Winter Driving to The Himalayas and Across the Land of Five Rivers
Winter Driving to The Himalayas and Across the Land of Five Rivers
I Drove from Delhi to Amritsar to Palampur in the last week of December, Battling the Winter Fog
Housekeeping
Wish you a Happy New Year.
Winter months usually mean heavy workload for my day job at ActiveBuildings due to high visible pollution in our cities. I have been quite occupied with travel, both for work and personal reasons, but unfortunately, none of it involved road trips except for the occasional Delhi-Jaipur trips. I have shared my experiences in a post on X, and you can find a screenshot here :
Recently, I conducted an audit of Glida's charging infrastructure and submitted a report suggesting ways to enhance the user experience for EV consumers. I was also honored to be invited by the TataEV team to participate in their Charging Day event in Mumbai. During my travels, I had the pleasure of meeting passionate community members in Chennai and Kochi. It's always a delight to connect with creators, doers, and thinkers in the EV space! Additionally, I had the privilege of speaking at the Ador Digatron’s EV Conclave event in Pune.
Furthermore, I’ve also started reaching out to CPOs in India to gather data on charging stations. If I haven’t reached out to you yet, please drop me a line at priyansevs@gmail.com.
All in, it has been a pretty busy period, but I’m committed to write posts regularly from now. If you have any story tips, don’t hesitate to reach out to me via Telegram.
Before we proceed ahead, I would like to tell you about Veditum. It is a Section 8, not for profit research and media organisation working at the intersection of environment, culture and society. Their focus lies on Indian rivers, and life in and around these rivers. Veditum is actively creating publicly accessible records - ecological, anthropogenic, hydrological, social, and more contextual layers - of these spaces and people.
Currently, eight bright fellows are walking across the length of the river Luni in Rajasthan to unravel the story of the river and its people. I invite Indian citizens to contribute to this tax exempted fundraiser through this link. Rest assured, your donation will be in the esteemed company of supporters like IIT Delhi and the RainMatter Foundation (Zerodha). I have been volunteering with Veditum for the past eight years, and it's worth noting that Siddharth Agarwal, Veditum's founder, is the talent behind the beautiful maps accompanying my articles!
As mentioned in my previous road trip article, I relocated from Mumbai to Delhi. This change has made it more convenient for me to embark on road trips to the Himalayas. And I did! Not once, but twice. On my first trip, I ventured to a quaint village called Bawani overlooking Rishikesh. This time, I went to the holy city of Amritsar as well as a picturesque village at an elevation of 1650m in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.
As usual, if you’d like to skip the text, you can dive into the data for the Amritsar Palampur trip here.
If you are one for the visuals, check out my pan India charging stations playlist and the Delhi Amritsar Palampur playlist on YouTube. Enjoy!
The Planning
Once I had finalized the trip route, my first instinct was to check the distances on Google Maps. Additionally, I utilized my Telegram bot to gain insights into which charging apps would be essential for this journey.
The bot recommended several options, including JioBPPC, Tata PEZC, Statiq, ChargeZone, and goME. Ultimately, during my trip, I ended up using Jio BPPC, ChargeZone, and Glida*. I was particularly curious to try out the Jio BP network. It had been a few months since I had used ChargeZone.
For the Delhi to Amritsar leg of the journey, I hadn't preselected charging stations. My main goal was to charge the car before reaching Ambala for a quick top-up. Covering the 479 km distance from Delhi to Amritsar in one go was not feasible in the 2022 MG ZS EV, which has a range of 400 km. Additionally, considering it was winter, the consumption numbers would likely be higher, further necessitating a charging stop. I will delve into this aspect in more detail in the next section.
To better understand the elevation changes along the route, I referred to PlugShare for the elevation profile of the trip.
Let’s go!
Delhi - Amritsar
The day before I embarked on my journey to Amritsar, I had taken a day trip to Jaipur and returned home with a nearly empty battery pack. I plugged the car in for slow charging when it was at a 22% State of Charge (SoC). By 6 AM the next day, the car had reached a 63% charge. Instead of rushing to leave at 6 AM, I succumbed to exhaustion from the previous day and went back to bed. I was finally ready to hit the road by 11 AM, and the car's charge had increased to 83%, providing me with a range of 332 km. With these variables in play, pre-planning a charging stop in advance was nearly impossible.
