There was no plan of travel to Chansal Pass this year and with just getting back from a family trip to Tirthan Valley a few weeks ago, I never thought of it in any corner of my head. Then, a project release was pushed off the project, and the workload at the office was lessened a bit for me.

Trip to Rohru and Chansal Pass
Trip to Rohru and Chansal Pass

Somehow, few friends in the DoW Watsapp group were making plans for a weekend trip to Chansal Pass for 3 days. This meant only 1 day off for me which can be easily taken and then suddenly, I asked them “Guys, how about celebrating the DwD Community’s anniversary at Chansal Pass on 1st June 2014??” and there it goes…

Five of us went on the road trip in next two days over last weekend to Chansal Pass with Chakrata as a side on too 😀 😀

Experience of Chansal Pass Trip

On just a weekend budget trip to Chansal Pass, we experienced the snow, the snowfall, the rain, the rainbow, the river, the roads or call them no-roads, the jungles, the break down of our car in no man’s land, some great food shops, etc. What an action-packed weekend trip?? Yeah, it was and after all why not, it was DwD Community’s First Birthday 🙂 …

Well, in the past one year DwD Community has passed 1000 Members and 1000 Topics and why we shouldn’t be that happy to celebrate with a 1000+ KMs of a road trip in the Himalayas 😉

Though I am going to write a detailed Travel Tale and reviews of the guesthouses I stayed, just before that would like to share what itinerary I followed, the route I took and the updates on road conditions for reaching these places.

Cake we cut at Chansal Pass Top for DwD Community’s 1st Anniversary
Cake we cut at Chansal Pass Top for DwD Community's 1st Anniversary
Devils at Chansal Pass in Devil’s Outfits
Devils at Chansal Pass in Devil's Outfits
Lucky to Spot this Rainbow in Pabbar Valley while coming down from Chansal Pass
Lucky to Spot this Rainbow in Pabbar Valley while coming down from Chansal Pass

Itinerary for Chansal Pass – Pabbar Valley – Chakrata Trip in May/June

Well, I had three days in hand for this trip, and I followed the itinerary as below. We crossed between the states of Himachal and Uttarakhand a few times in a single day, and that was the beauty of this road trip 🙂 …

Day 1: Delhi – Hatkoti – Shillai – Rohru

Started the drive from Delhi/Noida – Ghaziabad – Meerut – Muzaffarnagar – Roorkee – Biharigarh – Dehardun – Paonta Sahib – Shillai – Tiuni – Hatkoti – Rohru, Pabbar Valley. We stayed at PWD Rest House at Rohru, Pabbar Valley.

Day 2 | Rohru – Chansal Pass – Rohru

It was 1st June, and the plan was to cut the cake at the top of Chansal Pass. We drove from Rohru – Chirgaon – Larot and reached Chansal Pass midst rains. We cut the cake there, and in fact, there was one kid form Nashik whose B’ day was there too. We offered her to cut first, and we had great fun up there with that family.

I can understand the feeling of kids cutting the cake and parent’s watching them. They were kind of upset as they did not have cake there on the trip, but we devils are known for spreading smiles, you know. Then, Samar and I hiked up to Chansal Peak from the pass to get some amazing 360-degree views from the top up there. Fabulous was the word up there.

While coming back from Chansal, we experienced snowfall, executed DoW Causes at Larot – Chirgaon Village, and that sealed the trip for us. We had late lunch at Chirgaon finally after a long day before settling at PWD Rest House at Rohru.

Day 3 | Rohru – Chakrata – Delhi

Started 6 AM from Rohru and took the route as Rohru – Tiuni – Sawara – Kanesar Forest – Chakrata – Kalsi – Vikasnagar – Herbertpur – Dehradun. We executed DoW Causes at Sawara Village, Uttarakhand, Primary School, then spent some time at Chakrata Main Market, captured some lovely valley views before reaching Dehradun in the evening.

At Dehradun, we had food at KFC and then followed the same route back home from Dehradun to Delhi/Noida. I boarded the last metro of 11:05 PM from Vaishali to get home at Dwarka, almost mid-night.

