A Valley Far Away

Still unmarked on the map, you arrive at Pangi Valley much after you have left the well-trodden paths of Himachal behind. And here in this scenic region awaits something untouched, something surreal, something more.

- Jitaditya Narzary

Many years ago, when I first started visiting Himachal Pradesh, I bought a tourist map of the state. The northwestern corner of the map ends exactly where Pangi Valley begins. This is not an exception. I have seen numerous travel and trekking guides on Himachal that do not even fleetingly mention Pangi, the only honourable exception being Minakshi Chaudhry’s Exploring Pangi Himalaya: A World Beyond Civilization. Nevertheless, this is what makes Pangi Valley one of the last remaining corners of the Indian Himalaya yet to be touched by the tourism boom.

For the uninitiated, this tiny region is sandwiched between Kishtwar in J&K, and Lahaul and Chamba regions in Himachal. Technically, it is a part of Chamba district, but the Pir Panjals guard it from the rest of the district in such a manner than the very act of reaching the valley feels like an achievement. The valley is primarily fed by the Chandrabhaga (Chenab) river and its numerous tributaries that form various sub-valleys within the valley. The people in Pangi have their own unique culture and language. Generally, the last village at the end of every sub-valley is inhabited by Buddhists while the rest are predominantly Hindus.

Sach Pass

“This is nothing. You must cross the Sach Pass and visit Pangi someday,” said Prabhdayal, the elderly homestay owner in Bairagarh, the last major settlement before Sach Pass.