World’s Most Dangerous Roads _ India - Leh-Manali Highway _ Free Documentary

World's greatest mountain range, the Himalayas. Only few roads lead up this way. They are dangerous and unpredictable. Each journey is an adventure. Using heavy machinery, the clearing party advances meter by meter. It's mid-May, and the mountain villages in northern India have been cut off from the outside world for seven months. The Manali-Lei highway lies hidden beneath a thick layer of snow. The men have to take extreme care, for they cannot see the steep inclines beneath the masses of snow. They clear the road as best they can. It won't be passable for a number of weeks to come. The first trucks will head into the Himalayas in June. Most carry goods from the capital, New Delhi. They've already been on the road for two days. During the summer months, Narendra Kumar Bolt regularly makes the trip to Lei. I'll be in Manali soon. I'm getting close. The weather's playing up. With luck, we should make Lei in three days. No, everything is fine for the rest. No problem. See you. Each driver pulls in at the garage in Manali. Before Narendra ventures onto the mountain road with his truck, everything needs to be thoroughly checked one last time. Give me that tool. You check the ropes. Narendra is making this trip in convoy with his colleague Kher Singh. It's safer together. Kher Singh doesn't own his truck. He works for a haulage firm. Narendra, on the other hand, is his own boss. Narendra makes some final checks. His truck needs to be 100 percent. Otherwise, he'll be putting his life at risk. The men are in high spirits and not yet thinking about the trip ahead. The road is like your wife. Impossible to understand. You never know what's going to happen next. The weather is unpredictable and it can snow at any time. There are many high passes and the air gets very thin. Before he sets off, Narendra prays to the gods. They have to get him to his destination safely and give him strength to rise to the challenges ahead. Manali-Leh Highway lies in the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Stretching some 475 kilometers, it's the only road connecting the two towns, Manali in the Himachal Pradesh province and Leh in the Kashmir region. The passes are among the world's highest. Just beyond Manali, the road rises steeply to the first pass. In many places, it's flooded by melt water. Narendra has to rely on his experience. Deep holes and sharp rocks take their toll on the tires and axles. Every year, water tears parts of the reinforcements down into the abyss. The next obstacle lurks a few kilometers ahead. The road has turned into a mud course. People all have their own reasons for fighting their way through this quagmire. They want to get into town for the first time in months, visit relatives, and some simply seek a few days' adventure in the mountains. Because the road is so bad, accidents happen. When it's foggy, you can hardly see ahead. And there are landslides. When it rains, huge boulders come crashing down. Take care of our truck. Keep looking ahead. If we have to stop, we'll be stuck. It's too steep. Ramesh is Narendra's student. He has to assist his boss and make sure that the truck gets past obstacles safely. Kher Singh and his assistants follow Narendra's truck. That may be easier than driving up front, but it still requires great concentration. The truckers maneuver their heavy loads along the very edge of the precipice. It's downhill for the next 300 meters, and they can only hope that nothing will come up the other way. There are glaciers on either side. You have to inch your way along like a tightrope walker. You can't rely on your engine. You never know whether it will cause trouble. That's what makes it so hard. For Narendra and Kher Singh, the journey has come to an indefinite halt. Nobody knows how long it will take, nor why the traffic has stopped moving. Each delay increases the pressure on the drivers. Clients are waiting for their goods, and the road to Leh is still long. Another reason why Narendra and Kher Singh want to cross the pass quickly is the altitude. It's making them drowsy. We're at around 13,000 feet now on the Rohtang Pass, and breathing here is difficult. When we're stuck in traffic, it's even worse. When the truck is moving, the altitude doesn't bother me so much. But when it's stationary, you become short of breath. They'll be going nowhere until the road is cleared, as it has been buried beneath an avalanche of mud and rocks. For hours now, hundreds of people have been waiting for the digger to clear the road. Clearing parties are stationed at intervals. They're practising shifting even the largest boulders to one side. The road has yet to be even half cleared, but nevertheless, the first vehicles attempt to make their way through the slippery mud. Narendra makes it. His truck is in good shape. Kher Singh is in trouble. He needs more traction. His tyres are worn and cannot find grip. If you run into