A video has now gone viral where a tourist was seen driving his Mahindra Thar SUV through the Chandra River in Lahaul Valley, trying to beat the heavy traffic congestion in the popular hill station.

The water level at that time was not much and it prevented the tourist from meeting a fatal end to his deadly ride.

Locals, however, criticised his action after the video went viral on social media.

Police have issued a challan against the driver.

"Recently, a video went viral in which a Thar is crossing the river Chandra in District Lahaul Spiti. The said vehicle has been challenged under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and to ensure that no one commits such an offence in the future, the district police have deployed police personnel at the said place,"  SP Mayank Chaudhry told NDTV.

There has been a surge in tourist visits in Himachal Pradesh as the country is celebrating the Christmas holidays.

About 55,000 vehicles crossed the Atal tunnel in Rohtang - that joins Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti - in the past three days, officials told the Indian news channel.

According to reports, several important roads in Himachal Pradesh are witnessing a long queue of vehicles amid a spike in tourist footfall.