SPITI VALLEY - MY EXPERIENCE OF DRIVING IN THE HIMALAYAS - NASHIK TO RAMPUR BUSHAHR - 1/3

I read somewhere that Spiti is called "A world within a world". I cannot find a fitter description for this magical place.

Our Spiti trip planning began nearly a year in advance. The only decision taken in the beginning was that we would be doing the entire trip from Nasik, Maharashtra by road. We didn't want to miss traversing many Indian states en route in order to save time. 

It was 6 of us who finally left for the trip. The convoy included 04 bikes (3 RE Himalayan and 1 Thunderbird 350) and of course my mighty and trusty Mahindra Thar.

Before I proceed with the blog, there are a few points I would like to highlight:

1) First and foremost, a big thank you to BRO, ITBP and every other organisation that is involved in keeping Spiti Valley accessible and hospitable. They are doing an amazing job in an unforgiving and treacherous area. Hats off to them!!
2) The pictures credits go to all my co-adventurers Makrand, Ganesh, Shaunak, Gaurav, Harshad and myself. Thanks for sharing and immortalising the journey with me guys.
3) The videos have been shot on Transcend Drivepro 230 Dashcam, installed on my Thar's windshield. Read my review of the Dashcam by clicking here and you can also buy the Dashcam from www.amazon.in, from where I got mine.
4) I have tried to make this more as a photoblog. Please don't hesitate to contact me for any information that you need regarding our trip.

But I am jumping ahead. The actual planning began about 6 months before the trip. The plan was to cover Spiti, Leh and Ladakh, since we were going with our own vehicles and realistically, we probably wouldn't go back with them again. So why not cover the entire circuit while we are there?

The plan we made looked something like this:

But after talking to many experienced travellers and researching online, we realised that we were being over-optimistic with the time-frame for completing this trip. Secondly, the trip from Chandigarh to Chandigarh was 19 days. After including the 6 days of driving from Nashik - Chandigarh and return, we were looking at a trip of nearly a month. None of us could afford to take out that much time from work.

So we became a lot more realistic and decided that we would have to compress our trip and maybe skip some of the major landmarks. But God has His own plans,  and a couple of months before our trip, permissions for visiting Hanle (the new highest motorable road in the world at approx. 19,300 ft.) were closed, all thanks to some idiot bikers who visited this military sensitive area and posted pics online. So one of our major reasons for visiting Leh was ruled out.

Also, Ganesh the "wise one" in our group repeatedly told us that it is better to experience one place completely, rather than rushing through and not enjoying any place completely. Due to this, we decided to limit our trip only to Spiti.

Our revised schedule for Spiti circuit 2018:

One of the blogs that really helped me in firming up the itinerary was "An experience called Spiti in a Mahindra Thar" on Team-BHP.com. You can also have a look at a blog by Travel Triangle, which was quite informative.

Being true to our adventurous spirit, we did not make any hotel bookings. For travel from Nashik to Chandigarh, the plan was to drive as much as possible in a day, with loose targets for night stay. We started early every morning and drove till evening with short breaks in-between. But not even on 1 day did we drive after dark. We would stop in the closest city at dusk and then continue the next day.

For travelling in Spiti (Chandigarh onwards), we fixed our schedule and night halt locations, but again did not make any hotel bookings in advance.

You can read my blog on my preparation of the Thar for this visit here. A blog from Vargis Khan "How to Prepare your Car for Spiti Valley?" gave me a comprehensive list for preparation of my Thar.  

And we are off...

Day 1... August 4, 2018 - We drove from Nasik to Chittorgarh on the first day. We had covered a good 700 kms. in the day, thanks to good roads and average traffic. The only place I will advice to be careful is the Maharashtra - MP border. There was a big traffic jam here. We were advised to go from the wrong side of the road to access the lane for personal vehicles. We did that and got out in 15 mins. Otherwise our time lost could have been in hours. 

We reached Chittorgarh at 05:30 pm and checked-in to Hotel Nandan Palace.

Hotel Review: Hotel Nandan Palace, Chittorgarh:
Rating: 3/5
Review:

This hotel is exactly opposite the bus stand. So it's very congested area. However, there is basement parking to accommodate 3-4 cars.

