How high is Khardung La?

The summit sign reads 17,982 ft. It was long celebrated at 18,380 ft (5,602 m), a figure from before GPS, and modern surveys place it at about 17,582 ft (5,359 m). Any way you measure it, it is one of the highest roads you can drive, high enough that the air is thin and the snow stays all summer.

Is Khardung La the highest motorable road in the world?

It held that reputation for years, and the sign still celebrates it as one of the world's highest. The outright title now belongs to Umling La at 19,024 ft. Khardung La remains the iconic high pass nearly everyone crosses on the way to Nubra.

Do you need a permit for Khardung La?

Same rules as the rest of Ladakh, because the road leads into Nubra, a protected area. Indian travellers pay the environment fee online, no separate permit. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit arranged through a registered Leh agency.

How long does the drive take?

It is about 40 km from Leh to the top, but budget on time, not distance. The climb is slow and the road is busy in season, so the pass is most of a morning on its own before you drop down into Nubra.

Will I get altitude sickness at the top?

It is one of the higher points most travellers reach, so it is worth respecting, especially early in a trip. The fix is simple: acclimatise in Leh first, do not linger at the summit, and cross the pass a few days into your itinerary rather than on arrival.

Khardung La: the crossing that turns a Ladakh trip into the mountains

Quick answer

Khardung La is the high pass you cross to reach Nubra, and it is one of the great drives in Ladakh. You climb out of Leh onto one of the highest motorable roads in the world, into thin air and snow that lasts all summer, and it is the moment a trip stops feeling like a town holiday and starts feeling like the mountains. It carries a famous altitude record with a good story behind it, but the real reason to cross it is the drive itself, which more than earns its reputation.

Some drives you remember for the view. Khardung La you remember for the feeling. The road climbs out of Leh in tight switchbacks that keep giving up more of the valley behind you, the air thins with every turn, and the landscape shifts from brown to grey rock to snow at the top, even in July. This is the pass that opens the road to Nubra, and it is the moment a Ladakh trip stops feeling like a town holiday and becomes the mountains. It is also one of the most celebrated high passes on earth, with an altitude story worth knowing before you stand beside the famous yellow sign.

The famous altitude, and the real one

For years Khardung La was celebrated as the highest motorable road in the world.

The old sign: 18,380 ft (5,602 m), a figure from before GPS.
Modern surveys: closer to 17,582 ft (5,359 m) once satellites measured the pass precisely.
The sign today: 17,982 ft, after the Border Roads Organisation updated it; it calls Khardung La one of the world's highest.

Whichever number you go by, the point holds: you are standing on one of the highest stretches of road anyone can drive, high enough that the air is genuinely thin and the snow never fully leaves. The record makes a good story. The altitude is very real, and you feel every foot of it.

The Khardung La summit sign reading altitude 17,982 ft — The summit sign at Khardung La. The altitude reads 17,982 ft.

Where it sits among Ladakh's passes

If you are chasing the single highest drivable road, that title now belongs to Umling La at 19,024 ft, which we have written about on its own. Khardung La's place is different and, for most travellers, more important: it is the high pass nearly everyone crosses, the first great one of the trip, and the gateway that opens the whole of Nubra beyond it.

Snow peaks and a high valley on the Khardung La crossing — High valley and snow peaks on the crossing.

Why the crossing is worth it

The climb itself earns the pass its reputation. You leave Leh and gain height fast, the valley falling away in switchbacks, the air noticeably thinner at every turn, the colours going from desert brown to grey to white at the top. It is a genuine high-altitude drive, kept open by the Border Roads Organisation through the season, and it is the stretch where a Ladakh trip finally feels like the Himalaya rather than a town you flew into.

The snow-walled road near the top of Khardung La — The snow-walled road near the top.

The climb out of Leh toward Khardung La, with the valley falling away below — The climb out of Leh, with the valley falling away below.

The one thing to get right at the top

Do not linger. The summit is cold and the oxygen is thin, and it is the worst place to stand around for an hour, especially early in a trip before your body has adjusted.
Stop, take the photo by the sign, feel the altitude, then keep moving down the far side.
The views are even better lower down, and your head will thank you. Acclimatise in Leh first.

Where it leads: Nubra

Khardung La is not the destination, it is the doorway. Over the top and down the far side is Nubra Valley, the dunes, the villages, a completely different landscape from anything on the Leh side. If you are crossing the pass, you are almost certainly on your way there, and Nubra is worth the overnight rather than a rushed there-and-back.

Same rules as the rest of Ladakh, because the road leads into Nubra, a protected area:

Indian travellers pay the environment fee online, no separate permit.
Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit arranged through a registered Leh agency.

Snow-covered slopes near the top of Khardung La

Snow-covered peaks near the top of Khardung La

A traveller gesturing toward the yellow Khardung La summit sign at the pass

How we plan the crossing

We never make Khardung La a day-one drive. It goes in only after a couple of acclimatised days in Leh, and we build it as the gateway to a Nubra overnight rather than a rushed there-and-back. We keep the stop at the top short, watch road and weather the same week, and confirm permits before the day is locked in.

Planning the crossing into Nubra?

Tell us how you like to travel, and we will plan the crossing, the acclimatisation and Nubra into one trip that actually works.

Reeya Poddar

Founder, Unmapped Paths

I visited Ladakh to experience it slowly, not to tick places off. This journal combines what I experienced firsthand with conversations with local hosts, drivers and residents, along with careful research to help travellers plan more thoughtfully.