Manali, July 2 (IANS) The luxury bus service linking this Himachal Pradesh town with Leh in Jammu and Kashmir has been restored, more than six months after it was halted, an official said Saturday.
‘The bus service between Manali and Leh restarted Friday. The bus will leave Manali at 11 a.m. on every alternate day and will reach Leh next day in the evening after covering 475 km,’ Yogesh Behl, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) general manager, told IANS.
The bus will halt overnight at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district. From there, it will depart at 4 a.m.
One-way fare, including a night’s stay at Keylong, dinner and breakfast, is Rs.2,000.
‘For the night stay, a special camping site has been developed at Keylong for the passengers,’ he said.
The HPTDC is running the luxury bus service to promote tourism in the state.
Besides this service, the state-run Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) is daily operating an ordinary bus service between Manali and Leh these days.
The strategic Manali-Leh road reopened for vehicular traffic June 1 after remaining closed for over six months due to heavy snowfall.
The non-stop journey in a four-wheeler between Manali and Leh takes 16-18 hours.
The highway crosses four high mountain passes in the cold desert – Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft), Baralacha Pass (16,020 ft), Lachungla Pass (16,620 ft) and Tanglangla Pass (17,480 ft).
Backpackers descend in Manali from August to September every year. Most of them prefer to drive down the Manali-Leh highway.
