Sach Pass in July – Itinerary, Road Conditions & Updates
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Transcript of Sach Pass in July – Itinerary, Road Conditions & Updates
Sach Pass in July – Itinerary, Road Conditions & Updates
Sach Pass in Pangi Valley, the big daddy of all mountain passes and we say that the name is JUST
enough to give you shivers down the spine D… Yes, you guessed it right, I just came back from a f*****
amazing adventure of my entire life, last week only. The journey to Sach Pass, Pangi Valley was
something that cannot be put into words, something that cannot be recalled to live it again, something
that will go down as the most unforgettable experience of my lifetime, something that I can barely realize I
made it through…
Numerous water crossings, endless waterfalls, snow walls as high as 40 feet, roads as if the pathway to
hell, picking up an XUV to cross the landslide, clearing the landslide on your own, driving through the ever
violent gushing streams and waterfalls, running through the live landslides, taking an open wild waterfall
bath, getting stuck in no mans land, crossing over mighty passes of Rohtang Pass and Jalori Pass in the
middle of night… Uff… Can you ask of anything more?? :D… All in all an F-amazing drive to daddy of all
the mountain passes – Sach Pass in Pangi Valley which concluded with an exhilarating WTF kind of
experience last week…
Adventure?? Now beat that – Sach Pass Quest
Well, over all, the road conditions lived up to the expectations though we were just lucky to save
ourselves from heavy rains as predicted at the start of the journey. The weather just kept itself to offer
optimum beauty with light rains and ever refreshing green colors.Chandrabhaghariver accompanied us all
throughout in Pangi Valley to keep us interested in the routes with some majestic infinite number of
waterfalls puring down into it. Some were just breathtakingly beautiful with multi story falls right from the
top of the mountains. All these things were WORTH the effort we had put into the trip :)… The road
conditions in most of the region of Pangi Valley were just horrendous to say at least ;)…
Though the detailed travel tale will take sometime to write, but in this article I would like to share what
itinerary I followed, route I took and the updates on road conditions of this mega adventure in trans
Himalayas, that is, Sach Pass – Pangi Valley.
About Sach Pass – Pangi Valley
Before I dive into the trip details, for those who do not have much idea about Sach Pass and Pangi
Valley, I will give brief details of it and then will move on to the trip details.
Sach Pass is situated at an altitude of 4,420 Mtrs or 14500 feet lying on the PirPanjal Range of the
Himalayas and connects Chamba Valley / Churah Valley with Pangi Valley in Himachal Pradesh. It is
about 127 KMs from Chamba and about 175 KMs from Dalhousie. Every years the pass gets open from
late June or early July to mid October and then the road closes for winters after heavy snowfall. It is the
shortest route from Chamba to the Killar with a distance of about 160 KMs and hence, once open, this
route is prefered by the locals too. The other routes to Killar are, Chamba – Manali – Udaipur Killar about
680 KMs and Chamba – Jammu – Doda – Gulabgarh – Kishtwar – Killar about 570 KMs. In fact it is the
shortest route for Pathankot to Leh over Manali – Leh Highway as well.
The breakup of route direction and distance to Sach Pass from Chamba is as: Chamba – Tissa (63 KM) –
Bairagarh (90 KMs) – Satrundi (106 KMs) – Sach Pass (120 KMs) – Bagotu (130 KMs) – Killar (166 KMs)
and altitude graph goes like Tissa (1570 Mtrs) – Bairagarh (2800 Mtrs) – Satrundi (3400 Mtrs) – Sach
Pass (4420 Mtrs) – Bagotu (3600 Mtrs) – Killar (2590 Mtrs)
Once you enter Pangi Valley, you unlock yourself some of the most beautiful and amazing places to
explore in the Himalayas. You will need at least 4-5 days to explore Pangi Valley after reaching Killar and
then can head towardsUdaipur – Tandi – Manali for going back home. Some of the beautiful places to
explore in Pangi Valley around Killar are Dharwas, Luj, Sural, Hundan, Findroo, Findar, Mindhal, Parmar,
etc..to name a few. The entire Pangi Valley offer many picturesque villages and there is a PWD rest
house in Cherry where you can stay in peace too along with hotels or guest houses in Killar.