Overall, it was quite an amazing trip experience with every day coming with a new kind of route. You can check Google Map marked route at the link: Route Map of Google

Road to Chansal Pass ahead of Larot Village
Road to Chansal Pass ahead of Larot Village
The Valley View at Chakrata
The Valley View at Chakrata

Road Conditions for Delhi – Rohru – Chansal Pass – Chakrata – Dehradun

Following is the breakdown of road conditions for the trip to Chansal Pass:

  • Delhi – Meerut – Muzaffarnagar: Excellent, smooth sailing, mostly.
  • Muzaffarnagar – Roorkee: Mostly good roads but single lane with many diversions and idiots driving wrong sides 😥
  • Roorkee – Dehradun – Paonta Sahib: Excellent roads but single lane. Drive with care, especially at night.
  • Paonta Sahib – Shillai – Tiuni: Mostly bad and very roads with potholes. Punisher for a small car.
  • Tiuni – Hatkoti – Rohru: Mix of Average and Good roads.
  • Rohru – Chirgaon – Larot: Mix of Average and Bad roads.
  • Larot – Chansal Pass: This is about 20 km and horrible to very bad roads here. Extreme punisher for a small car
  • Tiuni – Sawara Village – Kanesar Forest – Chakrata: Mix of Average, Bad and Very Bad roads. A mild punisher for small cars. This route is much better of all three options that take you to Chansal Pass or Pabbar Valley from Delhi, in terms of road conditions and views on offer. This will be my preferred with an overnight stop at Chakrata.
  • Chakrata – Kalsi – Vikas Nagar – Dehradun: Mostly excellent road conditions.

The Shimla – Theog – Kharapathar route is the WORST among all three routes that you can follow to reach Pabbar Valley, avoid it. I will suggest going from Dehradun – Chakrata route among all three as the Shillai route was equally bad.

But did not offer much scenic beauty that Chakrata – Tinui offers to heal the sufferings of bad roads. In small cars, the speed will be slow mostly due to the bad roads in Pabbar Valley or on the way to it.

Did you know? Chansal Pass is one of the places to enjoy snowfall or snow near Delhi in Himachal.

Yamuna River near Asan Barrage, Paonta Sahib
Yamuna River near Asan Barrage, Paonta Sahib

Phone Signals at Chansal Pass – Pabbar Valley with Data Connectivity

I was carrying Airtel Postpaid and BSNL Postpaid and following was the signal status for all three of them:

  • Both of them were working fine mostly through the trip with limited signals at very few places only.
  • Signals were not present at the top of Chansal Pass though and after Larot Village.
  • Data Connectivity was always available wherever the signals were present though it was mostly 2G or EDGE/GPRS and at places 3G too.
  • You are traveling from Narkanda side, there should be signals present for the most part of your trip.
Car Breakdown towards Shillai – Rohru
Car Breakdown towards Shillai - Rohru

Other Important Updates from Chansal Pass – Pabbar Valley Trip

  • Fuel pumps are available throughout the route, so don’t worry much about the fuel. Rohru has 2-3 petrol pumps itself.
  • Food is also easily available and at Tiuni which falls in Uttarakhand, you can get some delicious Apricots of various kinds and at much cheaper prices too.
  • There are a couple of ATMs at Rohru including one of HDFC Bank. So, no worries on that front too.
  • Checkout Pakoras at Biharigarh and Gupta Chat Shops near Roorkee.

Travel Tip: You may want to club your trip to Chansal Pass with Thanedar during the apple orchard season.

You should always carry your water bottle and refill it as many times as you need water. It will not only keep you hydrated always, but you will also help in saving the Himalayas from plastic garbage. Remember, every tiny step counts and your step in this direction can help save the Himalayas too !! 🙂 🙂

Toll Amounts on the Route to Chansal Pass – Pabbar Valley

  • Muzaffar Nagar Toll Plaza: Rs 60
Pakoras at Biharigarh
Pakoras at Biharigarh

Conclusion

I hope this Pabbar Valley – Chansal Pass itinerary will help you plan a memorable trip to the Himachal Pradesh. The place is still kind of offbeat place of Himachal where you can enjoy seclusion and nature at its best. So, before it gets commercialized further, don’t wait and plan a weekend trip to Chansal Pass or Dodra Kwar villages.

