#DriveWithSOUL: Day 3 of Mountain Trail concludes

“We’re carrying oxygen cannisters, so you need not worry”,  said the local guide at our hotel in Dirang. But that sentence was enough to spark fear in the back of our heads. We understood that the drive up to Tawang via Sela pass was not going to be an easy drive. After breakfast at the hotel, Tata SOUL members cranked up their Hexas and Safaris to rush towards Sela pass, the gateway to Tawang. Sela is one of the highest motorable roads in the world, standing at a tall 13700 ft. and it’s just 144km from Dirang. But thanks to the varying terrain and serpentine roads, the journey itself can take up to 6 hours.

On the way we took a quick stop at Nyukmadung War Memorial where the members of the SOUL group felt proud and patriotic for India. From the memorial, we rushed to Jang where we had some hot snacks and bought a load of military clothing. Till now, the landscape was filled with lush greenery. As we climbed the ghats, the roads filled up with clouds right up till the point of zero visibility. That proved to be a challenge and slowed down our drive a bit. We were driving amongst the clouds for quite a while, and suddenly we were surrounded with a white coat all around us. The clouds seemed to be a buffer point between the greens and whites. A big gate saying Welcome to Tawang marked that we finally conquered Sela pass.

The participants were ecstatic, both, by the view and the capabilities of their SUVs. After a long photo session, we again were on our way to the city of Tawang. A long drive, and a couple of punctures later, our eventful day came to an end. We’ll be staying in Tawang for one more day, and tomorrow we’ll head to the indo China border, where we expect snow, rough terrain and more adventures.

Read more about our previous adventures here:

https://evoindia.com/tata-hexa-soul-drive-day-2-concludes/

https://evoindia.com/tata-hexa-soul-iconic-drive/