[wanderernomad]

This travelog has been a long time coming, even longer than it took us to even plan the trip. The proximity of Chandigarh to the mighty Himalayas is a constant teaser for the driving buffs.

Though I had been to almost each part of my Home state, there was still one corner that had always eluded me and was always there like the a tantalising goodie, hanging just out of reach. The matters came to a head when fellow BHPians Jay, Nev and Soumya did it coming from Mumbai and by a cruel twist of office work, i was unable to join them. But their trip pictures drove the proverbial last nail in the coffin of my lethargy and procrastination and the trip materialised.

The kids were off to Dehradun for the summer break and the in laws were ready to temporarily host our Red Ringed Indian Parrot, so with all the parental responsibilities gone, me and the bitter err..better half were free to soak in some adventure. The entire trip itinerary was going to be like this:

Day 1: Chandigarh to Tissa
Day 2: Tissa to Cheri via Sach Pass
Day 3: Cheri to Tandi
Day 4: Tandi to Chandrataal
Day 5: Chandrataal to Kaza
Day 6: Kaza to Mudh
Day 7: Mudh to Recongpeo
Day 8: Recongpeo to Dehradun
Day 9: Dehradun to Chandigarh

Like all best laid plans, it ran into complications even before it started. Instead of a late Friday start, we had to postpone the start to Monday, taking away 2 precious days even before the hills had a chance to play spoil sport. Already under pressure now, we had a slightly delayed start on Monday. Sunday evening was spent readying up the stead for the grueling way ahead. The basics that were packed were as follows:

1. Dry Rations for 2 for 4 days
2. Water bottles @ 2ltrs/pp/day
3. Inflatable car bed with 2 blankets and 2 heavy duty sleeping bags
4. A portable gas cylinder with 2 cooking pots
5. A self made BBQ grill with an option for open wood fire cooking
6. Jerry cans 2 Nos. carrying 30 ltrs of petrol
7. Disposable and reusable cutlery for 2
8. 12V tyre inflator
9. Commonly used spanners, wrenches, plier and duct tape
10. Some warm clothing with gloves
11. MTR ready to cook packets @ 2 meals/pp/day
12. A two person tent with camo net for the self designed car side awning
13. Some other tidbits and knick knacks

Some teaser pictures:

[wanderernomad]

Day 1: Chandigarh - Tissa, total kms done 392, time taken 10 hrs.

Start ODO reading was 79626 at 0800 hrs
Balachaur 79687 at 0915 hrs
Toll booth 79697 at 0925 hrs 52/-
Garhshankar 79712 at 0950 hrs
Hoshiarpur 79748 at 1015 hrs Toll 52/-
Breakfast at Amber Residency Hoshiarpur. Nice place, good food and bang by the roadside. Do try their Idly Sambhar. I know, I know, but excellent South Indian fare in the heart of Sardaar Land. Start at 1120 hrs.
Dausa Toll 79797 at 1155 hrs 52/-
Mukerian 79818 at 1215. Here you join the old NH 1A or the new NH 44 and turn right towards Pathankot.
Toll booth 79832 at 1225 hrs 95/-
Pathankot 79860 at 1245 hrs.

At a Reliance Pump at Mamun Cantt filled up the GV and the Jerry Cans with Petrol as from now on the fuel stops would be far and few in between and GV is not well known for her efficiency with the liquid gold.
Banikhet 79430 at 1500 hrs.

Lunch stop was at Devi Dehra a HPTDC run establishment 79939. This pit stop was just about 5 kms short of the point where we intended to turn off the regular route that leads towards Chamba. We took a left turn and went down the road towards the Chamera Power Project. Crossed the Dam and started driving on the other side of the Ravi. At Surangini, we once again crossed over and joined the Main Chamba Tissa road at Kalel. From Surangini a left road winds its way up the through the Padri Pass to Bhadarwah in J&K. This route forms a circle through the Ishtyaari-Killar and Sach. Another must do for the adventure seekers.
We reached Tissa at 1730 with Odo reading 80010 and proceeded to fill up the tank once again. The next Petrol Pump on our route will now be at Tandi after 2 days.

Accommodation was fixed at HPPWD Rest House Bhanjaru with the Odo reading 80018 at 1800 hrs, it was time to call it a day for the first day.

The roads through Punjab were a joy to drive on and around Pathankot it was chaotic and broken potholed one. Again from the point we crossed the Chamera Dam till Kalel was broken and kutcha in patches with small patches of black broken tarmac.

