Heavy snowfall over the Republic Day long weekend has plunged Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu Manali region into turmoil, with thousands of tourists stranded on snowbound highways, hotels overflowing and authorities issuing an urgent travel alert as another round of severe weather approaches.

Long traffic snarls stretching up to 15 kilometres, frozen roads and widespread power cuts have turned the popular winter getaway into a crisis zone, prompting officials to warn visitors to stay away until conditions stabilize.

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Long-Weekend Snow Rush Turns Into Gridlock Nightmare

The troubles began late on Friday, January 23, when the season’s first major snowfall in the western Himalayas coincided with the Republic Day long weekend. Drawn by news of fresh snow after a prolonged dry spell, thousands of tourists from across northern India converged on Manali and nearby hill towns, quickly overwhelming the narrow mountain roads.

By Saturday, the main approach roads into Manali had effectively turned into parking lots. Traffic jams of 8 to 15 kilometres were reported on key stretches leading into the town and on the Patlikuhal Manali highway, with vehicles reduced to a crawl or frozen in place for hours as snow kept falling and black ice spread across the tarmac. In some areas around Manali, drivers reported taking up to 10 hours to cover barely 15 kilometres, while others said their vehicles had not moved at all overnight.

Videos circulating on Indian television channels and social media showed long lines of cars and buses coated in snow, their headlights barely visible in the swirling whiteout, while families huddled inside to escape sub zero temperatures. Some tourists could be seen leaving their vehicles and trudging along the road on foot, carrying luggage through ankle deep snow in an attempt to reach shelter in town.

Tourists Stranded Overnight As Hotels Fill Up

As the jams worsened and temperatures dipped below freezing on Saturday night, many visitors found themselves stranded in their cars with little access to food, water or basic facilities. With hotels and guesthouses in Manali reported to be at or near full occupancy, large numbers of tourists were unable to secure rooms and spent the night on the roadside inside their vehicles.

Travellers interviewed by Indian news outlets described being stuck in their cars for more than 24 hours with young children and elderly relatives, with no toilets available and limited heating as fuel supplies ran low. Some said they had set out expecting a routine weekend break in the snow, only to find themselves sleeping upright in their seats in sub zero conditions as traffic around them remained at a standstill.

The crush of visitors also distorted normal patterns of stay. While Manali itself reported extremely high occupancy, some tourists opted to divert to Kullu and smaller settlements down the valley, hoping for easier access and available beds. Others abandoned the idea of reaching the main town altogether, turning their vehicles around when possible and heading back towards safer lowland areas before conditions deteriorated further.

Statewide Disruption Across Himachal’s Hill Districts

The crisis in Manali is the most visible face of a broader weather emergency affecting much of Himachal Pradesh. According to state officials, more than 680 roads across the hill state are currently blocked or severely affected by snow and landslides, including several critical national highways linking remote valleys to the plains.

The tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti has been particularly hard hit, with more than 280 local roads reported closed and key segments of National Highway 3 and National Highway 505 shut due to deep snow and avalanche risk. Connections between Koksar and Darcha, the Koksar Rohtang Pass stretch, and the Gramphu Batal corridor have all been suspended, effectively cutting off high altitude settlements behind walls of snow. Other districts including Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Shimla and Sirmaur have also reported dozens of blocked link roads.

Electricity and water supply have been severely disrupted in multiple regions as snow laden trees toppled onto power lines and transformers failed under the strain. State emergency bulletins indicate that thousands of distribution transformers across several districts, including Kullu, Mandi, Solan, Chamba and Sirmaur, have gone offline in the last 48 hours, leaving many hill communities without power or piped water at the height of winter.

Urgent Travel Alert As Another Snowstorm Looms

With the situation already precarious, the Himachal Pradesh government has issued a high level travel alert, warning both residents and tourists to avoid non essential movement in snowbound areas and to postpone plans to visit Manali, Shimla and other popular hill stations over the coming days. Authorities are particularly concerned about the forecast for another active western disturbance that is expected to bring further intense snowfall and rain between January 26 and January 28.

