The Himalayan Drive 2022 drove into Mussoorie on 4th evening from Rishikesh via Dhanaulti retracing the 82 Himalayan Rally route.
Mahindra Adventure is the presenting long-term partner of the event. Mahindra also provided 15 support vehicles for the drive.
The first car that was flagged off from Delhi on 31st October , The Mahindra Xuv 700 driven by the family of Himalayan Rally champion Jayant Shah. The drive, a tribute to the legendary rally champion saw over 40 participants trace the original route of the 1982 Himalayan Rally.
First car into The Welcomhotel Savoy was car No. 01 Jayant Shah's daughters Prina Soni and Priya and their brother Kalpesh who came all the way to celebrate their father's wins on this historic event.
The second car a Mahindra Thar driven by Surinder Thatthi from Kenya who finished 3rd Overall in the 82 event .
"We are extremely delighted and honored to be here for the Himalayan drive to celebrate dad for his 1982 rally victory. Delighted that my sister, brother, and my husband joined me here at this celebration to be able to ride the route and to experience through his eyes the memories during this event. I am happy to meet like-minded people and rally participants to have come together to hear all the wonderful stories of rallyists who took part in the actual event back in 1982. A special thanks to the organizers for giving us a wonderful car to drive on the route." Prina further added " I am totally at loss of words how my late father and you Rallyists actually drove at top speed on these scenic mountain roads, its not only scary but extremely Challenging . We just enjoyed the scenic beauty of The Himalayas ."'
The first day of the drive ended at Bhimtal and the following day started early for the run to Rudraprayag a very challenging 250 km through the mountains via Almora, Bageshwar , Kausani , Gwaldam . The participants saw first hand the majestic views of the snowclad peaks at Kausani and Gwaldam Forest Rest House which was the venue for the lunch break.
Next day's drive retraced the exact 82 rally route through Karnaparyag , Gopeshwar, Chopta , Tilwara before branching off to Rishikesh via Devprayag giving a photo opp at the Alaknanda confluence . Highlight of the day was the lunch halt at Chopta at 9500 ft with a truly magnificent view of the snow clad Kedranath , Badrinath Ranges. No words can describe the breathtaking beauty of the snow clad Himalayan peaks .
A two night halt was on the cards at Rishikesh where the free day was spent on River Rafting and the Ganga Aarti which was another surreal experience .
Final days run to Mussoorie on the 4th via Dhaualagiri to Dhanaulti . A very unused track with no traffic with another classic rally route kept everyone spell bound on the last days run . All the cars completed the route including the two classic cars a Mahindra CJ 3B and a Mahindra Classic . There were also many lady drivers who drove their cars on the whole route a special word of appreciation to Ayushi Amin, Snigdha Palchoudhri , Shaneen Parikh , Meena Dalal , Deepa, Lakshmi Narayanan, Rekha Niranjan and Kanchana Rajsekhar.
Mahindra Adventure was the presenting sponsor , supported by Bridgestone India , Haridarshan and Welcomhotel Savoy who rolled out the red carpet for the participants with the Gala Farewell Dinner with a sumptous dinner and cocktails and an outstanding Live band .
The final days flag off ceremony saw Mr Kaya owner of the Savoy and Mr Kidwai of Welcomhotel saw the cars heading back to Delhi on a clear morning with another final view of the snow clad ranges.
International Participants from Kenya , UK and USA and from all over India were of the opinion that the Alps is no match for the pristine beauty of the snow clad Himalayan Ranges .
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