Saach Pass — Local services in Himachal Pradesh

Exploring the remote !

By the end of September, being the post monsoon stint when the weather becomes stable for a fortnight or so, before the next showers hit. It was the best time to explore sach pass, a no man’s land lying on a narrow road connecting Dalhousie to the Leh-Manali highway at killar. The pass is officially close after 15th October. We were eager to quench our insatiable thirst for adventure and as soon as we got news about a clear weather forecast for the next week we kick-started on our Enfields from Delhi as we were already out of time. I was accompanied by my father, my adventure guru who is an adventure junkie being a sainwian(An alumni of Sainik Shool, Rewa, M.P ). Who has covered the whole himachal on his 100cc bike years back when i was a toddler. This being my first bike expedition that too in the last step of teenage, I was excited since the very beginning. On reaching bairagarh a small village around 40 kilometers short of sach pass, we were acquainted by the locals that “the sach-pass is closed since two days due to snowfall as there were no ration pickups coming from the other side”. Being acquaint of the fact that roads were being cleared by jcb’s we took a chance to stay at the PWD(Public works Department) rest house in bairagarh. We started early the next morning, on reaching satlundi(a small check-post of Himachal Police) 5 kilometers short of saach pass the police men told us that the sach pass is now open and we were to be the first to cross. They took our ID’s and even videographed us with our bikes(Safety issues- as the pass has a high fatality rate due to the unpredictable weather). On moving further we were delirious, as we started witnessing the fresh snow, but after a few meters the tyres started to skid over snow due to zero traction and it was hard to maintain the balance abreast keeping the required momentum to climb up the incline. There was no other option but to follow the trail of an offpassed vehicle. It took us 1 hour to cover the 4 kilometer stretch of snow. On  reaching the pass, we were spell bound with the breath-taking and mesmerising beauty of mountain all covered under the white sheet of snow. At the same time the glare of snow made it hard for us to look with naked eyes. A commuter was stuck midway since last night at the pass with his pickup and hopefully we helped him with the right tool (we were well equipped). In order to avoid altitude sickness we enjoyed the scene for the least possible time clicking pictures as there was a long stretch waiting to be covered. After wading through the snowy terrain we reached a PWD base camp where we took tea with parathas by the time the sun was about to set so we camped there only to spend the night in the extremely remote area with the nearest village about 50kms away. The next morning we headed towards manali. Reaching Rohtang pass was a sign of relief accompanied by a feeling of safety, after being through the horrible roads and through such a harsh terrain. Witnessing the metallic roads again was a delight like...

Picturesque peaks, forby monasteries, pellucid streams, waving Tibetan prayer flags, Spiti was still on my mind. At one point I thought of all the places I've ever visited since I had been travelling, Spiti is the most closest to peace.

"Though Sach Pass stretch is regarded as one of the most treacherous roads in India, but they say "those who ride are not deterred by terrains". High mountain pass in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas, at the Elevation of around 14500ft above the sea level connects Chamba Valley and Pangi valley of Himachal Pradesh.

Started just before the first streaks of light. It was the month of September when almost all the mountain passes are clear with no rain/snow. Till Banikhet journey was fine as Amritsar-Pathankot highway is well maintained. I managed to reach Bairagarh in the afternoon, the village around 30km from Sach Pass. Unexpectedly, found a guest house, booked a room, a bit of rest and recuperation. As the plan was to reach the Pass next morning.

Around 6, I woke up to the grey skies after the icy cold night. I waited for the sky to clear. After the mountains shimmer in the morning lights, I started for the pass. As I was riding up the terrain, it was becoming more extreme, the weather was getting colder, endless waterfalls and slippery terrain with the water streams flowing on the road.

After having a chit-chat with the soldiers over tea at Satrundi check post, I started my journey again. The sense of peace was overwhelming. As I got higher and higher in the freezing cold, road was becoming more challenging and I felt like loosing the track of reality. I was able to make it to the top after some time, felt sudden urge of joie de vivre. "Damnson! I did it"

🏔Riding in the freezing cold Himalayan conditions, having a hot cup of tea from the roadside tea stall and chit- chat with the mountain people(masters of survival) is enough for us🏔

Route: Pathankot-Banikhet-Tissa-Bairagarh-Satrundi-Sach Pass-Bogutu-Killar

Recommended:

1. Nature is not generous up there. Anytime you can experience landslides, sudden weather change, the roads are slippery and in terrible condition.

2. Try to plan with a group of riders.

3. Carry medicines/important stuff as you'll find nothing up there.

4. Keep in mind that very few stay options are available in Bairagarh. After that stay is available in Killar only.

5. Usually open from June end till mid October.

6. If you have a week time you can go ahead of killar till Lahaul valley (via Killar-tandi-udaipur)

7. Bus service is limited.

Amritsar-Pathankot-Banikhet-Tissa-Bairagarh-Satrundi-Sach🏇 Done and Dusted in September'16 Journeyer🌏 Rideordie If not now, when? #notyourhobby |ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྂ༔| For more queries DM me on...

A dream journey for anyone who has interest in either adventure or off-roading.

We had a Scorpio vehicle And I think it's great for off-roading, to reach this pass, one has to do a lot of off-roading. To reach the sach pass, route - Tissa 63, Bairagarh 90, Satrundi 106-7km, Sach Pass120 km.

Our journey is like this DAY 1 - MCLEODGANJ Day 2 - BAIRAGARH DAY 3 - DALHOUSIE We leave Mcleodganj Dharamshala at 7:00 am & our journey starts from there. Had heard enough about this place we were very excited. We had to reach Bairagarh from Dharamshala.The journey from Dharamsala to Bairagarh was very nice. We had a lot of fun along the way. Bairagarh is also no less than a beautiful place. There are hotels to stay in Bairagarh. we also stayed at Chamunda Hotel. The food🫕 and service there is good. Bairagarh is a very small village, so looking at it, the facility here is very good.

(Morning)Next day after having breakfast we leave Bairagarh for sach pass. The journey from Bairagarh to sach pass was so good and so adventurous.Beautiful views, every turn comes a new waterfalls. camp site comes after some distance from Bairagarh.Very lovely location. Here you can do camping. We were stopping at every turn and enjoying the views.

Next comes another campsite named satrundi. The journey from there onwards was very nice. The road in the middle of the snow.Snow on both sides of the road! The weather there is changing so fast. It is very cold over there. temperature 🌡️ 2⁰c. It was feeling cold inside the car too.And you can see the view there in the photos. The view after reaching the top was worth seeing. ❤️ Jannat 😍

If you guys have any query or need information about this place DM...