NH 44
Srinagar–Kanyakumari Highway
Also known as North–South Corridor and Formed from the former NH 1A, NH 1, NH 2, NH 3, NH 75, NH 26 and NH 7
3,745 km
Open
11 states
National Highway
Route
NH 44 runs 3,745 km from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.
Crosses Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Through Srinagar, Jammu, Ludhiana, Ambala, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Kurnool, Bengaluru, Salem, Madurai and Kanyakumari.
Why it matters
NH 44 is the spine of India's road network — the one highway that ties the Kashmir valley, the northern plains, central India and the deep south into a single route. Lakhs of trucks use it to move farm produce, factory goods and fuel between north and south every day, and for Jammu & Kashmir it is the main all-weather lifeline to the rest of the country.
History
NH 44 is India's longest national highway, running the entire length of the country from Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari at the southern tip. It was created in 2010 by joining seven older highways into one continuous route, and it forms the backbone of the North–South Corridor project. Along the way it crosses the Himalayas, the Gangetic plains, the Deccan plateau and the southern coastal plains.
Good to know
- India's longest national highway at about 3,745 km.
- Passes through 11 states and union territories.
- The Jammu–Srinagar section includes the 9.28 km Chenani–Nashri (Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee) tunnel.
- Old highway numbers merged into it include the famous NH 7 (Nagpur–Kanyakumari).
- Part of the Delhi–Ambala stretch follows the historic Grand Trunk Road.
Timeline
- 2010Created in the national highway renumbering by merging seven older highways
- 2017Chenani–Nashri tunnel (9.28 km), India's longest road tunnel at the time, opens on the Jammu–Srinagar section
Key junctions
- Agra — NH 19 splits off here toward Kanpur and Kolkata (the Golden Quadrilateral east arm)
- Jhansi — crosses NH 27, the East–West Corridor
- Nagpur — crosses NH 53 at the geographic centre of India — the Zero Mile marker city
- Bengaluru — meets NH 48 and NH 75 on the city's ring
Engineering highlights
- Chenani–Nashri (Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee) Tunnel — 9.28 km — India's longest road tunnel when it opened in 2017, bypassing avalanche-prone hairpins
- Qazigund–Banihal Tunnel — 8.45 km twin-tube tunnel under the Pir Panjal range, opened 2021, keeps the Srinagar road open in winter
- Panipat elevated expressway — a long elevated stretch carries through-traffic clear over Panipat city
On the road
Driving the full length is a 3,700 km, multi-day road trip — most people do it in four to five days. The Delhi–Agra and Bengaluru–Salem stretches are the busiest; dense winter fog slows the Punjab–Haryana section in December–January, and the Jammu–Srinagar mountain leg can close for hours after heavy snow or landslides, so check conditions before that stretch.
What’s coming next
- Remaining 4-lane sections are being widened to 6 lanes in phases.
- The Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway will take over much of the long-distance traffic toward Jammu once complete.
More details
- Lanes
- Mostly 4–6 lanes, divided carriageway