Adventures in a Little Nano

The dream of going to Sangla Valley had been haunting me the day I saw the pictures of the
beautiful valley in MHE Adventures website. It took almost a year to finalize the dates and go for
it. The problem was always the mode of transport and how many days to spare for the trip,
researched a lot and compared all possible options, public transport, motorbike, hiring a
chauffeur driven car, driving your own car everything proved one thing it requires a minimum of
16hrs to 18hrs of continuous drive from Delhi. Finally zeroed down to self drive or ride a motor
bike all the way up and back, but which vehicle to choose was the next question, as whichever
vehicle is chosen it has to be exciting and adventurous and then came the idea of hiring a Nano
from Carzonerent Myles self drive division they are renting out the self drive vehicle at just Rs.
2700/- a week. Cool right? Yeah this is something I got to do, definitely will get an opportunity to
test the endurance of this tiny car with 624cc engine, in real time. Me and Ponni finalized our trip
and got our leaves sanctioned; hearing about the trip Ben (our British Intern) also got interested
and decided to join us. So it was three of us starting from Delhi on 21 April 2015 after the office
hours.
We started by around 2130hrs from Delhi with first stop at Murthal for dinner and swapped the
driving to Ben. We took Saha road and avoided Ambala, Zirakpur and Chandigarh reached
Himachal Pradesh border by around 3 am. After a tea break on the way we decided to rest,
parked the car in a safe place and slept till 6am got our self freshen up from a petrol bunk in
Solan.
Reached Shimla by 8am and Ponni started getting sick. We parked our car in an authorized
parking space and walked towards Mall Road, had our breakfast from Wake n Bake (one of the
best restaurants in Shimla specialized in European dishes). Explored Shimla and headed to
Narkanda by 1130hrs, now the challenge was reaching Agyaat Vaas hidden in the pine forest at
an altitude of 3100m. The road leading towards is a narrow one with just enough space for a car
to drive through, making it scarier with steep climbs and deep drops on the edges. The scary
road was almost a mud track due to the recent snowing and the top reaches are still covered by
melting snow. The Nano was brave enough to climb up this treacherous road with no hitch or
glitch. Of course the first and second gear climb was slow but Nano made it steadily till the top.
The warm and hospitable staff of Agyaat Vaas was ready to receive us in the entrance and
walked us through the snow path to the hidden haven. After having delicious lunch its time for a
trek to beautiful Bhim meadows, the trek was through the pine forests and with some
breathtaking views in between. The snow clad mountains playing hide and seek throughout the
trek. We spend around 1hr on the meadows clicking photos and admiring the nature. The return
trek was through Hatu peak, the highest peak in the area at an altitude of 3400m. We could
easily see the Kinner Kailash and other prominent peaks ruling over the horizon. On reaching
the camp it was about to get dark and we were served with tea. Ponni got totally sick with all the
sleeplessness, motion sickness, altitude effect and the easy trek (very difficult as per Ponni). We
had an early dinner and decided to sleep.
After breakfast we started our drive to Sangla by around 0930hrs. Never knew this is going to
be a day of ultimate adventure and fun. 10km from Narkanda, I took the steering wheel from
Ben just to realize in the next turn that the brakes are spongy and the car is not stopping. We
slowed the car and stopped it using hand brakes. After pumping for few minutes we got better
improvement in the brakes. Then we drove very slowly keeping in mind that we don't have full
braking. This was the first problem with car after a long 450kms of hill and plain drive. We both
got little nervous and worried as Ponni is already laying with no energy to even wake up and sit
straight, and now the brakes have also taken its support away from us. We stopped at the first

workshop and gave the car for test drive to the mechanic, after drive he told there are no brakes
and its not safe to drive ahead with these brakes. It was revealed that brake fluids were full and
so to diagnose the issue they may need at least an hour and a half and will have to remove all
the tires. Ben and me was not happy with the idea so we decided to go to the next city slowly
and repair the car there, in the mean time the mechanic suggested that this condition may also
be due to dust and mud, so mounted the car in the service ramp and gave a good wash under
the car. Surprisingly he was right, brakes worked perfectly after that.
