Killar Kishtwar Cliffhanger Route Bike Ride

Nadeem · Dec 11, 2020

Recently I completed a solo ride on the Killar Kishtwar Road via Sach Pass, Sinthan Top, and Pangi Valley. This was my first such long ride and it was an awesome experience. Solo riding/traveling is to be experienced to understand how liberating it is. Fun, excitement, fear, pain - all made this a ride to remember.

The route was as mentioned below, covering a total distance of 872 kilometers.

Jammu - Pathankot - Dalhousie - Chamba - Bairagarh - Sach Pass - Killar - Cliffhanger Route - Gulabgarh - Kishtwar - Sinthan Pass - Daksum - Anantnag - Jammu

Nadeem · Dec 11, 2020

Day 1 - Jammu to Bairagarh

Route: Jammu - Pathankot - Dalhousie - Chamba - Biragarh
Distance Covered: 303 kilometers

I left from Jammu early morning at 6:15 am and took the first tea stop after crossing Pathankot.

The road till now was straight and without much traffic. Soon after crossing Pathankot, it turned into a complete ghat-section. Good road conditions and low traffic helped me maintain good speed and I covered a good distance.

View of Ranjit Sagar Dam amidst the haze

Riding further, saw these weird designs carved by rain.

ek selfie to banta hai

Riding further, saw many small villages on the hills. But this made me stop.

A lone house surrounded by greenery all around. The owner sure hates having people around

A couple of turns later stopped to click my beloved with this beautiful view.

It was around 9:30 am and I stopped at this point for some homemade snacks. This view coupled with tasty snacks and beautiful weather, what else can one ask for.

I loved the colors in this village. Golden paddy fields with red rooftops and green surrounding.

and she's looking as gorgeous as ever

Riding further, I saw the Chamera dam from above. For those who want to see the dam from up close, there is a diversion road for that.

The blue water looks really beautiful

Nadeem · Dec 11, 2020

There was even lesser traffic after crossing Dalhousie, but one needs to be very alert as pickup trucks will come up every now and then and they aren't slow. I had a couple of water breaks, but choose to not have a long till the road condition deteriorates. After Dalhousie, the road becomes more or less a single lane road. Road condition is good till Chamba with a few landslide spots.

Beautiful roads in epic surroundings

Another selfie at this point

The long road ahead.

On reaching Chamba, I took a wrong turn and I went towards some town. I asked a traffic police officer for directions and he was very helpful in explaining the directions to me. When we reach Chamba, there is a Maruti showroom and for Biragarh, we have to take the left just before the showroom and cross a bridge. Road condition after this was a mix of good and bad roads. There are some really bad patches too. Small villages come and go and altitude goes on increasing. Views also start to change with lesser trees and more shrubs. Temperature also takes a dip.

See how humans have captured even the mighty mountains. Building houses and cultivating on the slopes.

There is a petrol pump before Biragarh. One can't miss it unless he's riding/driving with closed eyes. Hahaha.. thanks

A few km before Biragarh, there was this small waterfall and vehicles have to pass below it. Saw an opportunity to click my ride with the rainbow. Happy me. :heart:

Clicked few kilometers before Bairagarh

I reached Bairagarh at 3 pm and wanted to rest very badly.

For stay, Biragarh has two options. There is a hotel named Chamunda Hotel. I checked the room and it was good. But he was asking for 1500 and then came down to 1200. But being on a budget, I wasn't going to pay 1200 for a night's stay. I decided to check Mannat Homestay which is less of a homestay and more of a budget hotel. I got a room for 400 and for the price, it is good. It had a clean toilet but without a geyser. They also have their own kitchen/food shop and one can have tea/maggie/lunch/dinner.

I was extremely tired after riding for 303kms on R15 with the last 100kms approx. of bumpy roads. I checked into my room, had tea, and slept for a couple of hours. I woke up in the evening by noises coming from outside. There was some 6-7 Tata sumo with workers of a political party. They were boozing around the hotel.

I got up and asked for a maggie and a cup of tea and then roamed around the village. Took some photographs and then returned to my room. Dinner was a simple rajma chawal. For those who want chicken etc, there is a stall nearby.

View from the roof of Mannat Homestay

Beautifully stacked rocks on the roof

This is Mannat Homestay

Nadeem · Dec 12, 2020

DAY 2 - Bairagarh - Sach Pass - Killad - Ishtiyari - Gulabgarh - 120 km

I woke up at 6:15 am. Freshened up, packed my stuff, and started my journey for Sach Pass at 7:10 am. Immediately after the village, the tarred road ends, and an offroad type track starts which will soon have boulders and rocks all along.

