Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M), India's largest Utility Vehicle (UV) manufacturer, initiated a 'Monastery Escape 2012' under its Mahindra Adventure umbrella brand. The adventure drive, which was flagged off on July 27, 2012, came to an end in New Delhi on August 5, 2012. The drive had 20 expedition ready models, including Thar, XUV500 and Scorpio, which tread a distance of more than 3,000 km and passed on through some of the toughest regions of the Himalayas, like Baralacha La, Tanglang La, Nakee La and Zoji La route.
Marketed as the 'Drive of a lifetime', the expedition remained parallel with the expectations of participants. The major idea behind the whole initiative was to provide the novices and motorsport enthusiasts a chance to have a unique experience of driving through Himalayan range. Mahindra Adventure organised the whole event, adopting the standards of a motorsport event to ensure maximum enjoyment through scheduled breaks at regular frequency.
Commenting on the same, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Automotive Division, M&M, Vivek Nayar, commented, “In keeping with our promise of providing adrenaline pumping challenges & escapes, we unleashed the second season of the Monastery Escape 2012 in association with Ceat Tyres & Mobil 1, under the umbrella brand of Mahindra Adventure. The journey celebrated incredible India as it traversed through some of India’s most beautiful Himalayan locales making it a drive of a lifetime.”
The whole expedition started from Manali following the waterfalls to reach Rohtang Pass, which is famous for its scenery. From there, landscapes changed from luscious greenery to barren mountains as the rally went through the Rohtang pass to reach Jispa. Further scaling the height of 14,000 ft, participants reached Sarchu where oxygen is a rarity, owing to its high altitude. Thereafter, the fleet of vehicles moved ahead to reach Leh, the land of monasteries. Surrounded by monasteries and white stupas, the participants were taken aback by the sheer beauty of the region.
From Leh, the convoy made a quick visit to the Nubra Valley, which is a home to endangered double hump camels and the revered hot water spring at Panamik. While travelling to Leh, the vehicles had to pass through the highest motorable region of the world, Khardungla, which is situated at an altitude of 18,400 square feet. The next stop was Srinagar, where the whole team enjoyed a stay in wooden houseboats on Nageen Lake, Chinar. On the way to Srinagar, the participants also paid a visit to the Kargil War Memorial at Drass. At long last, the final leg of the expedition was made from Srinagar to Delhi, passing through the beautiful fields of Punjab.
Mahindra Adventure, the event organiser, is basically an initiative by the auto maker to exhibit the excellent off-roading capabilities of its UVs. The umbrella brand of the car maker will be organising a host of events throughout the year, including Tri-Nation Escape in Bhutan, India and Nepal as well as Authentic Goa and Wild Escape. All these events are in-line with the brand's promise of delivering adrenaline boosting challenges to its buyers. The Mahindra Adventure will also participate in some of the famous motorsports like Dakshin Dare, Raid De Himalayas and Desert Storm through its official teams.
