manali leh

As heatwaves grip the plains, hill stations like Manali, Shimla and Sikkim are turning into traffic hotspots, taking travellers question if the mountains are still a peaceful escape

A viral Instagram reel by Dutch travel creators Toon and Lin begins with a warning, "You should never go to India." The video then unfolds into an unfiltered journey through India's challenging Himalayan terrains, from the bustling streets of Delhi to the serene mountains of Manali and the raw beauty of Leh-Ladakh.

While the 360-metre Darcha bridge, longest on the Manali-Leh highway, is to be dedicated to the nation along with the Atal Tunnel next month, a long-span bridge will come up in Bharatpur, where a flooding-prone rivulet has troubled the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for years.

With hundreds of tourists, mostly from abroad, going to Ladakh to see the week-long Ladakh festival, the Manali-Leh highway has come alive, with the beeline of vehicles bringing cheer to the tourism industry here.

To strengthen mobile and internet connectivity in border areas and along important border roads, 14,000ft high Sarchu on Manali-Leh highway has received 4G mobile connectivity.

After floods damaged Jammu-Kashmir national highway, Manali-Leh highway is the only route to take military supplies to Ladakh.

The movement of tourists on the Manali-Leh highway has virtually stopped due to many stretches in between having frozen.

Manali-Leh highway, which passes through some of the highest mountain passes of the world, has officially been closed for vehicular movement till next summer season.

Flooding of the Patseo nullahs following a rise in temperature blocked the Manali-Leh highway for about 10 hours on Thursday. The traffic on the highway was restored at 2pm.

After Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh highways, Darcha-Shinkula-Padum road has also been opened to connect Himachal Pradesh to Zanskar valley of Ladakh and further to Kargil and Leh. Widening and blacktopping works on this road are continuing on a war footing.

Hundreds of people were stranded along Manali-Leh highway in Himachal and Ladakh for last nine days and this is not going to end any time soon, as another avalanche at Baralacha pass has blocked the road on Wednesday morning.

Military convoy, local residents and tourists will have to wait for one more week for opening of strategically important Manali-Leh highway as snow clearance is taking time near 16,050ft high Baralacha Pass, 191km from here.

Manali: Three tourists from Rajasthan and Kolkata and a person from Leh sustained injuries after a private car they were travelling in rolled down from the road at Killing Sarai on Manali-Leh highway on Thursday morning. tnn

The Manali-Leh national highway in India has been closed from November 20 due to cold weather conditions and potential driving risks. The closure is expected to last around 6 months until May next year when the snow begins to melt. Violators of the closure will face penalties. The Ladakh administration has also closed the Leh-Manali road due to the risk of travel disruptions and vehicle stranding. Authorities have advised tourists to avoid traveling in the area.

With winter snowfall breaking the record of the last four decades in the state, restoring Manali-Leh Highway for vehicular traffic in time is becoming a challenge and tourists and hoteliers in tribal Lahaul-Spiti suffering both alike.

Manali-Leh national highway at Kainchi Morh (Nehru Kund) in Kullu district is blocked since Tuesday night after a landslide occurred in the area.

The Railways will kick off the final location survey of the 498 km long Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line at Leh in J&K this week. Coming up at a high of 3,300 metres, the strategically important rail project is touted to become the highest rail track in the world, overtaking China's Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

With increasing traffic influx on the Manali-Leh highway, frequent traffic jams have turned the pleasant dreams of lakhs of tourists into a nightmare.

Manali-Leh, Manali-Rohtang pass, Manali-Kaza highways, and many other roads including Darcha-Padum road have been blocked. Lahaul-Spiti administration had ordered the traffic shut on Manali-Leh and Keylong-Kaza highways till further order.

As the tension mounted after fresh reports of incursion by Chinese troops from across the border, Indian Army too has been mobilizing its resources in Ladakh with a large number of vehicles using the Manali-Leh route.

If the Sarchu border imbroglio between Ladakh and Himachal were not enough, now there's another dispute that has stirred a controversy.

With Union government giving nod for the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line, people of Himachal Pradesh are ecstatic.