Credentials

  Overview | Places of Interest | Festival Dates | Wonders of Ladakh

Rock carvings have been found in many parts of Ladakh, showing that the area has been inhabited from the Neolithic times. Ladakh's earliest inhabitants consisted of a mixed Indo-Aryan population of Mons and Dards, who find mention in the works of Herodotus, Nearchus, Megasthenes, Pliny, Ptolemy and the geographical lists of the Puranas. Around the 1st century, Ladakh was a part of the Kushana empire. Buddhism came to western Ladakh via Kashmir in the 2nd century when much of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet was still practising the Bon religion. The 7th century Buddhist traveler Hsuan-tsang also describes the region in his accounts.

In the 8th century, Ladakh was involved in the clash between Tibetan expansion pressing from the East and Chinese influence exerted from Central Asia through the passes, and suzerainty over Ladakh frequently changed hands between China and Tibet. In 842 Nyima-Gon, a Tibetan royal representative annexed Ladakh for himself after the break-up of the Tibetan empire, and founded a separate Ladakh dynasty. During this period Ladakh underwent Tibetanization resulting in a predominantly Tibetan population. The dynasty spearheaded the "Second Spreading of Buddhism" importing religious ideas from north-west India, particularly from Kashmir.

Faced with the Islamic conquest of South Asia in the 13th century, Ladakh chose to seek and accept guidance in religious matters from Tibet. For nearly two centuries, till about 1600, Ladakh was subject to raids and invasions from neighbouring Muslim states, which led to weakening and fracturing of Ladakh and partial conversion of Ladakhis to Islam.

King Bhagan reunited and strengthened Ladakh and founded the Namgyal dynasty which survives even today. The Namgyals repelled most Central Asian raiders and temporarily extended the kingdom as far as Nepal in the face of concerted attempts to convert the region to Islam and destroy Buddhist artifacts. In the early 17th century efforts were made to restore destroyed artifacts and gompas and the kingdom expanded into Zanskar and Spiti. Ladakh was however, defeated by the Mughals who had already annexed Kashmir and Baltistan but it regained its independence.

In the late 17th century, Ladakh sided with Bhutan in its dispute with Tibet, which resulted in an invasion by Tibet. Kashmiri help restored Ladakhi rule on the condition of that a mosque be built in Leh and that the Ladakhi king convert to Islam. The Treaty of Temisgam in 1684 settled the dispute between Tibet and Ladakh, but its independence was severely restricted. In 1834, the Dogras under Zorawar Singh, a general of Ranjit Singh invaded and annexed Ladakh. A Ladakhi rebellion in 1842 was crushed and Ladakh was incorporated into the Dogra state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Namgyal family was given the jagir of Stok, which it nominally retains to this day. Starting from the 1850s, European influence increased in Ladakh — geologists, sportsmen and tourists started exploring Ladakh. In 1885, Leh became the headquarters of a mission of the Moravian Church.

At the time of the partition of India in 1947, the Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh was undecided whether to accede to the Indian Union or to Pakistan. In 1948, Pakistani raiders invaded the region and occupied Kargil and Zanskar, reaching within 30 km (19 miles) of Leh. The Indian government sent troops into the princely state after the ruler signed the Instrument of Accession making the state a part of the Union of India. In 1949, China closed the border between Nubra and Sinkiang, blocking old trade routes. The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 led to a large influx of Tibetan refugees to the region. In 1962 China invaded and occupied Aksai Chin, and promptly built roads connecting Sinkiang and Tibet through it. It also built the Karakoram highway jointly with Pakistan. India built the Srinagar-Leh highway during this period, cutting the journey time between Srinagar to Leh from 16 days to two. In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims. Following demands for autonomy from the Kashmiri dominated state government, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created in 1993. Throughout the late 1970s the Ladakh moved in groups into Southern India as peaceful trips to observe nature.

Landscape

Ladakh is a high altitude desert as the Himalayas create a rain shadow, denying entry to monsoon clouds. The main source of water is the winter snowfall on the mountains.

Ladakh is India’s highest plateau with much of it being over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). It spans the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River valley. Historical Ladakh includes the fairly populous main Indus valley, the more remote Zangskar (in the south) and Nubra valleys (to the north over Khardung La), the almost deserted Aksai Chin, and Kargil and Suru Valley areas to the west (Kargil being the second most important town in Ladakh). Before partition, Baltistan (now under Pakistani administration) was a district in Ladakh. Skardu was the winter capital of Ladakh while Leh was the summer capital.

The mountain ranges in this region were formed over a period of 45 million years by the folding of the Indian plate into the more stationary Eurasian Plate. The drift continues, causing frequent earthquakes in the Himalayan region. The peaks in the Ladakh range are at a medium altitude close to the Zoji-la (5,000–5,500 m or 16,000–18,050 ft), and increase towards south-east, reaching a climax in the twin summits of Nun-Kun (7000 m or 23,000 ft).