Some pictures of the day:

1. The Suzi at the Chamera Dam Reservoir.


2. Hills around Tissa.

[wanderernomad]

Day 2: Tissa - Chery, total kms done 128, time taken 8 hrs.

At the PWD rest house start Odo reading was 80020 at 0750 hrs.
Then we crossed the LAST PETROL PUMP at Khushnagri 80026 at 0800 hrs.

Bairagarh Checkpost 80046 at 0840 hrs. Here we alighted and entered our details in the Police Register and the police shot a small video of ours with our GV.
Thereafter, with numerous photo halts and a small breakfast halt we reached Sach Pass 8076 at 1215 hrs. The road till Bairagarh Check post was a beautiful black top albeit very narrow. After the check post till the Pass, the road ... sorry, I mean the track was a beautiful winding stretch with huge mountains and deep narrow gorges. Numerous snow melts had created beautiful waterfalls and the water was merrily flowing down the tracks into the rivulets below. After the pass, as we crossed over into Pangi, the valley on this side is called as the Churah valley, the landscape changed. Churah was more green and opened out towards the plains, but the Pangi valley was more steep, rocky and had so much more snow. Further, the gorge going out was narrower than the one we had climbed up to the pass.

Lunch was had at Geher Dunei at a small dhaba which had many Mahindra Pickups and Sumos parked. These small hard vehicles form the lifeline in this treacherous terrain and are the source of connecting the Pangi valley to the District Headquarters at Chamba. The way down was tougher than the ascent and finally we emerged onto the banks of the Mighty Chenab through one of the narrowest gorge mouth I have ever been to. If you were a spectator standing on the other bank of the Chenab at Killar, you can never ever realise that this small an opening, among a dense green willow tree covered rock face, will lead you to something as majestic as the Sach Pass.
Killar was reached after crossing the bridge on the Chenab and turning right. Left takes you Dharwas and onto Doda via Ishtyari and onwards towards Bhadarwah from where through the Padri Pass, you can come back towards Dalhousie over the Chamera Dam.
Killar 80118 at 1530 hrs. And then the fun began.
The road was even worse than what we had traveled and the going was slow due to numerous broken culverts forcing us to drive through rivulets, which thankfully due to lesser snows last year had manageable water flow.

Cheri at 80130 at 1630 hrs was decided as the Night Halt, though original plan was to have driven till Mindhal Mata temple and stay at the Forest Rest House.
The PWD caretaker initially tried every trick in his book to refuse accommodation, but the moment proper official introductions were made, a room materialised. However, he said there is no food.
NO FOOD NO PROBLEMS. We asked for the nearest village for buying some raw chicken and then retraced our way back about 5 kms to a village called Phindru.
By the way there is also a village called as Sach in Pangi Valley and the road to Sach Village takes off just before Cheri after crossing Phindru. This village is a take off point for many beautiful Alpine Treks towards the Mountains of Zanskar.

The Cheri Bunglow or the HPPWD Rest House is on the banks of the Chenab with a local nullah also flowing besides it. The Mountain Face opposite the place is the abode of the much revered diety Mindhal Mata. Anyway after buying the chicken, we came back and left it to marinate while taking down our heavy duty open fire grill and plate. The wind was cold and the night was bright when we had visitors. A J&K vigilance inspection team had also got delayed on their way back to Doda and came looking for refuge. They were about 6 of them and we all joined to have some fun and share stories around the fire. All of them were not eating chicken, as they had visited the temple in the evening, so we offered them BBQ pineapple. Yes, PINEAPPLE. We had great fun making friends with strangers. They had brought packed dinner which they graciously shared with us. It was one of the most memorable moment of the trip. We are still in touch after the trip and they also reciprocated positively, when I called regarding help to a couple of BHPians who wanted a place to stay at Kishtwar and they graciously not only provided accommodation, but also valuable advise on routes and roads to the two BHPians besides offering continuous support along the way, if a need arose.

The pictures form the day are as under:

The Temple at the start of the Sach climb immediately after the Police Checkpost.


The J&K hills in the background.


Beautiful Gorges along the way.


Tall majestic Mountains on the way to the pass.


Suzi stands and savours the route.


The Beautiful Churah Valley.


Snow appears closer to the pass.


Finally the Sach Pass @ 4500 Mtrs.


The road on the other side. The grass is definitely not greener.


The Glacial Melt lake and the start of the watershed on the opposite side.


