Khardung La - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting
About Khardung La
Khardung la located in the Indian union territory of Ladakh, is undoubtedly one of the monumental mountain passes all over the world though its exact elevation is still a controversy. The mountain pass not just serves as the gateway to the remote Nubra and Shyok valleys but also offers astonishing views of the twisting roads up the mountain and the awesome valley.Khardung La is a mountain pass in the Ladakh region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The local pronunciation is "Khardong La" or "Khardzong La" but, as with most names in Ladakh, the romanised spelling varies.
The pass on the Ladakh Range is north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies part way up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to public motor vehicles in 1988. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry supplies to the Siachen Glacier.
The elevation of Khardung La is 5,359 m (17,582 ft). Local summit signs and dozens of stores selling shirts in Leh incorrectly claim that its elevation is in the vicinity of 5,602 m (18,379 ft) and that it is the world's highest motorable pass.
Khardong La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Central Asia. About 10,000 horses and camels used to take the route annually, and a small population of Bactrian camels can still be seen at Hunder, in the area north of the pass. During World War II there was an attempt to transfer war material to China through this route.
Location
Khardung La is 39 km by road from Leh. Earlier, the first 24 km, as far as the South Pullu check point, were paved. From there to the North Pullu checkpoint about 15 km beyond the pass the roadway was primarily loose rock, dirt, and occasional rivulets of snow melt. Now, all the way is properly paved. Road approaching Nubra Valley is very well maintained (except in a few places where washouts or falling rock occur). Hired vehicles (two- and four-wheel-drive), heavy trucks, and motorcycles regularly travel into the Nubra Valley, though special permits are required to be arranged for travellers.
Access
The nearest sizable town is Leh. Leh is connected by road from Manali and Srinagar, and daily flights are operated from Delhi. From Leh, a daily bus service to Nubra Valley passes over Khardungla which may also be reached by a hired car with an experienced driver or by bike. The two bases on either side of Khardong La are North Pullu and South Pullu.
An Inner Line Permit (ILP), which can be acquired at the District Commissioner’s office in Leh, is required for tourists (not needed for Jammu and Kashmir residents). People are required to check in en route and must provide photocopies of the permits to be deposited at each checkpoint.
Altitude sickness is a serious health concern for people not previously used to high altitudes. Prophylactic altitude-sickness medication such as acetazolamide may be necessary for some as there are no emergency medical facilities to treat altitude sickness along the route.
The road is closed from approximately October to May due to snow and is often subject to long delays due to traffic congestion on narrow one-lane sections, washouts, landslides and road accidents.
The world's highest motorable claim
Khardung La is at times incorrectly cited as the highest vehicle-accessible pass in the world. A well-graded Indian road (visible on 2011 imagery on visual globe systems such as Google Earth) reaches 5,610 metres (18,406 ft) 250 m west of the 5,545 metres (18,192 ft) Mana Pass on the India-Tibet border. It connects with an equally well-constructed, slightly lower Chinese military road based on SRTM data at posting intervals of 30 m. There are also higher motorable passes at Suge La, west of Lhasa, 5,430 m (17,815 feet), and Semo La 5,565 m (18,258 feet), between Raka and Coqen in Central Tibet.
Content retrieved and modified from Wikipedia: Khardung La. Work released under CC-BY-SA