CRAZY HIMALAYAN ROAD TRIPS

Back in 1990 when I last visited the Anapurnas, trekking up to the base camp, the great Jonsom trek could not be completed in much under three weeks. The route encircled the entire massive which rises to over 8000 metres, crossed a 5400 meter pass and was one of the classic treks in this part of the world. Although so many years have passed, it was still surprising to see just how far vehicular access has encroached into this once mighty wilderness, even though gracing these thumping rocky grinding serpentine goat tracks with the title “road” is probably beyond even my level of exaggeration. Funded rather dubiously by the Chinese government, they appear to have been carved, blasted and excavated out of the sheer stony mountainside with no attention whatever paid to the surface condition, maintenance or safety. Blind corners and precipitous drop offs are a constant feature as you lurch headlong from pothole to rut to great areas strewn with all kinds of geological detritus.

Any trip along these paths usually requires a number of vehicle changes due to landslides, washed out bridges etc and your seat in the bus or jeep on the other side of the roadblock is far from guaranteed. No sooner has the old banger ground to a halt when a mad rush begins, charging across whatever foot track has been established around the obstacle and storming onto the bus or jeep waiting at the other end with each person vying to secure a place for themselves and their mates, all hoping to avoid standing up or traveling on the roof.