the less, and just down the road from Thiksey. Historic tour done, we proceeded to Leh, and absolutely crashed on reaching our hotel.

Another early morning dawned, and we should have been quite fed up with waking up before 5.00 am by now, but we weren’t because there was just so much anticipation for what lay ahead on the day. That feeling of anticipation was at its zenith on this particular day, because what lay ahead of us was the most intimidating and electrifying part of this sojourn — the climb up to the highest motorable road in the world. Before we scaled the mighty Khardung La, though, there was more paperwork to take care of. You need an inner-line permit, which can be obtained from the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Leh, and the window to obtain these permits is open only

from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. Having grabbed our permit by 11.00 am, we headed straight out and up. Till we reached the South Pullu check post about halfway up, it was tar roads all the way. A little after the check post, though, the roads gave way to broken, mud-ridden paths that test the driver’s skill and the car’s mettle. Needless to say, the Kwid came out trumps again. That outstanding (literally) ground clearance and sweet, sweet suspension setup meant where even bigger SUVs got stuck, the Kwid just sailed through. At last, a blanket of snow and a small yellow plinth came into view, indicating our arrival at the top of the world. Khardung La is a pretty popular pass, considering it leads on to Nubra Valley and beyond. But it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be, and we got to bask in the glory of reaching up there in relative peace.

When you’re up in the mountains, it almost feels like the elements are in battle with each other. The rain and snow are wreaking havoc, the bitter wind bites and gnaws at you, the glaring sun burns you to the crisp and the very contours of the earth keep shifting and changing and sliding all over the place. Set to the backdrop of all this chaos, the absolute charm and allure of the surroundings are made that much more spectacular. It’s almost as if you have to earn your right to witness the ethereal beauty of the Himalayas after all the trials and

The Shey Palace was the summer retreat of Ladakh monarchy (Bottom) This ornate gate welcomes you to Leh

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Travelogue

Renault Kwid AMT to Khardung La tribulations of the roads leading up there. doing new delhi to Khardung la is so much easier in a strapping 4x4 suV with diff locks and a snorkel, but to do it in a hatchback bred for the city is a whole different ball game. the fact that the Kwid with its one-litre engine and amt gearbox managed it effortlessly, and did it with style, too, is a testament to the quality of the car — colour me impressed. the Kwid was as steady as a rock, and absorbed every one of those sticky, rocky, wet, and wild bits this trip threw at it, and was unrelenting in the face of all adversity. i’ve been up into the mountains before, and i’m sure i’ll go again in the future, but this trip, this singular, ambitious, insane trip will be forever etched in my memory — the one where we took a capable city slicker to the highest road on the planet, and how.

That feeling of anticipation was at its zenith on this particular day, because what lay ahead of us was the most intimidating and electrifying part of this sojourn — the climb up to the highest motorable road in the world

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