Ladakh
is popularly known as ''The land of Numerous Passes', 'The Land of Mystic Lamas',
'The Broken Moon', and 'The Last Shangri-La'. It is a land like no
other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges: the
Greater Himalaya and the Karakoram, it lies between two others: the
Ladakh Range and the Zanskar Range. Leh, Ladakh's largest town and
administrative centre, is located in the northernmost part of India
some seven kilometers from the Indus River and its extensive valley.
It is a favourite tourist destination with a wide range of shopping
opportunities, including many antique stores. Cradled amidst the
snow-covered ridges and peaks of the Great Himalayas, Leh lies at the
crossroads of the ancient trading routes between Kashmir, Tibet,
Central Asia and the Indian Plains. Moreover, Leh has been a Buddhist
centre since at least the 3rd century AD. Since the invasion of Ladakh
by Tibet in the 8th century, when much of it became part of Western
Tibet, Tibetan ('Mahayana') Buddhism has dominated eastern Ladakh,
while Islam has slowly developed in Ladakh's western regions. Ladakh's
colourful gompas (Buddhist monasteries) such as Shey, Alchi, Hemis and
Lamayuru, have attracted devout Buddhists and interested travelers
from all over the globe. It is also a favourite trekking destination,
known for some of the most picturesque and challenging treks in
northern India.
Both Indian
Airline and Jet Airways operates regular scheduled flights to
Leh from Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar. Jet Airway, a
private airliner, also operate daily 2 flights between Delhi and
Leh during summer time and 1flight everyday in winter.
The main overland
approach to Ladakh from Kasmir Valley is through the 434 Km
Srinagar-Leh highway, The other land approach into Ladakh is the
473Km Manali-Leh Road. Both road open in May-June to October.
Ladakh is a land abounding in awesome physical features, set in an
enormous and spectacular environment. Bounded by two of the world's
mightiest mountain ranges, the Karakoram in the north and the Great
Himalaya in the south, it is traversed by two other parallel chains,
the Ladakh Range and the Zanskar Range. In geological terms, this is a
young land, formed a few million years ago. Its basic contours,
uplifted by tectonic movements, have been modified over the millennia
by the process of erosion due to wind and water, sculpted into the
form that we see today. Today a high-altitude desert, sheltered from
the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the
Great Himalaya, Ladakh was once covered by an extensive lake system,
the vestiges of which still exist on its south-east plateaux of Rupshu
and Chushul, in the drainage basins or lakes of Tso-moriri, Tso-kar
and Pangong-tso. But the main source of water is winter snowfall. Dras,
Zanskar and the Suru Valley on the Himalaya's northern flanks receive
heavy snow in winter, this feeds the glaciers from which melt water,
carried down by streams, irrigates the fields in summer. For the rest
of the region, the snow on the peaks is virtually the only source of
water. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain, but for sun
to melt the glaciers and liberate their water. Ladakh lies at
altitudes ranging from about 9,000 ft (2,750 m) at Kargil to 25,170 ft
(7,672m) at Saser Kangri, in the Karakoram Range. Summer temperatures
rarely exceed 27C in the shade, while in winter they may at times
plummet to minus 20C even in Leh. Surprisingly though, the thin air
makes the heat of the sun even more intense than at lower altitudes.
It is said that only in Ladakh can a man sitting in the sun with his
feet in the shade suffer from sunstroke and frostbite at the same
time!
For nearly 900 years, from the middle of the 10th century, Ladakh was
an independent kingdom, its ruling dynasties descending from the kings
of old Tibet. The kingdom attained its greatest geographical extent
and glory in the early 17th century under the famous king Singge
Namgyal, whose domain extended across Spiti and western Tibet right up
to the Mayum-la, beyond the sacred sites of Mount Kailash and Lake
Mansarovar.Gradually, perhaps partly due to the fact that it was
politically stable, Ladakh became recognized as the best trade route
between the Punjab and Central Asia. For centuries it was traversed by
caravans carrying textiles, spices, raw silk, carpets, dyestuffs,
narcotics, etc. Heedless of the land's rugged terrain and apparent
remoteness, merchants entrusted their goods to relays of pony
transporters who took about two months to carry them from Amritsar to
the Central Asian towns of Yarkand and Khotan. On this long route, Leh
was the midway stop, and developed into a bustling entrepot, its
bazars thronged with merchants from distant countries. The famous
pashmina (better known as cashmere) also came down from the
high-altitude plateaux of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet, through
Leh, to Srinagar, where skilled artisans transformed it into shawls
known the world over for their softness and warmth. Ironically, it was
this lucrative trade that finally spelt the doom of the independent
kingdom. It attracted the covetous attention of Gulab Singh, the ruler
of Jammu in the early 19th century, who sent his general Zorawar Singh
to invade Ladakh in 1834 AD. There followed a decade of war and
turmoil, which ended with the emergenceof the British as the paramount
power in north India. Ladakh, together with the neighbouring province
of Baltistan, was incorporated into the newly created state of Jammu &
Kashmir. Just over a century later, this union was disturbed by the
partition of India, as a result of which Baltistan became part of
Pakistan, while Ladakh remained in India as part of the State of Jammu
& Kashmir.