We got triple occupancy rooms. The rooms are clean and average size. The bathroom is also clean but don't expect any fancy amenities here. The beds were comfortable and the A/C also effective.

The hotel has a veg restaurant but they serve non-veg in room service. The food served was tasty.

Overall an average stay, good enough for a pocket friendly overnight stay.

On day 2, we left early morning and drove towards Rajasthan. The roads are excellent but the traffic kept increasing as the day progressed. 

Lafa roll for breakfast.. lol

We stopped for lunch in Jaipur and met some fellow bikers and adventurers. After Jaipur, we took the Delhi expressway, which was extremely crowded with 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers driving any which way. We could make it to Rewari in the evening, although our target had been to reach Rohtak.

Hotel Review: Hotel OYO Heritage Haveli, Rewari:
Rating: 3/5
Review:

We found this hotel on the highway. It's a big hotel and we got a good deal on the rooms.

The rooms are small and it was a tight squeeze for 3 persons. It's neat and clean though. The bathroom is also small but has a geyser for hot water.

Dinner was served in the room. The food taste was very average.

On Day 3, we left bright and early for Chandigarh. It was important to reach Chandigarh early to rest and get ready for the Spiti circuit drive, which would start the next day.

Enjoying parathas after crossing Rohtak

We reached Chandigarh around 3 pm. The bikers luckily found an RE service station on the highway itself, on the outskirts of Chandigarh. They stopped for a few repairs. In the meantime, we drove ahead to Zirakpur to find a hotel.

Hotel Review: OYO 14392 Hotel Pearl Wood, Chandigarh:
Rating: 4/5
Review:

This hotel is just off the main highway in Zirakpur area of Chandigarh. It was perfect location for us as we had to proceed along the same highway to Shimla the next morning.

The reception is on the 1st floor and the stairs are very steep. There are a few rooms on 1st floor and few on 2nd floor. The steps to the 2nd floor are equally steep.

We stayed on the rooms on the 2nd floor. The young boys working in the hotel very helpful in getting the luggage up the stairs and again down the next morning. The rooms were large and had A/C and TV. The bathroom was also of good size.

The dinner was served in the room and was very tasty. There is no restaurant, but the kitchen is located on the top floor. Although there is a restaurant on the ground floor of the same building, and a dhaba in the adjacent building. So food availability is not a problem. We even got tea early morning the next day in the dhaba adjacent to the hotel.

Overall a satisfactory stay. 

On Day 4, our actual Spiti drive began. Full of excitement, we fuelled up and started our drive to Rampur Bushahr via. Shimla. But just about an hour after leaving Chandigarh, we came to a standstill. There was a lloonnggg traffic jam, extending up the mountain, as far as the eye could see, aparantely due to a landslide in the night. We decided to have breakfast instead of waiting in the traffic jam and turned back to head to a nearby dhaba. As God would have it, we ran into a helpful local guy at the Dhaba who led us onto an alternate road which brought us out ahead of Shimla. We were able to skip the entire traffic jam.

Spectacular views and having fun along the way..

We reached Rampur Bushahr at 05:30 pm in the evening. Unfortunately, we found it hard to find hotel rooms, as it was crowded. Finally we found rooms in Hotel K C Residency.

Hotel Review: K C Residency:
Rating: 4/5
Review:
This is as good a hotel as you will find in these remote areas. It was new when we visited in August '18 and probably the tallest building in Rampur. We were given rooms on the top floor. There is no A/C or TV in the room. But the fan was sufficient thanks to the cool weather. The view from the large windows was spectacular. 

The hotel has a restaurant and they also provided us room service, but be prepared for long service time. The food was good though. It has enclosed private parking. 

Read about my further drive into the Himalayan wonderland in Part 2 and Part 3 of the blog, coming up soon...

MORBE DAM TRAIL IN MY JEEP COMPASS WITH JEEP WESTERN WANDERERS CLUB

After getting my Jeep Compass in August last year, I had the opportunity to participate in the Jeep Trails event in November. Read all about my experience of participating in Jeep Trails White Sands, in the Rann of Kutch here.

But the ownership experience is always enhanced by sharing our passion with other like-minded enthusiasts. With this is mind, I was lucky enough to come in contact with Devendra Deshmukh (lovingly called DD) of Jeep Western Wanderers club. He got me hooked up with the group and I was onboard with JeepAG (Jeep Activity Group). For more information on JeepAG and its all-India clubs, click here.

Splash courtesy.. DD :)

Jeep Western Wanderers is one of the nine clubs under JeepAG, which brings together various Jeep clubs across India and their enthusiastic members under one roof.

The beginning of 2020 brought fresh enthusiasm to the group and a plan for a 1 day trail drive was made. Me with my impulsive behaviour, decided to attend the event. The drive was planned by Jeep Western Wanderers (JWW) to Morbe Dam, Khopoli which is located about 2 hours away from Mumbai, mid-way to Pune.

The event kick-started with all the participants from Mumbai meeting at a common place. To my happy surprise, many members came with their families, which was a great relief for my wife and son. The youngest enthusiast in the line-up was 9 months old. Kudos to his parents for getting her started early :)

The Mumbai gang

The total participants included 25 Jeeps and 72 participants (Participants from Mumbai, Pune and me from Nasik). We started in convoy for our first destination; Hotel Purva in Khopoli. This was our breakfast stop and also the converging point for the participants coming from Pune (Yes.. that's how enthusiastic we are. Coming from Nasik & Pune for a 1 day trail drive).

 

After a sumptuous breakfast, we lined up and moved towards our trail. We left the highway and moved onto a small narrow road, crossed Chouk railway station and moved ahead. The long line-up of Jeeps was a sight to behold and enjoy.

Pic courtesy: Ajay Kadam

Morbe Dam

The organisers had promised us some off-road fun, and boy, did they deliver!! The paved road ended immediately after the village, and we moved onto a dirt track (Let's not call it a road). I immediately had my doubts; would my 4X2 Jeep be able to handle such rough tracks? Would it get stuck in the loose sand? Would it be able to tackles steep inclines?

But the 2 dozen Jeeps moving ahead gave me confidence and I started enjoying the drive. 

The drive was rough, but we enjoyed ourselves. The going was slow and we had to periodically stop for others to catch up and the convoy would move ahead again.

After about an hour of off-roading, we reached our first stop Pirkatwadi in Arkas Wadi area. This is a small hamlet with 20 houses. There is no electricity or running water. But there is a small Government run school with 16 students. It's amazing to see the commitment of the villagers to educate their children.

I was astounded to see the school. It had a single classroom but the efforts being taken by the staff to educate the children was extraordinary. Having limited resources definitely wasn't holding them back. Many unique and out of the box ideas were implemented for making the learning fun and educational.

As social impact is an objective of JWW, we carried as many things as we could for the children including stationary, books, food, blankets and much more. It was amazing to see the joyous reaction of the children. Their parents joined them too and we had a great time chatting with them.

Soon it was time to move on and DD once again sprung a surprise on us. He told us that he will lead us to a remote location, where we will be in touching distance of the water. So we moved ahead. We had to cross a dry riverbed on the way there..

We started driving back the same way but soon took a diversion. It looked like DD was leading us straight into the jungle. I couldn't even see a walking trail. But we proceeded ahead nonetheless.

After about 15 mins. drive, we got to the catchment area of Morbe dam. It was a wonderful place. Right by the water, the weather was mild and we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. Piping hot tea and poha was served by the same villagers who has met us earlier. The favourite timepass for the children seemed to be throwing stones into the water.

Pic Courtesy: Jatin K

Panoramic shot of the area

Celebrate every occasion.. cause you get cake :)

Too soon it seemed, it was time to head back to civilisation. We drove back the same way and after another hour, we reached the Chouk village. 

A dusty Jeep but a very enthusiastic boy

It was a pleasure to drive on paved roads again. We assembled at a nearby restaurant and after a well-deserved lunch, it was time for goodbyes as everyone headed in their own direction, with promises to meet soon at similar trails.

I must specifically mention the performance of the Jeep Compass. My Compass is a 4X2 variant, but it conquered the rough terrain with ease. Not only mine, but all the Compass made it through without getting stuck. It shows the capability of the vehicle. The build quality is top notch as well, as my Compass took all the bumps, scrapes and underbody hits and still came out with flying colours. I am impressed and mighty pleased with my decision of purchasing the Jeep Compass.

