National Highway 1D (NH 1D), also known as Srinagar–Leh Highway, was a National Highway in the state of Jammu and Kashmir that connected

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

. The Srinagar-Leh Highway was declared as National Highway in 2006. It is now part of National Highway 1 that extends west to Uri. The old

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

Srinagar–Leh–Yarkand was also known as the Treaty Road, after a commercial treaty signed in 1870 between

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Ranbir Singh and Thomas Douglas Forsyth.

New numbering

In 2010, old NH1A (Uri–Srinagar) and old NH1D (Srinagar–Leh) have been combined to make up the newly numbered National Highway 1.

Geography

For most part, NH 1D transited through extremely treacherous

terrain Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

and followed the historic trade route along the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

, thus giving modern travelers a glimpse of villages which are historically and culturally important. The road generally remained open for traffic from early June to mid-November. The total length of NH 1 was . Details of National Highways in India-Source-Govt. of India The two highest passes on NH 1D include

Zoji La Zoji La (sometimes Zojila Pass) is a high mountain pass in the Himalayas. It is located in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir and the Kargil district of Ladakh, both union territories of India. This pass connects the Kashmir Valle ...

at on the High Himalayas and

Fotu La Fotu La () or Fatu La is a mountain pass on the National Highway 1D (India), Srinagar-Leh highway in the Zanskar, Zanskar Range of the Himalayas in India. At an elevation of , it is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed Zoji La ...

at on the Ladakh Range. Despite its lower elevation, Zoji La is more snow-bound than Fotu La. Dras, located some from Srinagar at elevation of , is the first major village east of the Zoji La pass. The village is inhabited by a population of mixed Kashmiri and Dard origins, having a reputation of being the second coldest permanent inhabited spot in the world after

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, with temperatures dropping to . After Dras, the road follows the Dras River valley up to Kargil and then takes Wakha Rong valley till Fotu La. After that, it follows branch valleys of the Indus River valley which meet Indus near Khalatse. The government runs a checkpost at Khalatse. Heavy snowfall on the highest passes can block traffic, cutting Leh from Srinagar for some six months each year. During springtime, the

Border Roads Organisation The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. This include ...

(BRO) plows snow and repairs damages caused by landslides.

pass received reportedly some of snowfall in 2008.

History

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the road was only a track, impassable even with ponies. Goods, mainly pashmina wool, were carried by porters from

Yarkand Yarkant County,, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also SASM/GNC ro ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

for the Kashmir shawl industry. In the 19th century, under the

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

rule after Zorawar Singh annexed Ladakh, the route was improved, allowing pony caravans to pass. In 1870, under Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, a treaty was signed with

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, whereby the Jammu and Kashmir state undertook to maintain the road up to the Central Asian border (possibly the

Karakoram Pass The Karakoram Pass () is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkant County, Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. The name 'Karakoram' comes from ...

), allocating annual funds for the purpose. The road came to be known as the "Treaty Road" During the 1950s, tensions rose in Ladakh region. China secretly built a military road spanning some from

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

to western Tibet, which was discovered by Indian in 1957 and confirmed by Chinese maps showing the road in 1958. The political situation eroded, culminating in 1962 in the

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

. The road on the Chinese side gave PLA an advantage as a reliable supply line, giving the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

impetus to build a road for supply and mobilisation of their own troops. The building started from Sringar in 1962, reaching

Kargil Kargil or Kargyil is a City in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TERTIARY, tert ...

in two years. This was the basis of modern Srinagar-Leh Highway. Building the road was hazardous task, given the challenging geographical location, and maintaining the road is still an unenviable task. Restrictions on civilian traffic were lifted in 1974. This highway was used as mobilisation route by the Indian Army during Pakistani occupation of Kargil in 1999, known as Operation Vijay.

Gallery

Image:Zojila Road.jpg Image:A view from Zoji La.jpg File:Srinagar Leh Highway India.jpg, Magnetic Hill File:National Highway 1D near Leh.jpg File:Srinagar-Leh Highway BW.jpg File:Around Leh.jpg, Khaltse Memorial Stupa

References

External links