Lo Manthang, also known as the kingdom of Lo, is a challenging journey which unveils a majestic view as you scale higher. As it is popularly said, the risk is worth the reward, Ford Adventure Club took on this epic feat of travelling up to the kingdom of Lo. The event started from the 26th of April, 2019 from Pokhara and came to a conclusion on the 1st of May, 2019. This event was hosted by Ford Adventure Club and it was an open event for vehicles of all makes and models to try and conquer the terrain.

The 11 vehicle convey included Ford Ranger Raptor, Ford Ranger, Ford Everest, Ford Endeavor, Ford Ecosport, Mahindra Thar, Mitsubishi L200 Sportero, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, 2 Nissan Navara and a Land Rover Defender. Yes, there was an Ecosport in between all these 4 wheel drive mud-slinging monsters! So then let’s get the journey started!

But wait, first of all how did we get to Pokhara? You can’t magically teleport to another place right? Though that would be so cool to do, wonder how much time we could save. Getting back to the point, the People over at G.O. Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. were kind enough to lend us their Ecosport which would be making the climb with the other vehicles as a means of transport till we reach Pokhara. So we headed out early in the morning of the event day towards Pokhara and yours truly was behind the wheel with the responsibility to not screw up the car because if anything went wrong during this drive it could affect the performance of the vehicle up there, so no pressure.

But actually there was no pressure as the drive was such a breeze, except for the one hour traffic. The Ecosport was very composed on the highway and maintained triple digit speeds with ease. Anyhow, we reached Pokhara by 2pm and went for some amazing Thakali lunch and just chilled for most part of the day. At dinner we had a short brief about the trip and how it was going to take place with the places we would be stopping and visiting during the trip. After a nice dinner and socializing with all the participants we went off to sleep and get ready to head out early tomorrow.

Early in the morning we all gathered up after freshening up and prepared the vehicles for the start of the adventure. From this day onwards I didn’t have to drive, so I could just sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery. Well that was what we did for some part of the journey, apart from the times when we were scrambling around to get the perfect shots. Our first obstacle came in form of a deep muddy section. Very few people were optimistic about the Ecosport making through that section but to the surprise of most of the people, the Ecosport made it through making it look easy. The first lunch stop was at Kalo Pani, after that we continued on our journey to Kagbeni, since the distance was quite long it was night time when we reached there. So we had our dinner and went to sleep to preserve and restore whatever bit of energy we could.

The Next morning at Kagbeni after the breakfast all the vehicles were refueled. This was done through the gallons of diesel and petrol (for the Ecosport) brought from Pokhara, since the quality of the fuel beyond this point would be questionable.

There was a tiny issue here, this was as far as the Ecosport could make it, well as far as we took it to put it correctly since the water levels had been raised due to the melting snow and it would be risky to take it any further to prevent engine damage. Our guesses were correct, if we had brought the Ecosport along than it would have been a hassle because the water levels were so far up that only those vehicles which had a snorkel would pass the river. Rest of the convey had to take a detour and after crossing another river which was pretty big as well we met rest of the convey. We only stopped to packed lunch on the way and made it to the Majestic Lo Manthang with no issues at all. We spent the little daylight left exploring the beautiful village before having our dinner and heading off to sleep for the adventure that awaited us the next day.

Early in the morning we all gathered up after freshening up and prepared the vehicles for the start of the adventure. From this day onwards I didn’t have to drive, so I could just sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery. Well that was what we did for some part of the journey, apart from the times when we were scrambling around to get the perfect shots.

Our first obstacle came in form of a deep muddy section. Very few people were optimistic about the Ecosport making through that section but to the surprise of most of the people, the Ecosport made it through making it look easy. The first lunch stop was at Kalo Pani, after that we continued on our journey to Kagbeni, since the distance was quite long it was night time when we reached there. So we had our dinner and went to sleep to preserve and restore whatever bit of energy we could.

The Next morning at Kagbeni after the breakfast all the vehicles were refueled. This was done through the gallons of diesel and petrol (for the Ecosport) brought from Pokhara, since the quality of the fuel beyond this point would be questionable. There was a tiny issue here, this was as far as the Ecosport could make it, well as far as we took it to put it correctly since the water levels had been raised due to the melting snow and it would be risky to take it any further to prevent engine damage.

Our guesses were correct, if we had brought the Ecosport along than it would have been a hassle because the water levels were so far up that only those vehicles which had a snorkel would pass the river. Rest of the convey had to take a detour and after crossing another river which was pretty big as well we met rest of the convey. We only stopped to packed lunch on the way and made it to the Majestic Lo Manthang with no issues at all. We spent the little daylight left exploring the beautiful village before having our dinner and heading off to sleep for the adventure that awaited us the next day.

After the Lunch stop at Muktinath we made it back to Kalo pani, which was quite late already since the distance was so long. The next morning we all got up and got ready for breakfast and was lost for words when we saw the view of the Mountains that accompanied us while we had our breakfast. There is something about natural beauty that we just can’t deny. After our epic journey we made it safely back to Pokhara without any issues and had a celebration night there for successfully completing the trip. The Ecosport just earned a huge respect in my heart for how it tackled the tough terrains and fought on till it could. Lastly we would like to thank G.O. Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. the authorized distributor of Ford vehicles for taking us along on such a wonderful trip that will always be a part of our memories.

WATCH : TO THE KINGDOM OF LO |FORD ADVENTURE CLUB VIDEO