Manali - Leh bus service and schedule

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department (HPTDC) runs a regular bus service (once the route has been open long enough) between Manali and Leh and it is one of the most economical ways to travel to Leh from the Manali side and according to a few, the safest.

Schedule for the HPTDC Manali-Leh bus service:

Day 1 Manali - Keylong: Departure from Manali at 11am, arrival at Keylong at around 6pm and night stay at Keylong (included in the price of ticket).

Day 2 Keylong - Leh: Departure from Keylong at 5am and arrival at Leh at 7pm.

Tariff: Rs. 1800* per person, for booking contact HP Tourism Development Corporation

Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) runs a regular bus service from Keylong to Leh; one can easily find bus/shared taxi from Manali to Keylong (bus ticket costs Rs. 110 per person) or even book the connecting buses from the Manali bus depot.

Schedule for the HRTC Keylong-Leh bus service:

Departure from Keylong at 5am and arrival at Leh at 7pm.

Tariff: Rs. 475*

There is also an HRTC bus which supposable runs between Delhi and Leh and its tickets costs around Rs. 1000 per person. However no details and schedule of is yet available, however once buses start running, one can get the details from the HRTC helpdesk at Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Delhi, Ph. no. 011-23863473.

Private operators also run bus service between Manali and Leh and also Keylong and Leh and details of it can be found from the travel agents in Manali.

*tarrifs can change at any time

[Yogesh Sarkar]

HPTDC has started running their Manali - Leh bus service once again, fare is Rs. 1800 per person with accommodation at Keylong and dinner and breakfast included in the price.

[devashishdhingra]

Originally Posted by Yogesh Sarkar

HPTDC has started running their Manali - Leh bus service once again, fare is Rs. 1800 per person with accommodation at Keylong and dinner and breakfast included in the price.

Good info for the people who do not want to drive on their own and don't want to board the flight.

[devashishdhingra]

Originally Posted by Yogesh Sarkar

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department (HPTDC) runs a regular bus service (once the route has been open long enough) between Manali and Leh and it is one of the most economical ways to travel to Leh from the Manali side and according to a few, the safest.

Schedule for the HPTDC Manali-Leh bus service:

Day 1 Manali - Keylong: Departure from Manali at 11am, arrival at Keylong at around 6pm and night stay at Keylong (included in the price of ticket).

Day 2 Keylong - Leh: Departure from Keylong at 5am and arrival at Leh at 7pm.

Tariff: Rs. 1800* per person, for booking contact HP Tourism Development Corporation

Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) runs a regular bus service from Keylong to Leh; one can easily find bus/shared taxi from Manali to Keylong (bus ticket costs Rs. 110 per person) or even book the connecting buses from the Manali bus depot.

Schedule for the HRTC Keylong-Leh bus service:

Departure from Keylong at 5am and arrival at Leh at 7pm.

Tariff: Rs. 475*

There is also an HRTC bus which supposable runs between Delhi and Leh and its tickets costs around Rs. 1000 per person. However no details and schedule of is yet available, however once buses start running, one can get the details from the HRTC helpdesk at Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Delhi, Ph. no. 011-23863473.

Private operators also run bus service between Manali and Leh and also Keylong and Leh and details of it can be found from the travel agents in Manali.

*tarrifs can change at any time

I with my three other friends opted for this Bus in 2007 trip and the cost at that time was Rs1600 per person. Probably the most expensive bus service considering the distance of 480 km as even Volvo from Delhi to Manali (distance of about 580 km cost just less than Rs1000). None the less, i felt the charge was fair looking at where we were traveling.

Here is a brief description how does the travel on this bus works.

Firstly i would rate this bus to be in the category of "super deluxe", very comfortable push back seats and nice suspension and good shockers for minimum discomfort (although i expected it was not that comfortable we yet would not blame the bus for this as the manali-leh route takes one's bumps on a toll.

The Bus left at about 12:30 pm from Manali with first stop at Rohtang for 10 minutes to click photos. The second stop was the Diesel filling station near Tandi (maintained by HPTDC). The bus stopped for about 25 minutes to fill up Diesel. Next stop was Keylong (HPTDC run Chandrabhaga Hotel). We reached there about 7:00pm as it was already getting dark. There is a lawn in front of Chandrabagha Hotel where there was an arrangement for the Tents and we were informed that the bus would leave early in the morning at about 04:30am. As it was bit colder than Manali, i though of arranging a small quarter for me and asked a local guy at the hotel where i can get one. The guy informed me to go back to the road from where the bus climbed towards the hotel and there is a small market there. I with my one other friend headed towards the market and it wan not possible to walk on that road as there due to absence of a street light.After walking for 100 mtrs, i headed back to the hotel and grabbed a torch and headed towards the market. After waling for about a Km and half i saw a shop which serves liquor bottles and purchased one and came back to the hotel. It was around 08:30 pm when i reached back and was informed by the other friend that the buffet has been served at the restaurant(dinner was included in Rs1600), The dinner got over at about 09:15pm and i headed towards the open area just outside the hotel and saw a couple from Ghaziabad. Joined then for the drink and the drinks and the conversation went till 02:00am. Headed back towards tent at 02:15am and just after 01:30 minutes the bus guy came to awake us with a cup of Tea. After freshing with we all left at 04:45 am with packed breakfast and as it was dark i could barely see any thing. The next halt was at (forgot the name of the place but some where 50 km before Sarchu) where we had our breakfast. The next stop was art Sarchu where the Foreigners traveling with us were asked to show their documents which took about an hour. The next stop was at pang and then to Leh where we reached at 07:30pm at the Bus Station. Not to miss the Bus Driver also stopped at all the other three passes en-route for 10 minutes each (we managed to stretch the time to 15 minutes at Tangla)

[Yogesh Sarkar]

I guess the bus must have stopped at Darcha for breakfast or if it was after Baralacha La, Bharatpur.

[devashishdhingra]

Originally Posted by Yogesh Sarkar

I guess the bus must have stopped at Darcha for breakfast or if it was after Baralacha La, Bharatpur.

It was before Barachala!!!

[devashishdhingra]

All i can recall is the place was just few meters before a big bridge, with a rive flowing underneath it, which took us from one mountain towards the other.

[Indizen]

Were the tents and food in Keylong good?

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Originally Posted by devashishdhingra

All i can recall is the place was just few meters before a big bridge, with a rive flowing underneath it, which took us from one mountain towards the other.

That would be Darcha

[devashishdhingra]

Yes YS, This was the place