Manali gridlock: Blocked highways, fully booked hotels turn vacation into a nightmare

Fresh snowfall across Himachal Pradesh has blanketed the region in white, offering pristine views but it also disrupted normal life in the popular tourist destinations of Shimla and Manali.

The tourists, especially from Delhi, Gurugram, and Chandigarh, were greeted with blocked highways and fully booked hotels turning their holiday into a nightmare.

The long weekend (January 24, 25 and 26) drew heavy tourist inflows, leading to long queues and wait time of up to 24 hours to enter Manali, with many visitors stranded in traffic. The snowfall turned into a bane for the hill station, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded in freezing conditions.

Roads turn slippery

The roads, covered with up to two feet snow, turned slippery halting the movement of vehicles on many highway stretches leaving many tourists stranded. Nearly 8 to 10 kilometres of the national highway leading to Manali has been blocked, forcing many tourists to abandon their vehicles and walk long distances through deep snow along with their luggage.

Also read: Himachal cold wave: Tabo records season’s coldest night at -10.2°C

The stranded tourists shared their plight on social media platforms. Many were stuck in sub-zero temperatures on car for over 25 hours.

Digital creator Ranjan Singh posted a video on X platform saying he walked for 20 kms for 8-10 hours with his luggage and also an 360 degree view of the current situation of Manali where snow topped vehicles stuck on the road.

Many who were already marooned, warned on social media not to visit the place without road clearance update as the video showed people slipping while wading through the traffic.

Tourists also complained of poor facilities as news agency ANI quoted another stranded visitor, saying, "We have been stuck in the car all night. There are children with us; we are in a lot of trouble. There is no toilet facility here... The administration should have made better arrangements for the snowfall."

All highways blocked

Manali’s hotels were fully booked, while snow and massive traffic jams have left tourists stuck on highways, forcing some to light fires to cope with sub-zero temperatures.

Shalabh Tanwar, founder of Campsvilla, a platform connecting travellers with unique stays in nature, on X posted, "all bookings in Shimla and Manali are getting cancelled as guests are unable to reach due to long traffic jams. We are trying our best to refund with support from hosts, but this is turning into a nightmare for guests."

Also read: North India shivers: Snow blocks key highways in J-K, Himachal; Delhi AQI improves

The gridlock is not limited to the incoming traffic. Tourists attempting to leave the hill station are also stuck in massive traffic jams between Manali and Patlikuhl.

“It took us 12 hours just to reach Patlikuhal,” said Kulwinder Singh from Ferozepur, Punjab. “We spent the night shivering in the car. I have never seen such a nightmarish traffic jam.”

Orange alert

The weather department has issued an orange alert for Kullu, Kinnaur, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts on Tuesday (January 27), forecasting heavy snowfall and rains. For the remaining nine districts, it has issued a yellow alert, predicting a cold day with thunderstorms and lightning.

Also read: Snowfall, rain affect Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Himachal; flights cancelled, roads closed

Shimla recorded 0.6 cm of snowfall. District administrations have begun snow clearing operations and people have also been advised to avoid unnecessary travel, especially in areas that have received fresh snowfall.