Rohru & the Pabbar Valley
4 daysThe Pabbar valley is the opposite of a hill-station circuit. Hardly anyone comes here; the villages are small, the orchards go on for miles, and the road to Chanshal Pass is the main event.
Four days gives a travel day, a day around Rohru, a day at the pass, and the drive out. Three days works if the pass is skipped, and five makes room for a walk to Saru Lake. July and August are best avoided, as the monsoon brings landslides to this valley.
Chandigarh/Delhi → Rohru
Up to Shimla, then on through Theog and Kotkhai in apple orchard and deodar country. Stop at Jubbal Palace, a 1930s building that mixes Indian, Chinese and European styles, and at the ninth-century Hatkoti temple to Hateshwari Mata on the Pabbar river. About seven hours from Chandigarh; from Delhi, a long day or a night on the way.
Rohru and the lower valley
Rohru is the valley's market town and its last real stop for fuel, cash and supplies. Walk the Pabbar river, which is known for trout (permits from the fisheries office in Rohru), or head to Kharapathar for deodar forest and the walk to Giri Ganga.
Rohru → Chirgaon → Chanshal Pass
Up the valley through Chirgaon on a rough, narrow road to Chanshal Pass, among the highest drivable passes in Himachal, with meadows and snow peaks at the top. Roughly three hours each way, so it's an early start. Open from about May to October; weather turns fast, and the road is best in late June, September and October.
Rohru → Chandigarh/Delhi
Back down the valley and home to whichever city you started from. In apple season, the drive is lined with fruit stalls.