Sach Pass Status 2017 & Road Condition

Sach Pass is currently open for vehicular traffic. This will be a dedicated post for Sach Pass Status 2017.  As the year progresses, I will continue updating the status and condition of the road here.

Current Sach Pass Status 2017 – OPEN

Also read: How to plan your trip to Sach Pass

Update July 3rd: Thank you Saket Bhai for sharing the update on road conditions. He recently completed his Sach Pass trip in XUV 500 and ISuzu V Max. His update also confirms that you can complete Sach Pass tip in a Swift, Verna or Ertiga or for any Sedan or Hatchback for that matter.

I returned today to Delhi after my trip … A short summary about road conditions . ( we were driving in Safari storm, XUV 500 & ISUZU V Max )
1) Bairagarh to Sach pass – very bad but still better than sach pass to Killar .
2) Sach pass to Killar – Worst roads across the trip .
3) Killar to Khoksar – Roads are much better ( still not in good category ) but be ware of the Nallas , we were stuck for a day because we were trying to cross in 2 nd half ( about 2 pm ) it is recommended to cross them as early as possible .
The above 3 were worst roads of entire trips but still we saw a verna , swift and ertiga successfully cross them .
4) Khoksar to Chandar taal. – The roads were again closed for a day due to a nalla overflowing …. this stretch also had few very challenging parts although less than sach pass to Killar but since we were going up hill it was equally difficult .
4) Batal to Chandar taal – the road is fine but very very narrow .
5) Chandar tall to kaza – After experience of first 4 days this road looked WoW 🙂 .
6) Kaza to Karcham – The road has been built recently and now it is a very nice road . I was in Kaza in Jan 2016 as well , compared to that the roads now are much much better . For a Spiti trip now there is no need to for a high road clearance car any car can do it .
We drove 2000 Kms in 9 days , camped for 2 nights . We had 3 kids in age 3 years to 8 years and they had no problems with high altitude at any point in the trip .
The trip was an experience of life time , I will share few picks once arrange the digital content i gathered from the trip .
Thanks to Vargis for all the useful information and to others also who shared information about road conditions .

Update June 30th: It is still raining almost everyday around Sach Pass and the road is in a terrible state. It has already been closed for repairs couple of times since it opened.  The worst stretch is between Sach Top, Killar and Udaipur. On Kishtwar side, it is bad but doable until Sinthan Top. From Sinthan, it is a smooth run until Patnitop and Anantnag.

Update June 26th: Below is an update on road conditions through out the Sach Pass stretch. It is still raining there almost every other day so you must prepare accordingly. The Bogotu Dhaba is now operational so you can have lunch there. From Bairagarh to Sach Top, it will take you about 3-4 hours. Sach Pass to Killar will be about 5-6 hours easily.

Before and around Bairagarh: Road is a mix of bad and average. Expect some slush and there are a few waterfalls on the road as you get closer to Bairagarh.

Bairagarh to Satrundi: This section is bad but manageable. Few waterfalls in between here too.

Satrundi to Sach Top: Road is a completely dirt trail but OK for the initial part. Snow walls will start to come up as you get closer to Sach Top, and at some places really narrowing the road. Ride carefully as you may come across black ice at several places here. There are a few serious water crossing as well before you reach the top of the peak. If you are in a car, you will have to keep an eye out for any oncoming vehicle. Due to the huge snow walls, road is barely wide enough for one car at several places. The narrow road and water crossings too will make it difficult if there is another vehicle coming from the other direction.

Sach Pass to Bogotu: Extremely bad. A steep descent on an uneven road full of big stones lying right on the road. Be very careful if you are on a motorcycle.

Bogotu Nallah: A menace as usual specially for motorcyclists. Try to cross it in earlier part of the day if you were staying at Bairagarh. By noon, water flow increases and nallah gets quite deep. If you are in a 4X4, a good place to engage it before driving across. If on a motorcycle; stop, inspect and than take your bike across.

Bogotu to Killar: Extremely bad road still. They cut a tunnel through a glacier on this stretch, before Chandrabhaga Bridge and as the sun comes it, it starts to melt creating water and slush everywhere. The snow tunnel may just collapse any day now. There are several water crossing on this stretch and a couple of them are really deep and tough to cross.

Killar to Cherry: Mix of average and bad but manageable.

Cherry to Tindi: A few bad water crossings on this route. BRO is working around Shor Nallah and blasting the road due to which the entire road is filled with stones.

