Highway Leh-Manali, India

Among the dangerous mountain roads of India Manali-Leh highway deserves top priority attention. The highway connects two settlements of the same name. It runs through one of the snow-capped Himalayan passes the height of which is 2 - 3 km above sea level. The abundance of sharp turns and more than a modest width of the track are not the only hazards. Many road sections are permanently covered with ice which is typical of these places. Landslides and avalanches are frequent phenomena.

For motor vehicles the road is open only 4 months of the year. It attracts a lot of tourists at this time. Coaches constantly ply on the dangerous road and the most courageous travellers prefer to rent a car to drive on their own. It is recommended to move down the road at a speed of no more than 30 km/h and in some parts of the path you can develop a speed of 15 km/h only.

In the latter case the situation is complicated not by poor quality of the highway and steep climbs but by the plenty of trucks that climb the mountain very slowly. Serious traffic jams are constantly formed on the mountain highway and every day one can see the overturned buses and trucks on its roadsides. All these dangers do not bother numerous tourists, who are attracted by the opportunity to visit the picturesque mountains and experience the adrenaline rush after successfully overcoming the next sharp turn of Manali-Leh highway. Next - Guoliang Tunnel Road