The roads into Pangi Valley as we descend the pass.


The road leads down into the mouth of the Gorge.


Cheri by the banks of Chenab.

[wanderernomad]

Day 3: Cheri- Tandi, kms done 113, time taken 8 hrs.

The bright new day started off on a good note. We had enjoyed our stay and were looking forward to the journey today. The pitstop at Tandi was already fixed and confirmed so there was absolutely no hurry to reach it before last light. it was 0900 hrs with Odo reading at 80139 when we rolled out of the Cheri Bungalow.

First stop was the Mindhal Mata temple 80142 at 0930 hrs. After about a km from Cheri the road to Mindhal branches off to the right, and what a Road. smooth as a bay's bottom and black top, but just like a baby it was just a small stretch of driving pleasure. We had crossed over to the other bank and climbed a few steep curves to come to the parking area. From there it was a walk of about 800 mtrs up a pretty slope to reach the temple. The temple has exquisite wood carved exterior and has a large courtyard. Across the small valley we could see the road leading to the Sach Village and we spied a HRTC bus coming down towards the main road. We watched it for some time as it made its way down the switchbacks. After paying obeisance we started off only to collect some prasad, Halwa made out of desi ghee It was delicious and was being served by a group of pilgrims who had come from J&K in a tempo traveler. We had rolled without having breakfast so the tasty halwa was relished till the last spoon. We came back and joined the main track once again and continued to rock and roll our way towards Tandi.

Then we came to the jewel of a place called as Shour. What pristine village and had a tourist complex kind of thing by the river side. It has a HPWD rest house along with a forest rest house. But it was quite some distance down a branch off from the main road, so we continued forward without stopping.
After crossing the Khadunala we came to a place called Tindi. 80184 at 1230. GREF had a large maintenance unit base there. The proximity to the river was very tempting and we decided to have an early lunch break. We drove the GV into a meadow of willows and parked. Out came the lean to and the gas cylinder. The wind was quite strong but both of us enjoyed cooking and eating the lunch by the river side. After lunch we rolled off at 1340 hrs and reached Udaipur 80209 at 1500 hrs. Enroute there was another small HPPWD rest House at Kurched, 80192 kms mark.
Udaipur is relatively large habitation here and is known for the Trilokinath Temple, but for the love of all GODS that we hold dear, we found no markings for the same and missed it completely. Had a MAN stopped to ask for directions, do you think it still would have taken Moses 40 years? The only positive to come out was that my BSNL started working again for the first time ever since we left Tissa, except for a half hour we had spent earlier in the day at the Mindhal Temple.

Anyway, we continued on that dirt track which after Udaipur was showing some signs of improvement. Udaipur is the headquarters for the 94 RCC, 38BRTF under Project Deepak. Soon we stopped for some road clearing works at 80218, 1520 to 1610 hrs. All this time we were merrily rollicking along by the banks of the river on a relatively level road but now the road started to climb and we reached Thirot at an altitude of 8950 ft with Odo at 80222 at 1615 hrs. The climb continued to take us ever higher to Jhalmaan 9570 ft, 80233; 1630 hrs, then dipped to Lote 9085 ft at 80243, 1700 hrs only to start climbing again to Tholang 9590 ft, 80249 at 1710 and finally Tandi at 9745 ft, 80252, 1715 hrs.

We managed to find our pitstop, up a rather scary looking loose gravel short slope and into a puff paneled, pre-fabricated double storey structure. It was a field research station where the two boys tried to make our stay as comfortable as possible. After having some Tea me and wifey wandered off on foot to explore Tandi. It took more than we anticipated and on our return, we found the two boys waiting anxiously by the road head for our return as it had grown dark and it was cold and windy to boot. After a well cooked dinner we fell asleep to the croaking and groaning of the structure with the howling wind outside after updating our location to family back home as here even the Airtel had sprung to life. The poor Airtel Girl had been a victim of constant abuse from the wife for the entire stretch. If she is reading this, she knows now whom to blame for that one day which went horribly wrong for no apparent reason.

The pictures of the day:

1. The Sach Village as seen from the Mindhal temple.


2. The Mindhal temple. Note the intricate wood work.


3. Less snow visible on the higher reaches.


4. Lush green Pangi Valley.


5. The Bridge at Shaur.


6. Brunch time.


7. The goat track used for traversing the distance from Udaipur to the interior of the valley.


8. Lush Green forest cover around Udaipur.


9. The road blacktop before Udaipur.


10. Tandi.

[wanderernomad]

Day 4: Tandi - Losar, Kms done 170, time taken 11.5 hrs.

