2 highways n passes

http://www.jktourism.org/cities/ladakh/getting/index.htm June 7, 2007
The Road journey from Manali
The Leh- Manali Road passes through spectacular landscape
The 473 km Manali- Leh Road is open for about three months in the year from early July to September. For much of its length, it passes through areas so barren that it is entirely void of habitation. Lahoul district, through which the road passes, is a typically trans-Himalayan landscape. The first major pass in this road, the Rohtang pass (13,000 ft / 3,978m) which is crossed soon after departure from Manali, cuts through the Pir Panjal range of the Great Himalayas. Lahouli houses are built in the Ladakhi pattern, out of sun-dried bricks. Whitewashed and flat-roofed, they stand among the irrigated fields of the villages, which cling to the mountain slopes. Beyond Keylang, the region's main town, the road follows the Bhaga River up towards its source, passing a few more villages, the last till the territory of Ladakh is entered. Now it hairpins up to the Baralacha-la (16,050 ft / 4,892m), which is a tri-junction, with a trail from Spiti also joining in from the southeast. This is the crossing of the Great Himalayan Range, the watershed between the Indus and the Chenab. Now the barren landscape becomes positively lunar with dusty plains stretching into the distance.
The Zanskar Range, which lies next on this road, is crossed through two more passes, the Lachulung-la (16,600 ft / 5,059m) and the Taglang-la (17,469 ft / 5,325rn). Between these two, there is nothing but rock and sand, rolling hills and broad plains scoured by dust devils. An occasional pasture here and there provides nourishment for the flocks of the nomadic Chang-pa herdspeople who are the region's only inhabitants, apart from the seasonal entrepreneurs from Leh and Lahoul, who erect tents and shacks at various points along the road, to cater to the needs of travellers. Once over the Taglang-la, the descent to the Indus starts, and soon one passes the first village, Rumtse. The road follows the Gya River down to the Indus at Upshi, from where it is plain sailing to Leh, past the Indus valley villages of Karu, Stakna, Thikse, Shey and finally the Tibetan village at Choglamsar, before entering the town.

The Journey from Kashmir
Lunar feature near Lamayuru
The main overland approach to Ladakh is from the Kashmir Valley through the 434-km Srinagar-Leh highway, which follows the historic trade route, also known as the ‘Treaty Road’. It generally remains open for traffic from early June to mid-November. This road journey provides the best possible introduction to the land and its people. At one step, as you cross the Zoji-la pass (11,500-ft./3,505 m), one passes the lushness of Kashmir into the barren contours of a trans-Himalayan landscape. Drass, the first township over the pass, inhabited by a population of mainly Dard origin, has the local reputation of being the second coldest inhabited place in the world. But in summer when the pass is open and travellers are going through, the standing crops and clumps of willow give it a gentle look. After Drass, the valley narrows down to almost a gorge. Yet even here it occasionally opens up to allow small patches of terraced cultivation, where a small village population ekes out a precarious existence. On leaving Kargil town, the road plunges into the ridges and valleys of the Zanskar Range, over a huge mound of alluvium known as Khurbathang plateau, now made fertile by a huge irrigation system. Form here it descends to the Pashkyum area and passes through several roadside villages before entering Mulbek, with its gigantic rock carving of Maitreya Buddha and a gompa perched high on a crag above the village. Mulbek is the transition from Muslim to Buddhist Ladakh. Two more passes, Namika-la (12,200 ft/3,719 m) and Fotu-la (13,432 ft/4,094 m) follow the exit out of Mulbek valley.From Fotu1a, the road descends in sweeps and turns, past the spectacularly sited monastery of Lamayuru and the amazing wind-eroded towers and pinnacles of lunar-landscape rocks, down to the Indus at Khalatse - a descent of almost 4,000 ft / 1,219 m, in about 32 kms. From here the road follows the river, passing villages with their terraced fields and neat whitewashed houses, the roofs piled high with neat stacks of fodder laid in against the coming winter. Here and there one notices the ruins of an ancient fort or palace or the distant glimpse of a gompa on a hill. And at last Leh is visible, dominated by the bulk of its imposing 17th century palace.

On leaving Kargil town, the road plunges into the ridges and valleys of the Zanskar Range, over a huge mound of alluvium known as Khurbathang plateau, now made fertile by a huge irrigation system. Form here it descends to the Pashkyum area and passes through several roadside villages before entering Mulbek, with its gigantic rock carving of Maitreya Buddha and a gompa perched high on a crag above the village. Mulbek is the transition from Muslim to Buddhist Ladakh. Two more passes, Namika-la (12,200 ft/3,719 m) and Fotu-la (13,432 ft/4,094 m) follow the exit out of Mulbek valley.From Fotu1a, the road descends in sweeps and turns, past the spectacularly sited monastery of Lamayuru and the amazing wind-eroded towers and pinnacles of lunar-landscape rocks, down to the Indus at Khalatse - a descent of almost 4,000 ft / 1,219 m, in about 32 kms. From here the road follows the river, passing villages with their terraced fields and neat whitewashed houses, the roofs piled high with neat stacks of fodder laid in against the coming winter. Here and there one notices the ruins of an ancient fort or palace or the distant glimpse of a gompa on a hill. And at last Leh is visible, dominated by the bulk of its imposing 17th century palace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khardung_La june 3rd
Khardung La
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Khardung La
Khardung La
Elevation
5,359 m (17,582 feet sic)
Location
India
Range
Himalaya
Coordinates
34°16′44″N, 77°36′17″E
Khardung La (la means pass in Tibetan) (elevation 5359 m) is a high mountain pass located in the Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
The pass on the Ladakh Range lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. 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 Indian Army's Corps, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry essential supplies to the Siachen. Khardung La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Chinese Central Asia. About 10,000 horses and camels used to take the route annually, and a small population of Bactrian camels can still be seen in the area north of the pass, mute witnesses to history. During World War II there was a futile attempt to transfer war material to China through this route.
Khardung La is situated 37 km by road from Leh. The first 24 km, as far as the South Pullu check point, are paved. From there to the North Pullu check point about 15 km beyond the pass the roadway is primarily loose rock, dirt, and occasional rivulets of snow melt. However, this pass is in better repair than many of the surrounding passes (Tanglang La, for example). From North Pullu into the Nubra Valley, the road is very well maintained (except in a very few places where washouts or falling rock occur). Hired vehicles (2 and 4-wheel-drive), heavy trucks, and motorcycles regularly travel into the Nubra Valley, though special permits may need to be arranged for travellers to make the journey
The world's highest motorable pass?
Khardung La is widely, but incorrectly, believed to be the world's highest motorable pass. There are higher motorable passes at Suge La, west of Lhasa, 5,430 m (17,815 feet), and Semo La 5,565 m (18,258 feet), between Raka and Coqen in Central Tibet. Both these elevations are supported by GPS and SRTM evidence and the latter was also measured by the Catalans and supported by the CIC, see above. Vehicles have been driven over the 5,582 metres (18,314 ft) Marsimik La, in the Indian Karakoram to the north-east of Khardung La, but it is debatable whether this pass should be considered to be motorable. There may be higher motorable passes elsewhere in Tibet, but verification of these has not been possible because of lack of information and restricted access.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyok_Valley )