Padder Lunch

Route

Previous road trip to Pangi Valley had wisened me to the fact that if at all this route was to be done again - it wont be solo. With a fresh set of tyres on the 5 cylinder Ford the itch had to subside, so decided that this time would reach Killar from Kishtwar side - which - from the videos on Youtube looked challenging. Called upon Bir Bikram Singh, a young man whose love for mountains precedes himself. I felt he would be the right candidate for co-driver and he proved every inch of it.

Given the current situation of lockdown in J&K, firsthand sitrep was taken from an old friend - Col. Raina (a resident of Jammu). Confident of the scenario on ground and the available backup in regions we hoped to pass, we zeroed on the route. Chandigarh - Dalhousie - Chatergali Pass - Bhaderwah - Padri Pass - Bhaderwah - Kishtwar - Killar - Sach Pass - Chamba - Pathankot - Chandigarh. Rather than taking the coveted route through Hoshiarpur to Pathankot, chose an alternate suggested by Google which I would not recommend anyone given the prevalent road conditions. Bir Bikram Singh displayed time discipline all through as we left on schedule and reached Dalhousie easy. There isn't much to be said about the route -  just that, follow the regular route; Gagret side is picturesque of course, but significant bad patches to be navigated through.

Raffia's scribble

Day 2 we had to reach Bhaderwah via Chatergali Pass. Having done the route on a rickety rackety borrowed gypsy in 2011 Raid-de-Himalaya, my first impressions of the route were still vivid. This time around with an elephant under me and no pressure of competing, we gradually made our way to Bani, Sarthal and onwards to Chatergali Pass. Eight years into the memory it was so not like this - bumpy as hell, scary with eerie silence, marked with presence of troops at every other turn. The route is beautiful and sans traffic, which makes it all the more remarkable. Stopped in between to test the newly bought Hans stove and it was a success - enjoyed Maggi amongst the scenery bestowed upon us while chatting about the surrounding landscapes. What stood out during, was the hand scribble on truck by a passing cute Bakarwal girl - Raffia Bano.

enroute Chatergali Pas

Descent of Chatergali is no longer what it was. The road is ready for tarmac having rollers done with job; like so many other passes, development has caught up here as well and we soon will be devoid of one more challenging pass. In no time we descended to Bhaderwah and found our way to Tilligarh J&K Tourism resort where our stay had been arranged by Col. Raina. Tilligarh Rose Garden is a beautifully located property, sitting atop a hillock it offers a total view of Bhaderwah town; but just as is the case with any Government owned tourism endeavour - a waste of opportunity I'd say. However, having a strong referral, staff treated us the best they could and we were jolly.

Day 3 was easy as we had planned to do Padri Pass and return Bhaderwah. Beautiful roads lead to Padri Pass as Bikram could'nt help but notice the ensuing vistas at every turn with zilch traffic. No doubt comparisons between J&K and neighbouring state Himachal Pradesh ensued, with Himachal today been commercialised to unhealthy extents. With the removal of special status of J&K and the state being thrown open, I will give it another 2-3 years before the virus of corruption and greed makes its way here and devoids the place of its beauty, calm and its people their innocence. With these thoughts, subtle music running in background, sipping Captain Morgan, we savoured evening view of a lit up Bhaderwah from the hillock, as we called it a day.

atop Padri Pass

Day 4 was to be the real deal. A long one with technical patches to navigate through before we could hit Killar. Idea was to fuel up at last point available, since there would be no refuelling till Chamba so we decided to tank up in Kishtwar. Left early and reaching Kishtwar found that administration had shut down fuel pumps since the previous day and it was to continue that day as well, for some Muslim congregation was to be held in the evening. Called backup - waited half and hour and Col. Raina arranged us fuel 60kms ahead of Kishtwar at Padder, which was enroute Killar; luckily we had just enough. Reached Padder and received ample fuel. Casually the contact asked where we came from and where we were headed to; listening to revert, casually he replied that route to Killar was closed as a bridge 12kms ahead of our location was washed away a fortnight ago which would take another week to re-construct. Didn't take long for that to sink in, however we kept that aside and sat for lunch as we were running on empty guts since early that day. Re-confirmed the new development with more reliable source and it really was true. There was no time to whine, and you really cannot whine - the mountains didn't want us to be there this trip - plain and simple. With heads and spirits bowed, we both accepted our fate humbly that our trip had been cut short. We started our way back, disappointment was writ large in the truck cabin, as total silence ensued for a long long time. So we could either keep going straight and reach Patni Top or take right from Puldoda and reach Bhaderwah, again. Bir Bikram said Bhaderwah. Dark in the evening, the known space of Tilligarh Rose Garden and its staff which had been our home for the past two days, provided us with much appreciated comfort at the end of a long disappointing day.

enroute Padder

Last day was simply a home run as we chit chatted 500 odd kms to make our way back. All in all it was a good trip, squeezed out of nowhere and glad that we could. Truck performed no less than was expected of it and was ever asking for more - perhaps next time. Bir Bikram is a fine young man, going through his journey and will learn more as he discovers; it was good to connect with my new relative over the period of this trip. As the saying goes "DAANE DAANE PE LIKHA HAI, KHAANE WALE KA NAAM"; for me, the trip was about lunch at Padder.

If at all that motivates you - Padder Lunch is simple and delicious. Go try and please don't litter, lets learn a few things from Himachal Pradesh.

Safe Travels !