Day 3: TOW Rohtang

Day 3: 20th September
The day started with a visit to the river side. But we could not find a way to the bank. We just stood there in the hotel and enjoyed the view. With a tall mountain on the other side of river and the early morning chirping, the surroundings was absolutely breathtaking. As the day wore on, the view would only get better.
So finally on the third day we woke up early and got ready on time. We left the hotel at around 6:30 in the morning. Manali was around 100 km from Mandi. On the way to Manali, with tall mountains on either side of road and a river flowing along the road with sparse hilly population, the land truly seemed heavenly. There were numerous waterfalls on the hill which made the whole scenery even more beautiful. We saw first signs of snow on the way, with coniferous forests at the top of hills.
We reached Manali at 10 am and had paratha for breakfast. We also did buy some winter clothing(read gloves, caps). The plan was always to leave Manali early in the morning because we had heard of the legendary traffic jams on the way to Rohtang pass. But considering that initial plan was completely thrown out of gear and we had reached Manali almost at noon, there was every chance we would get stuck at the traffic jam. We started the ascent at noon. Manali is at 6500 ft and rohtang Pass is at 13000 ft so it was a very steep ascent and with road distance of around 50 kms but the aerial distance is less than 15 kms away. On the way as there was heavy army traffic, we got stuck for around 45 mins and with traffic moving ever so slowly, we took almost 3:30 hours to reach rohtang. With clouds almost at our height and sun shining brightly with snow all around the view was amazing. The place where we had parked was quite far away from the place where we could find snow.
Before starting on expedition to explore rohtang pass, we had to have lunch. It was already late and everyone was very hungry. Each one of us ate 2 Maggis and lots of other junk food and started towards the pass.
Rohtang pass connects the kullu valley of manali with the lahaul and spiti valleys.
We had to climb a small mountain to reach snow. But to go into snow we did not have waterproof shoes. So we hired waterproof shoes. Initially we were skeptic about hiring the water proof shoes, but on hindsight that was the best decision we made on that day. Though the climb up the mountain was not long, it was quite tiring because of altitude. The temperature was quite low but the sun was also very harsh. So it was a new experience.
While climbing up the hill we found snow here and there in the shade of the rocks. As we reached the hill top, we could almost reach the clouds. and with snow capped mountains on one side and sun shining from the other side, the view was stunning.
We had to go quite a distance from the top of hill for snow. There was also skiing available there. So we skied there for an hour. It was first time skiing for all of us. It was simply too good. Almost all of us fell down while skiing for the first time and by the time we finished it was almost getting dark.
As it got dark and road was mountainous, it was a huge risk. But there was no other option but to go to Keylong. So we started towards Keylong. We reached Keylong at around 9 o'clock. The hotel was a pleasant surprise. Though it was small, it was very comfortable and good. We had food at the same hotel.
As we had descended from rohtang, the temperature was higher than rohtang but still cold.
This day was the real start of the trip. For the past 2 days, we were only traveling but no real sightseeing. But this day Rohtang pass was simply amazing and adventurous. For me this was one of the best days of the trip, though the fun started only in the afternoon at Rohtang pass. The skiing coupled with the amazing weather of cold and harsh sun made me a big fan of rohtang pass. The only complaint was we should have got more time to spend at rohtang pass. We had only stayed there for 2:30 hours