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Journey of a Lifetime: Kanyakumari to Siachen in a Mahindra Alturas G4

10th September 2024, 16:02 by Kanad Kalasur

Here I was, after 12 days of drive from the Southern most point in Indian Peninsula, at the northern most point. It was a different feeling altogether.

BHPian srinidhibs recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I had a wish from a long time. To drive across the length and breadth of India. With other priorities taking precedence, it was put into back burner.

However, this wish of mine came to the fore. My company laid me off as part of organization restructuring and this was a blessing in disguise for my plans. After a lot of dilly-dallying, finally i decided to fulfill my wish partially. I decided to drive from the southern most motorable point in the Indian peninsula to the northern most.

The plan was to drive from Kanyakumari - Siachen glacier base point. Yes. You heard it right. Kanyakumari - Siachen Base point.

I did some homework but could not fix the plan completely. I was busy with few spiritual activities and did not have enough time to prepare. Finally, the day arrived. I decided started the journey from Mysore. Took the blessings of Swamy Ramanujar the previous day at Melukote and decided to start the journey from Mysore from June 10th. The folks who are going to join me was still unclear.

My uncle's Mahindra Alturus G4 2021 was going to be my "horse"(Beast) to conquer the Siachen Base point. Though the car was not owned by me, I had used it as much as any other person who drove it.

I got the vehicle serviced at the India Garage, Mysore. The rear brake pads were replaced and everything was ready by 6pm. The service centre head Vijaykanth gave me the confidence about my Beast since it was my first long adventure.

The First Leg : June 10 - June 12 (Mysore - Kanyakumari - Bengaluru)

Day 1 : 6km (Mysore)

It was me, the beast(Alturus G4), my mother and cousin - Ramanujam who accompanied me for the first leg.
The first day ended with a drive of 6km to Ramanujam's house in Mysore.

Day 2 : 620km (Mysore - Kanyakumari)

We departed early morning the next day hit the roads at around 5am. We travelled along the the Mysore - Chamarajanagar - Sathi highway - NH150A/NH948. The drive through the Sathyamangalam/Dimbam Ghat section(27 hairpin bends) in the midst of the forest was exciting.

As we exited the NH, it was a 2 lane road until we entered the NH44 at Aravakuruchi. Thanks to Google, which guided us through the shorter narrow roads instead of broader roads. We took a short break at Aravakuruchi for brunch and headed straight to Kanyakumari. NH44 is the longest highway stretch connecting Srinagar with Kanyakumari. A series of giant size windmills are a common sight post Tirunelveli in the highway. The plan was to reach Kanyakumari by sunset but believe me, the Beast took us to Kanyakumari 3 hours ahead. Me and Ramanujam switched the driving seats to make sure each of us got decent rest.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial was great as ever and we headed to the sunset point to be greeted with clouds. We returned back to Kanyakumari, visited the Statue of Humanity(Swamy Ramanujar) at the Vivekananda University and wound up for the day.

Day 3 : 660km (Kanyakumari - Bengaluru)

The plan for the day was to reach Bengaluru by evening. We started the day early around 7 am and visited Thirukkurungudi. We had a good darshan of Thirukkurungudi Nambi. It was a great pleasure to have Periyanambi Sridhar swamy accompany us till Karur.

The drive was great along the NH44 and everything went as per plan until we encountered a pile of vehicles near Dharmapuri. It killed close to an hour of our time and what was supposed to be an 8pm day end became 10pm. My mother exited the journey at Bengaluru and proceeded to Mysore next day.

Second Leg : June 13 - June 17 (Bengaluru - Vijayapura - Dhule - Kota - Delhi - Chandigarh)

Day 4 : 540 km (Bengaluru - Vijayapura)

The day was to be a relaxed day as we had planned to depart in the afternoon. I got PUC done for my Beast and had to change 2 tyres as they had already clocked 52000km. Me & Ramanujam started amidst the heavy rains, while the clock ticked 6 pm.

The destination was Vijayapura. We were not sure whether we would be able to reach. We sped across Tumkur, Chitradurga, Hospet through NH48/NH50 and reached Vijayapura at 1 am with a single dinner break near Chitradurga. We put up at the Vov Vijayapura Hotel. The staff were courteous enough to provide services at that hour. We had a nice sleep after the long drive.

