Five interesting facts about Siachen Glacier, world’s highest battlefield, you didn’t know about

Representative Image. Pic/iStock

Siachen Glacier, which is open to tourists, is the world's highest battlefield. The Siachen Glacier is situated in the Karakoram range close to the LoC with Pakistan. A very important strategic point for the army in India, it has gained a widespread reputation as the highest battlefield in the world as a result of the Siachen Conflict.

Here are five things you must know about the world's highest battlefield:

1. Siachen glacier, located in the eastern Karakoram Range in the Himalayas, is one of the five largest glaciers in the Karakoram, situated at an average altitude of 18,000 ft above sea level.

Also Read: Know Colonel Narendra ‘Bull' Kumar, the unsung legend who secured Siachen for India

2. Siachen is strategically important because so long as it is in India's control, the Pakistani army can't link up with the Chinese and pose a threat to Ladakh. It acts as a wedge between the Shaksgam Valley under Chinese control and Baltistan, which is occupied by Pakistan.

3. More than 1,000 soldiers have died guarding the area since the army took control of the inhospitable glacier in April 1984, almost twice the number of lives lost in the Kargil war.

4. Usually, a soldier serves about three months on the glacier where some posts are located at an altitude of more than 21,000 feet. Soldiers have to trek for almost 28 days, covering a stretch of 128km to reach some of the farthest pickets on the glacier.

5. India currently occupies dominating positions on the Saltoro ridge with Pakistani posts located 3,000 feet below.