Panorama Photo

Official Indian sources claim that Khardung La (La means "pass" in Tibetan and Ladakhi) is at 5600m, which would make it the highest motorable road in the world. Independent measuring, however, comes to about 5360m, so some equally high roads do exist in Tibet and Karakorum.
The road is the only access from Leh to Nubra Valley and eventually to Siachen Glacier, which is still under heavy siege from Indian and Pakistani armed forces. So the Indian army is keeping the road in shape even during the icy Ladakhi winters.
For tourists, being quite close to Leh, the pass is a wonderful viewpoint. Trekkers (like my group) and climbers can use it for acclimatization and some cyclists manage to do the trip from Leh to Nubra Valley on their bikes (about 4000 altitude meters up and down). It was our first excursion from Leh and we did it with jeeps, but even climbing the little hill above the pass was challenging for the lungs.
In the background you can see the snowcapped peaks of the Saser Range, the eastern beginning of Karakorum with some peaks above 7000m in the clouds. Because of the proximity to Pakistan permissions for expeditions are only rarely given . So if you are looking for some almost untouched mountains, there you go!