Pangi, Himachal Pradesh

Pangi is a tehsil of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India. The Pangi valley is a rugged and poorly developed tribal area, as well as one of the most remote areas in Himachal Pradesh state. The Pangi valley is divided into the Saichu, Hudan Bhatori and Sural Bhatori valleys, which are inhabited at elevations of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) to 11,000 feet (3,400 m) above sea level.

Pangi Valley (Killar)
Division (Tehsil)
A view of Chandrabhagha River through Pangi valley
Pangi Valley (Killar) Location in Himachal Pradesh, India Show map of Himachal Pradesh Pangi Valley (Killar) Pangi Valley (Killar) (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 33.084014°N 76.406980°E / 33.084014; 76.406980
Country	India
State	Himachal Pradesh
District	Chamba
Population  (2011)
• Total	18,868
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	176323

Roads are poor, with few of them surfaced. The Saach Pass at an altitude of 14,500 feet (4,400 m) is open for vehicular traffic between mid-June and October, but closed by heavy snow at other times of the year.[1] Pangi is accessible by vehicle all year round via Paddar Valley (J&K) but it's a long route as one has to go to Jammu and from there to Paddar along the Chenab river valley.

The Pangi tehsil covers 1,601 square kilometres (618 sq mi), and had a population of 18,868 at the 2011 census. Pangi has 16 panchayats and 54 inhabited villages. With recent improvements to the roads, the villagers have started to grow cash crops such as peas, apples and other fruit.[1] The upper reaches of the valley are inhabited by Pangwala and Bhoti people, who are mostly Hindu with a small minority of Buddhists. Attempts are being made to develop the area for tourism, focused on trekking through the dramatic scenery.[2]

The language spoken by the Pangi people is Pangwali.[3] Two linguists are working with Pangi people for Pangwali language development. Phonology, grammar and discourse analysis has been done. Tubari, a Pangwali monthly magazine, is regularly published in the valley. Pangwali literature is under development; some titles are Baue pyar (stories of father's love), a Pangwali-Hindi grammar book and Manihelu, a booklet on proverbs and idioms. All of these materials are available on the Pangi website. In 2013 the debut Pangwali language development website was launched in three languages: Pangwali, Hindi and English.

The Pangi Valley was described by Dr. J Hutchison (in 1904) as follows:

"Pangi is unique in its grandeur and beauty: in this respect far surpassing any other portion of Chamba District. The scenery is sublime and imposing, and nature appears in her wildest and grandest moods. Everything is on a stupendous scale. The great river rolls along In a deep and narrow gorge, lashing itself into fury against the adamantine cliffs that confine it. Precipices spring from the brink, in places almost perpendicular, to a height of one or two thousand feet: on the lower ranges are grassy slopes of rich pasture with dense forests of pine and cedar, while high over all, the stern and majestic mountains, piled on one another, attain in altitude of 18,000 to 21,000 feet rising far beyond the line of eternal snow. But all is not sublimity and grandeur. Every few miles the traveller reaches fairly open nooks of surpassing beauties, which may have been small lakes in some bygone age, while the river was cutting its way through a rocky barrier in front. There the villages are chiefly to be found. These are few in number, and of small size, for the region is sparsely inhabited."[4]