Rohtang Pass

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Rohtang Pass
Cloud Volcano.jpg
A view from Rohtang Pass
Elevation 3,978 m (13,051 ft)
Traversed by Leh-Manali Highway
Location India
Range Pir Panjal, Himalayas
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Rohtang Pass (Hindi: रोहतांग दर्रा) (Bhoti: Rohtang , lit: pile of corpses,[1] due to people dying in bad weather trying to cross the pass) (elevation 3,978 m (13,050 ft)),[2][3][4][5] 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. Manali-Leh Highway, a part of NH 21, transverses Rohtang Pass.

Geography

The pass provides a natural divide between the humid Kullu Valley with a primarily Hindu culture (in the south), and the arid high-altitude Lahaul and Spiti valleys with a Buddhist culture (in the north). The pass lies on the watershed between the Chenab and Beas basins. On the southern side of this pass, the Beas River emerges from underground and flows southward[6] and on its northern side, the Chandra River (flows from the eastern Himalayas), a source stream of the river Chenab, flows westward.

Overview

The pass is open from May to November. It is not particularly high or difficult to cross on foot by Himalayan standards, but it has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards.[7]

This pass is an ancient trade route between the people on either side of Pir Panjal. The local name for this pass is a generic name of pass.[citation needed] There are many other passes in Lahaul and Spiti which have specific names (Kunzam La, Baralacha La, etc.). This is suggestive of the fact that this must have been the oldest and most frequented pass in the region, or the fact that it is the main pass leading from one cultural region to another, quite different one, to the north.

National Highway 21 (NH 21), the road through the Kullu Valley, past Manali and over the Rohtang Pass to Keylong, and Lahul and on to Leh in Ladakh, has become very busy during the summer months as an alternate military route, following the Kargil Conflict in 1999 in addition to tensions in Kashmir. Traffic jams are common as military vehicles, trucks, and goods carriers try to navigate the tight roads and rough terrain, compounded by snow and ice at certain points and the large number of tourists vehicles.

File:Rhotang Pass.jpg
A waterfall on the way to Rohtang

Several episodes of the History Channel's Ice Road Truckers series spinoff IRT Deadliest Roads dealt with truckers crossing the Rohtang Pass to deliver supplies.[8][9]

With increase in Traffic at Rohtang Valley, Environmentalists fear its impact on the fragile mountain ecology. Rise in Average Temperature and consequent melting of glaciers are also issues of severe concern.[10]

The pass was featured on the Top Gear: India Special.

Rohtang road tunnel

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Main article: Rohtang Tunnel

Due to the military significance of the highway and the need to keep it open the entire year, the Indian government began building the $320 million 8.5 km (5.3 mi) long Rohtang Tunnel in 2010 to bypass Rohtang pass for creating a much safer and faster year-around link to Keylong, Lahaul and Spiti and Leh in Ladakh.[1] The tunnel will also shorten the distance by about 50 km (31 mi) and reduce the travel time between the southern and northern faces of Rohtang pass by five hours.[11] While it now takes 4 to 6 hours to ascend, negotiate and descend the Rohtang pass, it will take only about 30 minutes to travel through the Rohtang tunnel.

Gallery

  • Himalayas from Rohtang Pass.jpg

    A panoramic view of distant Himalayan peaks from Rohtang Pass, May 2009

  • Mountains near Rohtang Pass

  • Rothang pass.JPG

    Rohtang Pass during winter on Leh-Manali Highway

  • Tourist vehicles at Rohtang Pass.jpg

    Tourist Vehicles at Rohtang Pass, May 2009

  • Dhabas At Rohtang Pass.jpg

    A view of Dhabas (road-side eateries) and Leh-Manali Highway on the way to Rohtang Pass, May 2009

  • View from top of rohtang.jpg

    View from top of Rohtang

  • Traffic jam on road to Rohtang Pass.jpg

    Traffic jam descending from Rohtang, 2004

  • 2007 10 09 India Rhotang Pass Tourist Rest Camp.JPG

    Tourist rest stop at the south approach to Rohtang Pass, 2007

  • 2007 10 09 India Descending Rohtang Pass towards Manali.JPG

    Steep switchback descent from Rohtang Pass summit towards Manali, 2007

  • English Wine Shop on way to Rohtang.jpg

    Wine shop on the way to the pass

  • 2007 10 09 India Rohtang Pass approach from the north.JPG

    North approach to Rohtang Pass Summit, 2007

  • 2007 10 09 India Summit of Rohtang Pass.JPG

    Summit of Rohtang Pass, altitude 13,000 feet above Sea Level, 2007

  • 2007 10 09 India Keylong - Rohtang Pass - Manali.JPG

    Summit of Rohtang Pass 13,000 ft above Sea Level, October 2007

  • Rothang Pass and Lady.jpg

    Near Rothang Pass and the Lady, July 2015

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Polgreen, Lydia "India Digs Under Top of the World to Match Rival". New York Times. Accessed July 31, 2010.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ History Channel USA "http://www.history.com/shows/irt-deadliest-roads" Accessed on February 28, 2011
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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