Mahindra ‘Monastery Escape 2012’ concludes

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, concluded the ‘Monastery Escape 2012’, which was held under the Mahindra Adventure umbrella brand. The Monastery Escape was held between July 27th and August 5th, 2012.

20 expedition ready vehicles, including XUV500, Thar and Scorpio were driven from Delhi to Leh and back via some of the most treacherous passes in the Himalayas like the, Baralacha La, Tanglang La, Nakee La & Zoji La route over ten days, traversing more than 3000kms.

Pitched as the ‘Drive of a Lifetime’, it lived up to its name and captured the imagination of adventure seekers in the country. The idea of the drive was to offer the Himalayan driving experience to one and all, be it novices or motorsports enthusiasts, by providing them with adequate backup. The event was run to the standard of a motorsport event and the participants enjoyed the mountains, thanks to well planned halts at regular intervals.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vivek Nayer, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “In keeping with our promise of providing adrenaline pumping challenges & escapes, we unleashed the second season of the Monastery Escape 2012 in association with Ceat Tyres & Mobil 1, under the umbrella brand of Mahindra Adventure. The journey celebrated incredible India as it traversed through some of India’s most beautiful Himalayan locales making it a drive of a lifetime”.

Starting from the green hills of Manali, the convoy followed the waterfalls alongside to reach the picturesque Rohtang pass. As the vehicles drove from Rohtang to the next destination Jispa, everyone was left awestruck with the terrain change from beautiful green meadows to the brown barren mountains.

The climb continued to nearly 14,000 ft to Sarchu, a place where beauty surpasses the level of oxygen in the air. The fleet of Mahindra vehicles braved the cold biting wind and moved towards the land of monasteries, Leh. As one moved towards Leh, the colourful prayer flags became ubiquitous to its landscape. Having crossed treacherous passes like Thangla pass, one could finally breathe well as the convoy entered the lush green valley of Ladhak.

 Dotted with monasteries and white stupas, the drive to Leh was nothing less than breathtaking. Further, a quick visit to Nubra valley, where one could see the endangered double humped camels and the famous hot water spring at Panamik, left everyone energized for more adventure. Enroute to Leh, one could traverse through the world’s highest motorable pass at 18,400 ft at Khardungla.

The route from Leh to Srinagar was every traveler’s paradise, where one could witness the change in air, the vegetation, the people etc. Enroute the adventurers also paid homage to the soldiers at the Kargil war memorial at Drass.

The journey continued to the land of Chinar, Srinagar, where the entire team stayed in the beautiful wooden houseboats at Nageen lake. Finally, the last leg of the journey was made from Srinagar to Delhi, while crossing the beautiful fields in Punjab, thus concluding the Drive of a Lifetime with Monastery Escape 2012.