Sach Pass
District Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
Position - N33 00.361 E76 14.395
Altitude – 4407 metres above MSL
Trail Orientation – West - East
Closest Settlement(s) – Satrundi (West), Bhagotu (East)
Sach Pass constitutes part of arguably one of the most ancient human trails in Himachal. For centuries, people from the Pangi region used the pass to cross over towards Chamba. In old times, as recently as 40-50 years ago, herds of sheep travelling North of Pir Panjal would carry essential supplies like salt on their backs for residents of Pangi. The trail was also famously used by the king of Chamba for surveying his territories across the Pir Panjal. Named after a village Sach Khas on the Pangi side of the pass, Sach Pass has been witness to a lot of change. From sheep carriers to mules to a road starting 2009. While the appeal of the route has definitely gone down over the years, particularly with the road being constructed, the mystical land of Pangi and the Pir Panjals are way too beautiful to lose their appeal just because of a road.
The West side of the pass has some of the lushest jungles in Himachal and the East side has of course the one and only Pangi. Deep valleys, an untouched culture, high snow laden mountains all form part of an ecosystem which has often enough enchanted many a traveller. As if that was not enough, Pangi has more than its share of fantastic trek routes leading to Lahaul and Zanskar. The only thing you need to appreciate Sach Pass and Pangi is an intense desire to experience something new and be ready for an odd adventure while not caring much about daily comforts.
Trekking to Sach Pass:
It is now out of fashion. Treks across Sach Pass to Pangi were quite common back in the 80s and 90s. With a jeep road fashioned across the pass in the last decade and having been upgraded to a bus road recently, trekking is almost dead. Before you reach any conclusions, thats as much because of the lack of enterprise amongst trekkers as it is because of the trail being destroyed by the road. In most places, the road does not touch the trail. Infact, West of pass it touches the road once at Satrundi and then right at the pass. On the East, the road and the trail stay on the opposite sides of a stream. There is hardly any traffic. So, noise and trail destruction are excuses which are ruled out. Its purely because reaching Pangi is now possible by a jeep ride that hardcore trekkers avoid the pass and a lot of non-trekkers manage to cross it.
The route is quite simple and well marked out. The road has made it easier. At any point, you are a few hundred metres from a road. Getting lost on this would take a lot of effort and talent. The trail on the West side is intact and road interference is minimal. However, on the East side, the road is across the stream, always visible and very likely, you will hear the noise of any vehicle which passes. Huts and trail on the East side are also in a state of disrepair because of late, even the foot traffic prefers criss crossing the road rather than using the old trail.
Best times to cross this pass are early summer, starting end April to end May. Once the road opens and the 2 buses per day ply along with many jeeps, walking is the last thing you would want to do across the Sach Pass.
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