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Bangalore to Spiti in my Mahindra Scorpio-N: An epic 6000 km road trip

11th August 2024, 11:11 by Ananth Iyer

Scorpio-N performed flawlessly without any trouble, overall DEF consumption was around 10L for 6,300kms and average fuel efficiency stands at 14.2kmpl, with highest being 18 amd lowest at 10.4.

BHPian Dragonhawk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

"A photo or a video and few words cannot describe it, only your eyes can, its Spiti!!!"

Wandering through the mystical peaks of Spiti aka 'the Middle Land', that is the land connecting the Buddhist lands of Tibet and Leh, where ancient monasteries and mummified remains, historic fortresses and ancient fossils, blend with a tapestry of timeless legends and untold secrets. Even though you've studied maps and gone through a ton of photographs online, nothing quite prepares you for the breathtaking moment when you cross the rocky Malang Nala and arrive at the pristine, unexplored region of Spiti.

We were group of five, embarked on this epic adventure, which included my fellow BHPian emvi and three of my close pals. Our journey intended to reveal the exploring gems of Spiti Valley, trying out local cuisines and also try to peep into local way of life. Our journey kicked off with my try ScorpioN and two wheels included couple of Dominor 400s. While the bikers began their journey on Day 0 from Bangalore, myself and emvi started from our hometown Puttur(Karnataka) towards Bangalore to pick my friend in Bangalore and also luggage from biker pals.

Here is how our plan unfolded.

Preparation

Day 1: Bangalore - Nagpur
Day 2: Nagpur - Agra
Day 3: Agra - Chail
Day 4: Chail - Rampur Bushahar
Day 5: Rampur - Chitkul
Day 6: Chitful - Kalpa
Day 7: Kalpa - Gue - Tabo
Day 8: Tabo - Dhankar - Kaza
Day 9: Kaza - Langza - Hikkim - Komic - Kaza
Day 10: Kaza - Chandrataal
Day 11: Chandrataal - Manali

Preparation:

My car has been regularly serviced at Karnataka Agencies, Mangalore from Day 1, even though I bought my car from Anant Cars, Bangalore. I am not a fan of changing SVCs just because one isn`t happy with services offered. I always tried to build some rapport with SA, SM and CRM which has helped a lot in the past and same thing had helped with these folks as well. My SA Mr. Ashwin is quite knowledgeable and also eager to help and get work done even if it sounds pretty minor. While giving 20000kms, I had briefed him about the upcoming trip and he suggested to get some of the vital components retorqued and also I had asked for below spares to be kept.

DEF 6liters
Wheel hub caps
Wheel lug nuts as a replacement for slipping nuts
Air Filter
3rd Seat to be removed to accommodate luggage
Front windshield wipers

Apart from the above, below items were added to the list of items to be carried.

Tow rope
Jumper Cable
Puncture repair kit
Tyre inflator

The items to carry as a backup, but god had different plans ie not let us use any of these.

One of the stock tyre had a severe puncture, thanks to a thick 3-inch metal piece. The only way to fix this was with a hot patch, but unfortunately, the patched area started leaking. Adding to the problem, the stock Bridgestone tires had already started developing cracks. Given the situation, I was in no mood to take chances with these tires.

I tried to get hold of all-terrain (AT) tires in both Mangalore and my location, but nobody had anything in stock, even if it was an upsize. Those who did had, were quoting exorbitant prices.

Finally, during my visit to Sri Maruti Tyres in Kalasipalya, I managed to get latest batch of Maxxis Bravo AT 771 tires. I asked them to ship them to my place, and to my surprise, they did so within the next hour. I received them the next morning.

These tires turned out to be an excellent choice. After driving 7,000 kilometers on them, I can safely say they are far better than the stock Bridgestone, which in my opinion, are some of the worst tires.

Big Daddy with new shoes and all set for the adventure.

Apart from this, I tend to keep my car as stock as possible. Only thing which I added extra is strengthening of underbody. I scouted the market for good underbody protection and checked out offerings from Mahindra or other third party 4x4 kit makers and finally went with Prad4x4 for full underbody guard along with DEF tank guard.

Apart from taking care of our cars and bikes, long journey means, our body also needs some attention. A precautionary visit to family doctor to get my vitals checked and also got prescription for Diamox for AMS if required. Although the way we planned our itinerary was to mitigate AMS by taking it slow in the beginning and gradually gaining altitude and getting acclimatized. This careful planning is one of specific reason why we opted for Shimla side rather than taking Manali route.

Big daddy with third row removed, all decked up.

Route planning was done by us and also we took help of dear friend H V Kumar for finalizing it. All hotel bookings except for Chandrataal were managed by his CHD volunteers based on the progress we make on a particular day and none were prebooked. A day prior to our start, HVK ROUTO app was loaded with maps. Being offline maps, it did come handy in some sections where there was poor network coverage.

Day1:

Date: July 13th 2024
Destination: Nagpur from Bangalore
Total D2D: 1107kms
Travel Time: 18hrs 30mins including breaks.
Route: Bangalore-Nagpur

We started from KR Puram around 3.30am expecting a smooth sail. However, due to metro construction in ORR, we were delayed by 20mins. Once we exited ORR at Hebbal, we made a steady progress. Unlike highways in Karnataka and Tamilnadu, highways in Andra and Telangana lack good restaurants. Given our timings, the only good option ie Paakashaala at Ananthpur was closed and finally could find some roadside eatery after Gooty which was decent enough. We entered Nehru ORR around 12 and post exiting, we stopped for lunch at Medchal. After lunch we hit the road again, made a good progress, road conditions was pretty good till Adilabad and once you enter MH, truck traffic, heavy rain and bad road considerably slowed us down. We stopped for early dinner at Haldiram's in Jamb around 7. Food was excellent and rest room were hygienic. After an hour break, we finally made it to our hotel at Nagpur around 9.

Proper planning, some luck and seeking some blessings of almighty.