World’s longest highway tunnel above 16,000ft beneath 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass will be ready by 2025 that will provide Zanskar valley of Ladakh an all-weather connectivity, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry said at Shinkula top. After attending the Golden Handshake Ceremony on occasion of opening of Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road amidst fresh snowfall, and in the middle of 5 to 6ft high walls of snow, the director general border roads (DGBR) Chaudhary said this new road, which has now opened for traffic movement, will be officially opened for all kinds of vehicles as widening and blacktopping of the highway will be completed in three years along with completion of the 4.25 km-long Shinkula tunnel. He said formation cutting of the remaining stretch between Padum and Nimmu in Ladakh will also be completed soon. He said a new Road Construction Company (RCC) will be established in the area. Chaudhary was quoted as saying: “The Shinkula pass tunnel will be 4.25 kilometer in length at altitude of about 16,000 foot. It will be the highest and longest tunnel at this altitude in the entire world. He said work on construction of the tunnel will start in July or August this year. The exercise to build the Nimmu-Darcha road had started 20 years back but the work faced many technical glitches. This new road is going to prove boon not only to the army but also it will bring positive revolution in the Zanskar valley of Ladakh.” He said it used to take many days to travel from Zanskar to Himachal in the past but now the travel time has been reduced to only a few hours. He said the travel time will further be reduced after widening and blacktopping of the highway. DGBR said the Yojak Project of BRO, which
World’s longest highway tunnel above 16,000ft beneath 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass will be ready by 2025 that will provide Zanskar valley of Ladakh an all-weather connectivity, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry said at Shinkula top. After attending the Golden Handshake Ceremony on occasion of opening of Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road amidst fresh snowfall,
Manali - Leh Road Status (2021): CLOSE Manali - Keylong highway: Open Keylong - Baralacha pass: Close Baralacha pass - Sarchu highway: Close Sarchu - Leh highway: Close Srinagar - Leh Road Status (2021): Open (since April 20) Official date of opening of Manali-Leh highway: March 28, 2021 Please note that Manali-Leh highway is closed for traffic since 2nd November 2021 due to winter snowfall, drop in temperature and icing of the road. The highway will now open in April or May in 2022. There is uncertainty about the opening or closing of both Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh highways due to snowfall, landslides etc. Confirm the latest status before planning a trip. Excerpt: 31 October 2021: The Manali-Leh highway will officially close for civilian vehicles (both locals and tourists) from Tuesday, November 2 and will reopen in next summer season (April/May 2022). The decision was taken by Lahaul-Spiti administration after driving on the highway has become very risky due to icing of the road surface. Vehicles are required to ply through snowy road between Patseo in Lahaul and Taglangla pass in Leh and road is very slippery. Also, there is possibility of more snowfall from Tuesday onwards. 22 October 2021: The Darcha-Sarchu section of Manali-Leh highway is still closed at Baralacha pass. Snow clearing works are still continuing. The vehicles can go only till Darcha from Manali side and Sarchu from Leh side. There is prediction of more snowfall from October 23 to 25 and 26 to 28. The highway may take more time to open for vehicles. Meanwhile, trucks (goods carriers) will not be allowed to go beyond Atal tunnel for safety reasons. 17 October 2021: Manali-Leh highway has been blocked after fresh snowfall. Vehicles are not being allowed to go beyond Darcha in Lahaul. Baralacha has received more than
Manali – Leh Road Status (2021): CLOSE Manali – Keylong highway: Open Keylong – Baralacha pass: Close Baralacha pass – Sarchu highway: Close Sarchu – Leh highway: Close Srinagar – Leh Road Status (2021): Open (since April 20) Official date of opening of Manali-Leh highway: March 28, 2021 Please note that Manali-Leh highway is closed
