Four Interesting Things About The World’s Highest Motorable Road At Umling La Pass

Who doesn’t love a trip to Leh/Ladakh? The popular destination has a serene environment which is a perfect backdrop for a road trip. Enhancing its appeal further, India’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed a new 52km stretch of road at Umling La Pass in Eastern Ladakh and it's generating positive attention for some pretty impressive reasons. 

Its Skyhigh 

The biggest and most obvious talking point about this new stretch of road is that it’s set a record for being the world’s highest motorable road at an altitude of 19,300 ft. It beat the previous record of 18,953 ft., which was held by the Bolivian road that connects to the Uturuncu volcano.

Higher Than Mount Everest Base Camps

Sure, Mount Everest is the highest peak, at 29,031 ft., but the Umling La Pass sits at a higher altitude than the base camps. For reference, the South Base camp in Nepal is at 17,598 ft, while the North Base Camp in Tibet is at 16,900 ft. This 52km road is even higher than the Siachen Glacier, situated at 17,700 ft.

Enhanced Connectivity 

This road now connects towns in the Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh and acts as a direct alternate route connecting Chisumle and Demchok villages in Leh. This should make travelling a lot easier and also enhance the socio-economic conditions in Ladakh.

Overcoming Mother Nature 

The construction of this road is no less than a remarkable feat of engineering considering the remote area has quite a harsh terrain. During winters, temperatures dip to -40 degrees with oxygen levels at this altitude being less than 50 percent compared to normal areas.

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