Special thanks also to JWW organisers who took out time to visit the location beforehand and made the great arrangements. It was a great family drive, and I am looking forward to many more drives in the future with this great community of Jeepers and road trippers.

JEEP COMPASS VARIANTS - HOW I CHOSE MINE

After a lot of deliberation, test-drives and comparisons, I decided to buy the Jeep Compass. Read my previous blog now why I chose the Jeep Compass over the MG Hector or the Tata Harrier by clicking here.

Now, coming to the next question. Which model of Jeep Compass should I buy? Jeep offers a plethora of choices. The line-up start from the base variant Sport. This is followed by Sport Plus, Longitude, Limited and the newly launched Limited Plus variant. Additionally, Limited variant also has an additional upgrade called 'Option', which adds some additional features. So many choices boggle the mind.

I would need to consider my budget, differences between the variants, my absolute no-compromise features required etc. in order to zero down on my choice.

I was clear about buying a diesel variant only. I preferred an automatic transmission. But in the diesel powertrain, Jeep currently offers auto transmission only in Trailhawk model (I am told that automatic transmission will be available in other variants too.. but not as of the time of writing this blog). The Trailhawk variant was way out of my budget and so I settled for a manual transmission (This wasn't a deal breaker for me).

To make my decision-making simpler, I listed my priorities in order of importance as follows:

Priority # 1 -  Safety 

I was upgrading from my 2011 Toyota Innova mainly because it had no airbags, ABS and other safety features. This point is a non-compromise issue.

Priority # 2 - Drivability & Power 

Road trips are my passion... as you would know if you have gone through some of my other blogs. So having a good drivable and handling car is important.

Priority # 3 - Comfort

Long drives require good comfort. The suspension, seating comfort, ari-conditioning, headroom and overall fit and finish of the car needs to be plush and upscale.

Priority # 4 - Features

Basic features are needed in every car. But in the race to be different, all car companies are offering many useless and gimmicky features. I consciously decided to ignore features which will become boring in a few days and which add no value in the ownership experience. Some of these included voice activated commands, touch-less boot opener etc.

Looking at the above priorities, especially the safety, I decided to narrow down my decision to the 2 top-most models of the Jeep i.e. Limited or Limited Plus.

The diesel powertrain for all models is the same. It is a 1956 CC 2.0L Multijet II Turbo Diesel churning out 171 BHP@3750 rpm. I found the engine to be very refined and more than capable in terms of power. I am not a very aggressive driver and this engine is good enough to allow quick overtakes and also enjoy the drive in city or over long distances.

Now let's compare the important differences between the 02 variants, based on my priorities:

VARIANT	LIMITED PLUS	LIMITED
PRIORITY NO. 1 - SAFETY
AIRBAGS	6 2 front airbags,  2 seat-mounted side airbags for front occupants and  2 full-length side curtains for front and rear passengers	2 Driver and front passenger airbags only
HEADLIGHTS	Bi-Xenon High Intensity Discharge Headlamps	Quad Halogen Headlamps
WHEELS	18” I put these into safety as having bigger wheels helps in better traction and slightly better ground clearance too.	17”
Other safety features such as ABS with EBD, Traction Control, ESC, Hill start assist etc. are standard in both variants
PRIORITY NO. 2 - DRIVABILITY & POWER
Having bigger 18” wheels helps the Limited Plus with –  Better grip.  Wheels with lower side wall tend to provide sharper performance and better handling. Bigger wheels weight more, providing more stability.  Having the same engine, both variants are equal in terms of power delivery, pick-up etc.
PRIORITY NO. 3 - COMFORT
DRIVER SEAT	8-way power adjustable with 4-way power lumbar support function and it also has memory function where 2 seat preferences can be saved
INFOTAINMENT SCREEN	8.4” screen  with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto	7” Screen
DRIVER INFORMATION DISPAY	Customisable 3.5”  driver information display in dashboard
PRIORITY NO. 4 - FEATURES
SUNROOF	Dual-pane panoramic sunroof. This means that half roof opens up as a sunroof whereas the other half also is see-through. So all passengers can enjoy the view.	Not available
IVRM	Auto-dimming	Manual
HEADLAMPS	Auto	Manual
WIPERS	Rain-sensing wipers with 2 auto settings	Manual with intermittent option
ALLOYS	Dual Tone  Aluminium Alloy Wheels, with polished grey surface	Aluminium alloys in fine silver colour

The price difference between the two variants is approx. Rs. 150000. 

