Shinku La | Shingo La | New gateway to Zanskar Valley

Shingo La is a high mountain pass in India that sits at an elevation of 5.091m (16,703ft) above sea level on Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Shingo-La (sometimes spelt Shinku La) is a mountain pass in India that connects the Indian states of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. A small lake is 20 metres below the pass. The pass is located on a long-distance trail that connects Zanskar and Lahaul and is often used by locals and tourists. The Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road, 297 kilometres long, has been designated as the third route to Ladakh in 2021.

The path to the pass, also known as Shinkun La, Shinku La, or Shingu La, is difficult. It was completed in 2015 and is quite steep, requiring only 4×4 cars. The new road links the Lahaul and Zanskar valleys. The ascent is just dreadful, with a severe lack of oxygen that puts the organisms to the test and a significant degree of steepness. At altitudes of 2,500-2,800 metres, most persons get altitude sickness.

Tunnel of Shinku La

Shinku-La Tunnel, also known as Shinkula Tunnel or Shingo-La Tunnel, is an upcoming motorable tunnel in Northern India that would run beneath the 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass connecting Himachal’s Lahaul valley and Ladakh’s Zanskar valley. The 13.5-kilometre Shinku La Tunnel would connect the Union Territory of Ladakh with the tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.

Under the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the Ministry of Defence is constructing a route connecting Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh called Darcha-Shinkula-Padum-Nimu. After the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and Manali-Sarchu-Leh roads, this would be the third route linking Ladakh to the mainland.

After the Shinku-la tunnel is completed, the Manali-Padum-Nimu or Darcha-Padum-Nimu route will be all-weather. This will be the shortest and safest route to Leh.

Because the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang circumvented the 13,050ft high Rohtang pass, Shinkula pass will be the sole pass on this new route. Thus, in contrast to the Manali-Sarchu-Leh route, which includes several mountain crossings, the Darcha-Padum-Nimu road has only one – Shinkula pass.

The Darcha-Shinkula pass: Padum-Nimu roadway will be 297 kilometres long. Nimu is 35 kilometres from Leh and 185 kilometres from Kargil. Darcha is 100 kilometres from Manali (through the Atal Tunnel) on the Manali-Sarchu-Leh route.

The Darcha-Padum section was completed last September when the Discover Leh Ladakh crew became the first to drive on it. An almost 35-kilometre road between Padum and Nimu still needs to be built. About 100 kilometres of the route have been converted to double lanes.