I got blessed with awesome views right from the start. Clouds were playing their game over the mountains and I was stopping after every couple of turns for pictures. Since I didn't have any hard and fast deadlines, I took my time and enjoyed the ride.

Milestone just after crossing Bairagarh - किलाड़ 72km रानीकोट 5km

This wasn't easy at first

But view like this on my left side made the all worthwhile :heart:

Empty road early in the morning

A small waterfall on the roadside

The beautiful landscape ahead. :heart:

At one the waterfall en route

I reached the police check post at Satrundi, got videographed and my details noted down. Here, I met with two more riders from Ludhiana who were only going till Sach Pass and would return back. We had a little chat over tea and maggie. I usually don't indulge in talking to people, but this time I wanted to interact with people I meet on the way. I spent around 15 mins at the check post and resumed my journey. As I gained altitude, the road got worse but the views better. Riding a sports bike on such roads was an experience in itself, which got even better on the way down from the top. Haha.. :lol:

Riding above the clouds

Nadeem · Dec 12, 2020

Hello

The deteriorated track continues

Nearing the Top

Clouds continue to play their game

Where is the road ahead

Nadeem · Dec 12, 2020

I reached Sach Pass in about 3 hrs. There was an SRTC bus there and passengers were paying their respects at the temple. I too did the same and prayed for a safe passage down.

I asked a passenger to click my pic

Whole temple compound at the top

The bus left and the two riders reached soon after. I clicked pics with them and around the temple. It was chilly at the top but the views are too good. I stayed there for around 30 mins, chatted with the riders and after bidding goodbye, I left for on journey onwards.

Let me tell you guys, the journey down is way more difficult than coming up. Not only are the rocks and mud loose, but also the angle is too tight. At some turns, the rear wheel was sliding on its own on the loose mixture of mud and rocks. But R15 showed how good a handler it is. Even on such a track, I was in full control almost all the time and precise acceleration control and braking helped a lot.

The views were changing after every few turns and I was not going to miss the chance to click to my heart's content. Though I used my mobile more than my DSLR camera, I feel for what I use the pics, they are good enough and help me capture more often. The best is to simply videograph it all, but I didn't have an action cam yet.

The beautiful landscape continued to amaze me after crossing the pass :heart:

Snow and a small water body besides the road

The bike never complained

Nadeem · Dec 12, 2020

See how craftily the rocks have been cut

Bike looking at the beautiful views :heart:

Riding down, some green color starts to appear

A road or a stream?

After about 2 hrs of riding, I come across a small patch of a plain area. My first big water crossing was encountered here. There was also a small food shack and I had my lunch there. I rested for 10 mins and resumed my ride. Again the downward road starts and it goes on for about 2 more hours. Some sections here were more difficult than what I had encountered.

Wildflowers

The food shack was below there. It felt like a blessing

Selfie

Nadeem · Dec 12, 2020

First proper water crossing & I crossed with without any fuss. Water was half a foot deep.

The winding road continues

Waterfall on the road

See how rapidly the road descends and a waterfall over the road

Water going over us

Autumn colors could be seen

An old bridge

My initial goal was to stop at Killar and go towards J&K the next day. It was 2:10 pm when I was 4 km from Killar and I thought of covering the Cliffhanger hanger route and taking a halt at Gulabgarh. Gulabgarh is about 45-50 km from Killar.

Nadeem · Dec 12, 2020

After turning for Gulabgarh from zero-point, a few km before Killar

Befriend these bad roads or else they will haunt you

A beautiful stream beside the road

Road? where

Crossing into J&K

And posing

My details were noted down at Ishtiyari check post. I was also asked whether I was carrying any 'stuff'.

I had imagined that the road will be easier than before. Boy! Was I wrong? About a km from the post, I encountered the toughest section of my whole ride. The incline was really high and the boulders were the biggest I have ever ridden on. I wanted to click but the bike would have slid down. Riding further, I didn't come across any person for almost an hour and it was kind of scary being in the jungle on such a nasty track on your first ever solo ride.

Soon enough, I got a glimpse of the famous road. From some points, most of the road line is visible and that gives an overwhelming feeling. When I had decided to do this section at Killar, I was dead tired, but now after looking at the route ahead, my body got a new lease of energy. Riding sure is magical.