Name of Pass | Khardung La |
Altitude | 5,359m/5,368m |
Type of pass | Cycle |
Where | Between Leh (37km, 3,550m) and Khardung (33km, ~4,100m) |
GPS Co-ords | 34.279 N, 77.605 E |
Climb | 1,830m in 5 hours from Leh |
We won’t lie, we’re not huge fans of the climb to this pass. The two times we’ve been up here there hasn’t been much snow around, so the scenery isn’t very exciting, but there are always plenty of people and vehicles on the road. It is however one of the best engineered mountain roads we came across in India – the climb is easy as it stays at 5% virtually the whole way. The highlights were the fantastically informative and entertaining signs at the top, and the pleasant descent to the Shyok river on the north side. Don’t forget to buy your “World’s Highest Motorable Road – 18,380ft/5,602m” fleece at the top!