Zero Point, Sonamarg: Taxi Fare, Open or Closed, and the Snow Ride Ban (2026-27)

Zero Point is the snow stop on the Zoji La road above Sonamarg, and for many visitors it is the reason to come up at all. Three things have changed that most guides have not caught up with. This page gives each with its date; the rest of the valley is in our Sonamarg guide.

• Snow rides are banned. A High Court order of 6 March 2025 bans sledges, snow scooters and all commercial activity at Zero Point.
• It is a morning trip. The traffic police let light vehicles leave Sonamarg towards the pass only until 1 pm.
• The taxi is ₹4,000 to ₹4,500. Not the ₹3,500 that older lists, and until now our own pages, showed.

Is Zero Point in Sonamarg open now?

Yes, on the day we checked. The J&K Traffic Police advisory released on 3 October 2026 allows light vehicles from both sides on the Srinagar, Sonamarg, Gumri road, "subject to fair weather and good road conditions". Vehicles may leave Sonamarg towards Kargil only up to 1 pm, and motorists are advised to carry anti-skid chains.

That changes daily, with the weather. Light snow and slush were reported near Zero Point on 18 September 2026. Check the day's advisory on the Traffic Police website, or call the Traffic Control Unit in Srinagar on 0194-2450022 or 103.

Tourist cars can also be stopped when the highway itself is open. After an accident in December 2023, the traffic police barred tourist vehicles from Sonamarg to Zero Point "till further orders" while Ladakh traffic carried on.

Where is Zero Point, and why is it called that?

It is on the Srinagar to Leh highway at Zoji La, by most accounts a couple of kilometres past the top of the pass on the Drass side. The altitude is given as 11,575 ft, the same as the pass: about 3,528 m.

The best-sourced story of the name is in a court record. When the road was built over Zoji La in 1962, the Border Roads Organisation picked a point in the middle of the snow section, so the road could be opened from both ends at once, and named it Zero Point. Its two snow-clearing teams still meet there: one works up from Sonamarg, the other from Drass.

Whether that spot is in Kashmir or Ladakh is not settled. The boundary between Ganderbal and Kargil districts at Zoji La is before the High Court in the same case.

How much does a taxi cost from Sonamarg to Zero Point?

Plan on ₹4,000 to ₹4,500 for the vehicle, return, with one hour at the top. A printed rate card carrying the J&K Tourism and Sonamarg Development Authority logos gives ₹4,000 per cab, as did the board at the stand when a visitor photographed it in June 2024. Agency copies of the 2026 list give ₹4,500 for an Innova and ₹4,000 for a Sumo, Tavera or Xylo. The card is undated, so read the board yourself at the stand.

Your Srinagar taxi will not take you up. Operators and visitors all describe the same practice: outside taxis stop at Sonamarg, and you hire from the Sonamarg Taxi Sumo Owners Union for the pass. We found no government order that says so, and the traffic advisory lets any light vehicle cross. In practice, expect to change cars.

Are sledges and snow bikes allowed at Zero Point?

Officially, no. On 6 March 2025 the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh ordered that "all types of commercial activities, as also use of Snow Scooters or sledges in and around Zero Point of Zojila Pass are hereby strictly banned with immediate effect". Plastic bags and packets are banned too. Ganderbal's Deputy Commissioner added ATVs to the list that month, and in April 2025 the Kargil police said no commercial activity was taking place there.

We found no report that the ban has been lifted. We also cannot tell you how strictly it is enforced in 2026: a June 2026 news report speaks of "short snow activities" and tea stalls at the spot, and travel sites still print prices for sledges, snow bikes and ATVs. Treat any ride offered to you there as one that should not be on sale, and do not pay in advance.

Is there snow at Zero Point, and in which months?

• May and June: the most snow. In June 2026 one report described "thick layers of snow"; a visitor that month found "snow is lesser", with long traffic jams.
• July to September: less each month, by operators' accounts. We found no dated visitor report for these months.
• October: the first fresh falls. Snow dusted the pass on 21 October 2025, and there was slush near Zero Point on 18 September 2026.
• Winter: the pass may close, and avalanches are the real danger. Whether tourists were allowed up in the winter of 2025-26 we could not establish.

How long does it take, and can you do it with Thajiwas in a day?

Allow two to three hours from Sonamarg and back. The fare covers one hour at the top, and in June 2026 officials asked tourists not to stay long, because of the altitude and the weather.

Because of the 1 pm cut-off, do Zero Point first and Thajiwas after. From Srinagar that means leaving by 6 am: one 2026 guide says that if you reach Sonamarg after 10 am it is very hard to do both.

Is Zero Point worth visiting, and is it safe?

For snow outside winter, yes. A visitor in July 2026 called it "one of the highlights of our Kashmir trip". The low ratings, all from 2023 and 2024, are about taxi touts and ride operators, not the place. Be clear about what it is: there is no monument and no trail. It is a high, cold roadside with snow and a big view.

• Altitude: at about 3,500 m some people feel breathless or get a headache. Move slowly, and go down if you feel unwell. Operators suggest that people with heart or serious breathing conditions, and very young children, skip it.
• The road: narrow in places, broken near the top and shared with trucks.
• Avalanches: the March 2026 avalanche struck near Zero Point itself. Do not go up after heavy snow, whatever anyone offers.
• Elders: one visitor advised against it with elderly people, because of the long wait for the ride back down.