After a departure at 0830 hrs with ODO reading 80257 from the Tandi Transit House we hit the Keylong market for some early bird shopping. Odo read 80268 at 0900 hrs and after half an hour we once again drove back to Tandi fuel station for fuel. After Tissa this was the first Petrol Pump and also would be the last till Kaza now. Breakfast was had beneath some lush green trees just opposite to the Fuel Bunk. Finally, Tandi was bid adieu at 1025 hrs with ODO reading 80272 kms.

The excellent roads were no less than runways and the distances were gobbled up pretty quickly.
Sissu 80304 kms at 1050 hrs

Khoksar 80316 at 1105 hrs. Here the Police have a checkpost to check for Rohtang Permits. Since we were headed to Kunzum, therefore, only the vehicle details were entered.
Gramphu at 1140 hrs with Odo reading 80321. This time the journey from Tandi to Gramphu took only 1.25 hrs. I remembered the time it used to take about 4 hours in late 90s. The work on the Rohtang tunnel at Sissu is also at a massive scale and will soon develop into a large pitstop with shops and all. The day does not seem to be too far off but the entire complexion of the valley at Sissu has changed now.
After, the turn off at Gramphu, the adventure began. If morning shows the day, then we were in for a pretty rough weather as the road conditions were hardly inviting. The initial phase is dirt and water which soon gave way to rocks and water and then to loose soil, gravel, huge rocks and ofcourse water. The progress was painfully slow but the views made up for the discomfort. This valley is still pristine and ideal for camping and treks. We made slow bumpy progress and reached
Chattru at 1240 at 80339 kms (11140 ft/3395 mtrs.)
Chotta Darra 1400 hrs at 80356 kms (11155 ft/3400 mtrs).

Now immediately before Batal lies a splendid stretch of about 50 mtrs which is a test of both man and machine. The general lay out is a small shallow water crossing leads you to a large cement storm drain pipe. As you clamber your way up that pipe you are confronted with loose soil, small stones and a sharp incline with huge stone slabs towards the end of the incline. This is, if you are fortunate enough to not have water flowing down this slope. If you want to speed up the slope to gain traction then the stone slabs at the far end pose a grave danger to your sump and under body as the ground undulations will cause suspension to move more widely. If you want to creep up the slope, unless you have all wheel traction, there will be wheel spin and the loose rock and gravel wont let you move at all. Though it could have been done in normal all wheel drive mode of the GV but I engaged 4H lock to move this small 20 mtr stretch.


I shall post the videos of this stretch shot by a fellow traveler who refused to take his KUV 300 down this very slope after seeing the music symphony most of the cars traveling on this stretch were making. (He later did make it through, after a lot of persuasion from me and assurances that since he was going down the slope, so the chances of under-body hits are very less).
After I made through this stretch I parked and came back to aid an Innova which was following me ( he had already lost his rear bumper locks to a few bad scrapes along the way) which I knew will not make up the slope unaided. Even with assistance he could barely make it up the last 10 mtrs and hit his cross member onto one of the stone slabs.
We reached Batal (13418 ft/4090 mtrs) at 1450 with Odo reading 80371 and without any further issues safely reached Chandratal (14402 ft/4390 mtrs) at 1615 with Odo at 80385. Time taken includes numerous stoppages as vehicles in ahead found the going hard or were stuck. The 2 odd kms stretch from the Base Camp Parking to the forward parking is slightly tricky in the initial phase and had numerous vehicles stuck. Recommended course of action is to park at the base camp and then walk to the lake.


After spending about an hour and a half at the lake, where the wind was biting cold but the serene views all around made up for the harsh conditions.
We left the lake at 1750 and again got stuck before the base camp as a Safari Storme had slipped over the edge while trying to take a particular dicey curve which had a cross axle situation. Along with the help from the local taxi driver and fellow travelers we could push it back onto the road. With the journey resumed we reached Kunzum Pass at 1900 hrs. The pass stands beautiful at 4565 mtrs (almost 15000 ft). The drive is made in the form of a circle where you are required to go around the temple of Kunzum Mata. It was getting dark and cold as we descended the pass and recahed Losar at 2000 hrs with the Odo reading 80427.
Thus, the most tiring and difficult stretch of the journey was successfully completed.