Have a travel question?? You can subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment to ask your travel questions about traveling to the Himalayas.

I will start sharing the detailed Travel Tale of this lovely trip to Chansal Pass – Pabbar Valley – Chakrata, the reviews of the places I stayed and places at which I ate food, soon 🙂

If you know your friends or family are planning a trip to an offbeat place in Himachal, do share this article with them to help them make a memorable Pabbar Valley – Chansal Pass trip.

Share.

I am Dheeraj Sharma - a traveler, techie, and Himalayan lover. Since 2009, I have been helping thousands of travelers every year plan memorable & budget-friendly trips to the Himalayas - Smartly, Safely, and responsibly.

109 Comments

  1. Comments section gets closed in 90 days. To ask your travel questions, you can follow my YouTube Channel for a faster reply or for a much slower reply follow me on Instagram. :)

  2. Hi Dheeraj,
    I am planning for a bike trip this weekend. Will the weather conditions be good enough to drive ?

  3. Hi Dheeraj,

    We are a group of 4 friends from Delhi. We wish to visit Chanshal pass during the 2nd october long weekend (starting 29th Sept evening from Delhi and back by 3rd Oct morning to Delhi)

    Our plan is to rent bikes from Shimla on Saturday morning, visit Chanshal and be back by Monday evening to take bus back to Delhi.

    Could you please suggest how viable the plan is as i can see some shower predictions at that time. Is it advisable as per you to visit the place on Bikes during such weather.

    Also, which road would be the best to reach Chanshal via 2 wheelers trying to not overdo travel on any particular day.

    Thanks,
    Manas

    • Hi Manas, you can do like

      Saturday: Shimla to Rohru
      Sunday: Rohru to Chansal to Dodra Kwar and back to Rohru
      Monday – Rohru to Shimla

      Weather will be fine during that time of the year.

  4. HI Dheeraj,

    That is definitely a very useful post. So, I need to plan a 2 day trip from Delhi i.e. leave on Friday evening and be back by Monday morning.

    What would you suggest could be covered from early Saturday morning to Sunday evening in Pabbar valley? Also, please recommend the best place to stay there.
    And for the same period of 2 days, would you recommend any other place in Himachal over this? Apart from Barot and Tirthan valley, have been to both.

    Would really appreciate an early response to be able to get the right bookings. Thanks a ton!

    • Hi Palak,

      Well, Pabbar will be too taxing for 2 day trip. You should plan something like Parashar lake or Chakrata or Khirsu or Rajgarh for just two days to make something out of it.

  5. I have to travel from ponta sahib to kharapathar which route should I take. Google maps shows three routes. Anyone having any idea about the present conditions of the roads ?
    I will be travelling on this weekend

    • Vinay, we took the Shillai route which was a bit desolate and some sections were bad in road conditions. Then you can also take Chakrata – Deoban route which meets at Tiuni. Again very nice route.

      • Thank you dheeraj for your prompt reply. One more query is shillai road i.e NH 707 doable in ertiga considering the expected rains on this weekend. Also is NH 707 single road i believe with some sections very bad as i saw in news?

      • Dear Dheeraj,

        An update on the present road condition:

        Ponta sahib to Kharapathar via Shillai (NH-707): The road is under construction justfrom ponta sahib to a little before shillai the road is just made (single lane) so good road, but from shillai to Tuni there is no metaled road. Very dangerous to drive in certain strech. Almost 100 Kms of road is just stonny. Even after Tuini to hathkoti road is bad.

        Kharapathar to Occhaghat: (SH10 & SH6): the road condition of SH 10 is good except for some places where road expansion work is going on (small patches where the road is just single pass) mostly the SH 10 is double lane and newly bulit. However the SH6 is still kind of rough at certain parts but doable.

        The verdict is Kharapathar to Occhaghat: (SH10 & SH6) is far better than NH 707. Travelled on 25 June 2017.

