Galongla Mountain

Galongla Mountain, elevation 5,106 meters, straddles Bomê County and Medog County in Tibet Autonomous Region, forming a critical segment of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis.

Geography

Its glaciated slopes feed the Parlung Tsangpo River and the Yarlung Tsangpo basin. The mountain's thrust-fold structure, exposed in 200-meter-high rock faces, reveals Precambrian gneiss overlying Cretaceous granites due to ongoing tectonic compression.
The Galongla Tunnel, part of China National Highway 318, completed in 2010 at 3,700 meters, eased access but increased black carbon deposition on the glacier. Protected under China's National Ecological Security Barrier Project, the area sustains rare species like the Mishmi takin and Rhododendron galactinum, a cloud-forest shrub endemic to its 3,800–4,200 m slopes.
UNESCO designated it part of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 2021. Infrared camera traps recorded 14 snow leopard transits annually. Permitted trekking routes avoid calving icefalls, with mandatory local guides.