Khardung La

Khardung La is a pass at 5,359 metres on the Ladakh Range, about 40 km by road north of Leh. It links the Indus valley with the Shyok valley, and the road over it, built by the Border Roads Organisation in 1976, leads on to the Nubra Valley and the Siachen Glacier. It ranks among the highest motorable roads in the world, with North Pullu and South Pullu as the bases on either side.

Long before the road, this was part of the great caravan route from Leh to Kashgar and Yarkand, crossed each year by some 10,000 horses and camels carrying wool, silk, salt, spices and much else; a few Bactrian camels still live at Hunder, north of the pass. Today a daily bus from Leh to Nubra goes over the top, and many visitors make the trip by hired car or motorcycle. Traffic on narrow single-lane stretches, washouts and avalanches can cause long delays.