The Wild Road to Charding La

Charding La is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 5.594m (18,353ft) above the sea level, located in the Ngari Prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It's one of the highest roads of the country.

Charding La

Located near the Indian-controlled part of the disputed Demchok sector, the road to the summit is totally unpaved. When the snow falls - which it does in the winter – things get tough and slippery. Always check the weather forecast before you start your journey: adverse conditions are common.  4x4 vehicle recommended. Facilities like electricity, medical aid, hot running water, western toilets etc. are rare to find. There are high chances of getting affected by AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness). 4x4 required. The area is totally closed to civilians. The road is narrow and heavily used by military vehicles.
The road to the summit is very steep, hitting a 10% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. Starting at Yeban Line (303), the ascent is 5.1 km (3.16 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 327 meters. The average gradient is 6.41%.

 

Drive Us to Your Road!

With over 13,000 roads cataloged, we're always on the lookout for unique routes. Know of a road that deserves to be featured? Click here to share your suggestion, and we may add it to dangerousroads.org.