trouble with your truck out here, then you're all alone. There's nothing you can do. You just sit there and wait for an angel. There's no help on this road. No telephone, no hotel. The road is a disaster. For a few hours, the trucks make good time. A dangerously narrow spot is being broadened. Large boulders just beyond a blind curve have made the road treacherous. Without heavy machinery at hand, the workers combine their strength to heave the rocks to one side. The traffic must flow. The workers fashion gravel by hand. They use it to fill holes and reinforce the road. Most of the men are young and come from India's poorest regions where there is no work. The road construction company has taken them on. Hassan Qumrul is a foreman and has worked on the high road for 19 years. Strategically, the Manali-Leh highway is very important. Hassan's company works for the military. Pakistan, China and India all have claims on the Kashmir region. And India has thousands of troops stationed high up in the mountains. They need supplies and therefore these men tirelessly perform their maintenance. God always wins. It's out of our hands. Our wishes count for nothing here. Nature prevails. We don't have her under control. We construct walls, for instance. It's very hard work for many men. We use a lot of steel and cement and yet the walls fail. The glaciers swallow everything in their path. Narendra has spent half his life on the road. He knows all of India's main highways and none is as demanding as the road from Manali to Leh. When I'm in trouble because of this road and it's closed for eight to ten days due to snow and I get stuck, and when the army has to come out to bring food or even rescue us, then I think, why do I do this work? What is this occupation that I've chosen for myself? When the truck is moving, however, I'm happy. When it's rolling, I have great fun. The 80-ton load means that Narendra cannot drive fast. He's not keen anyway on making the journey as quickly as possible to earn more money. He's seen too many trucks end up in the abyss. The two trucks reach the Rohtang La. Prayer flags mark the pass's highest point. The trucks are parked up beside the road as dusk sets in. It's the first night. Since there are few restaurants or cafes along the route, the drivers cook themselves. Their cabin is kitchen and bedroom in one. If everything goes well, the man will reach Leh in three days. Kher Singh is well equipped. He ensures that he has enough supplies with him even if he breaks down. Help can be a long time coming. The nights are cold even in summer and the days are often very hot. The drivers have no time for the landscape's unique beauty. They must concentrate on making quick and safe progress. If anything, nature is an obstacle to them. Deep gorges and raging rivers can only be crossed using military bridges. They can be built quickly but rarely last more than a few months. Each time the snow melts, the water finds itself a new course. For three days now, another driver's truck has been stranded by the roadside. The man can't get the engine going. Two mechanics have arrived. The truck belongs to Yasbir Singh. This isn't the first time he's been stuck on the Manali-Leh highway. And two years ago, he didn't have any mechanics to help him out of trouble. Yasbir was caught unawares by snow on the highest pass. His truck got stuck and its engine froze. Yasbir held out for almost a month. He was afraid that his cargo would be stolen. After the winter, he had to buy a new engine. This time he's getting off lightly. It seems that the repair work will be successful. The mechanics can at least get the truck moving again. Although this is costing Yasbir a lot of money, it's nothing compared to last time his family faced financial ruin. My father died because of this truck. He was so angry that it got stuck and that we were suffering its loss that he had a heart attack. Too many deaths. We had no money left. Narendra has a close relationship with the road. It's like a temporary marriage. A four-month marriage when I'm on this road. She no longer frightens me though. I set out from New Delhi and the trip takes me between seven and ten days. It's like a marriage. I love this road and there's a lot I can forgive her. The journey has hit yet more trouble. Narendra can feel what's wrong with his truck. He makes it to the next tyre shop. Hey friend, can you fix that tyre? Sure. I think it's punctured. Get the tyre off. It's punctured. Can you patch it up? Or make yourself useful and undo the wheel nuts? Check the others too. Come on, get on with it. Get your people moving. There's work to do. I hope he can fix it. Do you want him to check yours too? Yes. It's high season for the tyre men as tyres take the hardest beating. They have to deal with razor-sharp edges and pointed rocks. Narendra hopes that the tyre can be saved. Profits are already lean as it is. The inner tube is fixed, but how long will it last? The outer tyre, however, is