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Umling La
Umling La
Umlung La
	Summit, with two auto rickshaws
Elevation	19,024 feet (5,799 m)
Location	Ladakh, India
Range	Himalaya, Ladakh Range
Coordinates	32°41′35″N 79°16′17″E / 32.6931°N 79.2715°E

Umling La or Umlung La is the highest paved road and mountain pass in the world, located in Ladakh, India, on the ridgeline between Koyul Lungpa and the Indus River near Demchok. At an elevation of 19,024 feet (5,799 m), it forms the source for the Umlung stream that drains into the Indus and a tributary of the Kiungdul river that drains into Koyul Lungpa.

The Umling La pass is traversed by a road between Chisumle and Demchok, also called the Umling La Road, which ascends to a height of 5799 metres (19024 feet) in the vicinity of the pass, making it the world's highest motorable road.^[1]

Chisumle–Demchok road

In 2017 a 52-kilometre (32 mi) paved road was constructed between the villages of Chisumle and Demchok by the Border Roads Organisation of India. The elevation at Umling La of 19,024 feet (5,799 m) surpassed the record previously held by the 18,953-foot (5,777 m) Uturuncu volcano road, Bolivia, making it the world's highest motorable road and pass.^[2] It is higher than Mount Everest's South Base Camp, which is at 17,598 feet (5,364 m), and over half the cruising altitude of commercial jet airlines. The environment posed severe challenges for construction, with winter temperatures falling to −40 °C (−40 °F), and oxygen levels 50% lower than at sea level.

The pass is located at Kilometre 24 on the road.

World records

On September 16, 2022, at 11:04 a.m. (Indian Standard Time), a Canadian team (Greg Harris and Priya Singh) and a Swiss team (Michele Daryanani & Nevena Lazarevic) set the world record for the highest altitude at which an auto rickshaw has ever been driven. The two teams set the record by driving to the summit of Umling La Pass at an altitude of 5,799 meters (19,024 feet).^[3]

The two teams were participating in the Rickshaw Run (Himalayan Edition), an event promoted by The Adventurists, where teams drive auto rickshaws from the Thar desert town of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to the Himalayan town of Leh in Ladakh. Rickshaw Run teams are given the start and finish lines, but are otherwise unsupported and left to their own navigational choices in completing the approximately 2,300 km journey.