  6. Gagandeep singla on

    Hi Deeraj,
    Im little bit confused that whether i should visit manali,rohtang pass or chansal in mid of June 2017.Pl. guide me.Where i can enjoy the weather more.
    Can i find snow anywhere?

    • Mid June, Rohtang Pass near Manali will have some snow left but then you have to go through the hassles of Rohtang Pass Permit and also mad tourist rush in June. While Chansal PAss may not offer you snow, though Pabbar Valley will offer you peace and calm nature devoid of tourist rush.

  7. Gagandeep singla on

    Hi Dheeraj,

    Me,Gagan from Mohali,planning trip from Mohali to Chanshal via Rohru in mid of June 2017.Can you guide me the shortest route & weather.Can i find snow over there during this period? If any safety measures that should follow by me & my family members.

    • Gagan, snow will be gone by the time you are planning to visit Chansal Pass. You can go from Shimla – Theog – Kharapathar route and while coming back may take Shillai – Paonta Sahib route.

  8. Hi, We are planning a Trip from Shimla to Manali via Rohru, Chanshal in May end Jun’17. Other option is to Travel from Shimla to Rohru, Chanshal to Chakrata and Ponta Shahib… Which one to Choose? Will be travelling by Ford Ecosports.

  9. Joyasish ghosh on

    Dheeraj,

    Thanks for your response. My final itinery is as follows:
    21st may: Reaching Ambala by Himgiri express. Ambala to Shimla
    22nd may: Shimla to chirgaon/ Larot . stay
    23 Rd may: Chansal pass and pabbar valley. if possible , Dodra kwar
    24 th may : Chirgaon to daranghati.
    25th may: Daranghati to jibhi. stay at Jibhi
    26 th may: tirthan valley
    27th may : tirthan to dharamsala.
    28th may: Rock cut temple
    29th May: Mcleodganj to Pathankot and board Himgiri Express.

    Now, my query is:
    1) From Shimla, what road is to be followed for Rohru? what is the condition of that? One of the chirgaon people has told the theog-Kaharapaththar-Hatkoti Road is the best option.
    2) from chirgaon, what road is to be followed for Gopalpur forest rest house? via teclech or via Rampur?
    3) From Dharamshala to Pathankot, we have plenty of time in the last day. can you suggest one place to be visited enroute ?

    Thanks. With regards,

    Joyasish

    • My replies below:

      Frankly speaking, it is too much of travel which will not let you enjoy the trip. I will strongly suggest to keep it simple and limited to Pabbar Valley and Tirthan Valley

      1. Roads are OK but still bad shape to Pabbar Valley. You will be following Theog – Kharapathar route.
      2. I am not sure about the location of this FRH, so cannot comment Taklech or Rampur route will be good. Sorry on that
      3. Like I said, better not to travel that far end and enjoy the stay in Pabbar and Tirthan only.

  10. Pankaj Dalal on

    Hello Dheeraj! My gratitude to you for your extensive and practical research on Himalayas. You are the most reliable source of guidance. Just wanted to know whether it would be advisable to visit Pabbar Valley around 15 April and would Vitara Brezza be a potent vehicle to take this trip? Thank you.

  11. Joyasish Ghosh on

    Hi Dheeraj,

    I am planning for a pabbar valley – tirthan valley -karsog valley tour on later May, 2017. my itinery is as follows:
    1) Day 1 : Starting from chandigarh – to Rohru. stay at rohru.
    2) Day 2: Rohru – chansal pass- dodra kwar. Stay at dodra kwar
    3) stay at dodra kwar.
    4) Dodra kwar to Narkanda . stay at Narkanda
    5) Narkanda to shoja/ goshaini . stay at shoja / goshaini
    6) stay at tirthan valley. zalori pass and back
    7) Tirthan to Chindi. stay at chindi
    8) Stay at shimla -stay at Shimla

    Is the itinerary o.k? can you please give some information on following?
    a) you can include any gem of the route.
    b) As we are budget traveller, can u provide contact of some budget and decent homestay of the places particularly in pabbar and tirthan.
    c) Booking a car from Chandigarh is advisable for this tour with family or not for economy and time?
    d) Any suggestions from your end.