The pictures from the day:

1. Tandi. The confluence of rivers Chandra and Bhaga.



2. The Gurughantaal Monastry, Tandi.


3. Near Chattru.


4. After Chota Darra some local fauna. Sheeps and Spiti Horses.



5. Before Batal.



6. Batal.


7. Turn off to Chandrataal.


8. Chandrataal.



9. The road to Chandratall as seen from the Kunzum Pass road.


10. Kunzum Mata Temple.

[wanderernomad]

Day 5: Losar - Akpa, total kms done 305, time taken 12.5 hours.

Today was the day when the route was to be cut short and modified. The entire plan had changed the previous day and we had to reach Dehradun by the end of Day 6. This meant that we had to modify the previous plan and still try and get as much as possible squeezed into the revised plan. First and foremost was the change to Stop at Losar Instead of Chandrataal to cover up more miles.

We started out from Losar HPPWD at 0900 hrs with Odo at 80427 and reached Langza around 1110 hrs with Odo at 80496. Its at an height of 4369 mtrs or 15220 ft and has a very tall Buddha Statue looking over a vast meadow kind of a depression. The road was good and snaked up some steep slopes and pretty views all around.

From Langza we drove to Komic at 4570 mtrs or 15000 odd ft, which is presently the highest motorable village in the world. The road was a dirt track but very well laid and with a moderate gradient. From here we cam back via a different road to join back the Original metaled Langza road. This road came through Hikkim village, which has the highest Post Office in the world at 4400 mtrs.
We reached Kaza at 1300 hrs and odo at 80524. After having a delicious lunch, HPTDC Kaza was closed for lunch as their cook had not as yet returned back from the market with the provisions, we started for Tabo at 1410 hrs after fueling up at yes, you guessed it ... the highest retail outlet!!

Tabo 80574, 1520 hrs boasts of one of the oldest Monasteries in the country.

The roads in Spiti were an absolute joy to drive and we really let loose on certain sections. This made us miss the turn off to Dhankar Gompa but we reached Giu Gompa at 1710 with odo at 80609. Enroute we crossed Hurling around 1630 at the 80594 mark and this place has a both HPWD and IPH guest houses. Giu Gompa is off route but has a beautiful Gompa which houses the mummy of one of the Lamas. Its origin and discovery is sort of all mixed up but you can read all about it on wiki.

After this it was more about covering as much distance as possible and with the roads were seeing, we were confident of hitting Recong Peo in a decent time.
Sumdo at 3076 mtrs was crossed at 1730 with 80621 on the Odo, Chango, 80633 at 1750 was a passing blur as we raced up towards the dreaded malling nullah. It came out a cropper at 1830 with Odo reading 80651. Me and Malling go back about 15 years, ther eis even a story about it here on the tlogs, written long time back. As we flew down the Kazings towards Khab, that the things changed once again.

As we entered the gorge a large gush of wind rained down stones. Some of them hit us pretty hard but due to the over head rack and the luggage we escaped without any major dents. Took care to warn a couple of bikers going up to be careful as they exit the gorge. As we crossed the Khab bridge, the roads turned to slush and broken tarmac. Driving became painful and time consuming. We had dinner at Spillow, 80716 kms at 2000 hrs and after failing to get a decent room at the IPH rest house we drove further to Akpa and got ourselves a room at the IPH guest house there. It was a long tiring day as we called it a night at 2130 with Odo reading 80732.

Tomorrow, was going to be an even longer day of driving, but first the pictures from the day 5:

1. The Road from Losar.


2. Pangmo Village. The roads improved considerably after this point.


3. Langza Village.


4. Buddha at Langza.


5. GV amidst the mighty mountains.


6. Komic..read the signboard. Beats any description.



7. Hikkim in the background.


8. The road to Kaza.


9. Kaza fuel pump.


10. Kaza Stupas.


11. The roads in Spiti.


12. Giu Gompa.


13. Mummy at Giu.


14. Road to Malling.

[wanderernomad]

Day 6: Total Kms done 404 kms, time taken 14 hours.

