Sach Pass is a high-altitude pass in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. It’s located at an altitude of 4,420 meters and connects Chamba valley to Pangi valley. It’s considered to be one of the most difficult passes to cross in the world because of the rough terrain, terrible roads, and extremely unpredictable weather. Thus, it becomes an obvious choice for all those who are looking for some off-road adventure and want to look away from the widely travelled Ladakh & Spiti. It opens generally around the third week of June and remains open until early October. The weather en route the pass remains moderate during the season (late June to early Oct), although it gets relatively colder between sunset and sunrise, especially at high altitude places. This region also happens to be one of the wettest in the country so be prepared to deal with the frequent rain showers and the slushy roads. There are various different routes that one may take to reach the pass. You may either, start from Dalhousie/Chamba and go via Bairagarh and exit in Manali or you may choose to enter from Manali and do it the other way around. And if you are someone who wants to really test your limits as an adventurer, then you may ride from Manali towards the northern side of Himachal to Kishtwar via Killar. This route is considered to be one of the most dangerous in the world and is also popularly known as the cliff hanger route. The road from Killar to Kishtwar is a 120 Km high mountain trail located at the extreme eastern side of the Kishtwar District in Jammu. The almost-entirely off-road trail is a part of the National Highway 26 and runs along the Chenab River with no guard rail, the low overhanging cliff and the 2000ft drop on one side. It’s definitely not for the weak-hearted and should not be attempted by inexperienced riders.
Arrive in Delhi on your own, reach the bus boarding point and meet our representative, who will assist you with the travel to Manali in a Volvo bus. It would be an overnight journey and you should reach the mountain town the next morning.
Reach Manali in the morning and check in to your hotel and rest for some time (The check-in time is 12 pm and early check-in would be subject to availability). Late in the afternoon, you would be assigned your motorcycle. Take it out for a short-guided tour of Manali and get better acquainted with it. In the evening, there would be an orientation session regarding the next few days of riding. Later, have dinner and stay overnight at the hotel.
Wake up early to the nice Himalayan weather and get ready for your first day of riding in the mountains. After having breakfast, start riding on the Manali Leh Highway and kick start the expedition. After riding for a couple of hours, you are going to cross the mighty Rohtang pass (3978 Mt) and then continue on your journey to Udaipur via Keylong. You should reach your destination in around five to six hours.
Wake up nice and easy as today is going to be a shorter ride than yesterday. After breakfast, start riding on the Keylong-Tandi-Kishtwar road. The road is a narrow slushy trail so the ride would be quite adventurous. On the way, you are going to cross a few scenic quaint villages and see many on the other side of the hill. There are also a few water crossings with the biggest and the most challenging of them being the Madgran Nallah. Arrive in Killar in the late afternoon and check-in to your accommodation. Get a good night’s sleep as tomorrow is probably going to be the most challenging riding day of your life.
Today you are going to be riding on what is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the world. Have an early start and hit the road. First, you would be going to the treacherous Sach pass located at an altitude of 4,420Mt. The road to the pass is quite a steep ascent and the trail remains slushy throughout the 41KM off-road stretch, which would be relatively challenging. After reaching, get yourself clicked at the landmark and start making your way back to Killar from where you again start riding on the Keylong- Kishtwar road. After crossing Ishtyari, the road starts to get extremely narrow and the climb is quite steep. You may also start feeling a lack of oxygen as you are constantly riding at a high altitude. For the next couple of hours, you would be riding on an extremely narrow rocky trail with a 2000ft deep gorge on your left, along the Chenab River. After riding for a couple of more hours, you would be able to reach Kishtwar. Check-in to your guesthouse/homestay and eat a well-deserved supper.
Compared to yesterday, today will be a much less challenging day of riding. After breakfast, exit Kishtwar and get on the National Highway 24. You would be riding along the Chenab River for a couple of hours and later go through the 9.2km long Chenani Nashri Tunnel and going to bypass the famous tourist town of Patnitop. The ride today will be mostly downhill so you would be able to cover the distance at a much faster speed. After exiting the tunnel, you start riding along the Tawi River until you reach your destination. Arrive in Udhampur in the evening and check in to your accommodation. In the evening, go out for a stroll and explore the local market
National Highway 1 towards Kargil. After riding for a couple of hours, we are going to cross one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region, Sonamarg. The valley offers views that can only be described as if you’re witnessing a wallpaper play out in front of your eyes. Soon after passing through the valley, we start climbing Zojila La (3528) and from the top of the pass, the entire valley is visible. After riding for a couple of more hours we’re going to pass the second coldest place on earth, Drass. We stop for a short while at the Drass War Memorial and then continue riding towards Kargil.
Today’s ride is going to be comparatively more comfortable as the roads between Kargil and Leh are relatively decent. We again start early in the morning from the hotel and soon after riding for a couple hours, we are going to cross two high passes known as Namki La(3700m) and Fotu La(4108m). Both of these passes are located in the Zanskar region. Another two hours of riding takes us to Lamayuru, which is home to the highest located monastery in the region. Not that the journey until Lamayuru is boring, but the landscape after crossing the village is extraordinary. We continue to ride towards Leh through a spectacular moonscape and reach our destination in the evening. After arriving in the biggest city in Ladakh, check into the hotel and rest for a while. Later, if time permits, you may go out and take a stroll in the Leh market.
Walk around Leh town you can visit some interesting places like the Sanchi stupa and the Leh monastery.
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