Highest Motorable Roads Collage

Top 5 Highest Motorable Roads In The World

The simplest of things, even a cup of tea with mountain ranges in the background can elevate your conscience. The extreme and vast expanse mesmerizes you no matter where you look, and it brings you to think about life in the sense of a bigger picture. And all this doesn’t even include the fun travel part. For motorists and travel enthusiasts alike, travel is a significant part of a trip or a vacation, and today with mountains at the back of our minds, we bring to you the “Top 5 Highest Motorable Roads in The World”.

Umling La Ladakh, India 

It is a matter of pride for us all that the highest motorable road in the world exists in our country. Built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in 2017, Umlingla Pass connects Chisumle and Demchok villages. It is at a height of 5,883 metres or 19,300 feet. This road stands at a higher altitude than the Mount Everest Base Camp. It is about 235Kms from Leh.

Umling La

Road to Uturuncu Potosi, Bolivia

Uturuncu is an active stratovolcano in southwest Bolivia, located in Potosi. The second highest motorable road is the road that leads to this volcano. It stands at a height of 5,777 metres or 18,953 feet. It is a test of both man and machine due to the extremely low oxygen and the twists and turns along this inclined road.

Road to Uturuncu Potosi, Bolivia

Dungri La or Mana Pass Uttarakhand, India   

Dungri La trail starts just after Mana village in Uttarakhand, known as the ‘last Indian village’ before the borders of Tibet. Civilians need to take permission from the army to drive through this road. This road is also accessible from Badrinath. It acts as a road link between India and Tibet. It is situated at a height of 5,610 metres or 18,406 feet.

Dungri La or Mana Pass Uttarakhand, India

Marsimek La Ladakh, India 

It falls in the Chang-Chemno range of Ladakh. Marsimek La has proximity to Lukung and thus starts at the base famous Pangong Lake and then turns north ways away from the lake. Once again, you need permission from the army and district authorities to drive along this route. It is situated at a height of 5,583 metres or 18,313 feet.

Marsimek La Ladakh, India (1)

Semo La Central Tibet 

This road gives access to the Changtang region. Earlier it was only an unsurfaced road travelled only by weekly buses or trucks heading west but was later paved. This route is commonly used as an alternate route to western Tibet and Mount Kailash when mud makes access by southern roads difficult. At a height of 5,565 metres or 18,258 feet, this road is the fifth-highest motorable road in the world.

Semo La Central Tibet

As can be seen above, three of the five roads mentioned are in India which shows the amount of works that our country has to do to build and maintain these roads that too in such extreme climate conditions which is most definitely praise-worthy.

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