High Passes (La in Ladakhi)

Ladakh is an exotic destination with plenty of high passes, steep mountains and valleys abound. The route to Ladakh by road is through several scenic Mountain passes, known as 'La' in the local Ladakhi language and 'Ladakh' therefore means 'Land of Passes.' You can find some of the highest motorable roads in the world in Ladakh, which traverse these high passes and take you to exotic hidden destinations  high in the Himalayas.

All the roads built on these high passes are part of the Himank project of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in the Ladakh region of northernmost India that started in August 1985. Himank is responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads and related infrastructure including what are claimed to be the world's highest motorable roads across the Khardung La, Tanglang La and Chang La passes. Himank's work ensures access to sensitive military areas including the world's highest battle-ground at the Siachen Glacier and Pangong Tso Lake (at 14500 ft) whose waters span the de facto India-China border. Himank's personnel battle tough terrain and extreme climatic conditions and are constrained in most areas to work within a short working season of four months as roads get blocked by heavy snow and extreme cold temperatures.

Manali - LEH Highway

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Rohtang Pass – 13,000ft (3978m) - If you travel from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Leh you will cross the impressive Rohtang Pass, which is at a height of 13,000ft (3978m).  This is one of the highest motorable roads in the world. The Rohtang Pass is only open in midsummer from mid-July to September. 

Baralacha La – 16,050ft (4892m) - The Baralacha-la Pass is also along the Manali-Leh Highway. This pass is at the lofty height of 16,050ft (4892m). It is situated at a tri-junction of three roads, one from Manali, one from Leh and one from Spiti & Lahaul. The view from Baralacha-La is spectacular with the Himalayas extending along the horizon, as far as the eye can see.

Lachulung La - 16,600ft (5,059m) - A pass on the Zanskar Range, Lachulung La at 16,600ft (5,059m), is a rocky height with views of the undulating hills and Ladakh plateau below. Lachulung La is a mountain pass along the Leh-Manali highway. 

Taglang La - 17,582ft (5,359m)

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Also on the Zanskar Range, Taglang-la at 17,582ft (5,359m) is a resting place for nomadic Changpa herdsmen who can be seen with their flocks of sheep and goats, migrating in search of pasture. Taglang La is sometimes incorrectly claimed to be the world’s second highest motorable pass. It is, however, the second highest motorable mountain pass in India after Khardung La and is reached via 21 Gata loops. It is located along the Leh-Manali Highway.

Srinagar – LEH Highway

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Zoji La - 11,500ft (3,505m) - If you travel to Ladakh by road from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, you can see panoramic vistas of the Himalayan landscape. The 434 Km long road crosses the Zoji La Pass which is 11,500ft (3,505m) high. The Zoji La Pass is snowbound in winter and this route is only open during the summer months from June to September. 

Pensi La – 14,436ft (4,400m) - Pensi La is a mountain pass in the Zanskar region of Ladakh. It is known as the Gateway to Zanskar, as it connects the Suru Valley region to the Zanskar Valley region. The summit at this end of the Suru Valley is 23,005ft (7,012m) high, while the mountain to the north is 22,549ft (6,873m). The pass is about 25 km from Rangdum Monastery.

Namika La - 12,200ft (3,719m) - Situated at a height of 12,200ft (3,719m), Namika La is on the road from Mulbek Valley to the Lamayuru Monastery in the Himalayan Zanskar Range along the Srinagar-Leh highway. 

Fotu La – 13,478ft (4,108m) - Fotu La is a mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway in the Himalayan Zanskar Range. At an elevation of 13,478ft (4,108m), it is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed Zoji La. Fotu La is one of two high mountain passes between Leh and Kargil, the other being Namika La. 

LEH – Siachen Glacier

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Khardung La - 18,380ft (5,602m) - Khardung La located 40 Km north of Leh links the capital of Ladakh with the road to the Siachen Glacier. It is said to be the world's highest motorable pass at 18,380ft (5,602m). The spectacular view and a cup of tea from the tea-stall at Khardung La, will make you feel you're on top of the world. 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 supplies to the Siachen Glacier.

Saser La - 17,753ft (5,411m) - Saser La, situated at 17,753ft (5,411m),is a high mountain pass in Ladakh and India on the ancient summer caravan route from Leh in Ladakh to Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. 

LEH – Pangong Lake

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Chang La - 17,590ft (5,360m) 

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Chang la is situated at an altitude of 17,590ft (5,360m). The Changla Pass is on the route to Pangong Lake from Leh. 

Marsimik La - 18,314ft (5,582m) -

Marsimik La, elevated at 18,314ft (5,582m), is a high mountain pass in the Chang-Chemno Range in northern India about 100 km (62 miles) east of Leh. There is a road over this pass, over which suitably adapted vehicles have been driven, but it is not a motorable pass in the sense that the road is not in good enough condition to permit transit by normal vehicles. If it were motorable, it would be the highest motorable pass in Kashmir, but reports suggest that there are probably higher motorable passes in Tibet. Located 42 km (30 miles) northeast of the northwest tip of Pangong Lake, the pass is on the shortest route from there to the contested Kongka Pass area some 42 km (26 miles) further northeast on the China-India line of actual control. Marsimik La is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of the sharp 6,000 to 6,500 m (19,700 to 21,300 ft) ridgeline forming the line of actual control.

