Do you need a permit for Rohtang Pass or the Atal Tunnel in 2026?

Yes, for Rohtang Pass. Any vehicle driving from Manali up to Rohtang for tourism needs an online permit issued by the District Administration Kullu — ₹500 permit fee plus ₹50 congestion charge for a car or jeep, valid for one day, to and fro. The Atal Tunnel needs no Rohtang permit, but every vehicle entering Lahaul and Spiti must register separately on the e-Aagman portal.

That distinction — pass versus tunnel — is where most Manali itineraries go wrong. Travellers assume one permit covers both. It does not.

Quick facts

• Permit portal: rohtangpermits.hp.gov.in, run by District Administration Kullu and NIC Himachal Pradesh
• Cost (car, jeep, MUV): ₹500 permit fee + ₹50 congestion charge
• Cost (bus, HMV): ₹500 permit fee + ₹100 congestion charge
• Daily cap: 800 petrol + 400 diesel vehicles, set under National Green Tribunal directions
• Release windows: 10:00 hrs and 16:00 hrs, each releasing 400 petrol and 200 diesel slots
• Booking window: only for the next two days from the current date
• Vehicle age limit: not more than 10 years old
• Per-vehicle limit: maximum 3 permits per week (Tuesday to Monday)
• Atal Tunnel: no Rohtang permit required; e-Aagman registration required for Lahaul and Spiti

Which Rohtang Pass permit do you actually need?

The portal issues three things that travellers routinely confuse.

The tourism permit is what you want if Rohtang Pass itself is the destination — snow point photos, Marhi tea stop, turn around and come back. This is the one with the 1,200-vehicle daily cap. Most commercial taxis operating the Manali–Rohtang day trip run on this permit.

The special Rohtang permit exists for private white-plate cars. It is much scarcer: only 60 petrol and 40 diesel vehicles a day, and it is issued once per vehicle for the entire season. If you are driving your own car from Delhi or Chandigarh and want to see Rohtang, this is your route — and it disappears quickly on weekends.

No permit at all if you are simply travelling to Lahaul, Spiti, Jispa or Leh via the Atal Tunnel. The tunnel bypasses the pass entirely and is not covered by the NGT vehicle cap.

The same portal also issues a separate Hamta Pass permit, which matters if you are heading towards the Hampta Pass trek in monsoon rather than the Rohtang road.

How do you apply for the Rohtang permit online?

Applications open on the portal for the next two days only, so there is no way to lock this in weeks ahead. Plan around the two daily release times.

You will need, at minimum:

• A valid government ID proof
• A valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate
• Vehicle registration details, with the vehicle under 10 years old

Two practical points that catch people out. First, a printout is compulsory — a phone screenshot is not accepted at the barrier. Second, the details on the permit must match your documents exactly; vehicles with mismatched information are turned back at the check post rather than corrected on the spot.

There is also an official Rohtang Permit mobile app for Android and iOS, linked from the portal, if the website is congested at 10:00 or 16:00.

If you are booking through a local taxi operator, ask specifically which permit they hold and for which date. A commercial operator with a tourism permit cannot take you beyond Rohtang, and a Beyond-Rohtang run is a different plan altogether.

Is Rohtang Pass worth it in August, or should you take the tunnel?

Honest answer: in August, the tunnel usually wins.

Rohtang typically stays open through the monsoon months, but "open" is a weak promise here. Cloud sits on the pass, visibility drops, and landslides on the Gulaba–Marhi stretch can shut the road for a few hours or a full day with little warning. You may buy a permit, drive up, and see white fog where the view should be.

The Atal Tunnel, by contrast, is a 9.02 km all-weather tunnel that runs year-round and puts you in Sissu in roughly an hour from Manali. Lahaul sits in the Dhauladhar rain shadow, so a grey monsoon morning in Manali is often a bright, dry afternoon on the far side. We have written about this contrast in detail in the Atal Tunnel day trip guide.

For a family with elderly travellers or small children, the tunnel route is also gentler: less altitude gain, less time on switchbacks, and a fixed exit if weather turns. Our broader monsoon travel guidance for Himachal applies here — build buffers, travel in daylight, and treat any single-road plan as provisional.

What is the e-Aagman pass, and when do you need it?

If your vehicle is entering Lahaul and Spiti district — through the Atal Tunnel or over Rohtang — you need to register on e-Aagman, run by the Himachal Pradesh Department of Information Technology.

The portal distinguishes two things. An e-Permit per vehicle is required for the Atal Tunnel Rohtang–Koksar–Chandertal circuit. An e-Ticket per vehicle covers other places in the district. Both are applied for on the same site, and the requirement applies to Indian and foreign travellers alike.

This matters most for anyone planning Manali to Chandratal. The Batal road is unforgiving even without paperwork problems, and being turned back at Koksar because the vehicle was not registered wastes an entire day. Generate the pass a day or two before you travel rather than at the check post.

Does a taxi or shared cab change the permit picture?

It changes who does the paperwork, not whether it exists.

Commercial taxis on the Manali–Rohtang route hold permits under the same daily quota, which is why operators sell out on clear weekends and fares climb. If you want a car that waits while you stop at Solang, Gulaba and Marhi rather than a one-way drop, an hourly rental arrangement usually reads better than an open-ended day rate — and it removes the pressure to rush a descent in bad light.

If you are driving yourself, the special permit's once-per-season rule is worth planning around. Do not spend it on a forecast that looks marginal.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a weekly closure day for Rohtang Pass? The official portal displays the maintenance day on which no vehicles are permitted, and it currently shows none. This has changed in past seasons, so check the portal notice before booking.

Can I get a Rohtang permit on the spot at Manali? No. Permits are issued online only, through the portal or the official app, and a printout is mandatory at the barrier.

Do I need a permit to use the Atal Tunnel? No Rohtang permit is needed for the tunnel itself. However, entering Lahaul and Spiti district requires an e-Aagman e-Permit or e-Ticket for the vehicle.

Does the congestion charge apply even without a tourism permit? The congestion charge applies to vehicles crossing the Gulaba bridge and is paid daily, valid for one day to and fro. Vehicles travelling beyond Rohtang towards Lahaul are outside the tourism-permit quota but should still budget for it.

How far ahead can I book? Only two days ahead. Applications open in two windows, at 10:00 hrs and 16:00 hrs, and popular dates go quickly.

The practical recommendation

Between June and September, plan the Atal Tunnel as your default and treat Rohtang Pass as an optional add-on you buy only if the morning looks genuinely clear. Register on e-Aagman before you leave Manali, carry a printout of anything you have booked, and keep the second half of the day free rather than stacking a second destination behind a mountain road.

Himsafar is currently in waitlist mode, so we are not selling these transfers yet — but the Solang and Manali corridor is one of the routes we are mapping first, and our safety approach is built around exactly this kind of weather-dependent, permit-dependent planning.

Fees, quotas and conditions change between seasons — verify current rules on the official portals before you travel.