Day 5 : 600 km (Vijayapura - Pandharpur - Dhule)

As planned, the next destination was Dhule. There was some confusion whether to have darshan of Lord Vittal at Pandharpur or head straight to Dhule. Then , we decided to go to Pandharpur. The roads were not too great till Pandharpur. We were behind the wheels at 9 and reached Pandharpur by 12 through NH52/SH41/NH561A. The temple was crowded and after 2 hours, we were blessed to touch the feet of Panduranga Vittal and get his blessings for the next phase. We drove for the next 7 hours along NH965C/NH52 with a short break to reach the Golden Leaf Resort, Dhule at around 11 pm.

As we travelled north from Bengaluru, the mercury too travelled north. From being comfortable at 30° C in Bengaluru , the heat started troubling us. It started hitting 38°C.

Day 6 : 600 km (Dhule - Ujjain - Kota)

We didn't waste much time in Dhule and planned to reach Kota. The route bypassed Indore and we reached Ujjain by 4 pm. Ujjain is a very historical city with references dating back to Dwapara Yuga. We visited the Kalidasa Sanskrit University but it was closed due to a public holiday. The famous Maha Kali temple is in Ujjain. The Vikramaditya Vedic clock is in Ujjain which historians say was the standard for determining the world time. Sandeepini ashram where Lord Krishna and Balarama got educated happens to be in Ujjain. We had the privilege to see all these and continued the journey and wound up the day at Kota.

As we passed each day, the time we reached the destination kept decreasing. Mission Kota attained at 10 pm. Not to forget mentioning that the temperature crossed 40°C for the first time.

Day 7 : 470 km (Kota - New Delhi)

We lazily started at 10 and we had 2 full days to reach Chandigarh. My Two cousins Anusha and Sripriya were to join us at Chandigarh on June 18th. We decided to drive that day to Delhi via the NH148N. After a drive of about 2 hours, we entered the BEST EXPRESSWAY I HAVE EVER BEEN - THE DELHI-MUMBAI EXPRESSWAY - NE4. The highway was operational bidirectional from Delhi - Sawai Madhopur. The Beast was as excited as myself & Ramanujam. It flew in the entire stretch and reached Delhi in no time. The drive was so amazing. The stretch was so empty that not a single vehicle was visible till the horizon. It is worth mentioning that after covering more than 2000 km, my beast did not even ask for "air" to be filled up. All it asked was its food - "Diesel".

As we started nearing the capital, the heat wave was intense in Delhi at 45°C. We stopped at a friends apartment in Greater Kailash and took a nap as we reached by 4 pm. Evening we visited the Lodhi Road Ram Temple. Got wonderful darshan of Lord Ram and the priest and headed back to Greater Kailash.

Day 8 : 300 km (New Delhi - Chandigarh)

The flight from Bengaluru was supposed to land at 11 pm in Chandigarh which meant we had all the day for a 6 hour journey. The day started slowly with Puja at the apartment at 11. I needed to change my Jio sim to e-sim and ventured out in a bike to the nearest Jio Store. My goodness.. I had never encountered such a heat in my lifetime. With the temperature soaring at 46°C, the bike ride felt like I was in a furnace for an hour.

The Beast was given a clean bath(wash) and he was ready to roar again. We took a short nap as we departed to Chandigarh at around 3:30pm. It was an off day in Delhi and traffic was not too much and we hit the highway pretty quickly. Now we were back to NH44 again. On the way to Chandigarh, we took a short detour to Kurukshetra. Had an opportunity to visit Brahmasarovar and quickly headed to Chandigarh without wasting much time. We halted at a service apartment in Chandigarh around 9pm and unpacked our bags and headed. The girls landed by that time and were super excited for the trip. We returned to the service apartment, had dinner and a good sleep.

Third Leg : June 19 - June 21 (Chandigarh - Leh)

Day 9 : 290 km (Chandigarh - Manali)

This was the day we were stepping into the Himalayas. Ramanujam had still not decided whether to continue for another day or head back to Delhi and fly to Bengaluru. Finally it was decided that he would head back to Delhi and from Chandigarh and fly back.

