IANS

Manali, Jul 8: The luxury bus service between this scenic Himachal Pradesh town and Leh in Jammu and Kashmir has been restored, six months after it was halted, an official said Wednesday.

"The luxury bus service between Manali and Leh restarted Tuesday after remaining closed for more than six months. This bus will operate to and fro three days a week between these tourist destinations," Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) senior manager Dev Raj Sharma told IANS.

The HPTDC is running special buses in the state to promote tourism.

"The 35-seater bus will leave Manali at 11 a.m. and will stop overnight at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district. From there, it will depart at 4 a.m. In the evening it will reach Leh," he said.

One-way fare is Rs.1,800, which includes a night's stay at Keylong, dinner and breakfast.

"The response of tourists is quite good. A tourist can get advance booking for the bus in any tourist information centre of the Himachal tourism department in the country," the official said.

Sharma said the bus would make a brief halt en route on all major tourist spots like the Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet).

The strategic Manali-Leh National Highway 21 re-opened for vehicular traffic May 21 this year after remaining closed for six months. The highway was closed in mid-December due to heavy snowfall.

The highway passes through the most rugged and inhospitable terrain of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It crosses five high mountain passes in the cold desert, including Tanglang La at 17,582 feet.

With the opening of the Manali-Leh road to foreigners, the overseas tourist influx into the state has seen a tremendous increase in the past few years. In 1989, the central government threw open this highway to foreign tourists.