We arrived at Manali around noon and headed off to procure our permits, without which you are not allowed to cross Rohtang La (“La” means pass), the first pass on our route and right after Manali. As we completed the formalities, a heavy downpour started, and we crawled through less than three kilometres within Manali in over three hours! Our permits were valid only for the next day so we stayed at a small hotel in a town called Kothi, just outside Manali.
Plans, like records, seemingly are meant to be broken, and the continuing downpour washed away all early-start plans. When the rain subsided, we set off and made our way up the twisty roads. We soon encountered our first landslide, and were part of a long queue of vehicles. After a long wait, just about enough space was cleared for one vehicle to pass through at a time, and some deft manoeuvring (and clutch-burning) took us through.