Me, Sripriya and Anusha commenced our journey and the destination was Manali along NH154. Around 9am we departed and our plan was to reach Manali by 4 pm and cover a few places in Manali that day. The mighty Himalayas welcomed us with its magnanimity and beauty. Due to heavy traffic nearing Manali, we finally reached only Manali by 7. We checked in to the Cascade Mountain Retreat and roamed around for an hour. They setup a campfire. We enjoyed it and were finished for the day.

Day 10 : 190km (Manali - Sarchu)

The biggest day was ahead of us. The drive in the most dangerous and tough Manali-Leh highway - NH3 was awaiting us. Meanwhile, the girls wanted to witness and experience snow which was plenty in Rohtang. Travelling around Rohtang pass would have jeopardized our further drive. The traffic to Rohtang Pass was too much as confirmed by the locals. I promised them that the they would experience snow at Baralacha La and we decided to skip the Rohtang Pass and halt at the tents in Sarchu. We jumped on to the car at around 8am and stopped over at Atal Tunnel. I had seen numerous videos, reels about Atal Tunnel and finally that day, I couldn't believe I was standing in entrance in my own car.

We crossed the tunnel and planned to ascend the highest pass of the drive at the earliest - Baralacha Pass(16040ft) as the weather was very fickle. Driving the hills and descending the valleys was a surreal experience. As we started nearing the pass, the temperature kept dipping. Believe me, every look at the mountains would resemble a desktop wall paper. As we started nearing Baralacha, the green Himalayas started to turn white. Surya Tal was a sight to watch as we zipped past it.

As the altitude increased, we started to feel the sickness. Baralacha conquered. Now we wanted to enjoy in the snow but it started snowing lightly and we didn't have the energy too. Finally we played around in snow for 15-20 mins, clicked some great pictures and rushed backed to the car.

We started the descent to Sarchu. This was the most horrible stretch in my entire journey. The roads were literally non existent. The traffic was pathetic and we were stuck at this high altitude for more than 2 hours. Many vehicles were not able to manouver the dirt and bumpy roads due to which the traffic had piled up. Probably not just the roads, the altitude and health issues makes Manali-Leh route very dangerous. My cousin Dr Haripriya had advised us to take Dimox before the high altitude trip but we were a bit casual. Add to that we didn't find any medical store post Manali(we didn't search specifically). The 2 hour jam in the midst of the dust and smoke made me and Sripriya throw up a few times and we caught up to the altitude sickness. Anusha was in a better position than us but even she was not completely alright. Finally as the vehicles started moving, with a difficult drive, we reached Sarchu.

Sarchu is around 11000 ft above sea level. It is the border between Himachal-Ladakh. There are no hotels or other decent facilities. We had booked a tent stay as these were the only ones available. The place is extremely windy and the terrible cold made it worse.

As we reached Sarchu, our heads were spinning and aching. We were vomiting once in a while and it was terribly cold. The next 8 hours was hell for all of us especially for me. We decided to rest for a few hours before dinner. Our bodies didn't cope up with altitude and the cold. We were not able to sleep/sit or move around. There was a small fire place and we warmed ourselves up but it was unbearable. At a point we felt that we would not make it to the next morning. Anusha was motivating us to the hilt but me and Sripriya were finding it very difficult.

The tent owner casually suggested us to keep sipping hot water and the we would get used to it. There was a team of fully prepared and equipped bikers who stay put in the camp. We took their help. They took the oximeter readings which showed around 75-80. Having used the oximeter during Covid, the readings seemed alarming to us but the ppl there were casual and consoled us that it is completely manageable and in case of emergency there was always an army hospital few kms away. We felt a little better but we kept throwing up every hour. Each of us were checking on the other once a while with the phrase - "ALL OK". At around 11pm, things started to turn ugly for me. The tiresome journey made me fall asleep but breathlessness didn't allow me to sleep. The temperature dropped to 0°C, coupled with breathlessness, it became impossible for me to sleep. I woke up from sleep every 5-10 minutes and felt that it would never see the dawn. At around midnight, I couldn't resist but to ask these girls to reach out to doctor/tent owner. They immediately tried to find someone for help at that hour disregarding their safety. They reached the tent owner to find a lot of alcohol bottles around and were scared. They headed to another tent to find a doctor. I felt terribly guilty for sending these 2 girls at night. They came back with the tent owner and a doctor from the bikers team. Again a check of oxygen saturation, same reading and same reaction from them. The doctor gave me the "Sanjeevani"(Dimox) and I swallowed it. I slept without a breathlessness post that though all of us woke up once a while to reassure ourselves with an "ALL OK" confirmation. The "Sanjeevani" and the 2 "angels" saved my life that day. I don't have words to thank these "2 Angels" who put themselves at risk at that hour in an unknown valley in between unknown drunk men.

