Earlier, the Himalayan Mountain ranges and the Passes used to be the important trade routes of the South-Asian countries. These Himalayan Mountain Passes were the only option by which most of the Indian subcontinent along with Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan were connected to the rest of the world. In India these passes were use to trade spices, silk and other goods.
As of now, these passes plays an important role in Military operations, so that Indian Army use such passes to deliver the food, fuel and ammunition to other base of army area. On the other hand these mountain passes also plays an important role in tourism industry. Nowadays, travelers are going to destinations like Leh Ladakh, High Mountain areas in Uttrakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh requires to cross the high mountain passes.
Khardung La or Khardung Pass (In Tibetan La means pass) is a mountain pass in Leh Ladakh region. Height of Khardung La Pass is 18,380 ft (5,602 mtr) and the world’s highest motorable pass.
NakeeLa Pass (elevation of 15,547 ft or 4738mtr) is a pass which is is Zanskar Range. This pass connects with Lahaul & Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh to Zanskar Range of J&K.
Chang La Pass (elevation of 17,590 or 5360mtr) is the second highest motorable pass in the world which is in Ladakh region in India. Chang La is a approachable from Leh via Karu village by road.
Lachulung La Pass (el. of 16,600 ft or 5,059mtr) is a mountain pass along the Leh–Manali Highway. It is located some 54 km from Sarchu and 24 km from Pang on the Leh–Manali Highway.
Bara-lacha La Pass (elevation of 16,040 or 4890mtr) is a pass which is is Zanskar Range. This pass connects with Lahaul & Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh to Zanskar Range of J&K.
Tanglang La Pass (el. of 17,480 ft or 5,328mtr), is a mountain pass in Ladakh region of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir . It is located some 142km from Sarchu on Leh-Manali highway.
Fotu La Pass (el. of 13,478 ft or 4,108mtr), is the highest mountain pass on NH-1D of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located some 292km from Srinagar on Srinagar-Leh highway.
Rohtang Pass (el. of 13,050 ft or 3,978mtr), is a mountain pass on the eastern range of Pir Panjal of the HImalayas. It is located some 51km from Manali. It connects Kullu to Lahaul valley.
Namika La Pass (el. of 12,139 ft or 3,700mtr), is a high mountain pass in the Zanskar Range in India on Srinagar-Leh Highway. It is located some 52km from Kargil on Srinagar-Leh highway.
Marsimik La or Marsimek La (el. of 18,314 ft or 5,582 metres) is a high mountain pass in the Chang-Chemno Range. It is located around 96 km from east of Leh, and about 20 km from Pangong Lake.
Zoji La Pass (el. of 11,575 ft or 3,528mtr), is a high mountain pass in the Jammu & Kashmir on Srinagar-Leh Highway – NH1D. It is located some 102km from Srinagar on Srinagar-Leh highway.
Unling La (el. of 19,300 ft or 5,882 metres) is a high mountain pass in Ladakh, where the roads were recently made by BRO as “The New World’s Highest Motorable Road and Pass”.
Ladakh (In Tibetan : ལ་དྭགས་), is a word in tibetan, which means “land of high passes“. That’s why in Ladakh there are many high altitude mountain passes. Ladakh is a region which is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and located between the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. On the other hand, Leh district is the place which is second largest district in India. In fact, Leh is covering half of the state of Jammu and Kashmir as well.
Some of the top most important passes in Ladakh region are detailed here. You can find complete details about the altitude and location for each one.