Hill stations choke as Indians flock to mountains for long weekend

Major traffic bottlenecks brought movement to a crawl on principal highways leading to Himachal Pradesh's favoured hill stations on Friday and Saturday, as holidaymakers made the journey to escape the plains during the long weekend. The surge of vehicles created significant delays on routes accessing Manali, one of the region's most visited destinations, while similar congestion affected approaches to other popular mountain retreats.

In neighbouring Uttarakhand, pilgrimage centres witnessed unprecedented crowds as devotees converged on sacred sites to mark the extended break. The rush at locations including Kainchi Dham, a prominent pilgrimage destination in the state, strained local infrastructure and tested crowd management capabilities.

Localauthorities reported the convergence of leisure travellers and religious pilgrims created compounding pressures across the hill regions. Road conditions on key thoroughfares became increasingly challenging as the volume of vehicles far exceeded normal weekend traffic patterns.

The sustained influx underscores the continued appeal of Himalayan destinations during breaks from routine, despite the inevitable disruptions that accompany mass movement to these limited-capacity locations. Officials anticipated easing conditions as the long weekend progressed.