Top News

‘The Magical Four’ completed the second leg of their historic expedition to ten highest motorable passes in the country to spread the message of protecting the Himalayas. On May 19, the team crossed the rugged terrain to reach Dongkha La, one of the highest motorable passes in the country. But what is this ‘The Magical Four’?

A group of four adventure loving Himalayan lovers are known as ‘The Magical Four’. The team includes runners from Sikkim Bhupendra Hang Subba, Anup J Bania, Vasant Pradhan and Luv Burman. The team completed the second leg of the Himalayan expedition on May 19 by reaching one of the country’s highest motorable passes, Dongkha La, after traversing rugged mountain slopes.

The four-day campaign started from Gangtok on May 16 as part of the ‘Sikkim State Day’ celebrations. With the help of the army, the team braved incessant rain, snow, freezing temperatures and strong winds to cross the pass. ‘The Magical Four’ aims to conquer the ten highest motorable passes in the country. Among them are the seven highest passes in the world. After completing the second phase in Sikkim, the team started preparations for the third phase. It is the difficult route connecting the Himalayas and the plains from Dehradun to the Mana Pass. After that expedition, the fourth phase will start from Khardung-La to Umling-La, one of the highest passes of Ladakh.

According to a joint statement by ‘The Magical Four’, their expedition is not just for adventure. The main objective of the campaign is to highlight the message of protecting Himalayan ecosystem, glaciers. In Sikkim, the party is promoting the dream of ‘Sunaulo Ani Samrid Sikkim’ i.e. a golden and prosperous Sikkim.

Earlier in September 2024, ‘The Magical Four’ completed the first expedition from Srinagar to Khardung-la crossing the oxygen level and the high pass. The expedition entered the ‘India Book of Records’ for promoting the protection of the Himalayan ecosystem.