Outside the tents, 2 men were standing majestically and without a hint of any trouble - The Himalayas and my Beast.

Day 11 : 260km (Sarchu - Leh)

With sun arising early the next day, our situation also started to get better. Though Sripriya was still suffering from head ache and vomit, myself and Anusha got better. The next destination was Leh and we wanted to reach there badly. We freshened ourselves and went to the dining tent for breakfast. We were fortunate to meet a group of doctors from Nagpur. One among them was very kind to us and assured us that it was completely normal due to altitude and travel and provided us with few medicines, confidence and motivation for our next leg.

We took the medication and hit the roads. We drove past the Army Hospital which we thought we would end up at the previous night. The fuel was low and since there were no fuel pumps till another 200 km, we decided to purchase from a local store at exorbitant rate. Though we were a lot better, still we were tired. I had an interview to attend and knowing that the network would not be great along the route, we parked the car at the HP-Ladakh border for an hour. Never in my life I would have imagined that i would be cracking an interview, sitting inside my Beast in between the tall mountains at an altitude of 11000ft.

Leh seemed to be too far still. We had to cross these high passes - Gata Loops with a height of 15300 ft, Lachung La at 16600ft , Tanglang La which is about 17450 ft above sea level before reaching Leh. We kept sipping the water, relieving our bladders whenever we needed and throwing up in high passes through the entire day. We kept taking a short naps in between to freshen ourselves. While me and Anusha swapped the driver seats along the stretch, Sripriya slept almost the entire stretch.

Now it was a common phenomenon for the 2 drivers to throw up on every high pass. As we reached closer to Leh, our moods got better, our enthusiasm was back and we were eager to enjoy it more. After the final break, with a drive of 2 hours, Me, my Beast along with Anusha and Sripriya conquered the summit of Leh. The girls booked an awesome homestay and Mr Stanzin at Hill Side Homestay was awaiting our arrival with the special Kashmiri Khawa. We were so pleased get off the car and wind up the day at this comfortable place.

Fourth Leg : June 22 - June 26 (Leh - Pangong - Sumor - Siachen Base Camp - Khardung La - Leh)

Day 12 : 60 km (Leh City)

Knowing that the day would involve less travel and with 4 more people - Rani, Vasanth, Padmashree and Krishnan supposed to join us, we felt little comfortable. I wanted to check that My beast was alright and drove to the nearest Mahindra service station. The service station had at least 25-30 cars waiting to be serviced. At first, they refused to as there were too many. It took a little time to convince them and they relented. The day first half passed without much activity. I welcomed back my Beast and the only issue with was air filter. I should thank Mahindra for the Beast they created.

We left the homestay to visit Sangam View point which is on the Leh - Srinagar highway NH 1D. With amazing views we initially thought of Rafting at the Sangam of Zanskar and Indus. We decided to give the rafting a miss since it would have exhausted 2 hours. On the way back we stopped at the Magnetic Hill for a few minutes and then headed back to Leh.

Leh war memorial was close to the homestay and the sound and light show was scheduled at 8. The show provided us an opportunity to remember the sacrifices made by our soldiers and to salute and respect them while our blood began to boil inspite of the chill Ladakhi weather. The day ended with dinner at Nathus restaurant and some small shopping at the city centre, Leh.

