Zoji La (Zojila Pass): Open or Closed, Height, Tunnel and the Rules (2026-27)

Zoji La is the pass that joins Kashmir to Ladakh: the first and lowest of the three passes on the road from Srinagar to Leh, and by reputation the worst. For most visitors to Kashmir it is a half-day outing from Sonamarg to the snow. For Ladakh it is the lifeline. This guide covers the pass itself: whether it is open, the rules on the road, the tunnel being built beneath it, and what happened here in 1948. The rest of the valley is in our Sonamarg guide.

Is Zoji La open today?

It was open when we checked. The J&K Traffic Police plan released on 3 October 2026 allows light vehicles both ways on the Srinagar, Sonamarg, Gumri road, "subject to fair weather and good road conditions". We found no closure of the pass this autumn; the last was overnight on 13 August 2026, after a cloudburst.

The pass can shut within hours, so check on the day. The traffic police publish a plan every evening at trafficpolice.jk.gov.in, and these are the numbers it gives.

Where is Zoji La, and how high is it?

On National Highway 1, between Sonamarg in Kashmir's Ganderbal district and Drass in Ladakh. It is the divide between the green Kashmir valley and the dry valleys of Drass and Suru. "La" already means pass, so "Zojila Pass" says it twice.

Some pages, Wikipedia among them, put the pass 15 km from Sonamarg. That cannot be squared with Zero Point, just past the top, being about 27 km out.

Which pass connects Srinagar to Leh?

Zoji La is the one that matters, because it is the one that closes. The highway crosses three passes on the way to Leh.

The Border Roads Organisation keeps the road open from both ends. Its Project Beacon clears snow from the Sonamarg side up to Zero Point, and Project Vijayak, based in Kargil, works from the Drass side.

When does Zoji La open and close?

"Open from May to October" is what most guides still say. It is out of date. The winter closure has shrunk from five months a decade ago to about a month, and in the winter of 2025-26 the pass had no seasonal closure at all.

"No seasonal closure" does not mean open every day. In 2025-26 the road shut for four days to 2 January, from about 22 to 31 January, for six days to 15 March, from 19 to 23 March, after the avalanche of 27 March, and again from 25 April. Two-way traffic resumed only in mid-May 2026.

• First snow: the higher slopes had their first snowfall of this season on 5 September 2026. Last year the first road closure for snow was on 4 November.
• Fridays: older guides say the pass shuts on Fridays for maintenance. The official plan we read does not mention it.

The rules on the road

Traffic over the pass is regulated every day, under an order of the Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir dated 14 May 2026. As of the plan for 4 October 2026:

• Cars and other light vehicles: may leave Sonamarg for Kargil, and Minamarg for Srinagar, only until 1 pm, after the road agencies give the green signal.
• Trucks and buses: from Sonamarg towards Kargil between noon and 5 pm. Nothing moves after 5 pm.
• Chains: motorists are advised to carry and use anti-skid chains.
• In snow season: the May 2026 order asks for chains, preferably four-wheel drive, experienced drivers and escorted convoys.

The timings change with the season and the weather. In March 2026 traffic was allowed only after 8 am; in early season the road has run one way on alternate days.

The Zojila tunnel

A tunnel under the pass will make all of this history. It is 13.15 km long, from Baltal on the Kashmir side to Minamarg on the Ladakh side, and is being built by Megha Engineering for the national highways corporation. The final breakthrough was on 9 June 2026.

Breakthrough is not opening: the lining, ventilation and safety systems are still to be done. Its smaller sibling, the Sonamarg tunnel, opened on 13 January 2025 and is the reason Sonamarg itself can now be reached all winter.

Visiting Zoji La from Sonamarg

Tourists do not usually drive the pass themselves. The trip is sold at the Sonamarg taxi stand as Zero Point: up the pass by union taxi, an hour at the snow, and back.

• On the way up: the first 10 km are on good road. Then the tarmac breaks up, with streams across it, until just past the top. You look down on Baltal, the base camp for the Amarnath pilgrimage.
• At the top: a Border Roads sign reading "I Love Zojila" has become the photo stop, with tea stalls nearby.
• Zero Point: the snow stop, 1 to 2 km beyond the top.
• The war memorial: at Gumri, about a kilometre past Zero Point.
• Beyond: the road is excellent from Zero Point to Drass, 65 km from Sonamarg, with its Kargil War Memorial.

Fares, the 1 pm rule, and the court ban on snow rides are in our Zero Point guide. The walk-up alternative from Sonamarg is Thajiwas Glacier.

The battle of 1948: tanks at 11,575 feet

Zoji La is a battlefield. In 1948 the pass was seized by Gilgit rebels and Pakistani forces in their push for Ladakh. Two Indian assaults in September failed.

The third, Operation Bison, did not. Stuart light tanks of the 7th Cavalry were brought up with their turrets removed and under cover, while the Madras Sappers turned the mule track from Baltal up to Gumri into one that vehicles could climb. On 1 November 1948 the tanks forced the pass. It was the highest altitude at which tanks had fought anywhere in the world at that time. Drass fell two weeks later, and the link to Kargil was made by 24 November.

The Army marks 1 November as Zoji La Day at the war memorial at Gumri. The 77th was observed in 2025.

Is Zoji La dangerous?

It deserves respect. The road is cut into steep slopes, it carries heavy trucks, and in snow season it is prone to avalanches.

Tourist vehicles have been stopped outright before. After two fatal accidents in December 2023, the authorities barred them beyond Sonamarg until further orders.

Best months to go

What does Zoji La mean?

A defence spokesperson has called it "the mountain pass of blizzards", the meaning given in local folklore. Another account derives it from Du-Zhi-la, the goddess of the four seasons, who in legend turned her back on Ladakh and her face to Kashmir, which is why one is dry and the other green.