worse off. A stone has become lodged and ripped it. Narendra will need a new one for the next trip. The tyre has had it. It'll cost me at least 170 euros. Curse this damn road. I'm not coming back. I'm never going to drive again. The trucks reach a plateau. It's a good opportunity for a driving lesson. It's safe here. You have to stay sharp, young lad. The first thing to watch on the Manali-Leh highway is your engine temperature. Ramesh wants to drive a truck too one day. Perhaps even his own. He dreams of overcoming the Manali-Leh highway sitting in the driver's seat. He can learn a lot from Narendra about the transport industry and about the art of driving. Come closer. When you sit here, you have to be submissive and pray to the gods. We're going to hit sand. What should I do? You have to steer carefully in sand and you should change down into first gear. Yes, that's it, exactly. The most important thing in the sand is to change down and keep a steady pace. If you hit a sand dune, never brake. Either brake before it or after you've driven through it. Kher Singh's truck suddenly refused to go on. It simply stopped. Kher Singh put his foot down on emptiness. The deflecting lever for the throttle control cable has broken. He doesn't have the spare part he needs. It's time to improvise. Narendra noticed that Kher Singh was no longer following him and has returned to find out what's going on. The drivers would never leave each other in the lurch. They know what it means to get stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Narendra does what he can. He has a knack for fiddly jobs. Kher Singh and his assistants have already tried everything they can to fix the lever. With Narendra's help and a tiny metal pin, they finally managed to solve the problem. They can continue their journey. I wouldn't like to get stuck for more than a week or 10 days. You can't simply leave your truck behind, you see. There are goods in the back, and it's my responsibility that nothing gets damaged or stolen. There are thieves out here who steal everything if you get stranded. You never know. Without Narendra, I'd have been in trouble now. The men on their motorbikes have just one motto. The road is the destination. The bikers from Mumbai seek adventure and the boundless freedom of the open road. Many don't realize until they're here just how dangerous a trip on unpaved roads is. To the bikers, the Taglang La is literally the high point of their journey. You're the best pillion around, man. You're the best pillion around. The pass lies at 5,325 meters. Cheers, guys. Cheers, man. A quick souvenir snap and a cup of tea. One doesn't last long in the thin air. A headache and shortness of breath can set in suddenly. The bikers acknowledge the dangers of altitude sickness, but these friends are out for a challenge. The passes, basically, there are no roads on the passes, and then it's like basically stones, stream of water flowing, and then there are like huge trucks coming across, army convoy here to handle all these things. It's very scary, very, very scary. The most scariest moment till now, I guess. And I can't stop the bike on a slope, and the bikes had skidded, and I fell off. I had a slight hairline injury on my hand, and now I can't ride, but I'm not going back on a flight or something. I want to be on the pillion so that I can enjoy the place at least. Narendra and Kher Singh have almost reached the highest pass too. The climb is hard on their trucks. It's an uphill stretch of many kilometres. Narendra is worried about whether his patched-up puncture and Kher Singh's throttle control lever will hold out. The drivers have not yet allowed themselves a break today, as time is short due to the repairs that needed to be done. Finally, they reach Taglang La. Two-thirds of the journey is now behind them. Look at the tyres. Looking good. Yeah. Did the engine heat up? Yes, it got very hot indeed. Come on, let's pray. Narendra is a religious man. Being a Buddhist, he has learnt to be relaxed, to take things as they come. The following morning, the drivers have to navigate along the edge of a deep gorge. Narendra doesn't like to drive this stretch unless he's had a good night's sleep. He really needs to concentrate. Each section of the Manali-Lei Highway has its own perils. There's never a moment to relax. Driving in the mountains requires a completely different technique from driving in ordinary terrain. You have to really be on the ball. The slightest error and you disappear into a ravine. Your truck could be a total loss. You have to be careful all the time because the road is so bad. There are huge holes in it. Narendra has been driving along this Himalayan road for 15 years. He has overcome his fear, but he still has much respect for it. When I drove along this road for the first time, I was terribly afraid. I knew the road, but I was so frightened I couldn't eat. I was constantly worried about the altitude. How would my truck get