The call of the mountains

Hyundai’s Great India Drive (GID) has become an iconic annual drive event that enables the brand’s latest model to be showcased in some unique landmark setting, a stunning route or awe-inspiring locale. GID 2022 returned this year for its sixth edition and the new Hyundai Tucson was going to be the vehicle of choice for the planned climb up to Kargil. Part of the middle Himalayas, Kargil and Drass districts are storied locations for being some of the coldest places on the planet, but more importantly for being the haloed grounds where the Kargil War of 1999 was won by our armed forces. Hyundai’s GID has, in the past, often set benchmarks by choosing unique driving routes. And even though I’ve driven up into the mighty Himalayas and through its snowed out passes many times in the past, I was looking forward to the Zojila adventure that Hyundai had planned for the next two days. 

Early winter

The plan was to fly into Srinagar the previous evening, get a night’s rest to acclimatise and start early the next morning towards Sonamarg. After a lunch break there, the climb up to Zojila was to begin, clocking an elevation difference of about 2,000 feet in a few hours. The 2022 Hyundai Tucson at hand was the two-litre Diesel engine variant, with H-Trac, which meant lots of low-end torque and all-wheel drive capability — perfect for the adventure ahead of us. The drive started out in the morning from the hotel overlooking the famous Dal lake in Srinagar. The city was just waking up as the small convoy of Tucsons made its way through the wispy fog that was just beginning to lift as the sun rose in the sky. The first leg of the drive to Sonamarg is about 100km long leading out of town via Ganderbal, skirting around the Dachigam National Park and heading into Sonamarg via Gund and Kangan. 

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson at hand was the two-litre Diesel engine variant, with H-Trac, which meant lots of low-end torque and all-wheel drive capability — perfect for the adventure ahead of us. 

The early part of the route was mostly narrow roads and city traffic within Srinagar. And one of the first points about the Tucson’s comfortable cabin that strikes me is how quiet it is despite the Diesel engine sitting under the bonnet right in front of me. The engine’s sumptuous 418Nm of torque and 186PS of peak power means doing quick overtakes and short sprints to take advantage of gaps in traffic even within the city is just a tap of the throttle away. While there is still quite a lot of army security presence in the outskirts of Srinagar, the one takeaway from the first leg of the drive was the amount of new construction activity that one can witness, including the Zojila tunnel that is due to be completed soon. The temperature in Srinagar was about 6-7 °c and the onset of winter seemed like it was still a couple of weeks away. But, despite radioing ahead and constantly checking about the weather further up in the mountains, we were still in for a surprise when we wound our way up to Sonamarg and our lunch spot.

The engine’s sumptuous 418Nm of torque and 186PS of peak power means doing quick overtakes and short sprints to take advantage of gaps in traffic even within the city is just a tap of the throttle away

Frozen planet

The valleys of Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pehelgam are favourites amongst tourists looking for winter fun in the snow. By the time we pulled into the driveway of the small hotel and restaurant property that had been identified for our lunch stop, the entire town had already received a considerable amount of snow overnight. The convoy of Tucsons had to be parked in about 4-5 inches of snow and the short climb up to the rest stop was already getting slippery with compacted snow and early ice setting in. This meant that Zojila pass at an elevation of about 11,700 feet, towering nearly 2,000 feet above Sonamarg, was likely to be even more cold and snowed out. Predictably, the news that came in halfway through our hot, homemade meal wasn’t comforting. The afternoon sun was blindingly bright and the temperature outside was only 2°c, but the information that had been relayed was that the pass had been temporarily closed due to the unexpected snowfall and that there was only a slim chance it might be opened up for one-way traffic later during the day. 

