Bara-lacha La

Bara-lacha La is a high pass at about 4,890 metres in the Zanskar range, linking Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh with Ladakh along the Leh-Manali highway. Routes from Spiti, Ladakh, Zanskar and Lahaul converge here, and it was once part of an old trade route. Tunnels for road and a planned railway are being built beneath it.

The pass is the birthplace of the Chandra and Bhaga, the two headwaters of the Chenab. The Bhaga flows out of Suraj Tal, a lake a few kilometres from the pass on the Manali side, while the Chandra starts from a glacier nearby. Local folklore tells of two divine lovers, Chandra, daughter of the Moon, and Bhaga, son of the Sun, who set off in opposite directions from the pass and met again at Tandi, where the rivers join and their marriage took place.