Leh/Ladakh
Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalayas and the Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar range. In geological terms, this is a young land, formed only a few million years ago by the buckling and folding of the earth's crust as the Indian sub-continent pushed with irresistible force against the immovable mass of Asia. Its basic contours, uplifted by these unimaginable tectonic movements, have been modified over the millennia by the opposite process of erosion, sculpted into the form one sees today by wind and water.
Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2,750m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Thus summer temperatures rarely exceed about 270 C in the shade, while in winter they may plummet to -200 C 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!
The People
People & Their Life
The traveller from India will look in vain for similarities between the land and people he has left and those he encounters in Ladakh. The faces and physique of the Ladakhis, and the clothes they wear, are more akin to those of Tibet and Central Asia than of India.
The original population may have been Dards, an Indo- Aryan race from down the Indus. But immigration from Tibet, perhaps a millennium or so ago, largely overwhelmed the culture of the "Dards" and obliterated their racial characteristics. In eastern and central Ladakh, today's population seems to be mostly of Tibetan origin.
Further west, in and around Kargil, there is much in the people's appearance that suggests a mixed origin. In fact, entire Baltistan (the districts of Skardu, Ganche in POK and Kargil in India) is a heterogeneous mixture of various ethnic groups such as Tibetan, Central Asian, Mongolian and Indo-Iranian. It is believed that the dominant community of those times, the Tibetans intermingled with other ethnic groups thereby giving rise to a new community altogether - known as the Arghons. Those who have made careful assessment of the local population indicate that the Arghons today constitute more than half of it whereas the Tibetans are almost 35 % of the population. Rest of the population is formed of Mons, Tatars, Indo-Iranians, Dards and some Arab families. Majority of the people speak Balti dialect with as much as 93% of people here claiming it tobe their mother tongue.
People & Their Life
The traveller from India will look in vain for similarities between the land and people he has left and those he encounters in Ladakh. The faces and physique of the Ladakhis, and the clothes they wear, are more akin to those of Tibet and Central Asia than of India.
The original population may have been Dards, an Indo- Aryan race from down the Indus. But immigration from Tibet, perhaps a millennium or so ago, largely overwhelmed the culture of the "Dards" and obliterated their racial characteristics. In eastern and central Ladakh, today's population seems to be mostly of Tibetan origin.
Further west, in and around Kargil, there is much in the people's appearance that suggests a mixed origin. In fact, entire Baltistan (the districts of Skardu, Ganche in POK and Kargil in India) is a heterogeneous mixture of various ethnic groups such as Tibetan, Central Asian, Mongolian and Indo-Iranian. It is believed that the dominant community of those times, the Tibetans intermingled with other ethnic groups thereby giving rise to a new community altogether - known as the Arghons. Those who have made careful assessment of the local population indicate that the Arghons today constitute more than half of it whereas the Tibetans are almost 35 % of the population. Rest of the population is formed of Mons, Tatars, Indo-Iranians, Dards and some Arab families. Majority of the people speak Balti dialect with as much as 93% of people here claiming it tobe their mother tongue.
Prime Attractions of Leh/Ladakh
St. John'S Church In Wilderness
7-km upward from Dharamsala, between Forsyth Ganj and Mcleod Ganj lies the charming St. John's Church. It was built in 1852 and is dressed in grey stone with some fine Belgian stained glass windows donated by Lady Elgin. The church is popularly known as the church of St. John in Wilderness.
Prime Attractions of Ladakh
Zanskar
About 20-km south of Rangdum stands the Pazila watershed across which lies Zanskar, the most isolated of all the trans Himalayan Valleys. The Panzela Top (4,401 m) is the picturesque tableland adorned with two small alpine lakes and surrounded by snow-covered peaks. more..
Hemis
Thanks to the Hemis Setchu festival - one of the few held in summer, when the passes are open - Hemis, 45-km southeast of Leh, is the most famous Gompa in Ladakh.
Sankar Gompa
Sankar Gompa, 3-km north of the town centre, is among the most accessible monasteries in central Ladakh - hence its restricted visiting hours for tourists
Alchi
Driving past on the nearby Srinagar-Leh highway, you'd never guess that this is one of the most significant historical sites in Asia.
Hemis Festival
One of the most popular monastic selections in Ladakh, the festival of them is symbolises the centuries-old traditions of the Kar-gyur-pa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Hemis High Altitude Wildlife Sanctuary
The Hemis High Altitude National Park includes the catchments of two valleys, which drain into the River Indus. It is named after the famous monastery -- Hemis, and sprawls over 600-sq-km in the Markha And Rumbak valleys.
