About Sach Pass Pangi Valley
Sach Pass is a stunning hilly location in the states of Himachal Pradesh situated in the Chamba District at an altitude of 4,420 meters. It lies on the Pir Panjal Himalayan ranges and serves as a connector between Chamba valley and Pangi Valley. It also acts as a gateway to Pangi Valley and the narrow roads of Sach Pass are available for traveling only during the month of June to the middle week of October. The Sach pass route is considered to be one of the toughest routes of Himachal Pradesh and very few visitors can travel through its treacherous terrain. Pangi Valley, on the other hand, is a remote destination located in the middle part of the Himalayas. It consists of three parts- Saichu Valley, Hudan Bhatori Valley, and Sural Bhatori Valley.
All of these valleys stands at a towering height of 7,000 to 11,000 feet from sea level. The entire Pangi Valleys sprawls across an area of 1,601 sq.km and consists of a very lesser population. The valley has breathtaking scenic beauty and popularly known as the route to heaven in Himachal Pradesh. The area receives heavy snowfall and posses a semi-arctic climate. Due to this reason the area remains closed for 6 months or more to be explored by any individual. Pangi Valley is a paradise for the trekking experts and has to be accessed through Sach Pass route, Cheni Pass and through Jammu and Kashmir
Sach Pass Route
If you are planning to have a trip through Sach pass, be prepared to have numerous hurdles along the narrow broken roads, endless waterfalls on the way to literally make you swim accompanied by 20 to 40 ft snow walls on either side of the road. The route no doubt is unnaturally beautiful but at the same time extremely tough and dangerous. Sach pass due to its most difficult route compared to other passes is often called as “Devil on the Wheels”. Sach Pass is located in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh at the highest altitude of 4,420 meters.
The entire Sach Pass route stretches across 170 kilometers and comes in between the route from Chamba to Killar. Sach Pass routes remain closed around 8months in a year due to heavy snowfall and in the remaining months, even if the routes are cleared, Snow is always at the peak in this location. The routes in the Monsoon season is highly dangerous at if suffers landslides now and then due to heavy rainfall.
Sach Pass Road Conditions
Sach Pass Roads normally open every year in the middle week of June as before that, the location remains buried under thick layers of snow and the roads are closed for visitors and travelers. The thick layer of snow makes the narrow roads extremely dangerous before June every year and traveling at that time will be a serious threat to life. But the year of 2018 has been a bit different and du to lesser amount snowfall the roads this year has been opened the last week of May.
The condition of the roads in Sach pass is not good being full of rocks, extremely narrow and on top of that intercepted with 10 to 40 ft snow walls on either side of the road. No matter how much less snowfall the location receives, it is advisable to travel in these roads in the month to June to the middle of October only as before that the weather can change anytime and you can face serious issues while moving across the roads.
Preferred Vehicle for Sach Pass Trip
Sach pass located at a towering altitude of 4,420 meters has the most dangerous road condition ever being extremely narrow, unmetalled, and rugged. The roads are quite slippery also, so driving speed should not cross more than 10kmph at any cost. In these kind of unmaintained roads, 4×4 vehicles are ideal for traveling having more capacity to withstand the risks as compared to two-wheelers.
All types of four-wheelers like SUV’s, light hatchbacks like alto, sedan, dzire, and Jeep can be taken through the Sach Pass roads. Since the roads are winding at various points being extremely edgy and narrow, hatchbacks will be preferable to carry the journey safely because they have short tracks with a lesser wheelbase which helps to avoid various obstacles in bad roads easily having lesser chance to trip over.
While SUVs are heavier cars and they are unable to avoid the obstacles and have to move over them which at times can be risky giving higher chances of tripping and road accidents. Also in hatchbacks, the rear wheels have very less overload compared to the ones in SUVs. Cars like- Wagnor R, Dzire, Sedan are good choices to take out for the rugged roads in Sach Valley which are lighter and offers more safety while traveling.
Sach Pass by Car
Sach Pass can be reached by car starting from Delhi to Chamba/Bairagarh. It takes duration of 12 hours to drive from Delhi to Chamba and 16 hours from Delhi to Bairagarh following the route of Chamera Lake. It requires an overnight stay at Chamba or Bairagarh as per the traveler’s choice. If you are driving from Chamba, you should start early morning to continue their journey easily by car to Sach Pass.
The early morning time is preferable as there are a series of waterfalls and streams along the Sach Pass route to Killar which might block your way and ruin your adventure if you start late. If you are driving from Chamba to Killar through Sach Pass it takes almost 8 to 9 hours of time while from Bairagarh to Killar it takes around 5 to 6 hours.
Sach Pass By Bike
There are various routes to reach Sach Pass by Bike. If you are riding from Delhi, the first destination is Pathankot which will give you an amazing experience of the road trip. It takes nearly 8 to 9 hours to reach Pathankot from Delhi. You need to stay one night in Pathankot and continue your next day journey to Bairagarh taking the Chamba route to Tissa and from Tissa to Bairagarh.