Today promised to be the total fatigue day. The proposed route took us through some of the most tiring stretches. Hardly any pictures for the day but the route details are as under:
Akpa 80732 at 0840
Powari 80753 at 0935. Took on fuel and the road conditions improved some what.
Tapri 80775 at 0940. Stopped for Breakfast.
Nigulseri 80801 at 1120.
Jeori 80819 at 1150.
Rampur 80837 at 1210.
Nogli 80847 1240. Turned left for Rohru only to be told about 15 kms later that the bridge is broken and we need to turn back and take another road.
After Duttnagar, we took the left axis towards Sungri. Beautiful road, mesmerizing views but the road disappeared around Sungri for about 6 kms.
Sungri 80904 at 1430, formed the pass betwene the river valleys at 2625 mtrs.
Samarkot 80915 at 1500
Rohru 80929 at 1530. Started again at 1640 after Lunch at HPTDC Chanshal.
Hathkoti 80942 at 1700
Sanel 80954 at 1715. The road around here keeps cris-crossing into UK and HP.
Tuini 80971 at 1740 forms the border between HP and UA. The road from here also leads down towards Paonta Saahib and Vikas Nagar.
We crossed over into UK and reached Lokhandi at 1930 with the Odo at 81031. From Tuini the road was excellent till about 11 kms short of Lokhandi after which they became a pain till Chakrata. Here there are some caves but time did not permit us to visit them.
Chakrata 81047 at 2000 hrs.
Sahiya 81073 at 2100 hrs
Vikasnagar 81098 at 2140.
Dehradun, our destination at 1030 with Odo reading 81134.

Just one picture for the day as a memory of an epic journey that saw us traverse some of the most inhospitable terrain and high altitudes that HP can offer.

Goodbye mountains till we come back to embrace you once again.

[aah78]

Thread moved to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

[Secretariat]

Wow, the travelogue is up. I didn't think you would actually get around to doing it ! Despite having seen and heard about half of this first hand, it still makes a nice read. The speeds that you do on mountain roads gives me the shivers, but then anybody with an association with the Malling nallah for 15 years is entitled to take those liberties, I suppose !

You've done injustice to the Rampur-Rohru-Dehradun stretch. Most visitors to Spiti do either Shimla-Kaza-Manali or Shimla-Kaza-Shimla. You have been advocating the exit through Uttarakhand, but surely more about this sector is warranted in this travelogue.

The trouble with the pace of your drives is that your next travelogue is already overdue. Waiting to hear all about Mana Pass.

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by Secretariat

The trouble with the pace of your drives is that your next travelogue is already overdue. Waiting to hear all about Mana Pass.

Already on the assembly line.

[rkg]

Excellent. can this stretch be done in a two wheel drive?

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by rkg

Excellent. can this stretch be done in a two wheel drive?

Yes by all means. However, for peace of mind I would prefer a slightly higher GC.

[Saurabh M]

How are you doing Sir? Fantastic pics. The GV is looking awesome.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

This travelog has been a long time coming, even longer than it took us to even plan the trip. The proximity of Chandigarh to the mighty Himalayas is a constant teaser for the driving buffs.

Though I had been to almost each part of my Home state, there was still one corner that had always eluded me and was always there like the a tantalising goodie, hanging just out of reach. The matters came to a head when fellow BHPians Jay, Nev and Soumya did it coming from Mumbai and by a cruel twist of office work, i was unable to join them. But their trip pictures drove the proverbial last nail in the coffin of my lethargy and procrastination and the trip materialised.

The kids were off to Dehradun for the summer break and the in laws were ready to temporarily host our Red Ringed Indian Parrot, so with all the parental responsibilities gone, me and the bitter err..better half were free to soak in some adventure. The entire trip itinerary was going to be like this:

Day 1: Chandigarh to Tissa
Day 2: Tissa to Cheri via Sach Pass
Day 3: Cheri to Tandi
Day 4: Tandi to Chandrataal
Day 5: Chandrataal to Kaza
Day 6: Kaza to Mudh
Day 7: Mudh to Recongpeo
Day 8: Recongpeo to Dehradun
Day 9: Dehradun to Chandigarh

Excellent travelogue sir!!!. Everytime one returns to the forum after some time gap there is always an exclusive Himalayan travel story in the offing. Your travelogue made me nostalgic simultaneously on two counts. It reminds me of the Sach Pass (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...fulfilled.html (Over the Sach Pass in a sedan: A ‘Dzire’ fulfilled!)) and the Spiti (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ure-sedan.html (Julley! Himalayan Spiti Adventure in a sedan)) trips which I did in October 2015 in a sedan. And what a coincidence that with both these trips I too thereby completed covering Himachal. Nice to see Grand Vitara taming the himalayan terrain. Eagerly awaiting for further updates from you.

Best Regards.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Fantastic boss. Awesome pics and detailed narration. Suzi looks sexy. All I need now is to steal your homemade barbeque grill to complete my setup and hit the road again.