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Rohtang, the Way to Heaven

24 photographs

The road up to the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, from the green valley and its streams to the switchbacks above the cloud line. The weather turned while we were there: two hours of heavy snow buried the huts and the road, and the last photograph shows the same spot as an earlier one, under fresh snow.

  • Snow-covered peaks rise behind a forested ridge, cloud gathering at the summits beneath a blue sky streaked with cirrus.
    Snow peaks above a green valley
  • White cloud tumbles over a dark wooded ridge while a snow-streaked peak shows at the right under a sky of swept cirrus.
    Cloud swirling over the ridge
  • A glacial-green stream churns white over rounded grey boulders, seen from above in strong sunlight.
    Rapids among grey boulders
  • A fast, pale-green stream threads boulders between a dark rock wall and a stone-walled path lined with shrubs.
    Mountain stream in a rocky gorge
  • Tall pines on a rocky bluff overlook a boulder-strewn stream, with terraced cliffs and a hazy mountain wall behind.
    Stream below the cliffs
  • Low cloud pours over dark, snow-dusted slopes where a line of leafless trees stands along the ridge.
    Fresh snow on bare slopes
  • Two black birds fly through heavy cloud above a pair of stone huts with tin roofs at the foot of a mountainside.
    Two crows over stone huts
  • White SUVs with luggage on their roofs wait on a muddy road beside tarpaulin stalls as mist hides the mountain above.
    Taxis in the mist
  • A road loops in tight hairpins across a grassy mountainside toward a cluster of roadside stalls, cars dotted along it.
    Hairpin bends on the mountain road
  • A grey, snow-dusted scree slope descends to a small green pool and a gravel road winding across moorland beneath low cloud.
    Scree slopes and a small tarn
  • A line of white vehicles waits on a gravel road beneath a snow-dusted ridge wrapped in grey cloud, a few people at the roadside.
    Queue on the pass road
  • A gravel road zigzags across green slopes past a huddle of roadside stalls while cloud fills the valley beyond.
    Switchbacks under low cloud
  • A man in a dark coat, knitted hat and shawl holds handfuls of snow as flakes fall, parked vehicles and tents blurred behind him.
    Snowfall at the pass
  • Close portrait of a man in a dark hooded coat and green scarf, snowflakes drifting in front of a white, snow-covered ground.
    Portrait in falling snow
  • A man in a black jacket, woollen cap and scarf stands among snow-covered boulders as thick flakes fall against a white sky.
    Standing in the snowfall
  • Falling snow blurs a line of low huts on a white plateau, with a tumbled dry-stone wall buried in fresh snow in the foreground.
    Huts fading into the snow
  • A person in a white cap and dark coat stands in heavy snowfall, small figures and huts barely visible on the white plain behind.
    Whiteout on the plateau
  • A lone vehicle rounds a dark hairpin bend cut through deep fresh snow, more vehicles waiting on the ledge above under a grey sky.
    Hairpin in fresh snow
  • Two small vehicles perch on a snow-dusted rocky ridge that drops away into a wall of grey cloud.
    Vehicles on the ridge
  • A mountain road loops in long switchbacks across a snow-covered valley floor, the slopes above dissolving into mist.
    Switchbacks through the snow
  • A string of ponies stands on a snowy slope beside a small blue tent, a steep snow-streaked mountain face looming behind in cloud.
    Ponies waiting in the snow
  • A wet black road curves between snow-covered slopes toward a cluster of huts, dark ridges and a cloud-filled valley beyond.
    Road curving over the pass
  • Snow blankets a scatter of stone huts, tents and tin roofs on a high slope, a snow-streaked ridge behind under a heavy grey sky.
    Roadside huts under snow
  • Two gabled stone buildings sit under fresh snow at the foot of a cloud-wrapped mountainside, a few small figures on the slope nearby.
    Same spot, two hours later