The 270 km route from Delhi to Chandigarh in terms of charging infrastructure resembled the Mumbai-Goa route, with a mix of both big and small players in the industry.
Exiting Delhi proved to be a more time-consuming task than expected, taking over an hour when it usually takes only 30-40 minutes without traffic. The daytime smog in Delhi was not only irritating but also a worrisome indicator of what lay ahead on this trip. You can get a glimpse of the conditions in this video. Spot the Other EV in this video and comment below!
Thankfully, Mumbai had never witnessed such dense smog. As I ventured further from Delhi, the smog gradually dissipated. My strategy was clear – cover as much ground as possible before nightfall and the need to stop for charging.
Upon crossing Kurukshetra, I decided to take a quick break to stretch my legs and grab some coffee. I searched for a place that offered reliable fast charging as well as coffee from a well-known chain, but unfortunately, no such place existed. I settled for coffee in Ambala and then continued 15 km ahead to Rajpura, Punjab, for charging. While Ambala did have a few charging stations listed, the PlugShare ratings and reviews weren't encouraging, some were owned by BPCL, which I considered a waste of time, and others were not conveniently located near the highway.
Driving through the regions of Haryana and Punjab was an experience in itself. The highway was dotted with massive 'langars.' These 'langars' are communal free meals offered by Sikhs worldwide. Langar volunteers would halt passing cars and serve freshly prepared food in styrofoam plates. The food was cooked and brought from vehicles parked just off the highway. It was astonishing to see such basic, free food available in these parts of the country. Kudos to the community!
While the langars did slow down traffic considerably, it was a small price to pay for such an act of generosity.
After satisfying my coffee craving, I focused on locating JioBP's chargers in Rajpura. There were two of them, not far apart. I pulled into the first one, just after crossing the Haryana-Punjab border. Here's a video showing the charger and the approach to it:
The car's state of charge was at 23%, and I had already covered nearly 250 km from the starting SoC of 83%. This translated to an approximate range of 420 km on a full battery pack (250*100/(83-23)). Initially, my car could travel 400 km on a full battery pack, assuming no degradation. A year ago, at 25,000 km, I estimated a 5% battery pack degradation (link). Assuming no further degradation, the car could travel 380 km on a full battery pack. This suggested that the car's efficiency was at least ~10% better than expected, considering the colder climate driving and the higher air resistance.
Returning to the trip, I faced an unexpected challenge at this charging point. It took an agonizingly long time to load money into the JioBP wallet due to minimal network connectivity on my Airtel and Jio sims. I could only make voice calls and had little to no data connectivity. Even WhatsApp messages were not delivering instantly. I didn't possess a JioBP RFID key, nor did I believe they had one. Consequently, initiating charging became an insurmountable task.
I reached out to customer support and my contacts at JioBP, who attempted to initiate charging from the backend, but unfortunately, it didn't work. After wasting nearly 30 minutes, I decided to head to the next JioBP charger a few kilometers away. I had no choice but to rely on their network due to the existing balance in my wallet.
Most JioBP chargers along the highways are situated at JioBP petrol pumps. While they may offer access to washrooms, they typically lack food courts with multiple dining options. The only remarkable thing about this particular charger was the sky's beauty. Take a look at this video :
The charging stop lasted for 30 minutes, during which I added close to 25 kWh, bringing the car's charge to approximately 71%. The car displayed a range of 280 km. With a remaining distance of 230 km to Amritsar, I had a comfortable buffer.
The orange hues in the sky signaled the approaching sunset, promising darker, colder, and foggier conditions. And indeed, within an hour of driving, the fog descended, likely around Ludhiana.
This 2 min clip can convey the situation better than any words I can muster.
Visibility became extremely poor, but the presence of other cars on the road provided some guidance. Following the taillights of the cars ahead boosted my confidence in staying within my lane. Streetlights helped with reflections off the lane markers, but I often found myself disoriented in stretches without lane markers or road lights. It was genuinely scary, and I considerably reduced my speed during those segments.