Based on the above comparison, I decided to purchase the Limited Plus version. Safety being my No. 1 priority, 6 airbags in Limited Plus variant vs 2 airbags of Limited variant was a very big advantage. Fun features such as panoramic sunroof (most attractive feature for my son), bigger infotainment screen, automatic headlights and wipers etc. are cherries on  top the cake.

So on August 14, 2019.. I took delivery of my Jeep Compass Limited Plus in minimal grey with black roof colour.

My mother performing the puja at time of new vehicle delivery

I hope that my research will make it easier for you to decide on your preferred Jeep Compass variant. You can visit Jeep India website www.jeep-india.com for more information & details. Keep reading my blog as I share my experience of owning the Jeep Compass.

JEEP COMPASS VS MG HECTOR - HOW I CHOSE MY LUXURY CROSSOVER SUV

The most exciting thing in any motor heads life was happening with me.. I was getting to choose a new vehicle. My last vehicle was my Mahindra Thar in 2016 and I relished the opportunity to start the evaluation, comparison and test driving process all over again.

When I started my search in April 2019, in the luxury crossover SUV segment with price range between Rs. 20-25 lacs, I had 3 options to choose from; MG Hector, Tata Harrier or Jeep Compass (Kia Seltos was yet to be launched).

Battle of the Crossover SUVs

In the beginning itself, I rejected Tata Harrier outright, based on my personal experiences of lack of reliability and service support of Tata & M&M. It's a difficult decision not to consider a feature-loaded vehicle like Harrier. But I have learnt from experience that a vehicle which looks good on paper is not necessarily a great vehicle on the road, if it lacks reliability and has niggling problems. Improper after sales service makes the issues worse. 

Tata Harrier. Pic Courtesy - harrier.tatamotors.com

Having decided not to consider Tata, it came down to choosing between the Jeep Compass and MG Hector. The newly launched MG Hector looked like a promising candidate. The brand was making waves in this segment with it's 'Internet Inside' concept. The print, internet and TV channels were falling all over themselves to review this new vehicle. The initial reviews looked very promising and the company was creating a lot of buzz.

This piqued my interest too, and I headed to Thane (Tejpal Motors, Ghodbunder Road, Thane) to test-drive the vehicle (The dealer in Nasik was yet to start the showroom). I checked out the display cars and the vehicle looked superb. All LED lights, lots of legroom in the back and features galore. I got to test-drive the vehicle along with 3 other persons and the showroom rep, as there was a long queue for test-drives. The drive was nothing special and I felt that the car was rather sluggish and reluctant to push beyond it's comfort zone. But thanks to 3 other persons eagerly waiting their turn, I got to drive for only a short distance.

Quite disappointed, I decided to wait for 15-20 days for the Nasik dealership to open, to test drive the vehicle again and then come to a conclusion. Finally I got the call that test-drive vehicles were available in Nasik showroom too. I took a prior appointment and reached on time. But after waiting for 40 mins., I left without a test-drive. There was utter chaos in the showroom and the reps were busy giving test-drives (more like joy rides) to their friends and family. I couldn't wait any longer and left.

After about a week, I went to the showroom again, and this time I was able to get the test-drive after about 15 mins. I was excited to start the drive. The vehicle looks grand, although the 17" wheels look a tad small. I got to test-drive the top-end diesel variant with manual transmission.

Unfortunately, the test-drive was a complete disappointment. The ride quality was rough, the suspension was stiff and road bumps could be felt inside. There was noticeable body roll and the vehicle wasn't really fun to drive. I found the gear shifting clunky and the clutch quite heavy. The sales rep who joined me also knew the drawbacks and tried to sell the vehicle based on it's features; the voice-activated commands, the large tab in the centre console with pre-loaded apps connected through internet and panoramic sunroof being some of the hyped features.  But the features felt gimmicky. The large tab in the centre was sluggish and needed hard finger touches to work. I also found it very disturbing to use this while driving.