    Thanking you,

    Joyasish

    Can you please

    • Hi Joyasish,

      1. Well, you do not need to go to Jalori on Day 6 as from Narkanda to Tirthan you will already cover it on Day 5. S spend Day 6 within Tirthan to enjoy it.
      2. Day 7 as well you should enjoy in Tirthan and on Day 8 take the Mandi route to come back to delhi or chandigarh to see other route as well instead of traveling back the same route from Manali side.

      Regarding queries:

      a) You are covering most of it and these places are themselves beautiful especially Tirthan and Pabbar
      b) You will be easily able to find budget stays in most of these places especially Pabbar, Dodra and Tirthan. Many home stays are run, so should not be problem on the spot.
      c) Yes, you can take the car from Chandigarh and drop it back there after completing the circuit. In fact you can call any Shimla driver who can pick you up from Chandigarh so that you are in experienced hands.

      • Joyasish Ghosh on

        Hi Dheeraj,
        Thanks for your response. According to availability of tickets, i have changed the tour plan as following:
        21st may: Reaching Ambala by Himgiri express. Though I have tickets to pathankot, Ambala will save time. Ambala to Narkanda
        22nd may: Narkanda to dodra kwar via sungri, chansal pass. Stay at Jiskoon homestay
        23 Rd may: kwar to Chirgaon, pabbar valley. Stay at chirgaon.
        24 th may : Chirgaon to sarahan / daranghati.
        25th may: sarahan to gushaini
        26 th may: tirthan valley
        27th may : tirthan to dharamsala. Enroute prashar lake.
        28th may: Relax at mcleodganj
        29th May: Mcleodganj to Pathankot and board Himgiri Express.

        Now, Please comment on the feasibility and defectiveness of the itinerary. It would be helpful if you give some contact of driver and budget homestays whom I can contact well in advance. It is a family trip and we have small child of 7 years.
        I have heard that the homestays of kwar village have no toilet facility. is it true?

        Thanks,

        Joyasish

        • I feel Prashar lake is the only too much of thing I see here in the plan, rest is OK. Take a call once you reach Rohru to continue to go beyond Chansal and into Dodra Kwar or not. Contact any shimla based driver at the link: List of Taxi Drivers for Spiti Valley & Kinnaur Valley

          He will be able to help you out. Regarding home stays, it may be possible that toilets are more or less used as dry pits without any water.

  12. Hi Dheeraj,

    1. Update on road condition for small car (alto), which route is better/shortest from gzb.
    2. Is it doable in 4 days Rohru (with adjacent places) and Chakrata (with adjacent places).
    3. Where are better stay options available in pabbar valley and in chakrata.

    Moving on 22, Oct coming sat, may be we will be out before your reply. No issues.

    Thanks in adv, Gaurav

    • Hello Gaurav,

      1. The roads haven’t changed much as per above above and also, they have deteriorated at some places.
      2. Doable, yes. But, it will be little bit hectic for sure. 1 long day to reach Rohru about 13 Hrs, then next day you can roam around Rohru, next day leave for Chakrata and spend time in the evening and early morning up there, last day leave for NCR in late afternoon.
      3. Rohru will have good options for stay and at Chakrata there are couple of decent options available

      • Dear Dheeraj,

        After appriciated by you with small car, we have done this journey in 3days and completed almost 1000km in 3 days, including rohru, hatkoti, hanol and chakrata.

        Thanks, Gaurav

  13. Milind Kudapa on

    Hey, I wanted to ask if its possible to cover only the Chanshal pass in 2 days time. I’m planning to travel by bus most of the time and your suggestions regarding the same will be much appreciated. Thanks, in advance.

    • Milind Kudapa on

      I’m planning to go anytime during the month of October. And if more time is needed, I can probably go during the last week of October. So, I’d want to know if the busses ply during that time too?

    • Milind, You surely can reach Rohru on the first day and next day go over to Chansal Pass and come back to Rohru. Next day you can return from Rohru back to starting point. The HRTC buses run. Needless to say, it will be hectic trip 🙂

  14. GAGANDEEP SINGH on

    Hello Dheeraj,

    It is always great reading your articles, We are 4 friends & we have decided to visit all 5 places in your article.
    We have already visited tirthan valley and it was great,so we now plan to visit pabbar valley.
    Can you share some details on how to reach there and will it be right time to visit, will the route be still open. We are travelling in our own Volvo SUV from Delhi is it better to take the Paonta sahib route through Gt road or we should go through chandigarh Shimla route.
    Please share the information at earliest, as we plan on leaving today.

