Those who have ridden or driven deep into the mountains might be familiar with the amazing work that the Border Roads Organization (BRO) does in such remote locations. Apart from putting up witty signboards and warnings for fellow travellers, BRO is also responsible for black-topping the areas unimaginable. If you are in the mountains, adjacent to the northern border areas and find a smooth and gorgeous piece of tarmac, chances are, BRO is behind it. And now, BRO has received international recognition for its herculean efforts as it has created a world record by constructing and black-topping the world’s highest motorable road at Umling La Pass in Ladakh at an altitude of 19,024 feet.
What the Union Minister had to say
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari felicitated BRO on twitter by announcing that the organization has registered itself in the Guinness Book of World Records for contructing and blacktopping the world’s highest scalable road at Umling La Pass in Ladakh.
More details about Umling La
Back in August, we reported that BRO had successfully completed the construction of the 52-km long tarmac road at Umling La Pass. The Umling La now connects the towns in the Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh. Apart from that, it also offers an alternate direct route connecting Chisumle and Dhemchuk from Leh, which will prove to be highly beneficial for the local population. It is worth noting here that the pass will also impact the socio-economic condition in the region and promote tourism in Ladakh.
It is being claimed that riding or driving to scale the Umling La pass could prove to be even more treacherous than Khardung La. During peak winter season, the temperature at this pass can drop to as much as -40 degrees Celsius. What makes it even more difficult to scale is the fact that the oxygen level at this altitude is about 50 per cent less than the sea level, making it very difficult for anyone to stay here for too long.
Also read: Highest Motorable Roads/Passes In India
A humble request
If you are planning to tick off Umling La from your bucket list, we request you to please be a responsible adventurer. It would be inhuman for us to ruin such breathtaking places. Moreover, we should take extra care of the resources in such remote areas because it could prove to be very difficult for the locals inhabiting the area if we prove to be a burden for them.