On voicing my concerns, the sales rep told me that this was a test-drive vehicle and thus it wasn't a true representation of the vehicle. So I told him to get me a better vehicle to test-drive. After waiting for another week, I called the sales rep again, and then went back to the showroom for Round 3 of the test-drives. The vehicle was newer, but my impressions stayed the same. I was disappointed but I decided not to buy a vehicle because of it's features as these features stay exciting for some time, but soon become the norm. Instead, it's important for a vehicle to get the basics such as safety, comfort, drivability and luxury correct, to ensure a satisfactory long term ownership experience. 

Now let me tell you my experience with test-drives of Jeep Compass. I called the showroom and booked a test-drive. The vehicle was brought for the test drive the next day, 5 mins. before the scheduled time. Since I was unaware about the variants, they got me the Trailhawk variant. I had a fun drive and the sales rep asked me to take it to a particular road which was in very poor condition. This road tested the suspension and it came out with flying colours. Then their driver took over. He took the Trailhawk for some off-roading and I couldn't believe the capability of this vehicle. It went up steep inclines and came back down the same way, without hitting the bumpers. It went over large rocks without breaking a sweat. It's 4WD capabilities are unquestionable. 

After this test-drive of the Jeep Compass, my first impressions were good. The suspension was top-notch, the gear change was smooth, the interiors were simple but luxurious and there were enough features to keep motor heads like me satisfied.

Then the sales rep introduced the variants. On getting to know the price of the Trailhawk (Approx. Rs. 34 lacs), I deleted this option and checked the other variants. After due diligence, I decided to choose between the Limited or Limited Plus variants. I was expecting to hear that there variants were not available, as generally only the top variant is available for test-drive. To my surprise, the sales rep told me that all variants were available for test-drive. This gave me a lot of confidence, as the commitment of the brand can be seen from the fact that 5 - 6 test drive cars are available at the showroom. They got me the Limited and Limited Plus variants over the next few days and I took test-drives to my satisfaction.

After 3 test-drives of Jeep Compass (same number of test-drives as the MG Hector), I was convinced that the Jeep Compass was much superior vehicle than the MG Hector. 

And why's that? Well. to begin with, the engine is super smooth. The power delivery is very linear and you can pull the vehicle to 160 kmph with ease. The cabin is very quiet (quietest in its segment, I am told). The inside comfort is also very good, as you sit in seats wrapped in premium leather. The suspension is super, absorbing most of the jolts from potholes. There is dual zone A/C and the vehicle comes with all safety features as standard. The infotainment screen is easy to use. Additional convenience features like capability to connect Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, even from the back seat USD slot is awesome. 

Jeep Compass has also scored perfect 5 stars in Australian NCAP crash test. Also, let's not forget that Jeep exports Indian-made Jeep Compass to Australia and Japan. That's a big testament to it's quality standards.

The MG Hector does have some benefits over the Jeep Compass. It can seat 3 adults in the back with much more comfort than the Jeep Compass. It's rear seats are also reclining, giving more comfort.These as per me are the biggest advantages.

There is a price difference of nearly Rs. 6 lacs between the top variants of MG and Jeep, with the Jeep Compass being the costlier choice. 

I understand that the MG brand is new and so they have to be price competitive. But you are still paying Rs. 20 Lacs for a brand with no established standard of service quality, spares availability, vehicle reliability and dealer support. I consider this as a big risk, as I am shelling out Rs. 20 lacs for an unknown commodity. Also remember that MG brand is owned by SAIC Motor Corporation, China. This company has already sold vehicles in India in the past in partnership with GM. This partnership didn't work well and ended when GM exited India. Now SAIC is re-entering the Indian market through a different brand. This doesn't inspire too much confidence, because I feel that the company is masking it's past failures under the guise of a new brand name.

On the other hand, Jeep has been present in India since 2017. I got very positive feedback regarding the vehicle reliability and service quality from first-hand users (I can speak only for the Nasik dealer - Moharir Jeep). I figured it was worth paying Rs. 6 lacs more, as over the ownership duration of 7 - 9 years, the price difference would be nullified by a more reliable vehicle requiring less maintenance and more importantly, giving more peace of mind. 

So, after a lot of test-drives, research and soul-searching (giving up on some new features brought by MG is difficult, even though I know that they won't add up in the long term ownership experience), I decided to purchase the Jeep Compass.

Read my next blog on how I chose which variant of Jeep Compass to buy, from the plethora of choices that Jeep offers.