Next worry was Ponni's health which had almost gone worst and we even thought of returning
back, but she sternly refused and advised us to take her to a doctor and then we can take call.
We found a clinic in Rampur and the doctor diagnosed her to be completely dehydrated and
prescribed to give two IV fluids and an injection to stop her vomiting temptation. This means
again a two and half hours of delay. We informed Mr. Pradeep, Kinner Camps owner about the
situation, he told us to be relaxed and come anytime. That gave us a good positive energy to
drive again. After a good two and a half hours we started our drive with fair warnings from the
doctor and the people around that the roads are treacherous for a Nano to drive through. But all
these were boosting our excitement to test it.
Two more hours of drive on the valleys of river Sutlej, we reached the place where there is no
road at all its almost a mud track with lots of loose rocks, water and slush. But Nano was
cruising smoothly through the bumpy mud track. Fun & excitement growing and we hit the
board saying Sangla 28 kms. Ben we are almost there, just 28 km more" I screamed. "Alright
its time for a driver swap last leg is mine" Ben commented. We swapped right there and one
more kilometer the road closed. A cop stopped us at Tapri and asked our destination, he told we
have to take this diversion and will hit the same road after 31kms. He showed us a narrow mud
track just as wide as our Nano winding upwards to a mountain. We were filled with both
excitement and desperation as it was getting dark and the diversion itself is 31kms drive through
some extremely dangerous mud tracks. We continued the drive just to find that the road is more
scary and dangerous than we imagined. One side of the road is sheer vertical drop of more than
200m and the other side rock face of more than 50m. To make the drive worse the traffic was
too high as this was the diversion from the major Shimla - Poo highway. Trucks, Bus, cars and
all sorts of vehicles were on both side of the road. We got long delays of more than 40mins in
two places were landslides were being cleared. By around 7.45 pm we were again in highway.
We swapped driving again and in about 20mins of drive we were in Karcham, here we have to
take a diversion to Sangla from the highway. Karcham - Sangla - Chitkul road, we heard from
Mr. Pradeep that the roads got opened only by evening after a major rock fall, so he asked us to
be safe and careful. We were totally tired and starving but the positive spirit gave us energy for
the last 1hr drive to reach Sangla. We agian had a good bumpy drive though the narrow roads
but this time it was less scary as we had no idea how deep is the edges. 3km to Sangla we saw
couple of local cars and a bus parked on the road. A person stopped us told to park the car as
we can't go further. Apparently there was one more rockfall about 15mins back and have
blocked the road. Now this is totally not good, we got disappointed and confused on what to do.
The natives where planning walk across leaving the car, but that was dangerous as scree
formed only a few minutes back. There is grave danger of falling rocks, we took Pradeep's
advice and he informed us that he is sending the vehicle to pick us and the natives there are his
relatives and are experts about the terrain and will help us cross the scree. We took all our bags
out, lighted the torches, wore the fleece jackets along with wind cheaters and started our walk
carefully keeping a watch out for rolling or falling rocks. It took us 15mis to reach the other side
and in another 10mins help arrived. We drove to Kinner camps, 6km ahead of Sangla in the
village of Batseri. We got an unexpected warm welcome, followed by a delicious dinner in the

camp. The tents were so cozy and warm. We were given hot water bottles also for additional
warmth if required. Ponni took it as granted and used all three hot water bottles for her.
