Atal Tunnel
What it is
A road tunnel under the Rohtang ridge, 9.02 km long, that replaced a season-bound pass with an all-year road. It opened on 3 October 2020. Before it, the Lahaul side was a long, high summer day over the pass with a permit; after it, Sissu is about an hour from Manali in any month and nothing needs booking.
Photos: Navneet Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Timothy A. Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vinayaraj (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
There is nothing to see inside: lights, a speed limit, ventilation. The point is the change at the far portal, where Kullu's orchards and cedar give way to Lahaul's bare slopes and a colder sky in the length of one drive.
What it replaced
Before the tunnel, the road from Manali to Keylong went over the Rohtang Pass by way of Gramphu. That route was 116 km and took five to six hours in good conditions. Through the tunnel it is 71 km and about two hours, and most of the places that used to block the road with slides, avalanches and queues are bypassed. A tunnel here was first talked about by the Moravian Mission in 1860, and the Atal Tunnel is billed as the world's longest single-tube highway tunnel at more than 10,000 feet.
Getting there
The road north out of Manali past Solang and Dhundi climbs to the south portal, about 43 min from the bus stand. Beyond the north portal the road drops to Sissu and on into Lahaul towards Keylong. A taxi from Manali does the round trip in a half day; self-drive is fine outside snow.
When to go
Any month — that is the tunnel's reason for being. In summer, leave by eight to be through before the mid-morning queue at the portal. In December and January, leave later, after the road above Solang has been cleared, and expect a chain check at the barrier when there is snow. July and August bring slides on the approach road that close it for hours at a time.
The pass and the tunnel
Rohtang Pass still exists for the height and the view — it is open roughly May to November and needs a per-vehicle permit with a daily cap. The tunnel needs no permit and is open all year. For a first visit, most people are better served by the tunnel to Sissu; for a longer trip in season, the loop up over the pass and back under it is the full version.
What is on the other side
Sissu: a village on the Chandra with a waterfall on the far wall of the valley and a lake below the road, snow for most of the winter and often into spring. Beyond it the road runs deeper into Lahaul, which is a separate trip with its own nights.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a permit for the Atal Tunnel?
No. The tunnel is a national highway with no permit or pass system, unlike the old road over Rohtang Pass, which needs a per-vehicle permit with a daily cap. In winter the police may check that cars above Solang carry chains when there is snow on the road; that is a safety check at the barrier, not a permit.
How long is the Atal Tunnel and when did it open?
It is 9.02 km long on Wikipedia's figure (Wikidata gives 8.8 km), and it opened on 3 October 2020. It runs under the Rohtang ridge from above Dhundi on the Manali side to the river near Sissu in Lahaul, and it stays open through the winter when the pass over the top is closed.
Is the tunnel open in winter?
Yes — that is its purpose. The pass over the ridge closes with snow from around November to May; the tunnel keeps Lahaul connected all year. The approach road above Solang can close for a few hours after heavy snowfall while it is cleared, so in December and January leave Manali later in the morning and let the plough go first.
How far is Sissu from Manali through the tunnel?
About 39 km by road, roughly an hour each way from the bus stand. The tunnel itself takes ten minutes to drive; the rest is the climb past Solang and Dhundi to the south portal and the short descent to Sissu on the far side. Two hours in Sissu and back for a late lunch is a comfortable half day.