Leh–Manali Highway

The Leh–Manali Highway is a long highway in northernmost India connecting Leh, the capital of the Union Territory of Ladakh, to Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It connects the Manali Solang valley to the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh and the Zanskar valley in Ladakh. It is open for about six months in a year from the first week of May (when the snow is cleared from the highway) to October, when snowfall again blocks the high passes on the highway. Earlier the highway was closed beyond Rohtang Pass during winter but after commissioning of the Atal tunnel, the road now remains open beyond the tunnel. Lahaul valley now remains connected to Manali for most part of the year through Atal tunnel. With the completion of proposed Shingo La Tunnel on new route through Zanskar valley, targeted to be completed by 2025, the whole Leh-Manali route will become an all-weather road.Defence ministry clears the BRO tunnel under Shinkun La in Ladakh
Hindustan Times, 19 May 2021.

The Leh–Manali Highway acts as a trunk route for various India-China Border Roads in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. It has been designed, built and being maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) of the Indian army. It supports the heaviest army vehicles.

History

The work on the Leh-Manali road was started in 1964 and its construction was taken up from both ends. In 1989, the 473-km Manali-Leh road began serving as the second land approach to Ladakh.

Geographical features

The average elevation of Leh-Manali highway is more than 4,000 m (13,000 feet) and its highest elevation is at the Taglang La mountain pass. It is flanked by mountain ranges on both sides, featuring stunning sand and natural rock formations. The landscape changes after getting past the Atal tunnel and the greenery starts receding upon entering the Chandra river valley in the Lahaul region that lies in the rain-shadow. After crossing Darcha, the greenery completely disappears and the mountain slopes on the leeward side become brown and arid. Most of the mountain peaks and highway Passes north of Darcha remains covered by snow even in summer and shine brightly in the sun. Adjacent glaciers melt (more so as the day wears on) and water overruns the highway in many places. This water is ice-cold and travellers should avoid situations where they might have to wade through it.

Road surface

The Leh-Manali highway is generally two lanes wide (one lane in each direction) without a road divider, but has only one or one and a half lanes at some stretches. Snow and rain can make the highway slushy or too slippery to travel. Past precipitation can also create travel hazards. It has over a dozen Bailey bridges and all of them are now being upgraded to two-lane steel bridges. The highway crosses many streams of ice-cold water from snow-capped mountains and glacial melts without a bridge and it requires driving skill to negotiate fast-flowing streams. The highway has many damaged stretches and under-maintained portions, where even a little rainfall can trigger dangerous landslides. The road quality is poor from Zingzingbar to Pang and one has to drive carefully as high speed can cause discomfort.

Climate

Ladakh is a cold semi-arid desert. It is cold along the highway even in summer (May onwards); the days are warm in bright sunshine but the nights are very cold. Light woollens are required during the day and thick woollens are required at night. There is scanty rainfall between Darcha and Leh even during the monsoon season in July–September as the entire region lies in rain shadow.

Length of highway

The total length of the highway is about . It has in Himachal Pradesh as the length in Himachal Pradesh is shorten by about after opening of the Atal Tunnel avoiding the Rohtang Pass , and 250 km (156 mi) in Ladakh. The state line is at Sarchu.

Earlier Route

In Himachal Pradesh:

* 1: Manali (altitude ) to Marhi at elevation . It is a steady climb.
* 2: Marhi to Rohtang Pass at elevation . It is a steady climb.
* 3: Rohtang to Gramphu at elevation . It is a steady descent. The right turn (towards east) at Gramphu leads to Spiti valley, Batal, Kunzum La and Kaza on a road along Chandra river that is unpaved until Kunzum Pass and beyond.
* 4: Gramphu to Koksar, the first village north of Rohtang Pass . Foreign nationals have to show their passports with valid visa at the police check post here.
* 5: Koksar to Sissu at elevation . The highway runs along the left (south) bank of the Chandra River, with a beautiful waterfall on the other side of the river.
After this, there is main route from Sissu as mentioned above.

Travel time

After the opening of the Atal Tunnel, the journey from Manali to Leh normally requires one overnight stay en-route (Overnight accommodations are described below). Travel time is unpredictable since the weather and road conditions can change suddenly. However, it is now possible to cover the entire journey from Manali to Leh in 14-16 hours in a single day, if there are no road blockades and traffic jams en-route.

The peak travel season is during May-June and September-October, when tourists visit Atal tunnel, Rohtang pass and Lahaul valley. Most of the domestic tourists return to Manali on the same day. Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) operate buses that travel the entire highway in two days. Buses start from Manali at 4 am until 6 pm. The travel time from Manali to Keylong is now approximately 2 hours via Atal tunnel. Private four-wheel drive taxis are available. Shared taxis are cheap as they charge per person, but they may be full of local residents. The tourist cannot stop either a bus or a shared taxi for sightseeing. Many bikers travel from Manali to Leh and other places in Ladakh on motorcycles, generally in a group.

Fuel stations

Earlier, there was no fuel station for between Tandi and Karu. Now, a new fuel station at Keylong has become operational since September 2021. Motorists and bikers should fill up at the start of this stretch. The motorcycles and vehicles with small tanks should carry additional fuel in cans. In an emergency, fuel may be available at villages and campsites en route (Jispa, Zingzingbar, Sarchu, Pang etc.), but this fuel may be adulterated and costly.

Altitude sickness

At high altitudes, the air is thin and contains less oxygen. Acute mountain sickness is possible, whose symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. It can be fatal. A traveller arriving by air from lower terrain should acclimate to the high altitude by staying at least one night at the starting point (say, Manali), and plan to stay over at either Keylong, Jispa or Darcha before ascending to the highway's highest passes and plains after Darcha. Travellers should minimise the time spent at the high altitudes and therefore not stay over at Sarchu or Pang. They should carry chocolates, glucose or other high-energy food on the journey.

Accommodation

There are a variety of hotels to suit all budgets at the highway's two ends - Manali and Leh. There are also hotels and PWD rest houses at Sissu and at Keylong (a district headquarter). There is one luxury hotel at Jispa.

Guesthouses are available at Sissu, Keylong, Jispa, Rumtse, Upshi and Karu.

The remaining option is to sleep in a tent which are generally basic and inexpensive. Luxury and comfortable tents (Swiss-cottage tents) are available in Jispa and Sarchu. Tent accommodations are also available in Darcha, Zingzingbar, Bharatpur (below Baralacha La pass, inhabited only during tourist season) and Pang. In India, a ''dhaba'' is a roadside eatery with low prices and no frills. These are found at some otherwise uninhabited places along the highway. A dhaba is not a motel but many dhabas let the customers lie down and rest, and some can provide an inexpensive dormitory bed (without private toilet).

See also

* National Highway 3 (India)
* More plains
*Atal Tunnel
* Nimmu–Padam–Darcha road
* Bilaspur–Leh railway(proposed)

References

External links

Leh–Manali Highway on OpenStreetMap

Mountain Passes along the route

Riding on the Manali-Leh route

Leh-Manali Highway

Manali-Leh Highway on Bikemap (with GPS-track)

Photos of a bike tour along the Highway from 1996.



U.S. Army Map Service

Manali to leh motorcycle tour map55 Spectacular Pictures of Leh Manali Highway

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leh - Manali Highway
Scenic roads in India
Roads in Himachal Pradesh
Himalayas
Transport in Leh
Transport in Manali, Himachal Pradesh
National Highways in Ladakh