Morning we woke up around 6am, came out of the tent and stood stuck by the awesome jaw
dropping scenery in front. The beauty we saw in front of us was beyond what I can explain here
in words. It was like you travelled all this long to reach heaven, as reaching heaven is not an
easy way reaching Sangla valley was not an easy drive but the reward you get after reaching is
worth that hard drive. After the morning tea we walked across the Baspa River through a
beautiful old wooden bridge and reached a temple in Batseri Village. Spend around 2hrs just
clicking photos and enjoying the beauty of the place. Came back to camp and had a refreshing
breakfast sitting in the dining hall overlooking the beautiful valley. After breakfast it was time for
us to drive to Chitkul Village (last village in the Indo Tibetan Border). Pradeep offered us his car
and we drove to Chitkul 24Km from Kinner Camps. The complete drive is captivated by
breathtaking sceneries of high white snow peaks and beautiful green valleys of pine forest. You
can see the Baspa River flowing deep down the valley all through the drive. Chitkul is a small
village with nearly 500 to 600 inhabitants. The village is dotted with many home stays and
hotels, which is definitely ruining its old charm and beauty. Once you are in the village which is
at an altitude 3450m, you get a panoramic view of the surrounding valleys and the mountains.
After spending a couple of hours strolling around through the narrow streets, interacting with the
natives and clicking photos we reached camp for a late lunch. While having the lunch, wind
picked up and the rain clouds started gathering. Rain followed soon after and we got the
wonderful opportunity to enjoy the chilling rain with strong winds in the sangla valley. Its really
beautiful to see the valley completely drenched after a good rain; you see everything to be
refreshed including yourself. We decided to spend the rest of the time enjoying the lovely
weather after rain. We planned to go for a trek to the glacier on the opposite side of the valley
in the morning and kick back to Delhi early afternoon.
Early morning we woke up and started or gradual trek to the glacier through the fairy tale kind of
Batseri village and finding our way towards the glacier through the banks of the water streams
flowing down. After about an hour of trek we finally reached or destination, wow! Its glacier,
usually this glacier disappears by summer but fresh dissappearing glaciers made us really think
about the effects of global warming on the huge glaciers around the world. We spend some
good time there and started our walk back to the camp. Reaching the camp we found that the
roads are again blocked due to landslides and rock falls in the previous day rain. While packing
our bags and waiting for the road to open we realized that the car keys are missing. It was like
all hell broke loose on to the head, started a massive search for the keys the camp staff also
joined to search but all in vain. I locked the car and it was me responsible for the keys, I did
everything to remember about the keys but all I could get was nothing. Stupid me how can I be
so irresponsible, I cursed myself. Lots of ideas came into discussion all three of us sitting in the
dining hall leaning and supporting our heads with hand. Then as a last resort called up the
Carzonerent and asked for the advice, they told me to tow the car and take it to the nearest Tata
service centre which was a near impossible solution as we were in a landslide prone remote
village in the mountainous region of Indo - Tibetan border. The nearest Tata service centre
would be somewhere more than 200km away, I cleared told them thats not a feasible solution
and asked for the duplicate key. Fortunately they had a duplicate key which is in their garage
near airport. Now the run against the time started, a person have to go from Connaught Place to
airport and then back to Kashmere Gate bus station before the departure of only bus to
Reckong Peo departing at 2010hrs that is in 3hrs. As expected they couldnt reach on time and
bus left without the key, I got totally devastated and tensed dont know what to do, suddenly an
idea clicked in my mind that it can be sent to Shimla in an Delhi - Volvo bus and then can be
interchanged to any connecting bus towards Sangla or Reckong Peo. Called them up got it
organized. We received the key next day evening 1800hrs from Karcham. Even though it felt

bad when we lost the keys, but it was a blessing in disguise as we got one more full day to
explore Sangla and be in the cradle of nature. We hired a taxi to take us to Karcham and back
to collect the key. On the way back from Karcham we drove Nano to camp thus completing the
adventure and proving Nano to be good enough to travel in this mountainous terrain.
Monday morning 0500hrs we started our drive back to Delhi, took an overnight stop in Shimla
and reached back in Delhi by 1600hrs.
And that ends yet another beautiful, adventurous and excitement filled trip, with lots of good
memories and few good lessons learned.
--------------------------------------