Fotu La ( hi, script=Latn, fōtu lā) or Fatu La is a mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway in the

Zanskar Range Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brie ...

of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

s in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. At an elevation of , it is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed

Zoji La Zoji La (sometimes Zojila Pass) is a high mountain pass in the Himalayas. It is in the Indian Union territory of Ladakh, Kargil district, Kashmir. Located in the Drass, the pass connects the Kashmir Valley to its west, with the Drass ...

. Fotu La is one of two high mountain passes between

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

and

Kargil Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Jam ...

, the other being

Namika La Namika La or Namika Pass (el. ), Pillar of the Sky Pass, is a high mountain pass in the Himalayas Zaskar Range in India along the National Highway 1D (India), Srinagar-Leh highway at 34°22′N 76°35′E. Namika La is one of two high passes be ...

. Moving eastwards, the highway begins to descend towards the Lamayuru after Fotu La. There is a

Prasar Bharati Prasar Bharati (abbreviated as PB; Hindi: ''Praśar Bharati'', lit. Indian Broadcaster) is India's state-owned public broadcaster, headquartered in New Delhi. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament and comprises the ...

television relay station serving Lamayuru located on the pass.

References

Mountain passes of Ladakh Mountain passes of the Himalayas {{Ladakh-geo-stub