    • Hello GAGANDEEP,

      I have provided the route details in the article above. The route will be open. You can go from one route that is from Paonta Shib and come back from Narkanda – Theog route. Or you can come back from Chakrata route. The route from Rohru to Narkanda is in pretty bad shape last heard and much bad that the roads from Paonta Sahib / Charata routes.

  15. sambhav poddar on

    Hi. I’m planning a solo trip to Chanshal Pass next month around 6-9 Sep. Needed some info. I have seen pictures of buses at Chanshal Pass. Is there some trek route also from Larot till Pass. If yes how many kms. And from the Pass how many further kms till the peak. And If I need to reach Dodra/Kwar villages can I reach in the same day. Any shortcut to go there on foot. Or how do i reach there otherwise. Please reply at the earliest. Thanks a lot!.

    • sambhav poddar on

      hi dheeraj. do you think you can provide me your contact. I think it will be better if I speak to you once. Please ping me here. my email id is sam_3990@yahoo.co.in

    • Sambhav, I have no idea about the trek route from Larot to Chansal Pass but I am sure with the help of villagers/locals you can surely find one as road goes all the way up to Chansal Pass. Larot to Dodra Kwar on foot in one day will not be possible.

  16. Which route will be good for us from chandigarh?? Nd how far it will be from here?

    • You talking about Chansal Pass? It depends upon what you are interested into. If you want to travel a lonely route from as mentioned in the article and come back from Narkanda – Shimla route.

  17. Hi Dheeraj,
    would you suggest to take this trip in mid July? how much damage to route can rainfall make?

  18. Dhananjay Chaturvedi on

    Hi, Dheeraj,

    Great article , it will surely help the fellow travelers to plan the trip. I have been to Paonta sahib, but that was for attending a marriage at Viaks nagar. So could not visit many places which are in vicinity of that area.

    I am planning to go again on the same trip and this time a longer distance. Please can you throw light upon the fact that if I take my car ( VW POLO ) will it be able to sustain the journey and also how much it will cost on a solo trip from Guragon to Chakrata, and back, leaving aside fuel costs.

    Again a very helpful posts, best wishes for the future , keep up the good work 🙂

  19. Hi, is it safe nd advisable to go chaansal pass with i20. Also what average time will be from panota sahib to rohru?

    Are roads still bad for hatchback??

      • Nishchaya Andrew on

        Thanks Dheeraj for answering my query …
        now second question is – out of 190 KM travel distance between both location, what percentage of bad patch I will be facing and we are 5 person in the i20 leaving tomorrow from Rajasthan.

  20. Chelan bajaj on

    How are the road conditions between Narkanda and Rohru. Is that better than Shimla-Theog-Kharapathar-Rohru??

  21. Kavita Chauhan on

    hello
    planning a trip to Chanshal pass between 3-7 Jun. We are travelling in a tempo traveller. could you please advise if the Traveller would be able to take the Rohru-Chanshal road or we hire local jeeps for this particular stretch.
    Regards
    Kavita

      • kavita chauhan on

        thanks Dheeraj

        as always the dependable DOW has helped me plan one more sojourn in the Himalayas, although it’s my second trip to Rohru but will be going to Chanshal for the first time. Any tips?

        regards
        Kavita

        • Kavita, just leave early in the day to Chansal Pass because the road is bad beyond Rohru and hence, will take time. You can visit Dodra kwar villages too and can plan to stay overnight up there in homestays.

  22. Hi There
    I have planned a lot of trips reading your blog. This trip is special since we are accompanied with our 9 month daughter this time 🙂 It has been an year that we have went out so we want this one to be quiet and convenient. We are planning to visit Chakrata (20-22nd April). Which route do you suggest? I hope it will not be crowded this time of the year.