Day 13 : 204 km (Leh - Changla Pass - Pangong Tso - Durbuk)

The plan for the day was to hit roads at the earliest, reach Pangong by late noon and depart by evening to reach Sumor. The morning was a gloomy one with consistent drizzle. Our plan went for a toss due to this. Vasanth was excited the previous day about the prospect of renting a bike and continuing the journey. He had stuck a deal for renting a Himalayan RE with but the rains made us to rework the plan. Few locals informed us that the road to Pangong was closed due to snow. Few others suggested that only 4 wheelers which have chain around the tyres would be allowed.

For those who are wondering about chain and tyre, let me give a brief. Snow on roads are always slippery. It is dangerous to drive when there is snow on roads. Chains around the tyres will make the vehicles less slippery. We decided to wait for few hours to see if weather improved so that we could stick to our plan of Beast + Himalayan RE.

The rain didn't seem to relent and we decided to buy chain for my beast and continue the drive in the Beast only. There are dedicated shops for purchasing chains. They take the dimensions of the car and make the chain as per the needs. As the chain was getting ready, the weather started improving and the plan changed yet again - Beast + Himalyan RE. The beast carried 5 of us as Rani and Vasanth hit the roads in RE.

Though it costed us 2 hours, the chain was ready and we were all set for the next destination. On the way to Pangong, we visited the "3 idiots" school. It was very nice. We took some pics and the next destination was the mighty Changla Pass (18000 ft). We halted at the highest pass I have ever been and enjoyed the mesmerizing views and snow. The pass was damn cold as we quickly we rushed to the Beast. The bikers reached ahead of us. After all the confusion in the morning, we were surprised to see that the weather was good with the sun out. Pangong was still quite a distance and we decided to pick up some speed. We stopped at Durbuk for a quick break and continued to Pangong. A new driver entered the scene in the form of Sripriya. The roads were awesome and so were the entire range.

As we reached Pangong, wowww, the place was out of the world. I really don't know whether there is a place in the world better than this !!! The experience is surreal. If you are a photo enthusiast, I bet you will spend your lifetime clicking photos at Pangong. The lake in between the white and brown mountains makes it so beautiful. The lake doesn't seem to end and looks to extend till eternity. Unfortunately due to morning rains and the places we had to cover, we could spend only 2 hours at the lake. With heavy winds picking up and light getting dark, we took leave from Pangong. I wanted to reach Sumor by that day but it looked unlikely. It started to drizzle and with the RE along with us, , we headed to Durbuk. Found a small hotel at Durbuk for the night.

Day 14 : 160 km (Durbuk - Sumur - Yarab Tso - Sumur)

We were already behind schedule and departed at 7 from Durbuk towards Sumur. It should be noted that Google maps showed us 3 hours to Sumur. I will come back to this later. An hour drive and it was excellent driving along to the Shyok river. There was literally not a single vehicle from either side. All of a sudden we see that the road has come to end. It felt as if we were heading straight to mountains. We didn't know what to do. There was a small off roading marks but we were unsure. Our bike man Vasanth went ahead of us to try and find it there is any route and I followed. It seems that a land slide had entirely blocked the road where we were stuck. Even after verifying in the bike that there was an off road path which terminated at the actual road after 2 km, we were in dilemma whether to take it or head back. Not a single vehicle in both the directions made us a little scary. Vasanth headed back to check with a hotel whether the road is drivable. As Vasanth came back with good news, we got more confidence in the form of Ertiga. This was the first vehicle we encountered in 1.5 hours since the time we got stuck.

The off roading started and we never expected it to be so long. Except for the last 30 kms, the entire drive was an off roading experience. We swapped at different junctions with me hopping on to the bike and Vasanth behind the wheels of Beast. By the time we reached Sumur, all of us had covered both on Beast and The Himalayan RE. We were relieved to reach Sumur after the difficult off roading day. The plan was to reach Sumur by 10-11 but ended up reaching at 2pm.

The next destination was the big one - "Siachen Glacier Base point". Considering our off roading experience, this time we ignored the "3 hrs" suggestion provided by Google. So we planned for Siachen next day. Meanwhile evening was occupied with a Camel ride in Sand Dunes and the Hidden Lake. We were supposed to go to the Hidden Lake - Yarab Tso which involved at 30 min trek. As we parked our close to the base, the volatile Himalayan weather threatened us. The sun in between the clouds made way for thick clouds and it started to rain. We returned to Sumor post clicking some excellent pics near the base point of Yarab Tso. Now, we were already a day behind schedule.

