Atal Tunnel dedicated to the nation on 2019-12-25

All weather Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh was a gift to the nation on the birth anniversary of the visionary Late PM, Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday, 2019-12-25.

The 8.8 kms long Atal Tunnel is the world's longest above an altitude of 3,000 metres.

The tunnel will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kilometres.

The historic decision to construct the strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken in 2000 when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.
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* Indian Roadie News

Payyanur (Kerala) to Rohtang Pass (HP) to Payyanur road trip of 7253 kms in 16 days in October 2019 in Tata Nexon by Shihabudeen Hashim

Shihabudeen Hashim drove his new Nexon XM petrol of March 2019 model (retrofitted alloy wheels and tyres of size  195/60 R16) along with wife and 3 yrs old son from Payyanur (Kerala) to Rohtang Pass (Himachal Pradesh) and back in October 2019.

Route: Payyanur - Goa - Pune - Surat - Udaipur - Delhi - Manali - Rohtang La - Manali - Delhi - Agra - Gwalior - Indore - Pune - Dharwad - Hubli - Payyanur.

Number of states covered: 12.

Total distance: 7253 kms.

Itinerary:
Day 1: Payyanur (Kerala) to Goa.
Day 2: Goa to Pune.
Day 3: Pune to Surat.
Day 4: Surat to Udaipur.
Day 5: Local sightseeing in Udaipur.
Day 6: Udaipur to Delhi. 

Day 7: 3rd service of Tata Nexon in Delhi.
Day 8: Delhi to Mandi.
Day 9: Mandi to Manali. Post lunch Manali sightseeing.
Day 10: Manali to Rohtang La.
Day 11: Manali to Delhi.
Day 12: Delhi to Gwalior via Agra.
Day 13: Gwalior to Indore.
Day 14: Indore to Pune.
Day 15: Pune to Dharwad.
Day 16: Dharwad to home in Payyanur (Kerala).

Road conditions and facilities in general: Gwalior to Indore road was really nice we left Gwalior by 5.30am and reached Indore about 5pm. But food and rest option for family along the route is almost nil. Dhaba available suitable for truck drivers. Overall roads were good except few border roads in Kerala, Goa + road/bridge between Vadodara and Udaipur.

Expense: Total money spent ₹90k, 32k for fuel, 20k stay, 23k food, 4.5k toll, 10k misc expenses like entry fee, etc.

Fuel economy: 15.7 kmpl.

Dates: End Oct 2019.

Hotels: Mostly OYO and MMT with above average user ratings.

Performance: The car performed very well without any issues throughout the journey and even at 13,500 ft above sea level in Rohtang Pass.

Issues on road: There was checking at several location between Goa and Maharashtra and it was just usual checking by police with a smiling face.
However, Punjab Police fined him just after crossing Haryana and once again while returning for having sun film.
There was no other checking or police harassment anywhere else during the drive. 

Riding a bicycle to Sissu Village enroute Manali to Leh, by Ankit Singh

Ankit Singh (a senior manager with Yes Bank) embarked on a bicycle riding adventure from Manali to Leh to Khardungla with 8 other friends.

On crossing Rohtang Pass from Manali, they entered Spiti district. 19 kms further down was Koksar.
They continued riding on Manali - Leh Highway towards Tandi.

After another 14 - 15 kms from Koksar they crossed Sissu Village on 14th August 2017.
Just after Sissu Village, on the left of the highway, the group stopped over for this heavenly view.

Road trip from Kaza (Himachal Pradesh) to Leh (Ladakh) with route and intermediate distances

The road route from Kaza (Himachal Pradesh) to Leh (Ladakh) is as follows:
Kaza - Losar - Kunzum - Batal - Gramphu - Khoksar - Keylong - Jispa - Zing Zing Bar - Sarchu - Pang - Leh.



While driving from Kaza and going towards Leh, you will reach Gramphu. The drive from Kaza to Gramphu is via NH505. Gramphu is the intersection from where you can either go to Manali or to Leh.

Kaza to Gramphu via NH505 = 137 kms.

Breakup of distances between important points between Kaza and Gramphu:
Kaza to Losar = 57 kms.
Losar to Kunzum Pass = 18 kms.
Kunzum Pass to Batal = 13 kms.
Batal to Gramphu = 49 kms.


Gramphu to Leh = 408 kms.

Breakup of distances between important points between Gramphu and Leh:
Gramphu to Keylong = 50 kms.
Keylong to Jispa = 23 kms.
Jispa to Zing Zing Bar = 31 kms.
Zing Zing Bar to Sarchu = 54 kms.
Sarchu to Pang = 76 kms.
Pang to Leh = 174 kms.

Gramphu to Manali = 68 kms via Rohtang Pass.

Manali to Keylong = 118 kms.

From Gramphu turn right towards Sissu, Keylong, Jispa, Zing Zing Bar, Sarchu, Pang, Leh.
A left turn from Gramphu will take you to Rohtang, Manali and onwards to Chandigarh.

While driving on the route from Kaza towards Gramphu, after crossing Kunzum when you see the deviation for Chandratal you could visit that as well on the way.

Starting from Kaza, you will cross the Spiti River which flows alongside, a couple of times. Losar and Kunzum are two important locations as you drive alongside the Spiti River. The Spiti River forks off after Kunzum.
Going ahead, you will reach Batal after crossing the Chenab River. The Chenab River will be on your left all along till Chhatru. After crossing the bridge at Chhatru, the Chenab River will be flowing on your right.




Roadies should be aware that Kaza to Gramphu is a horrible stretch of road. The weather is very fickle and people have got stuck in snow storm while climbing Kunzum around 6.30 AM. One would be lucky to get out and reach Batal. The road beyond Batal till Gramphu is a misery.

After starting from Kaza ideally by 5 AM, try and stay in Jispa for the night.

Status of Manali - Leh highway in first week of July 2017 narrated by biker Swaroop Konambi

Swaroop Konambi reached Leh from Manali  on 2017-07-04 afternoon on his bike with a pillion rider.

The status of Manali - Leh highway as reported by him is as follows ...

Manali to Rohtang: Nice road.

Rohtang to Grampu: 5 kms of road is pure hell.  If you are riding/ driving on this road, pray for no rain. If it rains, the stretch would be worse than hell.

Grampu to Kaza: Offroading to it's peak. I could cover approx 10 km per hr with pillion and luggage. All streams are in full flow.

Grampu to Khokser: Small stretch of bad road.

Khokser to Darcha: Road is ok until a little beyond Darcha.

Zing Zing Bar is clear for travel, but BRO is still working.

Road to Barlacha la is good.

Very bad road starts when one starts decending from Barlacha la and remains very bad till Pang road intersection.

Pang to Leh: Road is super fine.

(Source & Content credit: Swaroop Konambi, a member of Ladakh Return group on Facebook)

Armed forces have a special hill driving license for their truck drivers

Is it a fact that the Armed forces have a special hill driving license for their truck drivers .. !!!
Here's an army truck negotiating the extremely difficult Rohtang Pass.

Location: Rohtang Pass, HP in 2014.

Photo courtesy: A Uberoi (Facebook@auberoi)

Army truck at Rohtang Pass, HP in 2014

Is it a fact that the Armed forces have a special hill driving license for their truck drivers .. !!!
Location: Rohtang Pass, HP in 2014.
Photo courtesy: A Uberoi (FB @ auberoi)