Hills
The Himalaya has a wet flank and a dry one, and the monsoon picks between them
The great range takes moisture out of the air as it crosses, which is why some Indian mountain valleys are…
· 4 min read
Hills
Mountain roads, altitude, weather windows and the towns between them.
20 articles · page 1 of 2
Hills
Altitude is a rate problem long before it is a height problem
The body adjusts to thin air over days rather than hours, which is why how fast you got there matters more than the number on the signboard.
Hills
A Himalayan pass opens when the snow is cleared, not when spring arrives
Season dates on a high road are set by machinery, avalanche risk and the depth of the drifts, which is why…
· 4 min read
Hills
On a hill road, kilometres are a poor unit and hours are the honest one
Gradient, curvature and the vehicle in front set an average speed that has almost nothing to do with the…
· 4 min read
Hills
Mountain weather runs on a daily clock and the morning half is the good one
Solar heating drives valley winds and afternoon cloud, which is why flights, views and stream crossings all…
· 4 min read
Hills
A cold desert punishes you with sunshine and dryness rather than with cold
Ladakh and the high valleys beyond the main range get very little rain and very thin air, which changes…
· 4 min read
Hills
India’s mountain railways are slow because slowness was the engineering solution
Narrow gauge, tight curves, loops and zigzags were all ways of getting a train up a steep hillside without…
· 4 min read
Hills
The Western Ghats are a wall, and every road across them is called a ghat for a reason
A long escarpment separating a narrow coast from a high plateau means only a limited number of climbing…
· 4 min read
Hills
An Indian hill station is a nineteenth-century idea and it still behaves like one
These towns were built on ridges as hot-weather retreats, and the ridge layout that made sense for a few…
· 4 min read
Hills
The eastern and western Himalaya are two different mountains to travel in
The same range is far wetter, steeper and more forested at its eastern end, which changes the season that…
· 4 min read
Hills
A hill town’s season ends before the weather does
Staff leave, kitchens close and buses thin out weeks before the cold arrives, which is why the shoulder can…
· 4 min read
Hills
A homestay is a licensed category in most hill states, not just a spare room
State governments created registration schemes to turn village households into legal accommodation, and the…
· 4 min read