The average efficiency for this leg was around 8 km/kWh.
Amritsar
I arrived in Amritsar late at night with only 11% SoC remaining. Given the low SoC, my first destination was the ChargeZone charger located at Courtyard by Marriott. The charger is situated in the basement and occupies a rather snug parking spot. While it's a dual-gun charger, it's practically impossible to charge two cars simultaneously without obstructing other vehicles in the parking area.
Check it out here :
Kudos to ChargeZone for marking the parking spot in green. After plugging in the car for charging, I decided to head to Beera Chicken on Majitha Road, which was just a 10-minute walk away. Unfortunately, they had run out of food by the time I arrived. So, my next option was to try the beer-battered fish at Makhan Fish Corner, located next to Beera Chicken at Makhan Chowk.
After a satisfying and enjoyable meal, I returned to collect my car, which had charged to over 90%. I couldn't leave Amritsar without visiting the Golden Temple. However, there was very limited visibility in the city, and the temperature had dropped to a cool 10 degrees Celsius at midnight. What I didn't know was that visitors to the Golden Temple are not allowed to wear shorts. To comply with the dress code, I purchased a pair of pants within the Temple complex and was then granted entry. Although the main shrine in the inner sanctum was closed, the temple was exceptionally clean and well-maintained, which brought me great joy. I couldn't resist trying 'chole kulche,' a popular street food in Amritsar consisting of spicy chickpea curry served with deep-fried bread, right outside the temple.
Due to various reasons, I was compelled to opt for fast charging in Amritsar. My original plan had been to slow charge the car at one of the 7.2kW chargers in Amritsar. Unfortunately, they were not functional at the time. Additionally, my hotel lacked dedicated parking, making slow charging inconvenient. My agenda for the next day was to leave Amritsar as early as possible, aiming to reach the Himalayas before sunset.
Amritsar - Palampur
My next destination was the quaint village of Saperu, nestled near Palampur town in Himachal Pradesh. Although the distance was only 250 km, the village sat at an elevation of 1650m, a significant rise from the relatively low 200m altitude of Amritsar.
The route initially paralleled the India-Pakistan border for approximately 100 km until it reached Pathankot. From there, it veered eastwards into Himachal Pradesh. The only viable charging option along this stretch was the Jio BP charger, situated slightly northwest of Pathankot, near the Punjab-Jammu Kashmir border. This served as my contingency charger, the last resort on my route if the need arose. The next available fast charger was located near Dharamshala, a mere 40 km away from Palampur. As an EV driver, it's essential to have backup plans in case chargers malfunction or plans change abruptly. It can be demanding, but the charging infrastructure is continually expanding.
If nighttime visibility in Amritsar was poor, the morning visibility was exceedingly dismal. I questioned my decision to navigate through the thick fog, where distinguishing between buildings and lush green fields became nearly impossible. You can experience the foggy conditions in this video:
Fortunately, the fog dissipated by the time I crossed Pathankot. The approach roads to Pathankot offered breathtaking scenery, although it's possible I was enchanted by them simply because I could finally see colors other than white. Pathankot is a military base camp, housing various military training institutes and other establishments near the highway. My craving for chole kulche persisted, so I stopped to savor some by the highway before bidding farewell to Punjab.
Shortly after Pathankot, I entered Himachal Pradesh and was asked to pay an INR 50 (USD 0.6) entry tax. This tax is applicable only to cars registered outside of Himachal Pradesh, and it caught me by surprise since I had never encountered it in any other state. I requested a receipt, which appeared legitimate, so I paid the tax and continued towards my destination. In my opinion, the government should establish a proper toll booth or display an official-looking sign explaining this regulation to travelers.
The road quality deteriorated as soon as I paid the entry tax, with ongoing road development work causing dust and reducing speed. However, the sight of the majestic Himalayas easily compensated for the bumpy roads. The snow-capped peaks made me feel insignificant yet filled with excitement and tranquility simultaneously. The allure of these mountains never fades; it remains a captivating and timeless sight.