  23. Aman Gupta on

    Hi Dheeraj ,
    Can you please suggest is it better to go by BUS as i am planning by bus to go anywhere in himachal if you can suggest some place to me where we can go through public transport or a place from where we can rent a bike and explore places we are two people.

    • Aman, you can travel to Barot by bus. Daily buses are available from Mandi, which is well connected to many places around Delhi/Ncr

  24. Niteshmenghaney on

    Hi,

    I am planning to visit Pabbar valley next weekend, could you please let me know if the below itinerary looks good . We are two people on RE 500
    Day 1 — Delhi to Solan/Shimla
    Day 2 — Solan/ Shimla to pabbar river to Kharapathar /Shelapani/Tiuni [Wherever I can get a place to stay]
    Day 3 — Kharapathar — Paonta Sahib
    Day 4 — Paonta Sahib — Delhi

    Will this be possible in 4 days.

    Or you can suggest me any better route.

    THanks
    Nitesh Menghani

  25. jitender pratap on

    respected sir can we hit the chansal pass in feb or march on bike

  26. Hi Dheeraj,

    Wanted to know, if it is advisable to attempt Chansal pass in December? Or is it snowed out that time?

  27. Arpita Dasgupta on

    Please suggest a itinery for Pabbar Valley, Chakrata , Dhanaulti in month of May in 6N 7D. Will we get snow at chansal pass at that time?

      • Arpita Dasgupta on

        I am planning for both chakrata and pabbar valley. Since I will be traveling from Delhi by train I guess dehradun is the nearest rail way station. So I planned dhanaulti. Please suggest if you have any better option.

        • Arpita, that is also a nice option to travel. Chakrata + Pabbar Valley will be good but remember that roads in Pabbar Valley are a bit bad and you will need patience for it 🙂

  28. sanjoy ram on

    Hi dheeraj,
    i am planning to visit kedar- badri in Nov 1st week. Can you give me a tour iteniory. i am starting on 26 oct from howrah.

    • Hello Sanjoy,

      Are you planning to reach Kedarnath and Badrinath in the month of November? The gates will be closed and it will be quite tricky conditions to travel up there? Are you sure you want to do it during that time of the year when things are closed?

  29. Hello Dheeraj,

    Hope u r doing well!

    Awesome read as usual.

    i want to visit Chanshal but car is my second preference. i am more of a bike lover. i have freezed my dates 22-OCT-2015 to 24-oct-2015. it will be 3 day tour from chandigarh. i needs ur inputs and guidance

    Day 1: Chandigarh to rohru: 230 Km. i will hault at Rohru for that day
    Day 2: early morning start from Rohru to chanshal 50 km and will move further to Chakrata
    Day 3: chakrata to chandigarh

    Please correct me if i am wrong on any point regarding distance or plan and please provide me any suggestions or any places which i can add to my list. i can add a day more to my plan.

    thanks for your support Dheeraj. really appreciated

    Thanks,
    PR

    • Piyush, Rohru to Chansal and then back to Chakrata might mean quite long considering the bad conditions of the road. Rohru to Chakrata is no 50 KM bhai 😀

      Best will be to do Chandigarh – Rohru, Rohru – Chansal – Rohru/Narkanda covering Hatu Peak, Narkanda – Chandigarh. If you feel you can push it to Chakrata, it means about 5 Hrs ride at least from Rohru to Chakrata. See if you have time for it when you return from Chansal.

      • okay then i will change my plan as per your suggestion

        but 50 km i meant rohru to chanshal 🙂 :)…is it right???? hw much time will it take to chanshal from rohru??

  30. Hi,

    We are planning to visit pabbar valley on a 3-day budget trip sometime in July or September mainly to visit Chansal Pass. But that’s a day affair. Please suggest us other things or places to visit nearby which can be reached through public transport. Also, where should we stay since Chansal has no accommodation facility. We were thinking of crashing at Rohur, but are not sure.

    • Jyoti, you should go and visit Dodra Kwar villages and stay at home stays up there ahead of Chansal Pass. It will be quite an experience.

