Ladakh Road Trip season 2018 has officially begun today with the reopening of the Srinagar – Leh Highway. Even though the pass had been cleared of snow on the 27th of March, it was only declared open for vehicular traffic today.
BRO generally does this for the sake of the safety of those crossing Zoji La. Since even if a pass has been cleared of snow, it can still be too narrow or slippery to cross. Even though locals cross it at their own risk, tourist vehicles are only allowed to cross the pass, once it has been officially declared open for vehicular traffic.
Vehicles crossing Zoji La, image courtesy Ladakh Guidelines
For those planning to travel to Ladakh and take the Srinagar – Leh Highway in the coming days, please keep in mind that initially the traffic from the Kargil will be allowed in the wee hours of the morning eg. 3-4 am and the traffic from the Sonamag side would be allowed later in the day eg. 11 am.
To know the exact timing of crossing the pass (subject to change based on the conditions), it is best to get in touch with Srinagar Traffic Control Room at 0194-2450022 or at 0194-2455164 and ask for the current timing of the Srinagar – Leh Highway.
The Manali – Leh Highway is expected to be cleared of snow by the end of this month and hopefully, the traffic would be allowed to ply on the Manali – Leh Highway by the first or second week of May, subject to weather conditions.
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