Rohthang La Pass

Rohtang pass, means (Roh=dead bodies, Tang=Field) which means field of dead bodies. At altitude of 3,978 meters (13,050 ft) from sea level, is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km (32 mi) from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.The Rohtang La is open from Mid-May to November.

The former National Highway, the road through the Kullu district, terminates at Manali. Numbered of the highway is now NH 3. The road northwards over the Rohtang Pass to Keylong, Lahul and on to Leh, Ladakh is not a national highway. however, the Leh-Manali Highway has become very busy during the summer months like june to september as an alternate military route since the Kargil Conflict in 1999.

Rohtang Pass Permit

In 2016, Himachal Pradesh state government started issuing permits online to limit the vehicles to prevent pollution in this area. Permits are issued only for the first 800 petrol vehicles and 400 for diesel vehicles. A tax of Rs.500 and sometimes, a congestion charges of Rs.50 is to be paid and accordingly the permits are issued based on daily quota defined by National Green Tribunal Act. The tourism permit is valid for only one day,. All document must be Valid ID Proof, Pollution Under Check (PUC) Certificate and Vehicle Registration Date (Age of vehicle not to be more than 10 years) are required to be produced to obtain a Rohtang Pass Permit.

Rohtang road tunnel

The Rohtang Tunnel will become operational in 2019 and vehicles going north of Rohtang pass will stop coming to Rohtang pass.Only tourist vehicles will come to the Rohtang pass. While it takes 4 to 5 hours to ascend, negotiate and descend the Rohtang Pass, it will take only about 30 minutes to travel through the Rohtang Tunnel.