I had good fun on the highway & we were easily overtaking cars like Fortuner, Innova, Scorpio and even the mighty HP-registered Alto.
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Figo S visits Chitkul: the last village on the Indo-Tibet border
It was October 2022 and a plan to visit Chitkul was finalized with a couple of friends. I had been to Chitkul once when I was very young and had always wanted to go again sometime. Destination & passengers decided, we picked 4 days towards the end of October for our trip.
The overall plan was:
- Day 0: Ghaziabad to New Chandigarh (leave at night after work and reach my friend’s place)
- Day 1: New Chandigarh to Chitkul (leave early morning to reach Chitkul in the early evening)
- Day 2 & 3: Stay in Chitkul
- Day 4: Chitkul to Ghaziabad via New Chandigarh (leave early morning to reach Ghaziabad by night)
I was super excited about the trip and from a driving perspective, it provided me with an opportunity to drive solo to Chandigarh and then with friends for the onward journey. A combination that was perfect for me.
Day 0: Ghaziabad to New Chandigarh
This was the start of a ~1400 km trip with challenging roads and conditions and as preparation, I had done just 3 basic things – filled Nitrogen in the tyres, cleaned the air filter and filled a full tank of diesel before leaving from Ghaziabad. It’s really commendable what the modern-day automobile has achieved in terms of reliability where you can just fill up your 65,000 km run car and go on a road trip across 3 states on a whim.
Planned to leave Ghaziabad by 8 PM after work but as it happens with every trip of mine, could only leave by 9:15 PM. Since I was traveling solo and to my friend’s place, I was super relaxed about the drive with no pressure about making it to Chandigarh by a certain time.
Hit the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and it was smooth sailing all the way to Chandigarh with 1 stop for dinner around Karnal. Reached Chandigarh by 2:30 AM and hit the bed immediately.
Diesel filled up, trip meter set to 0 on the MID, the trip begins
Cruising on Eastern Peripheral Expressway. The speed limit is 120 kmph but the massive expansion joints mean sticking to 80-90 kmph is safer and easier on the car.
Entered Chandigarh around 2 AM with DTE showing 834 KM
Day 1: New Chandigarh to Chitkul
Started from Chandigarh at around 6 AM. Plan was to have breakfast in Narkanda and maintain a good pace till Rampur Bushahr with minimal stops so that we get more time to stop and gaze at the scenic beauty from Rampur to Chitkul.
Chandigarh to Shimla highway is a 4-lane well paved road that proved to be super fun due to the twisties and the Figo S in its element. Shimla & Kufri had massive traffic jams and now seem like proper, bustling cities rather than hill-stations. Reached Narkand and stopped for breakfast at around 11 AM.
Breakfast with a view just outside Narkanda
Fresh and delicious parathas at Apna Dhaba
The road surface remained good for the most part till Rampur Bushahr and deteriorated a little post the town into the Kinnaur district. All was forgiven though because of the views that the Kinnaur Valley offered. With the Sutej river flowing on the left side, below the mountain, we made multiple stops to just gaze at the surroundings and take in the beauty. Barring a few very bad, almost off-road stretches, it was largely smooth sailing.
Beautiful landscapes on the Narkanda – Chitkul route
Soon we crossed the Sutlej River in Wangtu and the road surface for the next 15-20 kms till Karcham is properly awesome. It was a blissful and fast drive on this section till we crossed the Karcham bridge into the Sangla valley at around 5:30 PM
The last 40 kms after the Karcham bridge till Chitkul is a steep and narrow road ridden with potholes. The views are to die for but the poor road surface took a lot of patience to negotiate as I could rarely go above the 1st gear due to the steep climb and potholes. This route was the Achilles heel of the Figo S due to the stiff suspension. Other cars were passing us easily and it was very frustrating after an hour on the route.
The road from Karcham bridge till Chitkul. Narrow and steep. Pretty much broken except for 3-5 km
Reached Sangla around 6:45 PM and the road surface worsened further. I drove with utmost care and at a slower pace than usual, much to my co-passengers frustration. Finally reached Chitkul at around 8 PM. The bad roads for the last 40 kms took a lot out of me and I was tired after the 14-hour drive. It was quite cold and it was only once I looked up into the starry sky, that the 14-hour drive seemed worth it. Checked-in to Zostel and parked the car, went straight for dinner, and called it a night early.
An attempt to capture the beautiful night sky through his phone camera by my friend
Day 2 & 3: Stay in Chitkul
The next morning, we woke up around 8 AM and relaxed in the morning sun, having breakfast, talking, and taking in the stunning views. Went for a couple of hikes along the river, played games in the Zostel common room, and just spent the 2 days chilling and walking around the village.
Views straight out of god’s coloring book
Chilling/reading in the Zostel common room
The stay and food options in Chitkul are basic and not typically luxurious but that’s the beauty of it. We ate at different homestays in Chitkul every day and it was always a freshly cooked meal of dal, chawal and roti that the family managing the homestay had cooked for themselves. It was actually like eating with a family at their home instead of a restaurant.
Restaurants serving fresh, home-cooked lunch with an ambience to die for
The car parked after 2 days of driving
Day 4: Chitkul to Ghaziabad via New Chandigarh
This was the longest driving day of the trip as the plan was to drop off my friends in Chandigarh while I will be heading to Ghaziabad as the next day was a working day for me. Started early from Chitkul at around 6 AM. The temperatures were dropping to -5 degrees in the night and the Figo had not been started since 3 days. I knew it would not pose a problem but just to be sure, I primed the glow plug a few times before the first crank and the car started in the first attempt with a cough of black smoke which cleared out in 2-3 secs. Let it idle for 10 mins. There was ice on the windshield. Pouring warm water cleared it out.
Stats while starting from Chitkul at 6 AM
The 40 kms of broken and narrow roads that had taken such a toll on me while coming up seemed not so bad now. What a difference a fresh mind can make while driving. Reached Ramnagar Bushahr, stopped for a quick brunch, and carried on. The views were slowly changing from mesmerizing to mundane making us miss those Chitkul afternoons.
Smooth sailing till Narkanda post which we encountered some traffic. Shimla was the worst with stop-go traffic on narrow hill roads. Crossed Shimla and hit the Shimla-chandigarh highway by 5:30 PM. This time I had proper fun on the highway as I chucked the Figo S into the corners enthusiastically as this was a divided road. We were effortlessly overtaking Fortuners, Innovas, Scorpios and even the mighty HP registered Altos which are the official speed kings in the hills. Had too much fun and fell in love with my car again. Reached Chandigarh around 8:00 PM and had a delicious dinner at my friend’s place.
Hit this milestone somewhere on the Shimla – Chandigarh highway
Left for Ghaziabad at around 9:15 PM. Usual Chandigarh-Delhi highway drive with a couple of traffic jams. Maintained 90-100 kmph all through and reached home around 2 AM. Parked the Figo and admired the dusty exteriors that bore memories worth ~1400 kms and 4 days. An awesome trip with awesome people came to an end.
Keyword: Driving my Ford Figo S to the last village on the Indo-Tibet border