About

Ladakh

Ladakh is situated at the easternmost part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is governed as an Autonomous Hill Development Council under the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The capital of Ladakh is the beautiful city of Leh. Geographically, Ladakh is uniquely placed between the massive Himalayas and the Karakoram mountains. The Himalayas lie to its south while the Karakoram lie to its north. Saser Kangri of the Karakoram Mountains is the highest peak of Ladakh. The historic Indus river runs through the terrain of Ladakh. Unlike its later shape when it reaches the Arabian Sea, the Indus River in Ladakh is a fast mountainous river, both wild and beautiful. Therefore, Ladakh provides an ideal location for both trekking and rafting.

Some of the major geographical regions of Ladakh include Central Ladakh, Nubra, Pangong, Rupshu, Zanskar and Western Ladakh. Central Ladakh is the heartland of Ladakh, constituted by the Indus valley. To its south lie Zanskar Mountains and to its north lie Ladakh Mountains. The Nubra region is of deep valleys and high mountains. It can be reached by the world’s highest motorable road Khardung La (18,380 ft) from Leh Pangong area lies north of the Indus River, situated around the vast and brackish lake Pangong Tso.

Rupshu region is a dry and high altitude plateau. If one travels by road from the Indian hill station of Manali, Rupshu is the first region of Ladakh that one comes across. The western fringe of Rupshu merges into Tibet. The region is characterized by vast plains, rolling mountains and brackish lakes. The region of Zanskar is a valley, accessible only through the high passes. It is situated between the Himalayas and the Zanskar mountains.

During the winters, the valley remains cut off from the rest of the world. With an average bottom altitude of 4000m, it is one of the highest inhabited regions of the world. The Zanskar river, which later merges with the Indus river, gets formed by the two rivers of Stod and Lungnak that flows through the region. The last major geographical area of Ladakh is Western Ladakh, also sometimes referred to as Lower Ladakh. An important town of the region is the strategic town of Kargil. Being on a lower altitude, varied vegetation is found in the region. Some of the major river valleys of the region are Suru, Drass, Wakha and the Indus. To the west of the region is Zoji La, the western gateway to Ladakh, which takes one into Kashmir over the Great Himalayan Range.

Ladakh is a region of extreme climates. As you enter Ladakh, the first thing that strikes you is its enormous barren landscape. Due to the massive Himalayas to its south, the rain bearing winds from Indian subcontinent rarely enters the Ladakh region. As a result, in most of Ladakh, one finds barren landscape (except Lower Ladakh) and brackish lakes. Over the landscape one would also find one of the clearest sapphire blue skies of the world. The average summer temperature in Ladakh hovers between 20 and 25 degree Celsius. The winter temperature can drop to – 35 degree Celsius. The Zanskar area is one of the coldest areas of Ladakh. In a year, the average annual rainfall is around 150 mm, which produces the barren landscape. Snowfall, however, is generally heavy. The snowfall is generally heavy in the Zanskar region, as well as around Drass. Snowfall is least in Central Ladakh.

A Historical Background of Ladakh
The various rock carvings found in Ladakh indicate human habitation kin the region for over 10,000 years. These carvings are generally of the legendary horned Himalayan animal Ibex, an endangered species of deer today. Historically, Ladakh has had close cultural exchanges with Kashmir to its west and Tibet to its east. The influence of Kashmir culture is more prominent in its western parts, which also contains a Muslim population, especially in the present Kargil district. Elsewhere, the Buddhist influence is more prominent. The influence of Buddhism in Ladakh had broadly two phases. In the first phase, when Buddhism was widely followed in India, the influence came via Kashmir. Since the 12th/13th centuries, the influence has been generally through the close historical ties that the ruling dynasties of Ladakh developed with the monasteries of Tibet.

Ladakh faced several invasions from Central Asian kingdoms in the medieval period. However, it was only after the Chinese aggression of 1962 (when China attacked India over border dispute) that the historical ties between Ladakh and Tibet got snapped. China closed the Tibetan frontiers of Ladakh. China also took over the Aksai Chin area of Ladakh. Though largely a barren mountainous tract, its taking over has been attributed to its strategic significance. After 1947, Ladakh has been a part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

In recent years, recognizing the strategic significance of Ladakh, the Indian government has taken up several infrastructure projects, primarily roadways, to facilitate better connection to the Indian mainland. The Indus festival, to celebrate the historic significance of the Indus river to the culture and civilization of the subcontinent, that the Indian government has started in the recent years has also added to the increasing significance of Ladakh.

As a result of these two factors, connectivity of Ladakh has increased significantly, facilitating trekking and rafting activities in the region enormously.

Litter Warning
Litter (bags, packets, cans, tissue papers etc) is a recent problem in Ladakh. In traditional use, most of the waste consisted of biodegradable matter. The problem of litter came when consumer items, especially food items, made way into Ladakh. The litter problem ion Leh and the trekking routes are especially acute. Whereas the litter found in Leh can be attributed to local people, the litter along the trekking routes can be attributed only the trekkers (i.e. outsiders) as the local people in the villages hardly use the mass-produced consumer items generally available in the market. All trekkers should be conscious of the litter problem and carry their litter in their bags and deposit them in designated litter places.