Sonamarg Tunnel
West portal of Sonamarg tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sonamarg and Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir |
| Coordinates | 34°18′24″N 75°11′00″E / 34.30667°N 75.18333°E |
| Status | Completed |
| Route | National Highway 1 |
| Start | Gagangir |
| End | Sonamarg |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | May 2015 |
| Constructed | APCO Infratech |
| Opened | 13 January 2025 |
| Operator | NHIDCL |
| Traffic | Motor vehicles |
| Technical | |
| No. of lanes | Two (one in each direction) |
The Sonamarg Tunnel (Hindi: सोनमर्ग सुरंग) is a 6.5-kilometre-long (4.0 mi) road tunnel connecting Gagangir and Sonamarg, in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It carries two lanes of National Highway 1. It bypasses a Z-shaped stretch of road, which used to be avalanche-prone and get blocked during the winter months due to heavy snowfall. However now the tunnel provides all-weather connectivity to the Sonamarg. It takes only 15 minutes to travel the 6.5 km long tunnel compared to hours over the previous zig-zag road.
Together with the adjacent Zoji-La Tunnel, this geostrategically important tunnel provides year-round all-weather connectivity to Baltal (Amarnath cave), Kargil and other places in Ladakh, enhances Indian military logistics and boosts tourism and local economy. It is one of 31 road tunnels, 20 in J&K and 11 in Ladakh, constructed at a combined cost of INR1400 billion (~US$17.5 billion).