Khardung La
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The Kardung Pass (also Khardong Pass, Khardung La) is located in the Ladakh Range in the Ladakh district of northwestern India and is one of the highest motorable mountain passes on earth.
From Leh (3500 m above sea level) the mostly asphalted road winds for 39 kilometres to the Kardung Pass, which connects the Indus Valley with the Nubra Valley through which the Shyok flows. Because of India's border conflict with Pakistan and China (the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram is a strategically important point), the road is cleared and kept open almost all year round, especially for military vehicles. Halfway you pass a checkpoint of the Indian army (South Pullu), where the traveler is asked for the entry documents. (The permit for seven days can be obtained for about 100 rupees from various travel agencies in Leh).
The road, which is often difficult to pass even in summer due to snowfall and the poor tyres of the vehicles, continues up to the top of the pass, from where one has the first view of the Karakorum Mountains.
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Panoramic view from the top of the pass
The first section of the north ramp of the pass is cut into a snow and ice flank in winter. After a short drive you reach the North Pullu, another army checkpoint. After several kilometers, at about 4300 m above sea level, the green of the barley fields around the hamlet of Khardong, to which the pass owes its name, shines. Continuing down the valley, after about half an hour's drive, you reach the village of Khalsar on the wild Shyok River with another military check post. From there the road leads along the Shyok to the Koyak Bridge, where it forks towards Panamik (Nubra valley upwards towards the Siachen glacier) on the one hand and towards Diskit (main town and administrative centre of the Nubra valley) and Hundar on the other.
Nubra Valley
Pass and dispute
The signs on the Khardung La as well as maps indicate the pass height with 5602 m. However, independent measurements with GPS and analogue devices of different travellers indicate that the true altitude of the pass is about 5359m. A similar value of 5350 m is also arrived at by analyzing the SRTM data.
Local sign with questionable pass height of 5602 m.
