Atal Tunnel
road · 43 min from Manali
1 night · 2 daysBikersRoad tripbalanced
Manali as a stopover — one night before the road to Leh or Spiti
One night in Manali before the road to Leh or Spiti: sleep low at 2,050 m, sort fuel and cash, a last hot bath, then out through the tunnel to Sissu.
Manali is where the roads to Leh and to Spiti begin, and most people on those roads treat it as a night in a hotel and a fuel stop. That is the right instinct — the trip is beyond the ridge — but the night can be used well. Sleep low at 2,050 m before the road climbs to 3,120 m at Sissu; sort the things that are hard to sort later; take the last hot bath; leave through the tunnel at first light with breakfast in Lahaul.
This is a one-night plan for people passing through by motorcycle, car or the Leh bus. It is not a Manali trip; the Manali guide has those. It is the honest version of the stopover, with the stops on the way out that are worth the ten minutes.
Photos: Jagseer S Sidhu (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Mann Mishra (CC BY 3.0) · Timothy A. Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Adarsh Patel (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Navneet Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Riders and drivers on the Manali–Leh road; anyone heading to Kaza and Spiti by the Kunzum route in season; the Leh bus. Not for a first visit to Manali — this plan sees almost none of it — and not in the months the roads beyond Koksar are shut, roughly November to May, when the tunnel still runs but the trip does not.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive, settle, sort the vehicle
The afternoon you arrive. Fuel, tyres, cash, the hot water, an early night; the mountains start tomorrow.
- 15:00Mall RoadCash from the town's machines, spare gloves and a warm layer from the shops, and the last reliable card payment for a while.
- ↓ 6 min by road · 3 km17:00Vashisht TempleThe hot baths across the river — the last hot water before Lahaul for most people; a towel and a change.
- ↓ 9 min by road · 5 km19:00Old ManaliDinner in the lane and an early night. Sleep at 2,050 m tonight; the road tomorrow climbs to Sissu at 3,120 m in an hour.
Day 2
Out through the tunnel
Leave by seven. The tunnel needs no permit; the road beyond is the trip.
- 07:15Nehru KundTen minutes at the spring where the valley opens; the last easy stop on the Manali side.
- ↓ 36 min by road · 22 km08:00Atal Tunnel8.8 km under the ridge, open all year, no permit; the north portal is the border of a different country.
- ↓ 11 min by road · 10 km08:45SissuBreakfast at a dhaba in the first village of Lahaul, at 3,120 m; fuel is thin beyond here, and so is the air.
- ↓ 17 min by road · 13 km10:00KoksarThe old checkpost village where the pass road comes down; the Leh road and the Spiti road divide beyond it. Tea, and on.
Getting there
You are already on the road. From Delhi it is 513 km to Manali, and the sensible shape is to arrive in the afternoon rather than at midnight, so the night is a real night; from Chandigarh, 264 km and about 289 min. The Leh buses leave from the bus stand in the early morning. Beyond Manali the next fuel is thin; fill up in town.
Where to stay
Old Manali or Vashisht for the night, near the hot baths and the cafés, with parking for the bike or the car; or the Solang road at Palchan if you want to be twenty minutes closer to the tunnel in the morning. Our stays page shows each on the map with parking noted.
Know before you go
- Sleep at Manali, not at Sissu or Keylong, the first night. The 2,050 m of the town is the acclimatisation; the road beyond climbs fast.
- Fuel, cash and a spare layer in Manali. Card machines drop with the power beyond the tunnel and the fuel stations are far apart.
- The tunnel needs no permit. The old pass road over Rohtang does, and is closed to through traffic for most of the year — use the tunnel.
- In July and August the road above Solang and the roads beyond Koksar close for hours after slides; leave early and carry food and water.
- The Vashisht baths are free and separate for men and women; they are the last hot water for a while.
- Sissu is at 3,120 m: breakfast there, not a long stop, and drink water all day.
If plans change
If you have a spare day before the road: the Sissu day trip as a test run through the tunnel, and a second night in Manali.
If you have two spare days: the Sissu and Lahaul overnight is the same road with a night at Sissu and the Chandra valley to Gondhla, which is on the way anyway.
Coming back down: the one-day plan is the Manali you did not see on the way up.
Places on this route
Other ways to do it
All Manali itineraries →
Day plan · FriendsRoad tripManali to Sissu — the day trip through the Atal Tunnel
The Manali–Sissu day trip through the Atal Tunnel: about an hour each way, no permit, open all year. Timings, what to see in Sissu, and lunch at Solang.
Best Jan–Jun · Sep–Dec
See the plan →
2 nights · 3 days · FriendsRoad tripManali to Sissu and Lahaul — three days with a night across the ridge
Three days from Manali with two nights at Sissu: the tunnel and the meadow on the way, the Chandra valley to Koksar and Gondhla's tower house, the gorge home.
Best May–Jun · Sep–Oct
See the plan →
Day plan · First visitClassicOne day in Manali — the first visit
A one-day Manali plan for a first visit: Hadimba's cedar-grove temple, the Manu shrine, the Vashisht hot springs and the walk to Jogini Falls — no car till two.
Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Dec
See the plan →
2 nights · 3 days · FriendsAdventureManali with friends — three days of paragliding, waterfalls and the snow line
A three-day Manali plan for a group: paragliding off the Solang ridge at dawn, the Jogini falls and hot springs on foot, then the Rohtang road to the snow line.
Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov
See the plan →Questions people ask
Do I need to stop in Manali before Leh?
One night is worth it, for the sleep more than the town. Manali is at 2,050 m and the road beyond the tunnel reaches Sissu at 3,120 m within an hour, so a night low before a night high is how most people avoid altitude trouble. It is also the last easy fuel, cash and hot water.
Do I need a permit to leave Manali through the Atal Tunnel?
No. The tunnel is a national highway with no permit or pass, open every month; it replaced the old road over Rohtang, which still needs a per-vehicle permit and is closed for much of the year. Permits for the road further on — for parts of Ladakh, for instance — are a separate matter and are not issued in Manali.
Where is the last fuel and cash before Leh or Spiti?
Manali, for practical purposes. Fill the tank in town and carry cash from the town's machines: card payments drop with the power beyond the tunnel, and the fuel stations beyond Sissu are far apart and not always stocked. Sissu and Koksar have dhabas and tea, not banks.
When is the Manali–Leh road open?
Roughly June to September or early October, depending on the year's snow, with the tunnel itself open year-round and the passes beyond Koksar deciding the season. The Kunzum route to Spiti opens a little later and closes earlier. Check the day before you leave; in July and August a road open in the morning can close by afternoon.