The Suru and Zangskar valleys form a great trough enclosed by the Himalayas and the Zanskar range. Rangdum is the highest inhabited region in the Suru valley, after which the valley rises to 4,400 m (14,436 ft) at Pensi-la, the gateway to Zanskar. Kargil, the only town in the Suru valley, was an important staging post on the routes of the trade caravans before 1947. The Indus river is the backbone of Ladakh. All major historical and current towns — Shey, Leh, Basgo and Tingmosgang, are situated close to the river.

The Ladakh range has no major peaks. Its average height is a little less than 6,000 m (19,700 ft) and few of its passes are less than 5,000 m (16,400 ft). The region comprising the valley of Shayok and Nubra rivers is known as Nubra. The Karakoram range in Ladakh is not as mighty as in Baltistan. Between Leh and eastern Central Asia, there is a triple barrier — Ladakh range, Karakoram range, and Kunlun.

India's Magnetic Hill, an interesting optical illusion, which appears to defy gravity, is in Ladakh.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation is extremely sparse in Ladakh except along streambeds and wetlands, where several wild herbs and shrubs can be seen. Some vegetation is also found on high slopes that receive more snow, and in irrigated places.

The fauna of Ladakh have much in common with that of Central Asia in general and that of the Tibetan Plateau in particular. Exceptions to this are the birds, many of which migrate from the warmer parts of India to spend the summer in Ladakh. For such an arid area, Ladakh has a great diversity of birds — a total of 225 species have been recorded. Many species of finches, robins, redstarts (like the Black Redstart) and the Hoopoe are common in summer. The Brown-headed Gull is seen in summer on the river Indus and on some lakes of the Changthang. Resident water-birds include the Brahminy duck also known as the Ruddy Sheldrake and the Bar-headed Goose. The Black-necked Crane (Ladakhi: Thung Thung), a rare species found scattered in the Tibetan plateau is also found in parts of Ladakh. Other birds include the Raven, Red-billed Chough, Tibetan Snowcock and Chukar. The Lammergeier and the Golden Eagle are common raptors here.

The endangered Ibex, found in high craggy terrain, numbers several thousand in Ladakh. The Bharal or blue sheep, is common in the Himalayas, ranging from Ladakh to as far as Sikkim. The Shapu is a rare goat found at lower elevations, mostly in river valleys, it competes with domesticated animals. The Argali, or Nayan, is a relative of the Marco Polo sheep of the Pamirs with huge horizontal curving horns. They number only a couple hundred in Ladakh. The Chiru or Tibetan antelope (Ladakhi: Tsos) is an endangered animal that has traditionally been hunted for its wool known as shahtoosh, valued for its light weight and warmth and as a status symbol. The Kyang or Tibetan Wild Ass is common in the grasslands of Changthang, numbering about 1,500 individuals. There are about 200 Snow Leopards in Ladakh. Other cats in Ladakh are even rarer than the snow leopard, the Lynx, numbering only a few individuals, and the Pallas's cat, which looks like a house cat. The Tibetan Wolf, which preys on the livestock of the Ladakhis, is the most persecuted reduced to just about 300. There are also a few brown bears in the Suru valley and the area around Dras. The Tibetan Sand Fox has recently been discovered in this region. Among smaller animals, Marmots, voles, hares, and several types of Pika are common.

HOW TO GET THERE

BY AIR
 

Delhi- Leh	9W 1609	0630 hrs	0745 hrs	Daily from June 10-Aug 31)
	9W 609	0645 hrs	0800 hrs	(Days 1,2,3,4,5,7)
	IC 445	0645 hrs	0800 hrs	(Days 2,4,6)
Leh- Delhi	9W 1610	0735 hrs	0850 hrs	Daily from June 10-Aug 31)
	9W 610	0825 hrs	0940 hrs	(Days 1,2,3,4,5,7)
	IC 446	1130 hrs	1245 hrs	(Days 2,4,6)
Delhi- Manali	DN 557	1015 hrs	1130 hrs	Daily
Manali- Delhi	DN 558	1150 hrs	1310 hrs	Daily
Delhi- Srinagar	9W 605	1150 hrs	1410 hrs	Daily via Jammu
	IC 825	1140 hrs	1255 hrs	Daily
Sringar- Delhi	9W 605	1450 hrs	1615 hrs	Daily
	IC 826	1435 hrs	1550 hrs	Daily
Delhi- Leh	DN 785	0520 hrs	0650 hrs	Daily
Leh- Delhi	DN 786	0720 hrs	0850 hrs	Daily

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