The availability of mobile network with high-speed internet connectivity at 14,000 ft high Sarchu on Manali-Leh highway is leaving tourists surprised these days. Reliance Jio has launched its service at Sarchu a few days back. In an effort to strengthen the mobile and internet connectivity in border areas and along important border roads, the 14,000ft high Sarchu on Manali-Leh highway has received 4G mobile connectivity. Strategically important 428km long Manali-Leh highway had no mobile connectivity in more than 260km long stretch of the road between Himachal’s Darcha and Ladakh’s Upshi. Sarchu, 176km from Manali, is a non-inhabited remote plateau at the boundary of Himachal and Ladakh. Sarchu is a popular mid-way halt point on Manali-Leh highway. People from Himachal and Ladakh operate seasonal shops, dhabas and tented accommodations here for tourists and military convoys. The area also serves the Indian Army as its transit point. Now, Sarchu, the most important place on Manali-Leh highway, which has no residential houses or electricity supply, has mobile connectivity with high-speed internet. The travellers, who are listening to ringtone on their mobile phones at Sarchu, are being left surprised these days as nobody had expected mobile network in such a remote area. IT and tribal development minister Ram Lal Markanda was quoted by media as saying, "Reliance Jio is installing a large number of telecom towers across the tribal areas. The company has connected major places of Lahaul-Spiti with 4G connectivity. Most areas along Manali-Sarchu highway is now covered with mobile network. More such towers are proposed to be established." People in trouble used to be left at the mercy of God on this highway as they had no option to call for help. Usually, Indian Army and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) used to help people in distress but the non-availability of the network
The availability of mobile network with high-speed internet connectivity at 14,000 ft high Sarchu on Manali-Leh highway is leaving tourists surprised these days. Reliance Jio has launched its service at Sarchu a few days back. In an effort to strengthen the mobile and internet connectivity in border areas and along important border roads, the 14,000ft
Having spent his all earnings and time in building 38km-long road across Shinkula pass to connect Ladakh’s Zanskar valley with Himachal’s Lahaul, the 79-year-old Tsultim Chinjor, who has been conferred with Padma Shri award, wants better road connectivity between Himachal and Zanskar. A resident of Stongdey village of remote Zanskar valley, lama Chinjor is among 102 recipients of Padma Shri this year. He has been conferred with this prestigious award for social work after his name was recommended by Kargil district administration. Lama has spent many years in Stongdey monastery and also served as a government employee. As a large number of villages in Zanskar were not connected with road and the lone road connecting Zanskar with Kargil used to get blocked after snowfall at Pensi-la pass, lama was searching for better road connectivity. Although Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had planned to connect Zanskar with Himachal via Shinkula pass, lama Chinjor was unhappy with the work progress. Finally, he took up the task to connect nearly 30 villages of the valley with Darcha village of Himachal’s Lahaul. He discussed his plan with the local residents and started raising funds. He finally started building road, for which he even sold his land, and built 38km road from Shinkula to Kargiakh. Lama started building the road on Shinkula pass on June 28, 2014 with help of a hired earthmover, jeep, labourers and ponies. BRO had built 27km of road beyond Darcha and lama started building road beyond this point. In first season, before onset of winter, Lama completed 13km of the jeepable road from Himachal and entered Zanskar. He had a lot more road to build to connect Kargiakh, the first village of Zanskar and then towards Padum. “I spent all my savings in building this road. People of Zanskar and some
Having spent his all earnings and time in building 38km-long road across Shinkula pass to connect Ladakh’s Zanskar valley with Himachal’s Lahaul, the 79-year-old Tsultim Chinjor, who has been conferred with Padma Shri award, wants better road connectivity between Himachal and Zanskar. A resident of Stongdey village of remote Zanskar valley, lama Chinjor is among
Pangong Lake (Pangong Tso), the main tourist attraction of Ladakh, has reopened for tourists after remaining closed for months following the ongoing India-China standoff. According to Leh administration, the lake is open for tourists from January 10 and tourists can obtain an inner-line permit to visit Pangong Lake from the DC office or also online from their official website. The happy news has come when famous Chadar trek of Ladakh has started. A large number of tourists are expected to visit Ladakh in winter months to experience the winter season and frozen Pangong Tso. Pangong lake in the Eastern Ladakh, close to the LAC (disputed Aksai Chin), about 150km from Leh, is the main tourist attraction in Ladakh. The lake known for its bluish water which changes its colours many times in a day is visited by lakhs of tourists every year. However, the lake remained out of reach of tourists this year. With Pangong lake remaining closed for tourists due to unrest at India-China border, it has badly impacted tourism in Ladakh. The hoteliers, travel agents, taxi drivers and other stakeholders were praying for peace at the border so that Pangong Lake opens for tourists once again and bring back tourism business to the cold deserts -- popularly known as mini Tibet. The Ladakh Tourism department has also announced that “Pangong Lake Opens for tourists from January 10” through its twitter post. Although Pangong lake was closed for tourists even before the Galwan valley clashes between India and Chinese troops, the clashes made the lake out of bounds for longer time as tension between both the nations kept mountain ever since. The lake, for the safety of the civilians, was kept closed. As Indian soldiers are in a better position in eastern Ladakh, Pangong Lake has been opened for
