Ladakh - The Land Of Endless Discovery, has close cultural and trading connections with tibet and its predominant culture stems from Buddhism. This is particulary evident in the most populated region of Leh and the Indu valley, with its many white washed gompas (monasteries) and forts perched on top of Sugarloaf mountains. Padum - capital of more remote Zanskar, shares this buddhist heritage. Kargil and the Suru Valley, the third main region of Ladakh is predominantly Shiia Muslim and chare a cultural affinity with Baltistan (in Pakistan since Indian partition in 1947). Ladakh marks the boundary between the peaks of the western Himalaya and the vast Tibetan plateau. Opened up to tourists in 1974, Ladakh has been variously described as "the moonland", "Little Tibet" and even "the last Shangri-La". Whatever the description, its one of the most remotest regions of India. Yet for thousands of visitors,Ladakh is a completely magical place, remote with delightful, gentle and ungrasping people. Until very recently, Ladakhi society has been generally very introverted and the economy surprisingly self sufficient. Ladakh also developed a very distinct culture. Polyandry was common, but many men bacea lamas (monks) and a few women chomos (nuns). Most people depended on subsistence agriculture but the harsh climate contributed to very high death rates and a stable population. That is rapidly changing. Imported goods are increasingly widely available and more and more people are taking part in monetary economy.
Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world’s mightiest mountain ranges, the great Himalaya and the Karakoram, it lies between two thinner ones, 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 we see today by wind and water. The main source of water remains the winter snowfall. Drass, Zanskar and the Suru valley on the Hmalaya’s northern flank receive heavy snow in winter, this feeds the glaciers whose melt water, carried down by the streams irrigates the field in summer. For the rest of the region, the snow on the peaks is virtually the only source of water. Viewed from high above its surface, Ladakh appears a vast monotony of three colours – the brown of earth, the white of the snow and the black of dark shadows in the valleys. On descending to the surface level, the picture transforms into one of the vibrant vitality of effervescent streams, flower-decked meadows, gaily dressed Ladakhis, serene Lamas, high-flying eagles and fleet footed mountain sheep.
Ladakh’s early history is woven into its mythology. And though the great Chinese wanderer Fa-Hien travelled its flds as far as 399 AD, it was , till but a few decades ago, what its name describes as “A Land of Passes”. Means of modern communication have brought this hinterland of traditional Buddhism into the circuit of an ordinary tourist. Ladakh beckons for more than one reason. The defiant beauty of its barren landscape, its unique flora and fauna, its culture, its clear blue skies and clean air, the land where snow never melts and only corn ripens has more to offer than a good holiday. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9000 feet (2750 mts.) at Kargil to 25170 feet (7672 mts.) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Thus summer temperatures rarely exceed 270 C in the shade, while in the winter they may plummet to -200 C even in Leh. Suprisingly though, the thin air makes the heat of the sun even more intense than at lwer 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!
