Srinagar-Leh Road Opens , 2016

Border Roads have now cleared the Zoji La pass , and expect to throw the road officially open ” within a few days “. Congrats to all in Leh on the upcoming feast of first fresh veggies  etc . since December.

Opening The Roads To Leh , 2013

Srinagar-Leh will open tomorrow , according to The Tribune.  This may  actually happen, since the BRO road crew was a few klicks from the Zoji  La pass a week ago. There is still a conspicuous  lack of details though. Weather forecast says says rain five out of six coming days in Srinagar , thinning out towards to Kargil and Leh , night temperature just under zero , so more snow is definitely possible . 

No mentions of the the earlier bold BRO claim that the road would be thrown open  on March 31 – but still good chances of  this becoming the earliest opening of the road in more than a decade , the former record was April 15th in 2008 . That turned out mildly chaotic. 

 

The timeline for clearing the roads to Leh : 

 

Srinagar-Leh : first the road will be cleared up to Sonmarg ( this year March 16th  ) , then the Zoji La will be almost cleared and the first loads of fresh supplies will come in to Leh …with donkeys ( last days in March , this year ) .A few cabs will get in before the road is officially thrown open. Lastly the roadmarker at  the LAHDC  site will show open when the road is deemed fit for all vehicles , i.e. busworthy. 

 

Manali-Leh : first there will be rumors , like this years classic when some Indian media claimed that the whole road would be cleared by April 15th. Clearing the road starts in March , with three BRO groups working at the same time : two crews working from south ( Manali ) and north ( Koksar ) end towards the Rohtang La , and the third crew working going past Darcha towards Baralacha La and the 5000+ passes beyond that . Once the Rohtang has been cleared ( BRO´s goal at present : mid-April ) all groups will unite  in the push towards Leh. There may or may not be a period ( like in 2011) when the road is declared officially open , but not for buses : ” Open For LMV” , i.e. Light Motor Vehicles , including minibuses. Last of all the Rohtang will open for the daytrippers from Manali. This year the plan is introduce one way traffic , up only in the morning hours , down in the afternoon. 

 

Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh are military priorities , and get a lot of resources. The NH 22 route , Shimla-Spiti over the Kunzum La will open later than Manali-Leh , and the road over Saach Pass even later.

Ladakh Inroads Opening , 2012

Veggie bonanza : Srinagar-Leh road  declared open April 25th, meaning  fresh food coming in to Leh now.

Manali-Leh status
June 1st : Officially open at leh.nic.in
May 24th : first bikers and cabs make it down to Manali – see separate photo posts below
May 1st : from Keylong admin : open road over the Rohtang to Manali.Some taxis have started to cross , the daytrippers are being held back … and one very solid report , May 12th, of the first taxi reaching Darcha from Leh : official opening should come very soon.Light snowfall over the Rohtang & Baralacha La May 13th.

April 29th : snowfall closes  Leh airport and Khardung La over the day.

April 26th : taxis made their first try to cross the Rohtang La  , which was aborted due to an avalanche clipping the road at Rani Nallah. Bulldozers from both the Marhi (south) and Koksar (north) end  have met on the top of the pass. Confirmed  by the BRO April 26th.Road still closed at Marhi.

Kargil-Padum road open , confirmed by Kargil admin. Private buses to start on the 25th according to The Tribune.

Srinagar-Leh Out

.. in a real sense at the moment: five inches  of  snow blocking the Zoji La , and more in Gulmarg. Weather forecast : cloudy , possibly light dustings of snow in the coming days.

UPDATE : re-opened after last snowfall on the 11th. Khardung La and Chang La out.

UPDATE , NOVEMBER 16th : Kashmiri Transport Minister promises in The Tribune to keep the road open yet : “The government has decided to keep the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway open till November-end for all types of vehicles”

Minimal snowfall , partly cloudy in the coming days weather forecast.

Source : Tribune

UPDATE : Closed finally on December 4th

False Beards to Khardung La

Packing list for Ladakh :

* Fleece jackets (check )

* Diamox ( check )

* False beards ( che… whaaat ?! )

Loads of fun with  these guys , starting with  the discussion threads in the planning stage. I was glad to see them take on this in their distinctly own style , and even more to see them succeed. Read more at Rickshaw 5000

Heavy Rains Coming on Leh Inroads

India Met Department has issued a severe weather warning today , August 12th , for the coming two days in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Weather forecast says rain five out five coming days in Manali, Srinagar and Leh , and yr.no projects the peak rain in Manali at 54 mm on the 16th.
UPDATE , AUGUST 14th :Roads and railways in HP have been heavily hit in the weekend with the heaviest rainfall in Una for more than twenty years: railway bridge at Jogindernagar out , Beas river flooding over long stretches of the road ..
UPDATE , AUGUST15th : Traffic running again on Chandigarh-Manali and Pathankot-Mandi stretches.

Rohtang La on the Manali-Leh highway is out after heavy snowfall , snowfall in Keylong as well.More heavy rain to be expected on Tuesday according to Met Department, yr.no predicts moderate rainfall. Weather forecast looks good for Srinagar-Leh.

UPDATE , AUGUST 19th : Sunny weather forecast for the coming week, roads still affected.

Srinagar-Leh Opens , 2011

“The snow clearance operation on the highway has been completed and the road will be thrown open for vehicular traffic on May 2”, said a senior Border Road Organisation (BRO) officer.

…and now confirmed on leh.nic.in : the Srinagar-Leh highway re-opened yesterday. Fresh veggies for all in Leh.

Greater Kashmir photos : Habib Naqash

Srinagar-Leh Opening Next Week ?

News today talk of the Srinagar-Leh roadwork 2011 now having reached twentytwo kilometers beyond Sonmarg towards the Zoji La , and being given an official inspection. BRO hopes for an opening “early next week”, i.e. first week May.

Photo from Scoop News

Srinagar-Leh Closes..

today on leh.nic.in

Manali-Leh : Perfect Timing

Arrived in Manali yesterday , with a half meter of snow being dumped on the Rothang La during my bus ride from Delhi. News talk of a number of vehicles ( figures strating from sixty ) being trapped in the pass , and snow cutters now working their way up. Had some fresh snow thrown at me from Gulaba , the highest open point this morning ( i.e. 3000 meters ) .

Also mentioned in the news : Srinagar-Leh also closing the same day (!) , snowfall in Kalpa (13 cm ) and Keylong ( 18 cm) , Saach Pass ( more than a meter ) and over the Kunzum La , closing the Manali-Kaza route on a second point.

UPDATE : BRO talks of having the road cleared within two days , according to a official quoted by Himvani.

UPDATE , OCTOBER 26th : Srinagar-Leh has been posted as open today , and I’m heading for Leh tomorrow morning from Manali.