Manali Leh road by foot? You must be wondering whether we are joking. No, we just finished Great Himalayan Running Festival and we were fortunate to experience Himalayas from the close quarters. The 2019 edition is from 15-23 June. Check details here http://www.thehellrace.com/the-high-5s/
We did Manali Leh road trip way back in 2010. The roads were bad and at many places non-existent. When we read about GHRF we jumped at the opportunity of running on this road. The concept was unique and we loved it. We opted for 14 KMs. This was the first edition and it was a mind-blowing experience. The support from the organisers was great which enhanced our tete a tete with Himalayas. We shall be writing more about this later in detail.
In the meantime, we will leave you with some lovely pictures of Manali Leh road captured during the run.
Please click on the pictures to see them in original size.
We stayed in Marhi for acclimatisation as part of the run. The Day 1 of the run was started few kilometres before Rohtang Pass. This is the panoramic view of mountains from Marhi.
A stupa with mountains of Pir Panjal ranges of Himalayas at Rohtang Pass. This year there was no snow on the pass as early as mid June.
The lovely Chandra valley on the way to Jispa, our first night halt
Deepak Tal. First of the two pristine lakes we encountered on this road. Just before our start point on second day at Zing Zing Bar.
Climbing up to start point at Zing Zing Bar on Day 2. The landscape is spectacular.
Taking a break @ lovely Suraj Tal on the way to Barlacha La….
Crossing Barlacha La at 15,500 feet. There wasn’t much snow but nevertheless spectacular!
@ Favourite camping grounds at Sarchu on Day 2
The Landscape at Sarchu!!
Spectacular views between Sarchu and Pang on Day 3. The iconic mud arch.
Day 4 at beautiful Moreh Plains
The zig zag roads at Tanglang La
The colourful mountains on the way to Leh after Rumtse
This was something we never imagined we would do. It was a test for physical and mental endurance. It was a fantastic experience of running/walking amidst Himalayas! We shall be back with details soon. For more on the event, you can check details on the website of GHRF given above.
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