Rohtang Pass (Rohtang , lit: རོ་ (Ro)- corpse(s), ཐང་། (thang)- plain/field Polgreen, Lydia

. ''New York Times''. Accessed 31 July 2010.) is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

(elevation ) on the eastern end of the

Pir Panjal Range The Pir Panjal Range ( Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

of the Himalayas around from Manali in the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

. It connects the

Kullu Valley Kullu Valley is a broad open valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple or ...

with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Geography

The pass provides a natural divide between the

with a primarily sanatani culture (in the south), and the arid high-altitude Lahaul and Spiti valleys with a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

culture (in the north). The pass lies on the watershed between the

Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul ...

and

Beas Beas is a riverfront town in the Amritsar district of the Indian state of Punjab. Beas lies on the banks of the Beas River. Beas town is mostly located in revenue boundary of Budha Theh with parts in villages Dholo Nangal and Wazir Bhullar. ...

basins. On the southern side of this pass, the

Beas River The Beas River (Sanskrit: ; Hyphasis in Ancient Greek) is a river in north India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab. Its total length is ...

emerges from underground and flows southward and on its northern side, the Chandra River (flows from the eastern Himalayas), a source stream of the river

, flows westward.

Overview

The pass is open from May to November. It is not particularly high or difficult to cross on foot by Himalayan standards, but it has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards. This pass is an ancient trade route between the people on either side of

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range (Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

. The local name for this pass is a generic name of pass. There are many other passes in Lahaul and Spiti which have specific names (Kunzam La, Baralacha La, etc.). This is suggestive of the fact that this must have been the oldest and most frequented pass in the region, or the fact that it is the main pass leading from one cultural region to another, quite different one, to the north. The name Rohtang comes from Persian/ Farsi words Ruh+ Tang which means pile of dead bodies. The former National Highway 21 (NH 21, now numbered NH 3), the road through the Kullu Valley, terminates at Manali. The road northwards over the Rohtang Pass to Keylong in

Lahaul and Spiti district The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul () and Spiti (; or ). The present administrative centre is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were mer ...

and on to

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

is not a national highway. Nonetheless, the Leh-Manali Highway has become very busy during the summer months as an alternate military route since the Kargil Conflict in 1999. Traffic jams are common as military vehicles, trucks, and goods carriers try to navigate the tight roads and rough terrain, compounded by snow and ice at certain points and the large number of tourist vehicles. Waterfall Marhi Himachal Jun18 D72 8081

Several episodes of the History Channel's '' Ice Road Truckers'' series spinoff

IRT Deadliest Roads ''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that premiered on History Channel, on June 17, 2007. It features the activities of drivers who operate trucks on seasonal routes crossing frozen lakes and ...

dealt with truckers crossing the Rohtang Pass to deliver supplies. With increase in Traffic at Rohtang Valley, environmentalists fear its impact on the fragile mountain ecology. A rise in average temperature, and the consequent melting of glaciers, are also issues of severe concern.

Climate

The Rohtang pass has polar climate köppen (ET) and snow falls sometimes even in summer.

Latest News

Sometimes travelling to Rohtang Pass is difficult. Therefore, the government is stressing on setting up a ropeway between Kothi village which is in Manali and Rohtang Pass. The NGT (National Green Tribunal) has asked the state government of

to complete all the formalities to start a ropeway. With the coming of a ropeway, we can reduce carbon emission from vehicles. Heavy snowfall blocks the road in winter and a ropeway will be very useful.

Road tunnel under the Pass

As the pass gets blocked by snow and the road over the pass closes from November to May rendering Lahaul and

Spiti Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...

districts north of the pass inaccessible, a need was felt to build a tunnel under the pass. The project was announced by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 3 June 2000. The work was started by BRO on 6 May 2002. The foundation stone of the project was laid on 28 June 2010 by Sonia Gandhi in her capacity as the Chairperson of National Advisory Council. The road tunnel called ''Atal Tunnel'' has been excavated and became operational on 3 October 2020 after formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It obviates the need to travel over the Rohtang Pass. While it takes 4 to 6 hours to ascend, negotiate and descend the Rohtang Pass, travel through the Rohtang Tunnel takes only about 30 minutes.

Gallery

File:Rohtang pass snowy valley01.jpg, Winter sports File:Himalayas from Rohtang Pass.jpg, A panoramic view of distant Himalayan peaks from Rohtang Pass, May 2009 File:Mountains near Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh.jpg, Mountains near Rohtang Pass Image:Road_to_Rohtang_Pass_from_Manali.jpg, Leh-Manali Highway as seen from near the Rohtang Pass File:Tourist vehicles at Rohtang Pass.jpg, Tourist Vehicles at Rohtang Pass, May 2009 File:Dhabas At Rohtang Pass.jpg, A view of Dhabas (road-side eateries) at Marhi and Leh-Manali Highway on the way to Rohtang Pass, May 2009 Image:View from top of rohtang.jpg, View from top of Rohtang File:Traffic jam on road to Rohtang Pass.jpg, Traffic jam descending from Rohtang, 2004 File:2007_10_09_India_Keylong_-_Rohtang_Pass_-_Manali.JPG, Summit of Rohtang Pass 13,000 ft above Sea Level, October 2007

References

External links

Photos of Rohtang Pass & the road from Keylong to ManaliRohtang PassRohtang Pass Permit Apply Online
{{Mountain passes of India Mountain passes of Himachal Pradesh Geography of Kullu district Mountain passes of the Himalayas Geography of Lahaul and Spiti district Transport in Manali, Himachal Pradesh