I don’t claim the information to be my own. The information is compiled from different sources like http://www.ladakh.com/

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Incredible India: World's Highest Battle Field

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World's Highest Helipad

The helipad is a helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. Though helicopters can usually land anywhere preferably flat (they can land on quite a slope), a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can land. Helipads are usually constructed out of concrete and are marked with a circle and/or a letter "H", so as to be visible from the air. Landing pads may also be constructed in extreme conditions like on frozen ice. The world's highest helipad, built by India, is located in the Siachen Glacier at a height of 21,000 feet (6400 m) above the sea level.

At 6,300 meters (20,700 feet) India controls these breathless heights at an estimated cost of up to $1 million a day and is reluctant to back off for fear Pakistan might walk in.

Yet there is no doubt the logistical and physical challenge of supplying troops at sub-zero conditions beggars belief.

The cost of supplies is a hundred times more expensive than on a normal battlefield, and India’s paying platinum rates to airlift human feces. Instead it could have bought fourteen Russian aircraft carriers. Supplying troops with a loaf of bread costs India two rupees (four U.S. cents) in the plains and 200 rupees on Siachen because it has to be taken by helicopter.

Not any ordinary helicopter but India's Indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that can generate lift in the extremely thin air at this altitude. The rotor blade and gearbox operate at maximum speed and pitch-angle. The engine’s maximum jet pipe temperature limits the available power. Sudden & sharp high altitude mountain gust put extreme stress on the rotor blade, lack of depth perception due to whiteout condition. Oxygen required in non-pressurized pilot cabin.

Toothpaste freezes in its tube, speech can be blurred, frostbite and chilblains are common and plummeting temperatures can leave scores dead. At these dizzying heights, breathing can also be a huge effort and many soldiers suffer from high-altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema, headaches and hypertension.

Related Article: World's Highest Battle-field

World's Highest Battle Field

The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border at about 35°30′N 77°00′E / 35.5°N 77.0°E. India controls all of the Siachen Glacier itself, including all tributary glaciers. The Siachen Glacier (Siachen meaning "Black Rose" in Balti), discovered in 1907, is the world´s longest glacier outside the polar regions.

The Siachen measures approximately 75km in length and 4.8km in width, and rises to about 4,800m. The glacier originates near the Indra Koli Pass on the Pakistan-China border, about 70km southeast of K-2 (Chogori), the second highest peak in the world; From here it runs along the Saltoro Range in a southeasterly direction till it turns into the Nubra River near Dzingrulma, a small village in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) near Ladakh.

The glacier's region is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military personnel in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). The site is a prime example of mountain warfare.

In spite of the severe climate, the word 'Siachen' ironically means 'the place of wild roses', a reference some people attribute to the abundance of Himalayan wildflowers found in the valleys below the glacier, but which specifically refers to the thorny wild plants which grow on the rocky outcrops.

In spite of the severe climate, the word 'Siachen' ironically means 'the place of wild roses', a reference some people attribute to the abundance of Himalayan wildflowers found in the valleys below the glacier, but which specifically refers to the thorny wild plants which grow on the rocky outcrops.

On top of the world's highest battlefield, the soldier's biggest foe is the weather. Bone-chilling winds whip the landscape and avalanches sweep soldiers into 30-foot-deep crevasses. The harsh sun burns their skin and, combined with the thin air and sub-zero temperatures, can induce acute depression. The last village in Siachen area had just seven houses - beyond that there is only the army.

Cold statistics tell you that more lives have been lost to the weather than to the enemy since 1984, when the Indian army first occupied the Siachen glacier. Some 7,000 Indian soldiers are stationed on the disputed glacier - at 5,500 metres above sea level - bordering Pakistani and Indian-administered portions of Kashmir. Pakistan has some 150 manned posts and about 3,500 soldiers there. Most soldiers are posted on the higher ridges for just three months. So, the Siachen battle school trains around 7,000 soldiers every year.

The glacier is a major source of the river Indus. Global warming has had one of its worst impacts here in the Himalayas with the glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate and monsoon rains now appearing north of the mountains. The volume of the glacier has been reduced by 35 percent over the last twenty years; military activity since 1984 has also been blamed for much of the degradation of the glacier.
On June 12, 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the area, calling for a peaceful resolution of the problem. In the previous year, the President of India, Abdul Kalam became the first head of state to visit the area.

India based Jet Airways plans to open a chartered service to the glacier's nearest airlink, the Thoise airbase, mainly for military purposes. Since September 2007, India has opened up mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the forbidding glacial heights.

There is a famous local saying, "The land is so barren and passes so high that only the best of friends and fiercest of enemies come by.'' The dispute over Siachen, which began more than 20 years ago, is testimony to this saying.