The Devils Gang at Sach Pass, Three cheers for the Spirits shown
Sach Pass Top
Beautifuly setup Killar village in Pangi Valley
An amazingly beautiful village in Lahaul Valley
Itinerary for Pangi Valley – Sach Pass Trip in July
Well, we had 5 days in hand for Sach Pass trip including one buffer day and we followed the itinerary as below:
Day 1: We started around 3.30 AM from my house, got together by 4.30 AM at Delhi bypass and left from
Delhi. We had breakfast at Zhilmil, Karnal with stuffed paranthas and then continued in heavy + light rains
all the way to Pathankot. There we took the road towards Dalhousie – Chamba and went on to reach
Bairagarh at 19.30 PM in the evening. Half of the group stayed at Mannat home stay and other half stayed at
hotel Chamunda just near it. Delhi to Bairagarh came out to be 686 KMs with a wrong detour towards
Amritsar road for about 12-13 KMs one side.
Day 2: This was supposed to be the D-Day, the day when we crossed the Sach Pass driving going
throughKalaban – Satrundi and reaching Killar by evening with ample of stops on the way. We started at
7.20 AM in the morning from Bairagarh just to cross the pass early in the morning before the Nallahs gets
flooded on the route and travelled around 76 KMs that day to reach Killar in evening passing through
Bagotunallah. We stayed at Chamunda Hotel in Killar too :)…
Day 3: There was quite an anxiety on this day because a lot of was heard about MadgranNallah which
could swallow the big buses too after the noon or towards evening. The bridge wasn;t there and hence, our
only option was to cross it as early as possible. So, we started at 5.45 AM from Killar and it was raining that
day. Passing through various beautiful villages of Pangi Valley, witnessing loads of waterfalls and water
crossings. We were able to reach Udaipur by 12.55 PM after crossing Madgran, though it was one of the
longest I ever crossed but was doable without much trouble at that time. We had our brunch at Udaipur –
BhandariBhojnalya which served us amazing veg. food. Then, we went to Trilokinath ji for darshan and
cruised to Tandi – Sissu – Khoksar. We reached Rohtang Pass at 19.40 PM and old Manali at 21.20 PM. We
called off this never ending day in Old Manali at Dontell Mama Guest House. Route of the day was like
Killar – Cherry (14 KMs) – Purthi (28 KMs) – Tindi (54 KMs) – Madgran (70 KMs) – Udaipur (79 KMs) –
Trilokinath (96 KMs) – Khoksar (175 KMs) – Rohtang Pass (194 KMs) – Manali (245 KMs)
Day 4: Half of this day was totally killed in Manali and then we realized we have to move to Narkanda via
JaloriPass :D… Series of events held us on the road up to 14.00 PM and we could not make much progress
ahead. Finally, around 16.30 PM we crossed Aut tunnel and then started the ascend towardsJalori Pass.
Spared out 2.30 Hrs at ShringiVatika as some of us wanted to have chicken made up there as speciality …
Hence, we could end our day in dhabha at Jalori Pass at 22.40 PM. Amit, Anshul and Nitin went on to sleep
in camps at Jalori Pass.
Day 5: Started from Jalori Pass at 7.15 AM, passed through Ani – Khanag – Sainj – Kingal – Narkanda –
Shimla – Ambala – Delhi. We had our brunch at Narkanda at Himalayan Restaurant this time skipping my
favorite NegiDhabha which is just opposite of it. On the way to home, we had our drunch at McD, Zirakpur
and then drove non-stop to Delhi from there to reach home by 22.00 PM at night which concluded the trip.
The total drive over the trip was about 1610 KM done in a budget of around Rs 5600 per head including all and it
had a couple of very costly meals for about 1000 per person at Manali that just got wasted … As I said, words fall
short to explain this f-amazing mega adventure of my lifetime…
One of the Landslide points between Tissa and Bairagarh
Partners in crime for Sach Pass Quest
Zooming through…
Devils, clearing the Landslide on the way to Sach Pass
Waterfall and watercrossing, yes right on road
Running through the water crossings
Tamed MadgranNallah in Lahaul Valley
Road Conditions for Sach Pass in July
Following is the breakdown of road conditions for the trip:
Delhi – Ambala – Ludhiana – Jalandhar – Pathankot: Mostly Excellent, smooth sailing toll road.
Pathankot – Bungal – Bhatwan – Dunera – Nainikhad – Banikhet: Mostly good and some sections were
average and very few bad patches with potholes.
Banikhet – Chamera Lake Reservoir – Larog – Koti: Mix of good and average roads.
Koti – Tissa – Bairagarh: Roads are mostly bad with few average patches Between Tissa and Bhairagarh,
there are some landslide points and tricky sections along with few water crossings. Drive with care here.
Bairagarh – Satrundi – Sach Pass: Mostly non-existent roads, rocks, boulders on road, multiple gushing
water crossings, landslide points, slush near the pass and some very very tricky sections. Quite difficult I
will say.
Sach Pass – Bagotu – Killar: Again mostly non existent road especially till Bagotunallah which was totally
flooded. The road on the other side of Sach Pass was extremely pathetic, I mean no words for it. Might kill
sedan totally. Both XUV and terrano struggled alot in water crossings, big boulders, snow and slush.