    • Ankush tAnwar on

      Helo jyoti since you have planned for visiting chanshal valley let me tell you that their is lot more to explore. Like ancient temple, village’s and their mysterious culture. Accommodation is available at sandasu(gov’t rest house) and also in larot village.
      I’m from chirgaon so ican help you to make your trip unforgetable.

  31. Arnab Nag on

    Thanks all. We started out journey towards Rohru early morning from Delhi. All well till Paonta Sahib but roads from there till Tiuni are extremely bad. You can take up to 6-7 hours to cover around 150 kms.

  32. hi
    i am palanning to go chakrata on 2nd oct from delhi.which route is the best and road condition also because last time road was hell near sahranpur.

    • anil moses on

      Delhi-roorkie-dehradun and then vikas nagar to chakrata is the best route. Good roads all the way up to chakrata. 2nd October is a long weekend and finding a room at chakrata may be difficult as there are not many options. Before leaving book the rooms in advance.

  33. hI Dheera,

    Will I get any snow in Chansal pass in foirst week of oct 2014,Is it reACHABLE FROM faRIDABAD TO CHAKRATA -CHANSAL, HOW ABT ROAD CONDITION.pLEASE SUGGEST

    • Kapil, you will not get any snow at Chansal during that time of the year. Faridabad to Chakrata you need to go first, next day to Rohru and then next day to Chansal Pass. Roads are not that great and as mentioned in the article above only.

  34. Hi Dheeraj,

    Can I go to chansal pass and Pabber vally in first week of Oct.Will I get snow over there.Can u plz suggest any place which we can cover from chakrata.I want to see snow peaks.wE have total 5 days from delhi

  35. Thanks a lot for your help!
    Am also travelling from Kolkata to Sikkim and Darjeeling in late July.Want to cover Sikkim,Darjeeling and if possible Meghalaya and nearby places in 3.5 days.Kindly suggest me a smart itenary plan for the same.(July 21-24).Thanks a lot brother!

    • Edwin, I am really sorry I have never been to North East Himalayas yet 🙂 … However, we have experts of Sikkim in the forum/ DwD Community where you can post your queries and I am sure you will find inputs there.

  36. Hi
    I am planning for a trip to chansal pass from delhi. But i have only 2 days to do it i.e. i will start on friday evening and have to return by Sunday 11PM- Monday 2AM. Please let me know if it is possible. I am ready to skip chakrata or any other place in between. Also as i searched on Google, it is showing a route to Rohru via Karnal-Yamuna Nagar- Paonta Sahib. let me know if we can use this route as i suppose taking NH1 till karnal will definetly save me some time.
    Thanks in advance.

    • Mohit, yes that route is there but after Paonta Sahib via Shillai, I have mentioned the route above. I do not think you will be able to complete the trip to Chansal Pass in just two days. It is long long drive of about 14 Hrs one day and then about 18+ Hrs on the second day.

  37. Anil Moses on

    Paonta sahib to shillai 70 km, shillai to tiuni 78 km, tiuni to Rohru 40 km. Rohru to chanshal top 55 km and last 20 km is just off roading.

    Tiuni to chakrata 82 km, chakrata to Vikas nagar 55 km.

    The best route from delhi to chanshal pass is to go via chakrata. Best scenery, very less traffic and better roads comparing other two routes (via shillai and via theog and kharapathar). First time I experienced that the roads in Uttarakhand were far better then roads in Himachal Pradesh.

  38. Anil Moses on

    The place where the engine of the beast got heat up due to coolant leakage, was competley deserted, sun was at its max at 12 noon and to make the matter worse there was no tree around to take shelter from the hard sun, who could trust that we were driving on a hill road. Madan asked to fetch water to refill in place of coolant. Luckily there was a small temple like structure on the other side of the road. I went inside. Nobody was there. There were 4 jerry cans kept inside. I thought there may be petrol or other liquid in this so smelled it with my finger. Luck was on our side, it was water. We filled it in bottles and refilled in the beast and put a lot of water on the engine as it was like boiling. We waited for sometime and decided to get the pipe replaced at next available place. Later we asked at many places but new hose pipe was not available anywhere. Once again luck was with the devils. We did not have any problem further and completed the trip without any need of repair in the beast.