Kunzum Pass Top - Manali - Kaza Road Status 2019 - 2020
Are you looking for the road status of Manali to Kaza road in 2024? This article will help you track the opening and closing of this adventurous road. Manali to Kaza road connects Spiti Valley with Lahaul Valley and Kullu Valley.
As of May 3, 2022, the road from Manali to Kaza is open for tourists for light vehicles including cars and bikes. So, you can travel on this route as a tourist or local.
Last couple of years in 2020 and 2021, the snow clearance operations on Manali – Kaza road did not last long even though there was heavy snowfall in the winter months. The road opened in record time in May, which was the first ever since I started blogging 13 years ago. It looks like that in 2022 as well there will be a similar pattern as now there is one less pass, Rohtang Pass, to open.
There was snowfall going on in the second week of June hampering the snow clearance operations at Kunzum Pass to Rohtang Pass route.
In 2022, the snow clearance operations will start sometime in March even though it may snow in Spiti Valley in March. It means the butterflies in the stomach of many adventure enthusiasts who are planning their upcoming trip to Spiti Valley from Manali to Kaza road in 2022 🙂 🙂 …
The Manali Kaza Highway Status 2022 is still CLOSED as of 11 Feb 2022. Last year in 2021, BRO has toiled hard to clear the snow from Kaza to Manali road since the middle of April, mainly from Kunzum Pass to Gramphu, and even though they were trying a historic opening in April, the weather gods had the last laugh. Still, the opening of Manali to Kaza road in the last week of May was a big feat and hasn’t happened many times. It was also a record time of the opening of Kaza Manali road in 2021.
As of March 20, 2021, the road up to Kunzum Pass was opened. Authorities will start the snow clearance operations soon from both sides and will continue to move towards Manali ahead of Batal towards Gramphu. Last year they do have one less pass to worry about which is Rohtang Pass because of the opening of the Atal Tunnel in 2020. The time to travel from Manali to Kaza via Atal Tunnel is reduced by 2-3 hrs easily now.
You might also be interested in tracking the road status for Srinagar Leh Highway and the road status of Manali Leh Highway.
This year due to the average amount of snow in Spiti Valley and other parts of the high Himalayas, the roads from Manali to Kaza over Kunzum Pass may open in May 2022. As of now, it looks like it may be around the middle of May to open the roads from Manali to Kaza.
However, we shall wait for the day when the road from Manali to Gramphu to Kunzum Pass opens soon and let the adventure for 2022 begin.
There has been average snowfall this year in the entire Himalayas. So like last year, the snow may be just enough to let the Kunzum Pass open by sometime in April. As per the authorities, there are about 5-10 feet of snow stretches that have to be cut around Rohtang Pass, and about 5-10 feet is around Beas Nalla only. However, BRO does not need to open Rohtang Pass t connect Kaza with Manali because of the opening of the Atal Tunnel route.
There aren’t very high snow walls from Batal to Gramphu route which is usually full of glaciers. Even the roads to Chandratal from Manali side may not take time to open as compared to the last couple of years.
It will be interesting to watch for the weather in the coming days of March end or April starting and as we all understand that these predictions are only the means of interest & hope to us, the mere mortals. It is weather and mountains gods which always have the last say when it comes to weather, especially in the Himalayas 🙂 🙂
This 202 km long Manali to Kaza Highway usually opens up by the first week of June, and as per the updates so far, this year in 2022 it may open by early May provided the weather holds up. It has been a norm that we set up the targets to open the highway early only to realize that the weather has the last laugh. However, due to less snow and no Rohtang Pass in the picture, this year can be as historic as the year 2021.
I have been watching it for the last 13 years now, but this year, I expect similar changes like last one. Eventually, it will all get down upon the weather and snow conditions in the months of April and May when snow clearance operations are at their peak in many parts of the Himalayas including this belt of Himachal Pradesh too.
When making a road trip to Spiti Valley from Manali Kaza road, you must keep in mind that even when the road from Manali to Kaza opens, it takes some time to get them stabilized. Due to snow sliding and loose gravel, roadblocks are very common in the initial days.