Anusha and Sripriya were supposed to fly back to Bengaluru from Leh on 26th but it was already 25th night and we were still in Sumor without visiting. No way I was going to cut short my journey without touching my dream destination - "Siachen Base Point". Other options in hand were either to send these 2 girls all alone from Sumur to Leh or rework their plan and extend it by a day. The later option was agreed upon and to take care of any unplanned events, the big day departure was fixed at 5 am.

Day 15 : 290 km (Sumur - Siachen Base point - Khardung La - Leh)

Earliest start to the day in the tour at 5 am. We hurriedly freshened up and it was decided that all of us would drive while giving rest to the bike. Based on previous experience, the expectation was as - 3 hr ride as per Google would translate to 6 hr in reality. Soon as we kept driving, to our surprise, the roads were decent, no traffic and no off roading. It was a pleasant surprise which we would accept gleefully. Yes. We arrived at Siachen Base Point at 8:45 am !!! The northern most motorable point in India's control was achieved. Here I was, after 12 days of drive from the Southern most point in Indian Peninsula, at the northern most point. It was a different feeling altogether.

The Siachen glacier stretches from about 17,700ft to 19,700ft above sea level. It is the "Worlds Highest Battlefield". Our brave hearts have secured the strategic glacier from the enemy threats from the last 50 years. The temperature falls down to -50 degrees during the winter. It was an amazing to be near the base point of this Glacier.

We spent close to 2 hours exploring Siachen Base point, visiting war memorial, a BSF souvenir Shop and clicking numerous pics. With Siachen done, now the focus shifted to Leh. The girls had their flights next day and we had to reach Leh by end of day. We returned back to Sumur. On the way back, we stopped at the Hot Springs. Spent around half hour there and back to Sumur. We packed our stuff in Sumur headed to Leh.

The next stop was Khardung La. There were landslides on the way to Khardung La and the roads were being cleared. There was a narrow stretch where it was difficult for 2 vehicles to pass. A van brushed against my Beast slightly though I was completely stationery. Luckily, only the tail lamp was damaged and we continued without much trouble. Again me and my beast conquered the highest motorable pass of the trip - Khardung La (18379 ft). The weather was too cold and there was snow around. We played around like kids and continued the journey. Unlike the previous day, the roads were good and we were able to cover all the planned destinations without much delay. A lot of construction is happening in the stretch. After digesting wonderful views from Khardung La, we drove to Hillside Homestay to wind up the day. Stanzin was eagerly awaiting our arrival and welcomed us. As usual hot Khawa was served in the cold evening. The day ended with dinner at Nathus again. With this, the longest travelled day in hills came to end.

Fifth Leg : June 27 - June 28 (Leh - Kargil - Srinagar)

Day 16 : 220 km (Leh - Kargil)

Me and Vasant dropped the girls in airport next morning. Monastery and palace and the war memorial were our next items in our checklist. The sun was beating down. We visited the monastery, skipped the palace and unfortunately the war memorial was closed for lunch. We drove the entire second half and the uneventful day terminated in Kargil. We checked in to the Hotel Royal Gasho on the banks of Suru river. We got some tips from an army officer on our next day places to visit.

Day 17 : 260km (Kargil - Drass - Zojila Pass - Srinagar)

This day was supposed to be emotional and the day of Thanksgiving for our soldier. The visits were planned for 3 war memorials. We wanted to leave early and started the day at 7am. The first destination was Point 13620. The top was captured in 1971 after brave fight with Pakistanis. It's named after Lt Col Randhawa who was instrumental in securing the position. After saluting the brave soldiers, we stopped at the Kargil war memorial in Kargil. It's easy access from the main road helped us save time.

