My Science School

Magnetic Hill located near Leh in Ladakh is a gravity hill alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to make cars gravitate to the top of the hill at a speed of 20 km/hour with the engines off and interfere with the transmission of passing aircrafts if they fly over it at a lower altitude! In reality, the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope. A contributing factor is a completely or mostly obstructed horizon; without a horizon, judging the slope of a surface is difficult as a reliable reference is missing.

This has become a major tourist hub, everyone is fascinated that the hill makes the car look like it’s floating upward. Tourism officials have put up a sign and a marked box on the road where tourists can park their vehicles and witness their car moving at a speed of 20 km/hr. Locals say that the Indian Air Force play it safe and don’t fly around the Magnetic hill. They also say that the helicopters and aircraft flying above the magnetic hill comes within the radius of magnetic hill start to jerk. It is advised to fly at a specific speed and height above the Magnetic Hill to avoid accidents. There are hundreds of other roads and gravity hills like this around the world, in India this phenomenon can be experienced in Tulsishyam, Gujarat as well.

Picture Credit : Google