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Traffic Jam at the Pagal Nala, manali Spiti Road

Crossing the Pagal Nala after Chhatru, Manali-Spiti Road

Posted on July 21, 2014September 14, 2022

After hot rice and daal at Chhatru for lunch, I managed to doze off in the jeep. Ranvir our amicable driver gave a shout after sometime, “Rama dekh jam laga hai” (wake up Rama, there is a traffic jam ahead). Ramakant ji was the head of our trip! His cry woke us all; there were 7 of us going to Batal from the Manali- Kaza route. At least 20 Sumos and other vehicles were piled ahead of us. One of the Tata Sumos was stuck in the Pagal Nala (mad stream) that comes after Chhatru.

Gradually, everyone got out of the jeep, it was only Ranvir and me who stayed inside to be out of cold and the mild drizzle. Ranvir confided in me, “Mein aata nahin Spiti, per rama ko mana nahin kar paya.” (I would have not come to Spiti but I could not say no to Rama). Ranvir was the guy who drove my husband last year to Chandratal as well. At the end of this trip we were making plans for visiting the region next year again and Ranvir readily agreed to drive again, but then I am running ahead of the narrative.

After a few minutes Ranvir also walked out. The some 20 minutes later I too was bored. I decided to venture out as well. A few kilometers before this jam there was a waterfall flowing on the road (which is a common feature on the Manali Kaza road) and a Qualis was stuck in it. But that one did not take much time to come unstuck.

Manali Spiti Road
The Manali Spiti Road

You might have noticed that on these roads jeeps coming from the opposite directions often stop and drivers engage in a chit-chat. That is the only way to get information on the road as there is no mobile signal after Rohtang Pass till Kaza. When Ranvir asked a driver coming from the opposite direction, “road kaisa hai” (how is the road ahead) the other fellow replied, “takatak” (first class). Now standing at the Pagal Nala I was wondering if this was takatak then what would be bad in his definition!

Many vehicles that ply on the route have JK or HP numbers. They are the locals, they are the pros. You will find occasional HR, CH, GJ or other numbers and they are usually the rookies, cause of all jams. But this time the Sumo that got stuck had HP number and was named Spiti Express. Most of these vehicles do not have 4WD.
There was a small crowd around the immobile vehicle. A rope materialized out of one of the jeeps. The Sumo behind the stuck vehicle tried to pull it out by tying the rope to both the vehicles. The trouble was that the rope would break.

In the meanwhile we spotted 3 city slickers who seemed to be in a hurry. Apparently their vehicles were stuck downstream because of this jam. And all they cared was to get out and drive away using their walkie-talkies for coordination. Why they needed walkie-talkies for coordinating at a distance of 10 meters is beyond me. I always find brashness difficult to take in my stride but it was infinitely more jarring among the gentle people of the hills. Everyone knew that nothing could move till the stuck vehicle came out, other than these three city slickers.

Pulling the Sumo Out
Giving a Hand- Traffic Jam at Pagal Nala

However, getting back to the stuck vehicle, a new rope was found and two set of people tugged at the beast. Women joined in the fray. I was so amazed to see them wading in the ice cold water without a second thought or a glance at anyone. All I was good for was clicking pictures and making videos. With the combined effort of these people the vehicle with infinite reluctance, lurched out.

Pulling the Sumo Out
Pulling the Sumo Out from the Pagal Nala on the Manali Spiti Road

Finally we were free to move. It was expected that vehicles going upstream would go first. But our city slickers had other thoughts. They started moving their Fortunners and two other big vehicles downstream first. This agitated people a lot, but the hill folks managed to get them out of the way without creating any other traffic jams.

Soon, it was the turn of our jeep to cross the Pagal Nala. Other than Ranvir and me, everyone got out to reduce the load. That meant Ramakant ji, his brother Vishal, my nephew Dilip, our cook for the trip Hemraj ji and Bobby all had to cross the stream on foot. That was not too difficult, only it would leave your feet and shoes wet and cold. It is recommended to take the shoes off as they would remain dry and be a comfort later on.

