Home › PYQs › Indian Geography › Repeat & Gap Sheets › Mountain Passes
Mountain Passes: asked and not asked.
UPSC has asked 5 of these 32. 0 came more than once. 27 have not come yet. Lock the repeated ones first, then read the rest.
First, the concept
A pass is a low gap in a mountain range. Roads, traders and armies cross the range through it.
'La' means pass in Tibetan, so Zoji La is 'Zoji Pass'. In the Western Ghats a pass is called a 'Ghat' or a 'Gap'.
Himalayan passes link India with Tibet (China), Pakistan or Myanmar. Western Ghat passes link the coast with the Deccan.
UPPCS asks one thing above all: which pass is in which state. So learn them state by state.
✅ Asked once (5)
Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir
- Banihal · Jammu ↔ Srinagar, across the Pir Panjal (Jawahar Tunnel)
- Chang La · Leh ↔ Pangong Lake
- Pensi La · Suru Valley ↔ Zanskar 2024
Himachal Pradesh
- Shipki La · Kinnaur ↔ Tibet; the Sutlej enters India here
Sikkim
- Nathu La · Gangtok ↔ Tibet; border trade reopened in 2006 2007
❌ Not asked by UPSC yet (27)
Items marked 'asked in UPPCS' have already come in the UP state exam, so examiners do use them.
Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir
- Zoji La · Srinagar ↔ Kargil and Leh asked in UPPCS
- Aghil · Ladakh ↔ Xinjiang (China), near K2 asked in UPPCS
- Khardung La · Leh ↔ Nubra and Shyok valleys; one of the highest motorable passes
- Karakoram Pass · Ladakh ↔ Xinjiang (China); the old Leh–Yarkand trade route
- Burzil · Kashmir Valley ↔ Gilgit (Indian territory under Pakistan's occupation)
- Lanak La · Ladakh ↔ Tibet, in the Aksai Chin area
- Fotu La · The highest point on the Srinagar–Leh road
Himachal Pradesh
- Rohtang · Kullu (Manali) ↔ Lahaul and Spiti; the Atal Tunnel now runs below it asked in UPPCS
- Bara Lacha La · Lahaul ↔ Leh, on the Manali–Leh road
- Kunzum La · Lahaul ↔ Spiti
Uttarakhand
- Lipulekh · Pithoragarh ↔ Tibet; route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra asked in UPPCS
- Mana · Badrinath ↔ Tibet asked in UPPCS
- Niti · Chamoli ↔ Tibet asked in UPPCS
- Muling La · Gangotri side ↔ Tibet asked in UPPCS
- Thaga La · Uttarakhand ↔ Tibet
- Lampiya Dhura · Pithoragarh ↔ Tibet
Sikkim
- Jelep La · Sikkim ↔ Chumbi Valley (Tibet); the old Kalimpong–Lhasa route asked in UPPCS
Arunachal Pradesh
- Bomdi La · Arunachal ↔ Tibet (Lhasa), west Kameng asked in UPPCS
- Bum La · Tawang ↔ Tibet; a border meeting point with China asked in UPPCS
- Sela · Tawang ↔ rest of Arunachal; the Sela Tunnel opened in 2024 asked in UPPCS
- Diphu · Arunachal ↔ Myanmar, near the India–China–Myanmar tri-junction asked in UPPCS
- Yonggyap · Arunachal ↔ Tibet, upper Siang
- Pangsau · Arunachal ↔ Myanmar, on the old Stilwell (Ledo) Road
Western Ghats
- Thal Ghat · Nashik ↔ Mumbai (Maharashtra) asked in UPPCS
- Bhor Ghat · Pune ↔ Mumbai (Maharashtra) asked in UPPCS
- Palghat (Palakkad) Gap · Kerala ↔ Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu); between the Nilgiris and the Anaimalai asked in UPPCS
- Shencottah Gap · Kollam (Kerala) ↔ Madurai (Tamil Nadu)
⚠️ Nathu La is in Sikkim, not Arunachal Pradesh. Lipulekh is in Uttarakhand (it was in Uttar Pradesh before 2000). The Khyber Pass is in Pakistan, not in the Western Ghats.
'Asked' is checked against the solved UPSC questions on this site. 'Not asked yet' does not mean it will surely come.