I swiftly traversed small Himachal towns, and the road conditions steadily improved. My evening stay was at a rustic mud homestay nestled in Saperu, with Palampur being the primary town in close proximity. Another popular tourist destination, Bir, is situated near Palampur. While Palampur stands at an altitude of approximately 1200m, Saperu rests at around 1650m. The final 450m incline climb is captured in a brief YouTube video here:
I arrived in Saperu with a 9% SoC, and the average consumption for this leg dropped from 8 km/kWh to nearly 6 km/kWh.
Palampur - New Delhi
My host’s mud house was graced by the presence of three cats (the son, the mother and the grandmother) and two dogs. It was a pet-friendly property, and fellow guests from Delhi had brought along a couple of dogs of their own. This two storey mud house boasted solar panels and the generous host allowed me to slow charge my car using their 15A socket, complete with a conveniently long extension cable! You can find this property on Airbnb under Ira’s Hideaway, Saperu.
I spent a couple of leisurely days at the property, basking in the serenity and playing with the charming pets. Meanwhile, my car replenished itself to a full 100% charge. I made sure to keep the car connected during the day to utilize the electricity generated by the solar panels, reducing the strain on the local grid.
Although I didn't necessarily need a full charge, I ended up opting for it. After an immediate descent of 400m, which could have contributed to regenerative braking and partially recharged my car, I still chose to go for the full charge. The journey from Saperu to New Delhi covered a distance of 498 km, with an overall elevation drop of nearly 1400m. My goal was to attempt this entire stretch in a single charge. To maximize my range, I decided to charge up to 100%, bypassing the complex calculations involved in optimizing the ideal state of charge. If you have a formula to optimize state of charge, feel free to drop a comment!
I set out at 7 am from Saperu, with the route leading through Palampur, Chandigarh, and finally New Delhi. Along the Chandigarh-New Delhi highway, there were ample charging stations in case I needed a top-up before reaching the city. The morning temperature was around 5 degrees, and driving in this chilly weather was a real delight. Navigating the ghats required maintaining a cautious speed.
As the distance stretched, my efficiency began to drop. I faced a choice: either top up in Chandigarh and then proceed to Delhi or find a charging point along the highway. I had heard commendable reviews about the food in Chandigarh's sector 32-33. Chandigarh had a cluster of ZEV AC Type2 chargers, and their app indicated a tantalizing price of INR 0 per kWh – a tempting offer of free charging! Having covered less than half the distance and considering the numbers, I felt confident about making it to Delhi without charging in Chandigarh. However, accessing the charger in Chandigarh would necessitate exiting the main highway, entering the city, and hoping that the charger was operational. Since I had never used ZEV chargers before and had limited information, I decided against this option. I planned to include this Charge Point Operator in my upcoming charging infrastructure report, complete with a reliability score. Feel free to subscribe to stay informed.
Midway between Chandigarh and New Delhi, I realized that I wouldn't reach the city without a quick top-up for both the car and myself. I decided to charge at Glida's* charger located at McDonald's, Gharounda. Unfortunately, McDonald's wasn't taking any orders due to server issues, a rare occurrence. During the 20-minute break, I used the restroom and took a short stretch. By the time I was ready, the car had charged sufficiently to carry me to Delhi.
For the 370 km journey to Gharounda, my efficiency averaged 8.27 km/kWh, although it was considerably higher at the beginning, reaching nearly 24 km/kWh during the descent. I arrived home with an 11% State of Charge, bringing this short but memorable trip to a close.
Conclusions and final thoughts
Winter driving in the Himalayas is fun! Take extra precaution when driving through fog. Always good to have other cars around you driving at slow speeds. Try to not charge to 100% if you know there’s immediate elevation loss.
*- Disclosure : I was paid to audit Glida’s charging infrastructure
This piece can be re-published (CC BY-NC-SA) with a line mentioning ‘This was originally published on ExpWithEVs.in’ and a link back to this page. In case of re-publishing, please alert priyansevs@gmail.com
Text, data and editing - Priyans Murarka
Maps - Siddharth Agarwal