From Bairagarh, you need to start early morning to reach Satrundi and from Satrundi police checkpoint to finally the narrow winding roads of Sach Pass. If you opt for bike tourism then, the route is different. It starts from Manali and goes like – Manali->Mandi->Paprola->Dharmashala->Dalhousie->Khajjar->Chamba->Satrundi->Sach Pass->Killar.
Clothes to pack for Sach Pass trip
Sach pass has a very cold and freezing climate with thick layers of snow everywhere so it is always necessary to have thick woolen clothes and accessories with you while you are traveling. As it open form the mid week of June, so if you are visiting that time you will get the best amount of snow and the weather will be too cold with chilled winds. It is therefore advisable to carry 2 to 4 sets of heavy woolen garments, jackets, warm hoodies, inner thermals, gloves, a set of thick trousers or jeans, and best quality snickers to explore the rugged slippery roads.
The July and August month are not suitable to visit Sach Pass due to Monsoon, while September has a pleasant climate, so moderate woolen stuff like light warm jackets with inner thermals will be preferable to protect yourself from the chilly winds.
Minimum Time Needed for Sach Pass Trip
There are three different routes available from various locations to reach Sach pass. The minimum time required for the trip is 3 days and the maximum can be 5 days depending on the weather conditions at numerous points along the way. The most common route is the Dalhousie, Chamba, and Bairagarh route taking which provided the weather is clear, you can retch Sach Pass in 2 to 3 days. The other routes are from Manali to Killar and Patnitop through Kishtwar.
Hotels near Sach Pass
Sach Pass is a remote hilly region located at height of 4.420 meters in the Chamba district. So the location is absolutely lonely with no localities, but there are numerous luxury hotels, guest house, home stays, and OYO rooms available in nearby area Dalhousie, catering to your comfort. The Hotels here remain booked most of the time due to the craze of Sach Pass which is open for the visitors for only 4 months in a year.
So you need to book in advance if you are planning your trip to Sach Pass. Some of the best luxury accommodations in Dalhousie are- Hotel Mondal, J.K. Clerks Exotica, Brijvilla, Alps Resort, Birdwood Cottages, Stonewood Dalhousie, Hotel MGM, Stay Apart-Silverton Estate, Ina Heritage Stay, BR Boutique Stay, Hotel HimDhara, Apple Mountain Villa Homestay, and many more.
Places to Visit near Sach Pass
Sach Pass is a paradise located in the Chamba district in Dalhousie. However, there a lot of other beautiful places to explore in the nearby areas of Sach Pass in Dalhousie which the visitors will love to explore. The best 5 locations nearby are-
1. St. Patrick Church in Dalhousie located at a distance of 1.1 km from Sach Pass which is an awe-inspiring holy place located in the greeneries and pine valleys.
2. Khajjar Lake at Chamba district in Dalhousie located at a distance of 1.7 km from Sach Pass which has a breathtaking scenic beauty painted with emerald hills and lush green surroundings to spend quality time admiring the nature.
3. Rock Garden at Devi Dehra area in Dalhousie at a distance of 1.1 km from Sach Pass which is amazingly beautiful made up of rocky natural mountain ranges with numerous streams flowing through it surrounded by luscious greenery.
4. Chamera Lake is a famous tourist attraction in Dalhousie located at a distance of 7.7 km from Sach Pass. The Lake is manmade having beautiful valleys and line up with numerous green trees making it a perfect place to spend quality time.
5. Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary at a distance of 5.8km from Sach Pass the Sanctuary is an amazing place to enjoy varieties of flora and fauna.
Best Time to Visit Sach Valley
Sach Pass is open for the visitors only between June to starting of October every year.So it has to be visited within that time frame with a proper insight of the different weather conditions.
June Month
Sach Pass becomes accessible for tourists from the middle week of June. Though the road conditions are worst that time, but if you are looking for some good amount of snow, June is preferable.
July Month
July is not at all convenient to visit Sach Valley as rainfall slowly starts from this time and make road conditions worst with waterlogged in several areas and chances of landslides are also high.
August Month
Sach Pass has the worst weather during this time with no snow. Tourists should never attempt to visit it in August. The rainfalls are extreme stretching 1 to 2 hours, landslides occur now and then, roads are completely messy and the water level of the falls and stream doubles.
September Month
This is the perfect time to visit Sach Pass. The monsoon ends by this time and the weather is clear and pleasant with greeneries all around. If you visit in the last week of September you will find the areas slowly getting covered in snow.
October Month
October is also a bad time to visit Sach Pass as it gets closed after the first week and weather is completely freezing and unpleasant.
How to Reach Sach Pass
Sach Pass does not have any nearby railway station or airport, so it has to be accessed either through Delhi which is connected to all major cities of India by air, rail, and road or reach Dalhousie from the major Indian cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bhatinda, Jodhpur by train. You can also opt for airways as the nearest airport to Dalhousie is Pathankot. From Pathankot, you need to hire a car to Dalhousie and then continue your journey to Sach pass which is located at a distance of 175 km from Dalhousie. You can also take the Chamba route from Pathankot to reach Sach pass. If you are staying in Delhi or Dalhousie you can easily opt for the car and bike journeys to Sach Pass.