Hence, it is recommended that you wait for a couple of weeks before planning the trip on Manali to Spiti Valley after its official opening. The last thing you will want on your much-awaited Spiti Valley trip is to get stranded on the lonely stretch from Batal to Gramphu in early May.
As per the previous years, I will be starting this sticky post for Manali Kaza Road Status 2022, which so many adventure lovers await every year. Unlike the last few years, I will keep updating this article with the latest updates. Up until the last year, I used to update the progress in the DwD Community forums thread for better tracking of updates.
I understand that a forum topic always helps in better tracking as well as collation of info over time in an organized manner. However, forum management has become a pain due to a lack of team. Hence, all updates on Manali to Spiti Valley Road Status 2022 will be posted or updated in this article only.
If you are traveling to Spiti Valley from Shimla – Kinnaur then you can refer to the road conditions post about Delhi – Kinnaur – Spiti Valley | Road Status & Conditions 2021.
Once the Kunzum Pass road opens from Manali to Kaza, I may not be that active in updating the minor road closures or status because of these roads in the high Himalayas which close and open frequently. It is barely impossible for a single tiny soul like me to update this information daily once the road gets open, so please request you to excuse me on that front and accept my apologies :)…
However, if there is some major blockade of 3 – 4 days, I will try to surely update such information about Manali Kaza Highway status 2022.
I hope as per the last years, this year as well this article thread will be useful in planning your journey from Manali to Spiti Valley via Kunzum Pass.
If you are traveling from Manali to Spiti over Rohtang Pass, you will need to get the permit for Rohtang Pass which can be applied online. However starting 2021, you are not required to travel to Spiti via Rohtang Pass because of the opening of the Atal Tunnel. This route via Sissu will reduce the time to reach Kaza from Manali by 2-3 hrs easily.
The road from Manali to Kaza is open for light vehicles including bikes and cars. Caution is advised to travel after Kunzum Pass because there is a lot of snow and slippery conditions, especially for bikes. In a couple of weeks, the road conditions should improve and better for traveling from Manali to Kaza, Spiti Valley.
As of now the road from Manali to Kaza is closed due to heavy snow between Gramphu to Kunzum Pass and Kunzum Pass itself. The road from Kunzum Pass to Losar is also closed as of now and snow clearance operations have not yet started.
The road from Manali to Kaza is open as of the last week of May. BRO worked hard on the snow clearance operations from both Manali and Kaza sides to open this road connecting Spiti Valley from Lahaul Valley in record time this year.
As per recent updates from BRO and locals, the road from Kaza to Kunzum Pass and a bit further has been opened. That means Kunzum Pass has been opened from the Kaza side.
However, the last few days have been snowfall all over the Himalayas which undoubtedly would have hampered the progress of snow clearance further towards Manali.
As of now, it looks like it will take at least up to the middle of April for Batal to Gramphu road to open up. Hence, wait for a month and a half before planning your trip to Spiti Valley from the Manali side.
In any case, the Rohtang Pass is has been put out of the question after the opening of the Atal Tunnel and it usually faced a tremendous amount of traffic jams along with Manali town during springtime with all the tourist rush.
Manali 21 March 20201: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has hastened the process to reopen the Sumdho-Kaza-Gramphu road in Lahaul-Spiti much earlier than the usual time.
The road is crucial from the defence point of view as it leads to the border Spiti shares with China. Sources say the Union Government has asked the BRO to clear this road earlier in view of the ongoing tensions along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
The BRO has set April 15 deadline to clear the road, which will also connect Spiti to Manali and Lahaul valley via Kunzum pass. The BRO machinery has reached near Batal from Kaza side via Kunzum pass (Gramphu). The Sumdho-Kaza-Gramphu road is 209-km-long. Nearly 100-km stretch of this road is snowbound from Kaza up to Gramphu. The road is usually restored for traffic movement in mid-June since the BRO first works on the Manali-Leh highway for giving military vehicles access to the Leh and Ladakh region.
