Traffic snakes along reopened mountain pass in Kashmir

Vehicles are driven through a mountainous road covered by snow after the Srinagar-Leh highway was opened to traffic in Zojila, 108 km (67 miles) east of Srinagar April 25 The 443 km (275 miles) long highway was opened by Indian army authorities for traffic on Wednesday after remaining snowbound at Zojila Pass, 3,530 metres (11,581 feet) above sea level, for the past six months. The pass connects Kashmir with the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, a famous tourist destination among foreign tourists for its monasteries, landscapes and mountains.

Vehicles are driven down a precarious stretch of a mountainous road after the Srinagar-Leh highway was opened to traffic in Zojila, 108 km (67 miles) east of Srinagar April 25.

Kashmiri porters on horseback travel past walls of snow along the newly-reopened Srinagar-Leh highway in Zojila, about 108 km (67 miles) east of Srinagar, on April 25, 2012. The 443 km (275 mile) long highway was opened for the season by Indian Army authorities after remaining snow at Zojila Pass, some 3,530 metres (11,581 feet) above sea level, had been cleared. The pass connects Kashmir with the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, a famous tourist destination among foreign tourists for its monasteries, landscapes and mountains.