Gata Loops (Manali-Leh Highway)

On this day I am passing the Gata Loops. The Gata Loops are famous group of switchbacks on the Manali Leh highway in the Indian Himalayas.

The road leaves the valley here.There is a very long trail connecting dozens of remote villages though.

There are so many switchbacks, because the steepness of the road is limited by the power of the trucks.

These signs are always hilarious.

After a lot switchback, I passed this structure.

Driven by my curiousity, I decided give it a closer look: 

 I tried to find an explanation for this, but was'nt able to. Some months later back at home, I did some research, and found this blog entry.

 

After a lot of climbing, the Gata Loop section is over, but the climbing goes on for the entire day.

 

 After you reach the pass, there is a short downhill and another pass imediatly afterwards. Luckyly there is a small rest tent in the valley between the passes.

 

Tali

 

 

 

The valley between the two passes.

In the late afternoon, I reached the second pass. Nearly every pass on this route is higher than the last one.

Lachlung La

Lachlung La seen from the other side

The last section for today was a relaxing ride through this valley.

An I finally found a nice place to spend the night.