Pangong Lake (Pangong Tso), the main tourist attraction of Ladakh, has reopened for tourists after remaining closed for months following the ongoing India-China standoff. According to Leh administration, the lake is open for tourists from January 10 and tourists can obtain an inner-line permit to visit Pangong Lake from the DC office or also online
Confirming that towering peaks of Himalayas have emerged from the Tethys ocean, noted geologist Dr Ritesh Arya has discovered 20 million years old fossil of palm leaves from fragile rocks of Ladakh. Measuring more than 4ft in length, the fossil is expected to be over 20 million years old when the present-day Himalayas were not formed. Arya has discovered the fossil on a fragile rock surface in southern part of Indus river in Leh district. According to him, the fossil represents the near-coastal environment of Ladakh millions of years back as this species is not found anywhere in the present-day Himalayan regions. He said the fragile fossil needs proper care to protect it from being destroyed. He said the site can become a popular tourist destination of Ladakh where tourists will come to see how this region used to be a coastal area millions of years ago. “The fossil has been found from the Tethyan sediments of Ladakh when I was searching for specimens for geological museum and laboratory that I had established a few days back in a school in Ladakh. Tethys sea was once separating India from Tibet in geological history till 20 million years ago. The presence of fossils of palm from the sediments of Indus molasse in Ladakh clearly shows that Ladakh Himalayas were once below the sea. Probably the area till sediments from where the fossils are found were below the sea. Palm fossils represent near-coastal environment,” he said. Arya added that large size of the actual specimens of fossil shows that conditions at the time of deposition would have been hot and humid similar to equatorial climatic conditions. “These types of floras are found nowhere in the modern-day Himalayas. Fossils of palm leaves have been found in Kasauli, Himachal, by HB Medlicott in 1864.
Confirming that towering peaks of Himalayas have emerged from the Tethys ocean, noted geologist Dr Ritesh Arya has discovered 20 million years old fossil of palm leaves from fragile rocks of Ladakh. Measuring more than 4ft in length, the fossil is expected to be over 20 million years old when the present-day Himalayas were not
Discover Leh Ladakh has achieved another feat by becoming first to reach Zanskar valley of Ladakh using the newly built Manali Shinkula Zanskar road that has decreased the distance between Manali and Zanskar by over 630 KM. The road between Darcha in Lahaul valley of Himachal and Padum in Zanskar is being built above 16,600ft high Shinkula (Shingo-la) pass for nearly 10 years now. Although the road is not safe for general traffic movement and is still under construction, team Discover Leh Ladakh successfully reached Padum, headquarters of Zanskar, in their SUV in just one day. Otherwise, Manali to Zanskar is a four-day-long drive and it is two days drive from Leh. Zanskar is a Buddhist dominated valley in Kargil district of Ladakh. The beautiful valley which is home to a large number of huge glaciers, rivers, towering peaks and vast plateaus, is divided from Suru valley (Kargil) via Pensi-la pass. Kargil to Padum (Zanskar) is about 9 to 10 hours hectic but beautiful journey. Drang-Drung glacier and Nun Kun glaciers that almost touch the road are main attractions of this road trip. Zanskar is home to about 15,000 residents. As their culture, trade relations and religion is similar to residents of Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal, they always wanted to get connected with Himachal. Despite old Kargil-Zanskar road, the residents used to come to Manali and Lahaul after covering large distance on foot via Shinkula pass. The residents of Zanskar valley celebrated coming close to Himachal by over 630km as they welcomed the first vehicle in the valley that arrived via new road after crossing the Shinkula pass on September 3, 2019. Watching a vehicle coming into the valley from Shinkula pass, the three from Discover Leh Ladakh were given warm welcome by happy residents in many villages. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) officials,
Discover Leh Ladakh has achieved another feat by becoming first to reach Zanskar valley of Ladakh using the newly built Manali Shinkula Zanskar road that has decreased the distance between Manali and Zanskar by over 630 KM. The road between Darcha in Lahaul valley of Himachal and Padum in Zanskar is being built above 16,600ft
