page_title: Leh–Manali Highway
section_title: Geographical features
hierarchical_section_title: Leh–Manali Highway / Geographical features
caption_attribution_description: English: The road between Leh-Manali in Ladakh.
context_page_description: The Leh–Manali Highway is a 480 km long highway in northernmost India connecting Leh, the capital of the union territory of Ladakh, and Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It is open for only about four and a half months in a year, from May or June, when the snow is cleared, and mid-October, when snowfall again blocks the high passes. It connects the Manali valley to the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh and the Zanskar valley in Ladakh.
  The Leh–Manali Highway was designed and built and is maintained by the Border Roads Organisation of the Indian army. It supports the heaviest army vehicles.
context_section_description: The average elevation of Leh-Manali highway is more than 4,000 m (13,000 feet) and its highest elevation is 5,328 m (17,480 ft) at the Taglang La mountain pass. It is flanked by mountain ranges on both sides, featuring stunning sand and rock natural formations.
  The highway crosses many small streams of ice-cold water from snow-capped mountains and glacial melts without a bridge and it requires driving skill to negotiate fast-flowing streams. The landscape changes immediately after getting past the Rohtang Pass and entering the Chandra river valley in the Lahaul region that lies in the rain-shadow. The greenery on the southern side of the mountain pass disappears and the mountain slopes on the leeward side become brown and arid. However, the mountain peaks are covered in snow and shine brightly in the sun.
  The Leh-Manali highway is generally two lanes wide (one lane in each direction) without a road divider, but has only one or one and a half lanes at some stretches. It has over a dozen Bailey bridges, some in poor condition. The highway has many damaged stretches and under-maintained portions, where even a little rainfall can trigger dangerous landslides. The road quality is poor in many places and high speed can cause discomfort.
caption: The road between Leh-Manali in Ladakh.
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