Killar – Cherry – Purthi – Tindi: No roads, dirt track but is OK to drive with average conditions and
couple of water crossings.
Tindi – Madgran – Udaipur: Again no roads, dirt track, slush, couple of very heavy/violent water
crossings including Madgran.
Udaipur – Trilokinath – Tandi: Many patches of good tarred roads and smooth sailing. Couple of places
have average and bad sections.
Tandi – Sissu – Khoksar: Majority of sections are good but there are few sections which are narrow, with
slush and very bad especially for small cars.
Khoksar – Gramphu – Rohtang Pass: Quite bad roads, some sections are very pathetic again especially
almost up to few KMs before Rohtang Pass.
Rohtang Pass – Marhi – Manali – Kullu – Aut: Mostly very good roads except from Rohtang Pass to
Marhi which has couple of bad sections.
Aut – Banjar – Ghiyaji/Jibhi – Shoja: Narrow road with mix of good and average roads.
Shoja – Jalori Pass – Ani: Quite bad at places with slush on road which made it more difficult. On the other
side of Jalori Pass towards Ani, still fine with few bad sections.
Ani – Khanag – Sainj – Kingal: Mostly good roads.
Kingal – Narkanda – Shimla – Zirakpur – Ambala – Delhi: Smooth sailing with no issues.
Horrors of Road to Sach Pass
Our convoy struggling through on the Quest
Splash in the water towards Satrundi
That amazing valley view from Satrundi
Amazing weather in Pangi Valley
Phone Signals with Data Connectivity in Pangi Valley – Sach Pass
I was carrying Airtel Postpaid, BSNL Postpaid and Vodafone Postpaid was with some friends. Following
was the signal status:
All three were working mostly through all the route up to Bairgarh. Then, there was no signal of Airtel or
Vodafone up to Tandi. In Killar, by evening BSNL started to work but connection is erratic. Udaipur had
signals but then in between no signals.
Beyond Bairagarh, only BSNL connection worked, so do carry it else be ready for out of family connection
for couple of days till you reach Tandi – Sissu area in Lahaul. Jalori Pass too had signals though a bit week
for all the connections.
Data Connectivity was almost always available wherever the signals were present, mostly limited to 2G and
at places even 3G was running.
In the land of Waterfalls – Pangi Valley
Other Important Updates for Pangi Valley – Sach Pass Trip
Bairagarh, Killar both have decent hotels and also liquor shops though preferred brand can be an issue.
DO NOT go towards Chamba or Dalhousie and follow the road to Chamera Lake from Banikhet, then reach
Koti from there. That is the short route, the other route is quite long via Chamba or Dalhousie. Neither
Chamba nor Dalhousie should come on the route to Bairagarh from Pathankot, in case they come, you took a
longer route.
Once you cross Bairagarh, you will find Dhabha at Satrundicheckpost but no paranthas so pack your food
from hotel. Then after crossing Sach Pass you get to eat around BagotuNallah before Killar in a dhabha.
After Killar in Pangi Valley, you will find dhabhas at Purthi and then at Udaipur only.
Killar is a big town in Pangi Valley being headquarters of it and does also have an SBI ATM.
You can get good Rajma from Baban or Purthi villages in Pangi Valley even in Udaipur, Lahaul or Peas as
well in case you want to carry them back here.
We filled up fuel before Bairagarh guess near Tissa somewhere and then after that we could spot fuel pump
only at Tandi on Manali – Leh Highway.
Whenever making a trip to Sach Pass or Pangi Valley, do leave early in the day so that water crossings have
less water in them as there are numerous of them on the road with Madgran being the most violent along
with Bagotunallah.
Bhandaribhojnalya at Udaipur is a great place to eat homely food. We loved it a lot.
That’s our ride in Lahaul Valley
Toll Amounts on the Route
Toll at Panipat: Rs 30
Toll at Panipat: Rs 30
Toll at Panipat: Rs 30
Toll at Karnal: Rs 111
Toll at Gharggar: Rs 67
Toll at Ladowal: Rs 117
Toll at Chollang: Rs 70
Toll at Tunuhatti: Rs 30
Toll at HarseMansar: Rs 75
Toll at Himachal entry: Rs 30
Toll at Banikhet: Rs 30
Toll at Himalayan Express way, Panchkulla: Rs 28
Toll at Ambala – Chandigarh NH22: Rs 36
I will start sharing the detailed Travel Tale of this Sach Pass – Pangi Valley trip, the reviews of the hotels I
stayed and places at which I ate food, very soon. So, stay tuned guys
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