Land Rover celebrates 70 years, with a trek to the Himalayas

CELEBRATIONS for Land Rover’s 70th birthday have continued, with the British company visiting a remote rural community in West Bengal, India, known as the ‘Land of Land Rovers’.

What’s special about this remote Himalayan community of Maneybhanjang, part of the Nepal-India border area, is that a fleet of Classic Series Land Rovers that date back as far as 1957 are used to transport the locals on a 31km off-road journey between the villages of Maneybhanjang (altitude: 1523m) and Sandakphu (altitude: 3636m).

To reach the remote, hidden community, the 42-strong fleet of well-maintained Land Rovers must overcome daily hazards of “towering gradients, rock-strewn pony tracks and treacherous weather.”

“Land Rovers are important to Maneybhanjang because the road uphill is so treacherous,” one resident says.

The Land Rovers play an integral part in linking the two villages, as the journey is one taken often by the residents.

“Land Rover is so important to this community because everyone has a special emotion connected to the Land Rover,” one local says in the video.

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The Land Rover Series I launched at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show, and Land Rover is acknowledging its 70-year milestone with a series of celebrations.

Closer to home, the off-road icon held a big bash in Cooma, NSW, back in March, 2018; and a parade was held more recently at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK.