Sarchu and Darcha – Where Time Has No Meaning -
Where do you go when you want to get away from your office people, where you have no chance of actually bumping into one of them? You might think of Ladakh. But after the success of the film Three Idiots, places like Pangong Tso have become tourist havens, no longer getaways. But on the road to Ladakh, you will encounter two of the most beautiful places ever – Darcha in Lahaul, and Sarchu in the Zanskar Valley.
They are magnificent in their beauty, and magnificent in their solitude.
To get to both places, you have to travel via either Manali or Leh. Both Leh and Manali are connected to Delhi by morning flights everyday, which can cost you about Rs. 6000/- if you book well in advance. Else you can get to Manali by road from Delhi via Chandigarh and start from there. A visit to Sarchu and Darcha is best combined with a visit to Ladakh, given that you will be coming this far anyway.
Darcha (11023 ft above sea level) is a tiny settlement 149 km north of Manali on NH21. You can get a Himachal or JK State Transport Bus going to Leh and get off at Darcha. The journey may take well over six hours. Else, you can take a shared cab from Manali. The journey to Leh costs about Rs. 1500. Negotiate an amount about a third of that for Darcha. The route to Darcha passes over the Rohtang Pass, which is the gateway to the Lahaul region from the Kulu valley. The road is quite narrow, so you may experience a traffic jam at Rohtang – perhaps the highest in the world!
The route passes through some amazing scenery of steep mountains, with snow on the tops, and the sides covered with evergreen Himalayan trees like pine and deodar. After crossing Rohtang Pass, you encounter a bone-chilling descent into the valley of the Chandrabhaga (Chenab) river. Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul region, is the last major settlement you will find before you head to the remoteness of the Great Himalaya. If you want any medicines, packaged water and food, clothes etc, you have to buy them here. If you change your mind and wish to go off to the Spiti Valley instead, do it at Keylong.
To get to Sarchu (14074 ft above sea level), you catch another bus or taxi and go 74 km further towards Leh. The route takes you over the snow-covered Baralacha Pass (16040 ft above sea level), through some very mind-numbing terrain. At Sarchu, you leave the Himalaya and enter the Ladakh plateau; you can notice it immediately as the hills become barren and lose all vegetation. Here is the first time you experience the frost and loneliness of a cold desert – a vast panorama of nothing but rock and snow.
A number of adventurous tourists either bicycle or trek the distance from Keylong to Leh. If you plan a trip like that, go in a group of ten or more people. Hiring a local guide is advised. Many Zanskaris (inhabitants of the region around Sarchu) work as trek guides.
( A Map Of The Saarchu and Daarcha within the Lahaul Region)
Ice Covered Peaks At Baralacha La
Cover yourself from head to toe in thick woollens, leaving not an inch exposed. The altitude is over 10,000 feet above sea-level, and the road is lashed by cold, menacing winds from across the Tibetan border. While Europeans might be used to such cold, most Indians are not; so carrying woollens even in summer is a must. Keep altitude sickness medicine ready with you – the thin air might cause headaches, ringing ears, nose bleeds or worse. The best course is to pop a pill before setting out.
In short, nowhere. These are tiny hamlets, so there is no permanent accommodation. However, Sarchu becomes a great tent city every night, as travellers on the Leh-Manali camp for the night there. If backpacking, include complete camping equipment.
(The Steep Cliffs One passes On the way to Darcha)
Both places are a hiker's paradise. Darcha is the base camp for trekkers going to Padum, via the Shingo Pass. Padum is the chief settlement of the Zanskar region of Ladakh.
Sarchu is itself a barren, dusty place. You can see the Tsarap river, a tributary of the Indus, flowing furiously through deep ravines. To your immediate southwest, is the Great Himalaya, to the distant north are the Karakoram mountains. Between lies the vast coldness of Ladakh.
Rock and White Solitude - The Road from Saarchu to Baralacha La
Sarchu offers you three choices. You can head along the National Highway towards Leh, following the course of the road. It will take you across Lachlung Pass and Tanglang Pass, two very scenic Himalayan passes. Else, head west across Phirtse Pass to Padum, another popular trekking route. Or head east, towards Tso Moriri (Ladakh's second great lake after Pangong Tso), and then south-east from there across the Parang Pass into Spiti. Whichever route you choose, ensure you have everything mapped beforehand. An up-to-date GPS device would be more than useful.
Night at Sarchu or Darcha is amazing. You will rarely get to see the starlit sky in such clarity elsewhere in India. So if stargazing is a passion, add a night at one of these places to your Ladakh trip.
Both places serve as halts for bus and taxi passengers, so you will have no difficulty finding food in the daytime. There are many food stalls during the day set up by local residents, clustered around the highway. You will get items like parathas, puri, pulao etc. Maggi is ubiquitously available, albeit at exorbitant prices. Sarchu is the most remote location where I have eaten Maggi.
If you are hiking, do carry all the food you need. Ladakhi tsampa (roasted barley flour) lasts a long, long time. Do get a lot of it from Leh or Keylong when setting out.
A good Rs. 15,000 must be set aside for this trip. This is not a luxury trip since it is physically demanding. If you are going to go camping, ensure you have all the adequate camping gear. You can get these at specialty shops in Delhi or Manali. Several camping tour companies organise treks in the Darcha-Sarchu area; these can cost anything between Rs. 15,000 to Rs 60,000 per person.
Closure
You come to Darcha and Sarcha to be lonely, to be where you are your only companion. For even in the remotest corner of the world, there is a special place just for you.
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