New Delhi-Leh bus service resumes

Abhinav Vashisht

KULLU, MAY 23

The HRTC restarted its bus service between Delhi to Leh on Wednesday on its longest route of 1,015 km.

Lahaul-Spiti DC Ashwani Chaudhary flagged off the bus from Keylong. Keylong Depot Regional Manager Mangal Chand Manepa was present on the occasion. He said the service was started in 2008 to facilitate the tourists and residents of the tribal region.

The bus was started after the BRO restored the strategically important 475-km Manali-Leh highway earlier this month. The fare of Rs 1,399 had been fixed for one-way travel from Leh to Delhi and the online booking facility through HRTC website was also available. He said it took a bus 36 hours to reach Delhi and three drivers and two conductors would be changed during the one-way journey.

Manepa said the bus was scheduled to leave Delhi in the evening and would further depart from Kullu to Keylong the next morning. The bus would halt at night in Keylong and leave for Leh the next morning. The bus was scheduled to depart from Leh to Delhi in the morning and had a night halt at Keylong. The next morning the bus would depart to Kullu and further to Delhi, he added.

The bus would provide tourists an easy opportunity to view the scenic spots on the Leh road and cross the Rohtang Pass (3,979 m), the Baralacha Pass (4,883 m), the Lungalacha La (5,065 m) and the Tanglang La (5,328 m). This bus service has made an entry to the Limca Book of Records.

Timings 

• The bus will start from Delhi at 2:30pm, reach Chandigarh at 8:30pm, Kullu at 5:30 am and Keylong at 1 pm, where it will stop overnight and then start from Keylong at 5am and reach Leh at 7 pm.
• From Leh, the bus will start at 5 am, reach Keylong at 7 pm and stop overnight. It will start from Keylong at 6:30 am and reach Delhi at 3:30 am the next day.