Travel guide to the top of Gele La

Travel guide to the top of Gele La

China, asia

Length

41 km

Elevation

4,369 m

Difficulty

moderate

Best Season

Year-round

Gele La is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 4.369m (14,333ft) above the sea level, located in Jomda County, in Chamdo in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China.

The curvy road to the summit is the challenging

China National Highway 317

. It’s paved. When the snow falls - which it does in the winter – things get tough and slippery. The pass is 41.0km (25.47 miles) long, running from Qu’nyido to Kargang. There are many dangerous sections of road along the route, and oxygen is scarce in the high altitude, making driving even more of a challenge.

Road suggested by: Hugh Wilson

A Once in a Lifetime Drive through Orkyi La

Driving the remote road to Ji La

Embark on a journey like never before! Navigate through our

to discover the most spectacular roads of the world

Drive Us to Your Road!

With over 13,000 roads cataloged, we're always on the lookout for unique routes. Know of a road that deserves to be featured? Click

 to share your suggestion, and we may add it to dangerousroads.org.

Share this road

Road Details

Country
China
Continent
asia
Length
41 km
Max Elevation
4,369 m
Difficulty
moderate

Related Roads in asia

Why is Tash Rabat Famous?extreme

Why is Tash Rabat Famous?

🌍 Kyrgyzstan

Deep in Kyrgyzstan's Naryn region, you'll find Tash Rabat, a seriously cool stone caravanserai that feels like it's in the middle of absolutely nowhere! Why is Tash Rabat so special? This Silk Road relic sits at a whopping 3,200m (10,498ft) above sea level. Picture this: a stunning mountain backdrop framing a 15th-century caravanserai, once a haven for Silk Road merchants journeying between Central Asia and China. It's rumored to be built on the ruins of an even older monastery from the 9th/10th centuries. History buffs, you HAVE to add this to your list! Getting there is an adventure itself. Just south, near the Chinese border, the 15km (9.32 miles) stretch from the A365 highway is entirely unpaved, hugging the Tash Rabat river valley. You'll need a 4WD to tackle this wild ride. But here's the deal: winter can shut this road down for up to eight months due to snow. And even when the snow melts, landslides, avalanches, and the occasional earthquake or flooding can turn the road into more of a suggestion than a solid path. Trust me, find a local driver who knows the ropes. Oh, and that high altitude? Altitude sickness is real, so take it seriously!

Where is Kora La?moderate

Where is Kora La?

πŸ‡³πŸ‡΅ Nepal

Okay, adventure junkies, listen up! I just got back from the Kora La, a seriously breathtaking mountain pass hitting a sky-high 15,160 feet! You'll find this stunner in northern Nepal, practically kissing the Chinese border. They call it the lowest drivable route between the two countries. Buckle up for about 7.27 miles of pure, unadulterated off-road action. Seriously, this isn't your grandma's Sunday drive. Starting from the Chinese border, the road snakes south toward Lo Manthang, but heads-up: it's completely unpaved and often snowed in during the winter months. This wild stretch is part of the Kali Gandaki Corridor KA32, and trust me, you'll want a 4x4 for this one. The views are absolutely insane, but keep your eyes on the road – this baby demands respect!

The World's Longest Traffic Jam: A 100km, 12-Day Standstill in Chinamoderate

The World's Longest Traffic Jam: A 100km, 12-Day Standstill in China

πŸ‡¨πŸ‡³ China

Okay, picture this: August 2010, China. You're stuck. Really, really stuck. We're talking a legendary, twelve-day-long traffic jam stretching for a mind-boggling 62 miles (100 km) on the China National Highway 110 between Hebei and Inner Mongolia. Thousands of vehicles were caught in this epic standstill. Imagine turning your car into your home, trying to survive days of hunger and thirst. It gets worse – opportunistic vendors popped up, selling essentials like instant noodles for four times the normal price and water for TEN times the markup! What caused this mega-jam? Not an accident or disaster, but simply too many vehicles trying to use the same road. Ironically, a major contributor was a convoy of heavy trucks carrying construction supplies to Beijing for… you guessed it, road work intended to ease congestion! Progress was glacial; some drivers only managed to move about 0.6 miles (1 km) per day. Talk about a travel nightmare!

Stranded Survival: A Mini-Economy Emerges Amid Hunger and Thirstmoderate

Stranded Survival: A Mini-Economy Emerges Amid Hunger and Thirst

πŸ‡¨πŸ‡³ China

Okay, buckle up for a wild ride on China National Highway 110! Picture this: August 2010, and you're smack-dab in the middle of the *longest* traffic jam ever recorded – a whopping 62 miles of standstill! We're talking days on end between Hebei and Inner Mongolia, surrounded by thousands of other weary travelers. Forget roadside rest stops; this was a whole new level of "roughing it." Think makeshift shelters, instant noodles going for crazy prices, and water costing ten times its worth! What caused this madness? Not an accident or some natural disaster – just too many vehicles at once, especially those heavy construction trucks headed to Beijing (ironically to *fix* congestion!). The pace? Try crawling along at less than a mile *per day*. It's a slow-motion travel experience that will have you questioning your life choices... but hey, at least you'll have a story to tell!