Tindi to Udaipur: This will probably be the worst section of the entire journey so far. There are a lot of water crossings in between. Several of them are quite deep and Darad Nallah is the longest. If you are on a motorcycle, there is no way you can cross it without putting your feet down (as it runs for quite a distance on the road) in the water so prepare accordingly.

Udaipur to Manali: Road is mix of average and good but mostly good. Stretch between Tandi and Sissu is newly built. Expected a lot of traffic and crowd as you start descending from Rohtang Pass towards Manali. Road however is Ok here as well.

Update June 23rd: Thank you Sufis for another update today. Snow has been cleared and road is now open. It is raining there however and roads too are in a terrible state.

Update June 22nd: Thank you Sufis for providing this update. Copy pasting it here from comments section.

“As of today, 22nd June 2017, Sach Pass is closed. It snowed and rained heavily on 21st June. Level of the snow is 2 feet. 3 of my biker friends are stranded just before pass. Administration is saying that it will take minimum 3-4 days to clear it again.”

Update June 15th: Just received word that Chanshal Pass experienced light snow fall in last few days. It has been raining almost everyday there. Expect the weather to be really cold and be prepared for rain. The route between Killar and Keylong is drivable however a section of the road at Shaor Nallah near Purthi is badly damaged.The road on Kishtwar however remains to be closed as an entire section was washed away in rain. BRO is working on reconstructing it but the everyday rain is badly hampering the work.

Update June 13th: Sach Pass is now cleared of snow and was opened for vehicular traffic today. Vehicles from both Chamba and Pangi valley successfully crossed the pass to get to the other side.

Please do keep in mind that today, only SUVs with high ground clearance were able to cross. Bus, Trucks were not allowed to ply on the route and the road is way too treacherous right now for a hatchback or Sedan. If you are planning a trip to Sach Pass in near future, below are a few things to keep in mind.

• Road condition is extremely bad. Road is badly broken with lot of slush and numerous water streams.
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• Road from Bairagarh to Udaipur via Killar and until Kishtwar is all bad.
• There are a few nallahs on the way which are in full flow as of now due to melting snow.
• Best would be to delay your trips by a couple of weeks as authorities are still working clearing the snow. There are still machines at the top of the pass and road may be closed temporarily.
• Opt only for an SUV with high ground clearance for the trip. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a 4×4 but good GC is must.
• Do not even think about taking a hatchback or Sedan. It may just kill your car completely.
• If you have a hatchback or Sedan, best would be to plan your trip sometime in September.
• If you must however take a hatchback or Sedan now, then take it only until Bairagarh. From there, you can hire a local Bolero to take you to the top of the pass and bring back. Leave your own car at the hotel in Bairagarh. If you need a contact at Bairagarh to rent a local taxi from, let me know.

Bus service across the pass has not yet started and it will be a few weeks before it happens.

Update June 9th: As of now, Pass should open by either June 12th or 13th. If you are planning a trip after that, you are OK to go however be prepared for nightmarish roads.

Update June 4th: Snow clearing operation has almost reach Sach Pass top. Only last few kilometers now remain on both Killar and Satrundi side. If you travel now, you can go about 10 kilometers after Satrundi, as far as the snow has been cleared. From Manali Side, you can climb up as far as about 3 kilometers from Sach Pass top.

Expected opening date as of now is sometime after June 15th.

Update April 22nd: From Manali Side, Snow has been cleared all the way to Rohtang top. Another 2 kilometers of stretch from Keylong to Rohtang still remains that BRO is hopeful to be cleared within next few days. However, traffic will not be allowed to ply on this route for at least next couple of weeks. Once BRO is able to stabilize the road conditions and determines the entire Manali to Keylong via Rohtang route safe, it will be declared open for tourists.

  From Chamba side, road is accessible till Bairagarh. The check post at Satrundi moves to Bairagarh each year during winter and this is as far as you can go as of now.

With temperatures soaring high all over the country, Shimla and Manali too were not an exception. Shimla recorded the highest temperature of 28 degrees Celsius since 1999 and Manali at 27 degrees. As a result of the heat, snow is melting faster than expected, expediting BRO’s snow clearing operation.

Sach Pass is notorious and often deemed as the toughest of all. Road conditions are always bad and with high snowfall in the region during winter and snow melting this fast now in summer, expect the roads to be in the worst state. Once the pass is open, I will update on the current conditions of the road.

I hope this information on Sach Pass Status 2017 was helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below and I would be glad to answer.