Ladakh road trip season has begun today with the official reopening of Srinagar – Leh Highway, one of only two roads which connects Ladakh with rest of India (other being Manali – Leh Highway, which is still close at the moment).
While BRO had managed to reopen Srinagar – Leh Highway earlier in the month, constant avalanches had prevented them from declaring it officially open and ready for civilian traffic. And while from today light civilian vehicles will be allowed to cross Zoji La and reach Ladakh, road conditions will be extremely poor for the next month or so.
So if you too are planning to head to Ladakh in your sedan or hatchback, it is best to wait a while for road conditions to improve, before attempting Zoji La. Add to this, chances of Srinagar – Leh Highway closing down temporarily due to bad weather or avalanche is also quite high, early in the season.
So if you have to attempt Srinagar – Leh Highway in May, make sure you have a few buffer days in hand and aren’t averse to the idea of riding/driving through really bad road conditions.
Having said this, reopening of the highway is welcomed news for all travelers and in particular locals, who have been running low on food supplies, in particular vegetables for past month or so.
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