On the first try we got stalled mid way in the nala. I managed to keep the camera on and my eyes closed for most of the time. On the second try we did manage to clear the nala. You can see the entire adventure in the video which was made as I said, with eyes tightly shut most of the time!

This was the start to our trip to Chandratal. I should have read the omens correctly but then I was too busy being happy that we didn’t end up spending the night by the road or worse still by turning back before even the trip had begin!

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22 thoughts on “Crossing the Pagal Nala after Chhatru, Manali-Spiti Road”

  1. Tushar says:
    July 22, 2014 at 9:22 am

    What are the jeep charges? And how much guide charge per day please mention.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:53 pm

      Tushar Ramakant ji is a family friend so my charges are not going to be comparable. But if you wish I can give you his phone number. Do let me know.

      Reply
  2. rupam { xhobdo } says:
    July 22, 2014 at 1:58 pm

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:52 pm

      Thanks for stopping Rupam.

      Reply
  3. Mahesh Semwal says:
    July 22, 2014 at 2:00 pm

    why this stream was named as Pagal nala ?

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:51 pm

      Because it behaves like crazy, difficult to cross one day and quiet another day Mahesh!

      Reply
  4. robin says:
    July 22, 2014 at 3:06 pm

    its good but my experience is totally different about Pagal nala and four more nalas .last week we stated our journey form Chandigarh y shimla ,rangpieo , kaza ,komike, kunzum passs ,and battel ,next day when we stated our trip from battel and we notice ballaro jeep is without clutch .you can’t imagine how we crossed all nalas without clutch .not even nalas we reached at manali without clutch ……….that was really totally different experience about that road ……..

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:50 pm

      I can only imagine Robin. Good to hear that you all made it back safely.

      Reply
    2. CHETAN CHOWHAN says:
      May 21, 2017 at 5:13 pm

      Is this root narkanda to manali is suitable for small car like swift , tata indigo

      Reply
      1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
        May 22, 2017 at 12:46 pm

        I have no idea really. Sorry about that. But this route Manali Spiti is not suitable for small car.

        Reply
  5. Bikram says:
    July 22, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    oh wow, I really really admire you for doing all these tours and ENVY you toooo because I always wanted to do this alwayssssssssss

    Bikram’s

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:49 pm

      Bikram for your next India trip?

      Reply
  6. Ruchi says:
    July 22, 2014 at 8:31 pm

    Whoa loved it 🙂 esp ur eyes-shut video, u managed well :-).

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:48 pm

      Thank you Ruchi!

      Reply
  7. Indrani says:
    July 22, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    Amazing experience!

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 22, 2014 at 10:47 pm

      It was Indrani, it was and on our way back the Nala was entirely quiet!

      Reply
  8. Maniparna Sengupta Majumder says:
    July 23, 2014 at 10:00 pm

    It was really a ‘takatak’ experience !

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 2, 2014 at 12:39 pm

      Yes Maniparna 😀 😀

      Reply
  9. sindhoooo says:
    July 24, 2014 at 1:31 pm

    Ah! So close to nature! In spite of having lack of facilities, I am becoming more and more proud of our country… May be, it feels close to heart because it is away from all the man-made destruction! Lucky you!

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      August 2, 2014 at 12:40 pm

      I agree Sindhu it is soothing to stay with nature for a few days at least 😀 And thank you.

      Reply
  10. Ajay Menon says:
    November 14, 2017 at 2:26 pm

    Hi, From one Spit lover to another 🙂
    http://todayspheno-menon.blogspot.in/2017/09/delhi-kaza-delhi-ajay-avenger-and.html

    Reply
    1. Ajay Menon says:
      November 14, 2017 at 2:27 pm

      Spiti’ 🙂

      Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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