Sources in the BRO said from Kaza and Gramphu, the workforce and machinery was moving steadily towards Chhota Dara. There are two avalanche-prone sites between Batal and Chhota Dara, which might pose a challenge to the BRO.
BRO officials will soon inspect these sites on foot. One of its teams has already started clearing snow from Gramphu towards Kaza.
Brig MS Baghi, Chief Engineer of Project Dipak, said: “We are working relentlessly in freezing temperatures to restore the Sumdho-Kaza-Gramphu road by April 15.”
External Link: Strategic Spiti road to reopen 2 months earlier
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The places that fall on this route along with approximate distances between them go like Manali – Marhi – Rohtang Pass – Gramphu – Chattru – Chota Dhara – Batal – Kunzum Pass – Losar – Kaza. The approximate distances along with the altitude of these places are shown in the chart below. This chart will help you judge over the acclimatization schedule too.
Here is the route from Manali to Kaza over Rohtang Pass and Kunzum Pass.
Manali – Marhi (37 KMs) – Rohtang Pass (51 KMs) – Gramphu (66 KMs) – Chattru (81 KMs) – Chota Dhara (98 KMs) – Battal (113 KMs) – Kunzum Pass (131 KMs) – Losar (151 KMs) – Kaza (202 KMs)
With the open of the Atal Tunnel, you can now bypass Rohtang Pass, the places that fall on this route go like Manali – Atal Tunnel – Khoksar – Gramphu – Chattru – Chota Dhara – Batal – Kunzum Pass – Losar – Kaza. The approximate distances along with the altitude of these places are shown in the chart below. This chart will help you judge over the acclimatization schedule too.
And the route details with distances between the places from Manali – Atal Tunnel – Kunzum Pass as it goes like below:
Manali – Atal Tunnel – Khoksar (41 KMs) – Gramphu (46 KMs) – Chattru (61 KMs) – Chota Dhara (78 KMs) – Battal (93 KMs) – Kunzum Pass (111 KMs) – Losar (131 KMs) – Kaza (182 KMs)
So, this route to Spiti Valley via Atal Tunnel is much faster and 20 km shorter than the one going via Rohtang Pass.
Please note that with the opening of Atal Tunnel, Rohtang Pass Permit is not required for Spiti valley. You can travel from Manali to Kaza via Atal Tunnel without needing any permit for your vehicle.
Since 2010, all vehicles going to Rohtang Pass from Manali side need permits which can be obtained free of cost by showing the vehicle’s RC and DL copy. You can use the Kullu Administration official website or you can also use the recently launched mobile app for the Rohtang Pass permit in 2018.
Please note that all bikes, as well as cars, need to get this Rohtang Pass permit if you travel from Manali to Kaza route. However, if you are traveling from Kaza to Manali or Keylong to Manali direction, these permits are not required. Hence, another reason to start your Spiti road trip from Shimla side and end the trip at Manali.
If you are coming from the Keylong side or Kaza side, then you do not need any permit to ply on Manali – Rohtang Pass road even if you have a non-HP registered vehicle. You need Rohtang Pass Permit only if you are going from Manali side towards Rohtang Pass.
Once the Manali to Kaza road is open in 2021, you guys can plan the trip to Spiti from Manali side. This itinerary I created will help you plan a perfect trip to this middle land in the Himalayas.
Download your FREE high-resolution version pdf copy of this Leh Ladakh day by day plan infographic guide. If, you liked it and found it helpful, please feel free to share it with your family and friends to help them too.
I hope this article will help you keep a check on Manali to Kaza road status in 2021. It will help you plan your trip to Spiti Valley successfully. If you have any updates for this route, then please feel free to share it with everyone on this thread.
Have a travel question?? You can subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment to ask your travel questions about traveling to the Himalayas.
If you know your friends or family are planning a trip to Spiti Valley, do share this article with them to help them make a memorable trip.
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