NH 1
Srinagar–Leh Highway
Also known as National Highway 1A (old numbering, Uri–Srinagar) and National Highway 1D (old numbering, Srinagar–Leh)
534 km
Open
2 states
National Highway
Route
NH 1 runs 534 km from Uri, Jammu & Kashmir to Leh, Ladakh.
Crosses Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Through Baramulla, Srinagar, Sonamarg, Dras, Kargil and Leh.
Why it matters
This is Ladakh's lifeline. Almost everything the region eats, burns or builds with comes up this road, and for the army it is one of only two ways to supply the units guarding India's northern frontier. It is also the road that carries Kashmir's tourism into Ladakh, past Sonamarg, Dras and the war memorials of Kargil. Once the Zoji La tunnel opens, Ladakh will be reachable by road in winter for the first time in its history, which is why the project is treated as a strategic priority rather than just a highway upgrade.
History
NH 1 is the road that ties the Kashmir valley to Ladakh. It starts at Uri, only a few kilometres from the Line of Control, follows the Jhelum down to Baramulla and Srinagar, then turns up the Sindh valley past Sonamarg and climbs over the Zoji La pass into Ladakh. Beyond the pass it runs through Dras and Kargil, crosses two more high passes at Namika La and Fotu La, and finally drops into the Indus valley to reach Leh. It was created in the 2010 renumbering by joining the old NH 1A and NH 1D. For most of its life the road was a summer-only route: heavy snow buries Zoji La from about December to April, cutting Ladakh off by road. That is now changing — the Sonamarg tunnel opened in January 2025, and a roughly 14 km tunnel under Zoji La itself is being finished, which will make the whole highway an all-weather road for the first time.
Good to know
- Crosses the Zoji La pass at about 3,528 metres, one of the highest points on any Indian national highway.
- Snow closes the Zoji La stretch for several months each winter; the roughly 14 km Zoji La tunnel is being built to fix this.
- The 6.5 km Sonamarg (Z-Morh) tunnel, opened in January 2025, replaced an avalanche-prone hairpin bend and keeps Sonamarg reachable all winter.
- The Dras–Kargil stretch ran right along the front line of the 1999 Kargil War, and the Kargil War Memorial stands beside the road at Dras.
- Dras, on this highway, is often called one of the coldest inhabited places in the world.
- One of only two main road routes into Ladakh — the other is the Manali–Leh highway (NH 3).
- Its highest point is not Zoji La but Fotu La at about 4,108 metres, between Kargil and Leh.
- Near Leh it passes the famous 'Magnetic Hill' and the Sangam, where the green Zanskar river joins the brown Indus.
Timeline
- 2010Old NH 1A (Uri–Srinagar) and NH 1D (Srinagar–Leh) are merged into the new NH 1
- 2018Foundation stone laid for the Zoji La tunnel, meant to keep the route open all year
- 2025The 6.5 km Sonamarg (Z-Morh) tunnel opens in January, giving all-weather access up to Sonamarg
- 2026The last few metres of the Zoji La tunnel are blasted through in June; the tunnel is now targeted for completion around 2028
Key junctions
- Srinagar — meets NH 44, the highway down to Jammu and the rest of India
- Sonamarg — the last big halt before Zoji La, and the turn-off for Baltal, one of the two base camps for the Amarnath yatra
- Kargil — the road to the Zanskar valley and Padum branches off here
- Khaltse — turn-off into the lower Indus (Sham) valley villages
- Nimmu — at the Indus–Zanskar confluence; jumping-off point for river rafting and the Chilling road
- Leh — meets NH 3 from Manali, plus the roads to Khardung La, Nubra and Pangong
Engineering highlights
- Sonamarg (Z-Morh) Tunnel — 6.5 km, opened January 2025, bypassing a Z-shaped bend at Gagangir that avalanches used to bury every winter
- Zoji La Tunnel — about 14 km, under construction; when finished it will be one of Asia's longest road tunnels and will keep the road to Ladakh open through winter
- The Zoji La climb — a narrow, unpaved-in-places shelf cut into cliffs above a deep gorge, widely counted among India's most dangerous mountain roads
- Namika La and Fotu La passes — the two high passes the road crosses between Kargil and Leh; Fotu La, at 4,108 m, is the highest point on the whole highway, and the moon-like rock formations of Lamayuru lie between the two
On the road
Srinagar to Leh is about 430 km and is normally driven in two days with a night halt at Kargil — doing it in one day is hard on both driver and passengers because of the altitude. The high section usually opens around April or May once the army clears the snow, and closes again around November or December. Leh sits at 3,500 m, so give yourself a day to acclimatise and take altitude sickness seriously. Fuel pumps are far apart between Sonamarg and Kargil, mobile signal is patchy, and army convoys have priority on narrow stretches. Check the road status before you set out — landslides and snow can shut it at short notice.
What’s coming next
- The Zoji La tunnel, holed through in June 2026, is targeted for completion around 2028 and will make the highway all-weather.
- Widening and improvement of the Srinagar–Kargil–Leh sections is continuing alongside the tunnel work.
More details
- Lanes
- Mostly 2 lanes through the mountains