Drass war memorial was few hours away from us and we drove there by around 1 pm. This is a must visit location for any traveler. The memorial gives us a complete picture of 1999 Kargil war and how our bravehearts struggled against all odds to plant our beloved Indian Flag on strategic hill tops. To name a few - Batra Top, Rhyno Horn and Tiger hill were all strategic points which were occupied during the 1999 Kargil war. The stories of - Battle of Tololing, Capt Vikram Batra's - "Yeh Dil Maange More", the brave hearts - Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, Gr Yogendra Singh Yadav and ultimate sacrifices of hundreds of soldiers, enemy artifacts captured are all there to be heard/seen and make us indebted to the Military for our life.

We departed from Drass war memorial towards Srinagar at around 3pm and the Google Maps showed us 3.5 hours to Srinagar airport. Padmashree and Krishnan were to board the flight to Bengaluru and the last flight to depart from Srinagar was at 8:30pm. As we continued our journey towards Zojilla Pass, the traffic started to increase. With a hint of rain, we reached the Zojilla pass in no time. The scenic Himalayas was as amazing as ever and with light drizzle, it made the view even more beautiful. As we started to move towards Srinagar, there was a notorious traffic jam. The vehicles were stranded for more than 2 km. Meanwhile, Padmashree & Krishnan started to realise that boarding the last flight out of Srinagar was not reality. As we navigated at snails pace for an hour, we came to know that 2 vehicles had broken down and that was the cause of jam. We reached Sonmarg, took a short break and the next stretch was as horrible as the earlier one. No vehicle breakdowns but all of hectic traffic. Though vehicles kept moving, the speedometer could not cross the 40 mark. It seemed like Srinagar was eternity. The plan to reach Srinagar was 4pm but we ended up at 10 pm. We put up at the guest house of Sri Yadugiri Yathiraj Mutt at Shiv Pora. Mr Wani (SI) was very kind and helpful to us and had made all the arrangements for the stay.

Sixth Leg : June 29 - June 30 (Srinagar - Pathankot - Delhi)

Day 18: 20 km (Srinagar)

I dropped Padmashree & Krishnan, who board the first Bengaluru flight at 9:30 am. Considering, the sensitivity of Srinagar, the security at the airport is so fool proof and stringent as we waded through the barricades. This was a rest day/local minor sight seeing day. We got the blessings of Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja at the Statue of Peace - on the banks of river Jhelum. Had a peaceful lunch and drove to Chashma Shahi. All except Rani and Vasanth were gone now and we spent time at Chashma Shahi, Pari Mahal & Botanical garden. I had a good sleep at the calm Botanical garden. As it started to get dark, we went for a boating around Dal Lake and headed back to the guest house.

Day 19 : 310 km (Srinagar - Pathankot)

Next few days were supposed to be extensive drive and having encountered horrible traffic, we realigned our plans to start early. At 8 am, we had darshan of Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja and went to Sankara hills. Had darshan there and quickly hit the highway towards Jammu.

We were optimistic of reaching Pathankot by late evening. On the Jammu highway which was again NH44, we stopped at Pampore. This is the place where most of Saffron is grown. Hundreds of shops are available there and we visited our regular Dar Kesar Mehal. 2 bags of shopping for Kesar, berries and other dry fruits and we were poorer by 20k !!!

As we continued our drive, we realized that Amarnath Yatra was supposed to start the next day. The security was beefed up all along the highway. The buses for Amarnath leaves from Jammu/Banihal in batches. Each set would consist 15-20 buses. The convoy and security for the buses is nothing short of what I have seen for CMs in Bengaluru/Mysore. The entire 4 lane highway is blocked on either side 10-15 min before the Yatra buses and convoy pass through. Only after the movement of these, we were allowed to proceed. This led to being stuck at 2-3 places which cost us 1-2 hours. We continued till afternoon and as we started to close in on Banihal, the traffic saw unprecedented increase. It took is 2 hours to cover a stretch of 10 km in Banihal. It's worth mentioning that new broad roads are being laid that would bypass Banihal completely.

As we drove through, we booked a guest house through AirBnb. Me and Vasanth switched the drives and this day again seemed that the drive would never end. The guest house was a very good and vast one but we needed to drive through the remote village roads for 3-4 km from Pathankot - Gurdaspur highway. Hardev Singh Ji and his grandson were patiently waiting for us and guided us to the guest house. Having reached by 11:30 pm, we hit the bed in no time.

