Chang La

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Changla
Elevation 5,360 m (17,585 ft)
Traversed by Road from Indus Valley to Pangong Lake
Location  India
Range Himalaya
Coordinates 34°03′32″N 77°55′51″E / 34.058917°N 77.930832°E / 34.058917; 77.930832Coordinates: 34°03′32″N 77°55′51″E / 34.058917°N 77.930832°E / 34.058917; 77.930832
Location of Chang La in Jammu & Kashmir

The Chang La (el. 5,360 m or 17,590 ft) is a high mountain pass in Ladakh, India.[1][2] It is the third highest motorable road in the world.

The Chang La is on the route to Pangong Lake from Leh. The name literally means "Pass towards the South" or "Pass in the South" (Chang = south, La = Pass). It is falsely claimed that the pass is named after the supposed sadhu Changla Baba, a myth propagated by the dedication of a temple at the pass to the supposed Changla Baba. If any such sadhu exists or existed, he would have been named for the pass, rather than vice versa (since the name "changla baba" means the "baba of the southern pass". The small town of Tangste is the nearest settlement. The Changla Pass is the main gateway for the Changthang Plateau situated in the Himalayas. The nomadic tribes of the region are collectively known as the Changpa or Chang-pa.

References

  1. GeoNames. "Chang La Pass". Retrieved 2009-06-17. 
  2. Jina, Prem Singh (31 August 1998). Ladakh: The Land & The People. India: Indus Publishing. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-81-7387-057-6. 
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