Ladakh
is popularly known as ''The land of Numerous Passes', 'The Land of Mystic Lamas',
'The Broken Moon', and 'The Last Shangri-La'. It is a land like no
other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges: the
Greater Himalaya and the Karakoram, it lies between two others: the
Ladakh Range and the Zanskar Range. Leh, Ladakh's largest town and
administrative centre, is located in the northernmost part of India
some seven kilometers from the Indus River and its extensive valley.
It is a favourite tourist destination with a wide range of shopping
opportunities, including many antique stores. Cradled amidst the
snow-covered ridges and peaks of the Great Himalayas, Leh lies at the
crossroads of the ancient trading routes between Kashmir, Tibet,
Central Asia and the Indian Plains. Moreover, Leh has been a Buddhist
centre since at least the 3rd century AD. Since the invasion of Ladakh
by Tibet in the 8th century, when much of it became part of Western
Tibet, Tibetan ('Mahayana') Buddhism has dominated eastern Ladakh,
while Islam has slowly developed in Ladakh's western regions. Ladakh's
colourful gompas (Buddhist monasteries) such as Shey, Alchi, Hemis and
Lamayuru, have attracted devout Buddhists and interested travelers
from all over the globe. It is also a favourite trekking destination,
known for some of the most picturesque and challenging treks in
northern India.
Ladakh is a land abounding in awesome physical features, set in an
enormous and spectacular environment. Bounded by two of the world's
mightiest mountain ranges, the Karakoram in the north and the Great
Himalaya in the south, it is traversed by two other parallel chains,
the Ladakh Range and the Zanskar Range. In geological terms, this is a
young land, formed a few million years ago. Its basic contours,
uplifted by tectonic movements, have been modified over the millennia
by the process of erosion due to wind and water, sculpted into the
form that we see today. Today a high-altitude desert, sheltered from
the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the
Great Himalaya, Ladakh was once covered by an extensive lake system,
the vestiges of which still exist on its south-east plateaux of Rupshu
and Chushul, in the drainage basins or lakes of Tso-moriri, Tso-kar
and Pangong-tso. But the main source of water is winter snowfall. Dras,
Zanskar and the Suru Valley on the Himalaya's northern flanks receive
heavy snow in winter, this feeds the glaciers from which melt water,
carried down by streams, irrigates the fields in summer. For the rest
of the region, the snow on the peaks is virtually the only source of
water. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain, but for sun
to melt the glaciers and liberate their water. Ladakh lies at
altitudes ranging from about 9,000 ft (2,750 m) at Kargil to 25,170 ft
(7,672m) at Saser Kangri, in the Karakoram Range. Summer temperatures
rarely exceed 27C in the shade, while in winter they may at times
plummet to minus 20C even in Leh. Surprisingly though, the thin air
makes the heat of the sun even more intense than at lower altitudes.
It is said that only in Ladakh can a man sitting in the sun with his
feet in the shade suffer from sunstroke and frostbite at the same
time!
For nearly 900 years, from the middle of the 10th century, Ladakh was
an independent kingdom, its ruling dynasties descending from the kings
of old Tibet. The kingdom attained its greatest geographical extent
and glory in the early 17th century under the famous king Singge
Namgyal, whose domain extended across Spiti and western Tibet right up
to the Mayum-la, beyond the sacred sites of Mount Kailash and Lake
Mansarovar.Gradually, perhaps partly due to the fact that it was
politically stable, Ladakh became recognized as the best trade route
between the Punjab and Central Asia. For centuries it was traversed by
caravans carrying textiles, spices, raw silk, carpets, dyestuffs,
narcotics, etc. Heedless of the land's rugged terrain and apparent
remoteness, merchants entrusted their goods to relays of pony
transporters who took about two months to carry them from Amritsar to
the Central Asian towns of Yarkand and Khotan. On this long route, Leh
was the midway stop, and developed into a bustling entrepot, its
bazars thronged with merchants from distant countries. The famous
pashmina (better known as cashmere) also came down from the
high-altitude plateaux of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet, through
Leh, to Srinagar, where skilled artisans transformed it into shawls
known the world over for their softness and warmth. Ironically, it was
this lucrative trade that finally spelt the doom of the independent
kingdom. It attracted the covetous attention of Gulab Singh, the ruler
of Jammu in the early 19th century, who sent his general Zorawar Singh
to invade Ladakh in 1834 AD. There followed a decade of war and
turmoil, which ended with the emergenceof the British as the paramount
power in north India. Ladakh, together with the neighbouring province
of Baltistan, was incorporated into the newly created state of Jammu &
Kashmir. Just over a century later, this union was disturbed by the
partition of India, as a result of which Baltistan became part of
Pakistan, while Ladakh remained in India as part of the State of Jammu
& Kashmir.