The India Meteorological Department has warned of widespread snowfall across higher and mid altitude zones, along with heavy rain at lower levels, cautioning that road blockages, avalanches, falling trees and additional infrastructure damage are likely. State disaster management officials have urged travellers not to attempt drives into the Kullu Manali region or over high passes such as Rohtang and the Atal Tunnel corridor until formal clearance is issued.

Local administrations have also moved to restrict entry into the most affected pockets. In and around Manali, police and district authorities have reportedly halted fresh tourist vehicles at various checkpoints, allowing only four wheel drive or emergency service vehicles to proceed towards the town and beyond Patlikuhal. Officials say the priority is to reduce pressure on the congested roads and ensure that stranded visitors can be evacuated safely before the next wave of snow arrives.

Rescue Operations, Road Clearing and Emergency Response

Across Himachal Pradesh, public works and disaster response teams are working around the clock to reopen key routes and reach isolated communities. The state’s Public Works Department has deployed heavy snow clearing machinery, including JCBs and excavators, to priority stretches leading to district headquarters, hospitals and major tourist hubs.

In the Banjar subdivision and remote pockets above Manali, local volunteers have joined forces with police and district staff to guide stranded tourists to safety. Reports from the region describe small rescue parties trekking through deep snow to reach groups of visitors stuck near high altitude viewpoints and popular snow play areas. Once located, these tourists have been escorted on foot to lower villages such as Sojha and Jibhi, where they can find shelter while authorities work to clear access roads.

Yet progress has been slow. In some higher reaches, fresh snowfall of up to three feet and drifts approaching four feet at the highest points have made it difficult even for snowplows to operate. Officials acknowledge that reopening all of the more than 600 closed roads will take time, especially in narrow gorges and wind swept passes where snow and ice continue to accumulate faster than it can be removed.

Lessons On Over tourism and Mountain Safety

The scenes playing out in Manali have reignited a broader conversation in India about over tourism, climate variability and visitor safety in fragile mountain environments. For years, local communities and environmental groups have warned that the narrow valleys and limited infrastructure of Himachal’s hill stations cannot safely accommodate uncontrolled surges of vehicles and visitors during popular holiday periods.

This weekend’s events appear to underline those concerns. A combination of pent up demand after a dry, snowless early winter, the attraction of the season’s first major snowfall and the lure of a long national holiday drove thousands of people to attempt the same journey at the same time. The result was a level of road congestion that overwhelmed traffic management systems long before the weather reached its worst, leaving many people exposed when conditions deteriorated.

Experts say that as climate patterns shift, snowfall events in the western Himalayas are increasingly arriving in short, intense bursts rather than as prolonged, predictable seasons. That can make planning more difficult for both authorities and travellers, and raises the stakes when a popular snow event coincides with peak travel dates. Calls are growing for stricter caps on vehicle entry on snow days, dynamic permit systems for popular corridors, and improved early warning communication to tourists about the risks of venturing into the hills during active storm windows.

Authorities Urge Caution for Future Travel Plans

In the immediate term, Himachal Pradesh officials are urging anyone considering a trip to Manali or other high altitude destinations to rethink their plans until the current spell of severe weather has passed and the blocked roads have been properly cleared. Prospective visitors are being advised to monitor official bulletins from the state disaster management authority and meteorological department rather than relying solely on social media clips of fresh snow.

Travel industry observers say the episode is a stark reminder that mountain tourism during winter always carries inherent risks, and that travellers must weigh the desire to experience snowfall against the potential for sudden road closures, power cuts and limited access to medical care. They recommend that future visitors build flexibility into itineraries, carry adequate winter gear and supplies in vehicles, and avoid driving after dark on snow days when ice formation is at its worst.

For now, much of Himachal remains focused on the difficult work of digging out from the current storm and bracing for the next. As snowplows inch their way along buried highways and stranded families wait for the traffic to move, the dramatic images emerging from Manali serve as both a warning and a lesson about the fragile balance between natural spectacle and human safety in the high Himalayas.