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Ladakh is bounded by world's two
mightiest mountain ranges the great Himalayan and the
Karakoram, It lies athwart two others The Ladakh and the
Zangskar range.It lies at altitude ranging from about
2,750m to 7,673m. The temperature in summer goes upto
27C and in winter it drops down to minus 20C.It leaves
the first time traveler awestruck by its geographical
and cultural difference as they land at Leh. The
features of Ladakhi people, their clothes and dialects
are similar to Tibetan and Mongoloid then Indian. The
Mons from Kullu and Tibet were the first population
immigrants to Ladakh as shepherds' nomads and settled
down near Indus River. Later drads and others immigrated
to Lower Ladakh. Due to cultural and geographical
similarities Ladakh is popular among tourists as Little
Tibet. Buddhism is the dominant religion in Ladakh while
Kargil district is dominated by Muslims and Buddhist.
The approach to Ladakh is invariably marked with many
walls that are long upto 2 to 3m, decorated with
engraved stones bearing the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum"
and Chortens which symbolizes Buddha's mind. The
Villages and Mountains are ornamented with gonpa or
monastery residing thousand of Buddhist monks,hermits
and Nuns .Islam came to Ladakh from central Asia and
Kashmir after 15th century AD. Now the Kargil, Drass and
Suru valley is populated by Shia and Sunis are in Leh
and Kargil in smaller scale.
Places to see in Ladakh
Leh
Leh is the headquarter of Leh District, and the largest
town of the region. It is located to the north of the
Indus River at an elevation of 3600m above the sea
level. The town is dominated by the nine-storey Namgyal
Palace and Namgyal Tsemo (victory peak), built by Tashi
Namgyal on his victorious in reunification of the Upper
and Lower Ladakh. Leh became the capital of Stod (upper
Ladakh) during the reign of king Graspa Bum- Lde,who
ruled Ladakh from 1400 to 1430 AD. In the later period,
Leh became an important center for trade in Central
Asia. Leh remained merely a headquarter of Ladakh
district until 1974, when Ladakh was opened for foreign
tourists. Since then period Leh became the centre for
tourism related activities in the region.
Kargil:
Kargil, the headquarter of Kargil district, is around
204 Kms. to the east of Srinagar and 234 Kms. to the
west of Leh.It was a transit point of caravans on their
way to and from China, Tibet, Yarken and Kashmir till
1949, but since 1974 tourism has replaced as centre for
tourism related activities . Torurists travelling
between Zangskar, Leh and Srinagar have to make a night
halt here, before starting for the second day of their
journey.
Kargil is located on the bank of the Suru River which
flows at around 10,000 ft. high. Here people were
followers of Buddhist religion till the 14th century AD.
Presently, Kargil is inhabited by Muslims of Shia sect.
Zanskar:
Zangskar valley lies to the south west of Leh,
surrounded by the Himalayan and Zangskar ranges, which
is the most isolated of all the trans- Himalayan
valleys.Zangskar comprises of two main valleys of Stod (Doda
chu) and Lunak (Tsarab chu), which converge below at
Padum. The valley has an area of about 5,000 sqr. Kms.
and an elevation of 13,154 ft. The area remains
inaccessible for nearly 7 months in the year. All the
high passes are close in the winter and the river freeze
on the surface. Zanskaris walk along the frozon river to
reach the Indus River in Nimoo village, which is known
as the Chadar trek.
Nubra Valley:
The Nubra Valley means Ldumra (the valley of flowers),
situated in the north of Leh. The average altitude of
the valley is about 10,000 ft. above the sea level. The
main attraction in this area is Bactarian Camels (Shaggy
double hump Camel) around sand dunes, Deskit &
Samstanling monasteries and Khardung la Pass (18,380
feet.) above sea level.
Chang Thang
The land of Nomads:
Changthang means Eastern Flat land, is located in the
east of Leh on the Chinese border. The average altitude
of the area is around 14600m above sea level. This area
is also known as Rupsho valley. The main attraction of
this area is Changpa nomads, wild animals, Lakes and
rare birds.
Tomoriri Lake:
The Tsomoriri Lake is a beautiful mountain bounded
expanse of water, around 240 Kms. from Leh in Rupsho
Valley. The Lake is located at 14,000 ft. near a small
village of Korzok. The Korzok Monastery of 19th century
houses Shakyamuni Buddha and other statues. The Nomadic
people are most outstanding feature of this Lake area,
which grazed herd of goats and yaks. The Tsokar (the
salt Lake) around 76 kms. from Tsomoriri is also a
wonderful Lake in this area.
Pangong Lake:
Pangong is 40 miles in length and nearly 2-4 miles in
width at a height of 4267m above the sea level What
strikes the eye in coming first in view of this lake is
the lovely colour of its water, espacially towards
evening, which is of the richest deep blue, over the
whole expanse, at morning time, it is of a lighter a
very brilliant colour. The water of the Lake is not that
salty as sea water.
Pangong Tso trip can be organised in two days and
overnight stay at Tangtse.Travellers are not allowed to
pitch their tents near the Lake and only allowed to go
upto Spangmik due to security reason. As 75% of the Lake
is in China and only 25% is in India.The landscape on
the way to Pangong is spectacular.
Dhahanu:
The land of Aryans
Dhahanu is situated to the south west of Leh, around 163
Kms. passing through the beautiful villages of Kaltsey,
Domkhar, Skurbuchan and Achinathang. There are many
small villages but only two villages of Dha and Hanu are
open for tourist. Being on lower altitude Dhahanu is
warmer than Leh.
Fair & Festivals:
In Ladakh every occasion marriage, birth, harvesting,
commemoration of head Lamas founding of the monastery,
Losar (new year) and flowering is marked by feasting,
dancing and the singing of folksongs that forms a part
of its living heritage. Most of the festivals are held
in winter but some popular festival take place in summer
too. The monastic festivals are the heart of all the
festivals. They are performed by Monks wearing colorful
silk garments and different facial mask.
Hemis Festival
Hemis festival is one of the most famous monastic
festivals in June to commemorate birth of Guru
Padmasambhava, the founder of Tantric Buddhism in Tibet.
The sacred dance drama of the life and mission is
performed wearing facial masks and colorful brocades
robes. The three-day festival takes place from 9th to
11th. Especially the monkey year festival, which comes
in a cycle of 12 years. During it the four-storey thanka
of Guru Padma Sambhava is hung in the courtyard and
other precious thankas are also exhibited. |
