The road to Bodpo La is not for the faint of heart

Bodpo La is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 5.774m (18,943ft) above the sea level, located in Zanda County, in the Ngari Prefecture to the extreme west of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It's one of the world's highest motorable roads.

Bodpo La

It’s one of the highest mountain roads of the country. The road to the summit is totally unpaved. It’s a military road. 4x4 vehicles only. The climb is simply terrible, with a notorius lack of oxygen that tests the organisms and a high degree of steepness. Most people feel altitude sickness at around 2,500-2,800 meters. The climb requires a military authorization very difficult to obtain (even for a national) because it is located in a totally isolated area near the Indian border. The pass road is 173.6 km long, running from Chumuti to Chepzi. It hits a 14% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps.