Khardung La
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| Khardung La Pass | |
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 Khardung La |
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| Elevation | 5,359 m (17,582 feet sic) |
| Location |  India |
| Range | Himalaya |
| Coordinates | 34°16′44″N 77°36′17″E / 34.27889°N 77.60472°ECoordinates: 34°16′44″N 77°36′17″E / 34.27889°N 77.60472°E |
Khardung La (Khardung Pass, la means pass in Tibetan) (elevation 5359 m) is a high mountain pass located in the Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India. 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 lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to motor vehicles in 1988 and has since seen many automobile, motorbike and mountain biking expeditions. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry essential supplies to the Siachen. Khardong La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Chinese 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 Hundar, in the area north of the pass, mute witnesses to history. During World War II there was a futile attempt to transfer war material to China through this route.
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[edit] Location
Khardung La is situated 37 km by road from Leh. The first 24 km, as far as the South Pullu check point, are paved. From there to the North Pullu check point about 15 km beyond the pass the roadway is primarily loose rock, dirt, and occasional rivulets of snow melt. However, this pass is in better repair than many of the surrounding passes (Tanglang La, for example). From North Pullu into the Nubra Valley, the road is very well maintained (except in a very few places where washouts or falling rock occur). Hired vehicles (2 and 4-wheel-drive), heavy trucks, and motorcycles regularly travel into the Nubra Valley, though special permits may need to be arranged for travellers to make the journey.
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[edit] Elevation
The 5,359 m elevation given above is from a modern GPS survey by a team of researchers. It accurately matches SRTM data and Russian topographic mapping, and it is broadly consistent with several other independent travellers' GPS reports ([1], [2], [3], [4]) and an article by Bonington.
Several of these sources contain assertions by local people who claim that the 5,602 m (18,380 feet) height claimed by the summit signs has been inflated for the purpose of record breaking. The even higher elevation of 5,682 m (18,640 feet) that has been claimed by Guinness World Records and the National Geographic Society is not supported by any evidence and may be rooted in a copying error from 5,602 m. But it can be clearly seen on the survey map that the Khardung La was originally a mule track which followed a different, rather higher route, which appears on the map just to cross the 5,600m contour. It seems likely that when the road was built, the pass stone was moved from one to the other, although the road was rather lower.
[edit] The world's highest motorable pass?
Khardung La is widely, but incorrectly, believed to be the world's highest motorable pass. There are 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. Both these elevations are supported by GPS and SRTM evidence and the latter was also measured by the Catalans and supported by the CIC, see above. Vehicles have been driven over the 5,582 metres (18,314 ft) Marsimik La, in the Indian Karakoram to the north-east of Khardung La, but it is debatable whether this pass should be considered to be motorable. There may be higher motorable passes elsewhere in Tibet, but verification of these has not been possible because of lack of information and restricted access.
[edit] Getting to Khardung La Pass
The nearest town is Leh, the capital of Ladakh. 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. The ideal method to get to Khardung-la is by taxi or bike. The two bases on either side of Khardong-la are North Pullu and South Pullu. Inner line permits are required to reach Khardung-la and can be procured at the DC's office in Leh. Travelers must provide photocopies of the permits, to be deposited at each checkpoint.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Khardung La |
- Riding in Ladakh/Motorcycling FAQ
- Documentary on Marsimek-La, highest motorable pass
- A Firsthand Experience
- Document supplied by the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia
- Local SRTM data
- Extract from 100K Russian Topographic map. Confusingly, this shows "Khardung" (in Cyrillic) further east, but the road pass is accurately mapped.
- Photo gallery of Khardung La, 1280x960
- Khardung La Pass, travelogue and pictures.
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