Day 20 : 890 km (Pathankot - New Delhi - Gwalior)

The day started at 9. We started at 10. Me, Rani & Vasanth were heading to Delhi. They were flying back to Bengaluru from Delhi and for the first time, I was going to drive all the way alone from Delhi. We were undecided on the route - whether to take the NH44 all the way till Delhi or take the Rohtak route from the outskirts of Ambala. As I had already taken the NH44 earlier, we decided to try the other route via Rohtak. It turned out to be the best decision. As soon as we hit the Trans Haryana expressway, it felt like we were flying. Excellent road, less traffic and no distractions of 2/3 wheelers. As we cruised through we got closer to Delhi and that's when the unexpected happened. The Google Maps suggested a route and it was the most horrible road till date. The route took us through roads under construction, village roads, dust bowls, narrowest lanes, roads between potholes etc. As, Delhi airport was 10 km away and traffic was increasing, I dropped my last companions at the Dwarka Sector 21 Metro station.

Seventh Leg : June 30 - July 02 (Delhi - Bengaluru)

Initial plan was to halt at Delhi and continue the next day. Having driven for close to 3 weeks in all sorts of terrains, the drive from Pathankot didn't seem tiring at all. So I decided to clock a few more hours and reach Agra. I wanted to take the Agra route since I wanted to experience the Yamuna Expressway. All alone with my Beast, I had a different feeling now. I felt a little happy driving solo but felt a little scared as well to cover such a long distance all by myself.

On a different note, that day was the final of the T20 World Cup - India vs South Africa. I am a very huge cricket fan. I had traveled to Ahmedabad in November to watch the ODI WC finals - India vs Australia. However, my urge to drive was so huge that it put my desire to watch the World Cup Finals in the back burner. After maneuvering the Delhi traffic, here I was at the entrance of Yamuna Expressway at 9 pm. I clicked few pics and hit the roads without any break. The drive through this was a dream and the distance was covered in 2.5 hours. With no signs of fatigue, as I started nearing Agra, mind started thinking about Gwalior. I stopped for few minutes in the expressway to watch the last over. It was exciting to see India lift the WC but I was more excited to keep driving past Agra.

With Agra behind me, NH44 was again there for me to drive. A small fear in me made me share my live location with Sripriya and my brother Srivathsa. I zipped through notorious Chambal, Jhansi and reached Gwalior. It was too late and I reached the 7 Hills resort by 3 am. I dozed off in no time.

Day 21 : 800 km (Gwalior - Hinganghat)

I wanted to start by 8-9ish but my body didn't allow me wake up before 10. Got ready and started at 11. With minimal pitstops and NH44 guiding me all the way from Srinagar, I wanted to cross Nagpur and putup for the night in Adilabad. However, heavy rains around Nagpur slowed me down and I had to windup the day at Hinganghat. The drive was almost 12-13 hours and it was tiring. So ended the day at a small hotel.

Day 22 : 1010 km (Hinganghat - Bengaluru)

A good night's sleep and eagerness to reach home after 3 weeks woke me up at 7:30. Immediately me and my beast did what we had been doing for all these days. Bengaluru was already in my mind but the time at which I would reach was still not known.

By late afternoon, there I was, in Hyderabad Nehru Ring road entrance roughly 7 hours away from Bengaluru. With a single stop in between, I was zooming all along the highway with the final destination in mind. Though I felt a little tired, the prospect of completing the Mysore-Kanyakumari-Siachen Base - Bengaluru kept my spirits high. Went past Ananthapur, KIAL etc and finally bid adieu to my longest companion-NH44. It was around 11:30 when I reached Rani's house. She was waiting to serve with Puri & Panner Butter Masala.

The mission Kan-Sia was accomplished. The beast was the same with 0 trouble. It was a great journey starting at my home in Mysore and finishing at Rani's house in Bengaluru. Another interesting aspect is the temperature variation - we witnessed the temperature from 25 degrees in Mysore, close to 50 degrees in national capital to -2 degrees in the high passes of Baralacha La and Khardung La. I thank everyone who accompanied me & made this journey possible and memorable with a special mention of my life saver Girls and The Beast.