Manali-Leh Highway : Discovering Sarchu's Unique Charm

This is the 17th post of the Manali Leh Highway series, in the previous posts of this series you have seen Himalayan Shepherds, Life of Changpa Tribe, Himalayan Rickshaw Run, Lahaul Valley, Maure Plains Tanglang La, Naki La, Leh, Rohtang Pass, Lahaul Valley, Maure Plains See the storm scenes and the landscapes of this highway and learn about this colorful earth. Today in this series we will read about Sarchu located on Manali Leh Highway.

Tsharap river crossing Sarchu

Talking about adventure, tourists go on Zanskar trek from here, crossing rivers and mountains for about 7 days to reach their destination. People also come here on motorcycles and jeeps. The roads here are bad, so jeep rallies are also organized here, in which people from all over the country and abroad participate enthusiastically. There is also a mountain peak named Sarchu, whose height is 5300 meters, this peak looks technical but you can reach the summit by fixing a rope.

Sarchu is the most famous location on Manali Leh Highway, the reason for its fame is its geographical landscape. Sarchu is the state border of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. It is from here that the borders of both the states are divided. This place comes after Lachuchungla and the altitude here is 4250 meters. Sarchu is situated on the banks of Sharp River and tourists normally take two days to reach here by public transport.

Talking about the main attractions here, it was once a part of the Silk Route, at that time animals, salt, spices and clothes were traded from here. People used to go to Tibet from here for import and export. For this reason, a village was also established here which is known as Sarchu. The population of this village is about 150 and in winter all the people of the village go to Manali so that they do not have to stay here buried in snow for 6 months.

Because this place is a dry desert, there is only grass in the name of greenery, which yaks, sheep and goats eat to survive. Being a state border, arrangements have been made for many tourists here, under which Swiss tents, dhabas and restaurants have been built here so that tourists can stay here and spend comfortable time. Since last two years, mobile network has also come here, so now in case of emergency, you can call help for yourself and inform your family about your health.

There is also an army camp here where medical facilities are also available for tourists. The climate here is so dry that people start showing symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness, to avoid this disease you can take help from the Army Medical Camp. If we talk about animals here, yak, sheep, goat, marmot and kyang are found here.

A large number of minerals are found in the mountains of Ladakh, hence different colors are seen in the mountains here. Since the wind blows very fast here, different types of pillar structures have been formed on the banks of the Sharp River due to the melting of wind and snow, which are now a center of attraction for tourists.

So my dear friends, that's all in today's post. Hope you are liking this Manali Leh series. Thank you and have a nice day.

Disclaimer: All photos are clicked by me (himalayanwomb), all photos are clicked from canon 77d, photos are edited in lightroom. This blog has been written in Hindi and translated into English, for which the help of Google translation has been taken. And yes I proudly say this post is AI free.

If you like this series then other posts of this series are as follows;

Post 01: Shepards the Ice Keeper of Indian Mountains
Post 02: Guardians of the Cold Desert - A Glimpse into Nomadic Life
Post 03: People at 4600 Meters
Post 04: The Epic Saga of 2-Stroke Auto Rickshaws
Post 05: Temples, Monasteries, and Breathtaking Landscapes of Lahaul Valley
Post 06: A Magical Place in the Mountains
Post 07: Cycled to Second Highest Motorable Mountain Pass which is 17446 ft high
Post 08: The Haunted History of Naki La's Truck Driver
Post 09: Leh A Land of Monasteries, Peaks, and Lakes
Post 10: Truck Accident Occurred Between 40-Foot High Ice Walls on Rohtang Pass which means 'Pile of Corpses'
Post 11: A nomadic tribe that lives amidst storms