Posted by Shivam Singh
On 17th March, 2021
***Kinnaur Roadtrip***
Date: 26th November 2020
Finally the day arrived when we had to say Good-Bye to Sangla for our next destination: Sarahan.
But wait a minute……..as we stepped out of our room, it was snow, snow and huge amount of snow everywhere. There was a silence among us, as all 3 of us understood that we are stuck and in no way we could travel today. Moreover, snowfall was still on.
After thinking and discussing for a while, we called Hotel owner for help and suggestion. “A BIG NO“, was his answer to our travel plan.
We stepped outside hotel to look at road conditions, look what we saw !!!
There was another big problem: the snow on the road will soon become extremely dangerous “black ice” and driving will be impossible.
Our official leaves were limited and there was a chance that we may get stuck over there for many days.
The hotel owner started calling his friends to enquire about the road conditions downhill from Sangla, but unfortunately not even a single vehicle entered Sangla by that time (around 10 AM) from the only access road (Karcham-Sangla road). He was very caring and we sensed a warning in his discussions that if not today, we will not be able to leave Sangla for next 2-3 days atleast.
I decided to do a test ride till the market which was 1 km away, to which all agreed. There was almost 9 inches of snow on the car which took us around 20 minutes to remove.
Although I have a very good experience of mountain driving but this was my first time driving in snow.
As soon as we started, I had to apply brakes just after 100 meters and the car slipped and turned complete 90 degrees. Sharad and Prabal jumped out to hold the car from further slipping. It was a scary moment.
For the next 1+ km till the market, both of them were walking next to the car on either side pushing it on the middle of the road whenever it was slipping. It was a downhill road fully covered with snow and was very difficult to drive. By the time we reached the market, it was clear that we cannot go further down as the roads were very narrow and God knows what to do if a vehicle comes from opposite direction.
I parked the car in the market and surrendered even to drive back uphill to hotel. Then the hotel owner called us to inform that one vehicle entered Sangla just few minutes back and he confirmed that road is clear after 4-5 km. But our question was how to cover those 4-5 km and what if snowfall which was still happening goes heavier.
Suddenly we noticed a Maruti Gypsy customized for rally driving entering Sangla, the way we were looking at it with a questionable face, it came and stopped just on our side. Before the person driving it could say something, Prabal as usual showered him with questions. He laughed and asked us to give it a try as the roads are comparatively easier to drive now than what it will become after few hours.
By then the Hotel owner and our driver for Chitkul, Mr. Hari Negi also arrived with their vehicle, to motivate us to leave Sangla today itself and they were successful as I finally agreed to take this risk.
Mr. Hari Negi also gave me some driving tips while going to-and-fro from hotel to take our luggage in his vehicle. I followed his tips and trust me they were the lifesavers.
Tip: Drive in first gear only without accelerator and use pumping brakes in emergency case only otherwise brakes are strict no.
Nevertheless, we were soon on the main road towards Karcham, 18 km from Sangla. Prabal and Sharad being co-passengers were scared to the core. I was being optimistic that we could make it. While driving, the car slipped multiple times but it was still under control as I was trying to stick to the basics.
The road was full of slush and rocks which were still falling from hills. At one point, we were saved by just few seconds as few rocks just fell in front of us. It would have definitely broken our window glass or given a big dent on car body.
Talking and motivating each other we reached Karcham Dam in 90 minutes from where we had to take NH-5. It was a big relief overall although we started missing Sangla-Chitkul now. The positives and negatives of staying there for another day was the next topic for our discussion.
After taking a short breather of 15 minutes thinking and talking about the risky road we just covered, soon started moving towards Sarahan.
We were eagerly waiting for this journey as it passes through the same cliff roads where we missed taking photographs while driving from Narkanda to Reckong Peo 3 days back since we arrived here late evening and it was dark.
We stopped at multiple spots and clicked pictures till our full satisfaction.
The distance between Sangla to Sarahan is 85 km. Travel on NH-5 till Jeori. from where you have to take a diversion on an uphill road for 17 km to reach Sarahan.
Sarahan is a small town in Himachal Pradesh. Bhimakali Temple, originally known as Bhimadevi Temple is located here. Temple is dedicated to the mother goddess Bhimakali, which was the presiding deity of the rulers of the former Bushahr State. This temple is one of 51 Shakti Peethas.
We reached here by 7 PM and easily got a room in a valley facing beautiful hotel (Hotel Shrikhand). Had dinner which ended today’s adventurous day.
See you in the next blog, till then Happy Travelling.
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