across the passes? Then, close to Lei, I got very excited and was happy. It was as if I'd arrived in heaven. That's what it was like. In some places, the road has been blasted out of the rock. There are no nets to catch falling rocks and no crash barriers to stop a truck plunging into the depths. A truck has come off the road. The men are trying to pull the truck out of the water and save whatever can be saved. The crew have already been rescued and taken to hospital. They were lucky. They survived. Soldiers pulled the truck out of the water. Only the army has equipment for a job like this. The owners lose at least one truck on this road each year. They can afford to, because they own a whole fleet of trucks. One should keep away from this road and not do business here. It's not worth it. There's too much competition and there are too many thieves in this trade. The money isn't good and there are few contracts. Sometimes the losses are huge. When this truck went off the road, it was carrying 12,000 litres of petrol and it's all gone. The battery has been stolen, the tools, almost everything. It really is a huge loss. Sonam Pangri is making packaged soup and brewing tea. She's from Leh. During the summer months, she earns a living running a roadside cafe on the Manali-Leh highway. She also provides mattresses for people to sleep on. The bikers from Mumbai spent the night here. It was cold and their journey had taken its toll. They all work in the IT sector and they're not used to the raw climate, the altitude or the bad roads. To them, the Kashmir region is unknown territory. Where do you get all this stuff? From Leh, mostly. Sometimes from Manali. Life here at this altitude can be difficult. Sometimes the tent is blown away by the wind. Sometimes the rain destroys it completely. It's hard. The women are proud of their small business. They offer some creature comforts in the otherwise harsh natural environment. I owe a lot to this road. I'm independent. I can pay for my children's education. Everyone comes here. High-ranking officers, priests and poor people too, whom I feed for free. Some people are very nice to me. The other day, there were 10 people here without any money at all. Their bus had broken down. I had to give them tea and cake for nothing. That's how this road is. All the shopkeepers here owe their existence to it. The day the road opens, I'm happy. The day it closes, I'm sad. The vehicles edge their way through the fog. It's become hard to tell the road from the abyss. Narendra directs the traffic. Nobody else feels responsible. To prevent traffic coming to a standstill, he directs the buses, trucks and cars coming downhill past his own truck. A narrow section a few hundred meters further along offers room for one-way traffic only. Narendra and Ramesh have learned from experience that it makes more sense sometimes to wait a while in order to make better progress later on. Since there are no crash barriers, Ramesh takes up position by the roadside. He acts as a human marker to show oncoming traffic where the edge of the road is. The drivers are on the road for weeks, sometimes months on end. It's difficult for their families. But during the trips on the Manali-Leh highway, Narendra misses his family even more than usual. I miss my wife. I miss my family, my parents, my children. I really miss them a lot. I'm in foreign territory. I'm on the road and I've left my family behind. This is very risky work and nobody knows whether I'll make it back. There are accidents and many difficulties to overcome. The two trucks are getting close to their destination. They've almost made it. The middle of Ladakh province lies at an altitude of more than 3,500 meters. People from neighboring villages come to Leh in order to trade their wares. And for hundreds of years, the town was a center of Tibetan Buddhism. Narendra has to take care that his truck doesn't tear down the prayer flags spanning the road. In town, Narendra and Kher Singh go their separate ways. They have different clients. Narendra's client is eager to find out whether his goods have arrived safely. The drivers are responsible for them until they're unloaded. Despite the breakdowns and traffic jams, the truck arrives with only a couple of hours delay. I'll be very happy when the truck has been unloaded. I'll quickly drive home then to Delhi, where I'll load up again before coming back here. That's the drill. When the truck is unloaded, I take care of the loading. When it's loaded, I take care of the unloading. It's the life of a truck driver. Up and down, up and down. When his work is done, Narendra calls his wife at home. She needs to know that he's arrived safely. I've unloaded the truck and I'll be on my way back tomorrow. How's the weather? The bikers have made it to Leh too, almost without a hitch. They'll now rest for a few days before embarking on the return journey. Early the next morning, Narendra is on the road again. Heading back from Leh to Manali.