Driving on the Manali – Leh highway the road winds up many passes, The gradient is steep but still kept within limits to allow fully laden trucks to be able to negotiate. One of the commonest trick applied is to make loops up a slope to achieve a manageable gradient.
One such series of loops is Gata Loops. This series of twenty one loops covering a distance of few kilometers takes the road up more than 2000 feet. Since the loops keep going back and forth there are shortcuts that can take one up straight and in a short path provided your vehicle has a 4×4 drive train and sufficient grunt.
Here is a shot of going up Gata Loops in a Grand Vitara.