Leh to Parma via Khardung, Wari and Chang Las

The mighty Chang La!

This route takes in three high passes over 5,300m, but for at least half the time is on roads busy with tourist traffic. Going over the Chang La to Tangtse and the Harong Valley means heading up a dead end road that you’ll have to backtrack on. It’s a far more popular route to head from Tangtse to Pangong Tso, rather than to Harong as we did, but this route still involves backtracking over the Chang La as you’re not allowed past Meruk on the shores of the lake. The Wari La and Harong Valley were the highlights of this route for us, though if you don’t want to climb the Wari La (the steepest and most difficult of the high passes) it may be possible to head from Agham to Shyok village to Durbok. However this route currently means making a crossing of the huge Shyok River, which would only be possible if you’re lucky enough to find a large vehicle that will transport you across. Here’s our blog post for this route.

 

Total KM Stage KM Comment
0 Leh (3,550m). Tourist town, all facilities.
24 Easy climb on 5% gradients. All paved, plenty of traffic.
24 South Pullu (4,670m). Police checkpost, tea tent.
14 5% gradients continue, but road is unpaved.
38 Khardung La (5,359m). Café, hilarious signs, souvenir shop.
16 Descend on sometimes bumpy surface.
54 North Pullu (4,660m). Restaurant and guest house.
17 Continue descending.
71 Khardung Village (4,100m). Basic shops, restaurants, guest houses.
20 Descend on ‘paving’ to junction.
91 Junction (3,390m). Left to Khalsar (Nubra, lower Shyok valleys). R to Agham and Wari La.
26 (Going R.) All the traffic disappears as the vast majority of vehicles are tourists heading to Nubra. Descend to Shyok river on good paving, then follow road upriver. The few houses that constitute Agham (saw no facilities) are about 1km before the junction.
117 Junction just after Agham (3,330m). L to Shyok village, R to Wari La.
34 (Going R.) Climb, often steeply, to Wari La. Bottom part of road is paved, top part unpaved. Basic shop by a prayer wheel 3kms after junction. Turn off (3,520m) to Digar is 1km later. 5km further on is turn off to Tangyak village (L), though there is a tea tent and camping by the road. Continue straight for Wari La.
151 Wari La (5,312m). Top of lovely quiet pass.
22 (26?) Descend on unpaved, then paved road. A few steep sections near the top, but many of the paved zigzags descend tortuously slowly. We took the shortcuts, so it was 22kms to Shakti’s shops. I think sticking to the main road it’s about 26km.
173 Shakti. Basic shops and a guest house (hugely overpriced Dak Bungalow) opposite the gompa. Homestays were closed when we were there.
2 Descend to junction.
175 Junction, L is a shortcut to the Chang La. The short cut is mostly paved, but the final km(?) is unpaved and steep. We went straight and descended to the main road at Shakti junction, but only did this because we wanted a meal.
2 Descend to Shakti junction.
177 Shakti junction (3,750m). Basic shops and dhabas for food.
10 Climb steadily and gently. No camping or water at all. Lots of traffic. Paved.
187 Shortcut from Shakti rejoins. (4,200m).
11 Continue gentle climb. Nowhere to camp and no water. Still lots of traffic.
198 Zingral (4,800m). Army post. Possible to camp and get water.
12 Climb steadily for 7kms more on tarmac before it becomes unpaved. 5kms unpaved to the pass, with some steep sections.
210 The MIGHTY Chang La (5,381m). The 3rd highest motorable road in the world, according to the signs. It may actually be the 3rd highest in India, though behind the Marsimik and Kaksang Las, rather than the Khardung and Taglang Las as the Indian authorities claim. Army post, free tea, restaurant at the top.
31 7kms of mostly unpaved road to Tsaltok police post (~5,030m).24kms of tarmac to Durbok.
241 Durbok (3,900m). Turn off to Shyok village, basic shops, restaurants, guest house.
7 Flat to Tangtse.
248 Tangtse police checkpost (3,950m). Turn off to Tangtse village and Harong Valley (go R) is just after police checkpost. Village has guest houses, restaurants, shops.
27 Lovely climb up Harong valley, by river. Hardly any traffic. Pass turn off to Shachakul (village with basic shop and large gompa on a dead end road) after a few kms, then pass through Chilam, Harong and other small villages with no facilities.
275 Sattu village. Larger than the rest, but still saw no facilities.
20 Continue gentle climb by river. Easy to find water and camp spots.
295 Parma checkpost (4,630m). Army guys won’t let you go beyond here. Not a good idea to try and sneak round, which means you have to backtrack to Tangtse.

 

Route Summary
Total amount climbed 6,900m
Traffic Lots from Leh to Khardung La and down to junction near Khalsar. A few vehicles an hour from there, over the Wari La to Shakti. Lots from Shakti to Tangtse. A couple of vehicles an hour from Tangtse to Parma.
Difficulty 3
When we cycled August 2012
How much we had to push Not at all

 
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