For the travellers having a penchant for long bus journeys, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation on Thursday resumed its Leh-Delhi bus services after a gap of nine months. The bus was flagged off from Keylong to Leh at 5.30am with 30 passengers onboard.
The service was suspended on September 15 last year after the high mountain passes on the Manali-Leh highway experienced heavy snowfall.
“As the Manali-Leh highway has been restored for heavy vehicles, we have resumed the Leh-Delhi bus services till the highway closes again when winter sets in,” HRTC’s Keylong depot in-charge Anchit Sharma informed the media.
A one-way ticket would cost ₹1,740 which is same as the previous year. The bus takes 33 hours to complete the 1,026-km journey and makes an overnight halt at Keylong.
The HRTC has also started online booking for the route. The online booking is available between Keylong and Delhi routes. From Keylong to Leh tickets are sold on the counter.
In 2022, the bus service was started on May 15 and inclement weather this year has delayed it by nearly a month.
The route, which is the longest of HRTC, covering a distance of about 1,026km, is also the most treacherous as it winds through five high mountain passes — Rohtang La (3,978 mts), Baralacha La (4,850 mts), Nakee La (4,739 mts), Lachulung La (5,065 mts) and Tanglang La 5,328 mts).
{{/usCountry}}The route, which is the longest of HRTC, covering a distance of about 1,026km, is also the most treacherous as it winds through five high mountain passes — Rohtang La (3,978 mts), Baralacha La (4,850 mts), Nakee La (4,739 mts), Lachulung La (5,065 mts) and Tanglang La 5,328 mts).
{{/usCountry}}Before opening of the Atal Tunnel, the distance was 1,072 km and would take 36 hours.
Tourists flock to the Himalayan region from May to September and most of the travellers prefer to drive down the Manali-Leh highway to go to Ladakh after a stopover in Manali. Started in 2016 by the then transport minister GS Bali, the bus route is quite popular among the backpackers and solo travelers for it enables them to cover a journey at very low cost.
The route is suspended in mid-September or early October after the Manali-Leh highway gets closed due to frequent spells of snowfall.