Just before sunset, and even as I was preparing to settle down for the night at one of the local hotel properties in Sonamarg, there was finally news that we could make our trip to Zojila after all. It was a one-way trip for the night planned all the way to Kargil, via Zojila and Drass. Return traffic had been halted and our convoy of Hyundai Tucsons were probably the only set of vehicles that were being allowed to make the crossover. The ascent up to Zojila starts with a fairly wide section of the Srinagar-Leh highway with the partly frozen Sind river running alongside to the right. Once the hairpins start, the road is wide enough to just accommodate two vehicles. The route is about 125km long up to Kargil and the night time temperatures in Zojila and Kargil was expected to be -10 to -12°c. It is only after we reach the halfway point that I get reminded about the fantastic work being done by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the immensely difficult task to lay and maintain the roads at these altitudes and beyond. The visuals outside the windows of the Tucson are both stark and mesmerising. The BRO’s tractors, bulldozers and other small earthmoving equipment being driven downhill had just cleared NH1D of what could’ve been dangerous levels of ‘black ice’.

The multi-terrain modes that the H-Trac system offers enables choosing between Sand, Snow and Mud

On either side of the highway lay the cleared snow, in some places nearly shoulder high, and beyond that, lit softly in the fading evening light, was the mighty Himalayas. This surreal sight of the frozen rugged Himalayan landscape followed us all the way up to the Zojila pass and beyond to Drass town. The convoy was quite literally the only set of wheels crunching the thin layer of snow going uphill. After a quick tea-break in Drass town with the windchill outside taking the ambient temperature well below -11°c, I reached our final stop for the night — a cozy hotel right in the middle of Kargil. With the sight of the Himalayas still fresh in my mind, I hit the sack expecting next day’s return journey to be one smooth trip. Little did I know of the surprises that still lay in store. 

Himalayan traffic jam

With the possibility of fresh snow up in the mountain pass and the possible rush of vehicles waiting to make the crossing, an early morning start had been planned for the return trip. The convoy was out by 07:00 hours as planned and the first section from Kargil town to the famous Kargil War Mermorial was a breezy drive with minor climbs and downhill sections. The Kargil War Mermorial is a commemorative site built in pink sandstone so we can eternally remember and honour the supreme sacrifice made by the heroes of our armed forces during the war. All around the memorial are the hilltops and mountainsides that were valiantly recaptured by our armed forces from enemy occupation after the 1999 conflict. 

Later, driving back past Drass town was when the awaiting surprise slowly started to reveal itself. A trip into the mountains is always going to throw up an unexpected event or two. But to be faced with the biggest traffic jam that I have ever seen at an altitude of 11,000 feet was a bit too unbelievable. On the left lane and running for kilometres (as far as the eye could see), were trucks parked or inching along! Almost all of them were trucks that had brought in food and supplies for the residents of this mountainous region, and they were returning on an empty load. The BRO had blocked the flow of traffic since overnight ice formation on the road had made driving dangerous before the warmth from sunlight could thaw the ice. Thankfully, the pass had been opened for traffic by early noon and the right lane started moving, except for the occasional army convoy climbing uphill and that needed to be given way to. It was still slow progress. 

The drive back wasn’t without its share of adventure. Despite some more clearing work by the BRO there were still small patches of black ice that needed to be negotiated with care. Black ice is the thick layer of snow melt or compacted snow that freezes over due to a sudden dip in temperatures. Because of its glassy, smooth surface, it can be difficult to spot and will be extremely slippery. Often it leads to loss of control and up the in mountains with every little barricading, this can prove to be fatal. There were trucks sliding sideways while going over some of these spots and vehicles behind them had to wait until they were clear of any danger. But the Hyundai Tucson’s four-wheel drive system ensured that there was no loss of traction in any of these spots. The multi-terrain modes that the H-Trac system offers enables choosing between Sand, Snow and Mud. And since torque distribution to each wheel is optimised by the system and its real-time calculations, early detection and correction of wheel slippage offered a lot of confidence while tackling these frozen conditions. 

But, even though the Tucson could have munched through the ice in double quick time, the Himalayan traffic jam meant that I managed to cross the 120+km in about 12 hours! So, by the time I reached Sonamarg and then Srinagar it was late into the evening. It also meant that I missed my return flight to Delhi and had to stay over in Srinagar one more night before heading down to the plains. The new 2022 Hyundai Tucson is loaded with premium features in the cabin. It is the long wheelbase version and even offers Level 2 ADAS (driver assistance systems), so no skimping on space and tech. But, nothing else except the AWD system helped make that Zojila crossing easy. Well, maybe that, and the heated seats. 

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