Photi La is a climb of 26.5 kilometers (hors catégorie). The climb finishes at 5,502 m above sea level. It is located in Khuldo, Ladakh, India. The average gradient is 5.2% with a maximum of 16%. The climb has 1366 meters of elevation gain.
Difficulty analysis: At 26.5 km, with 1366 m of elevation gain and an average gradient of 5.2%, the Photi La more than earns its hors catégorie rating. The profile is fairly even, with a base of around 4% over most of the climb, but the sections at 7 to 9% between km 19 and 22, then at km 25-26, break the rhythm. The real difficulty comes from the length of the effort and the accumulation of kilometres above 4%.
Tips for pacing yourself:
1. Find your rhythm from the bottom: on km 0 to 6, where the gradient holds steady around 4%, settle into a steady tempo and don't let yourself get carried away.
2. Recover on the flat bits: make the most of the 2% stretches at km 10-11 and 17-18 to drink and take on food.
3. Save something for the finale: keep some energy in the tank for km 21-22 at 9% and km 25-26 at 8%, as you approach the summit.
Accounts describe a climb starting from Hanle, about 30 km to the top. The hairpins come one after another on both sides of the pass, with constant ups and downs. Several riders find Photi La harder than Umling La, and one motorcyclist says the road wears out your bike and leaves you knackered.
On the road, reports match up. One rider noted the tarmac has been fully black since October 2022 and that the BRO has finished the roadworks. Another, who went through earlier, describes a road under construction and much tougher going. A post in Arabic warns of falling rocks on the surface and advises riding with great caution.
At the top, there's almost nothing to see. There's no shop and no house on the pass, and the icy wind drives everyone off quickly. One rider could only stay a few minutes, with frozen hands and feet. Acute mountain sickness is also mentioned. Several people advise topping up on fuel beforehand, since Umling La comes straight after.
The scenery comes up again and again in the write-ups. The view back over Hanle during the climb is judged very beautiful, and the view from the summit is called superb by several people. One rider says the pass is quieter than Umling La, without the crowd of motorbikes fighting over photo spots. Some ride both passes in the same day, and one of them has done three passes in 200 km from Hanle.
26.5 km • 1366 m D+
VAM: average climbing speed, based on elevation gain
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