A vast mountainscape in the north of India, home to some of the most surreal panoramas to be seen by a traveler.
Ladakh is a world of fantasy, where legends abound, and the landscape seems to be from another world. A lot of the history of Ladakh is known only through its folklore, and written accounts are relatively recent.
Ladakh gets its name from the abundance of grueling passes in this region. ‘La’ is pass and ‘darcha’ is land. There is an early account of Ladakh by Fa-hian, who ventured into this inhospitable place in 399 A.D., as 'The land where snow never melts and only corn ripens'. Ladakh is a unique land, with a haunting, eternal charm.
Ladakh was formed along with the rest of the Himalaya only a few million years ago by the buckling and folding of the earth's crust as the Indian sub-continent pushed against the immovable mass of Asia. However, the typical features we find here are also due to erosion from wind and water. This high-altitude cold desert was once covered by an extensive lake system, the remnants of which are now known as Tso-moriri, Tsokar and Pangong-tso.
Hidden between the two mighty mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram, it has always been a forbidding, adventuresome destination. Ladakh can be approached either from Manali or Kashmir and it is a long journey over two days in both cases. Flying in or out is an option too and affords some of the most unforgettable views of the core Himalayan ranges.
The High Himalayan range acts as a barrier to the rain bearing clouds, and this region has very little rainfall. The main source of water remains the winter snowfall. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain, but for sun to melt the glaciers and liberate their water. With the added effect altitudes ranging from 2,750m at Kargil to the high 7,672m of Saser Kangri, this land has very little vegetation.
The altitude and resultant rarefied air also makes temperatures extremely cold in the shade or at night (winters can go as low as 20 degrees below freezing) while magnifying the scorching effect of sunrays. An apt saying goes that if you sit in the sun with your feet in the shade, you can get sunburn and frostbite at the same time.
This lack of vegetation, extreme temperatures, altitude, untiring wind and difficult access bring to Ladakh a starkness that makes the place seem so stark, it feels hostile to a newcomer, but this initial feeling is soon converted into a lasting attachment for the simple folk, rich culture and the value of people beyond material possessions that this place awakens in those living in it. The clear air and bright sunlight add to the feeling of having found ‘Shangri la’. This clarity of vision carries on into the night as well, with the sky seeming so crowded with stars we normally don’t see, that there seems to be no space for even one more.
Human life seems equally sparse here and if we look beyond the well populated capital at Leh, the average population for this region is estimated to be around two people for every square kilometer!
This stark barren desert is in fact, a fertile destination for the inquisitive traveler, the adventurer, the wildlife enthusiast, the anthropologist, the mountaineer, the pilgrim, or whatever else you’d care to be as the moment sweeps you along.
An ancient junction of crucial trade routes to central Asia that now plays host to seekers from around the world has something for all interests. Fertile valleys, wildlife, salt water lakes, trekking routes, ancient monasteries and palaces, white waters for rafting, mountains to climb, Buddhism as a way of life, modern facilities for accommodation, communication and transport and welcoming hearts fascinate the visitor and no amount of time ever seems enough when you are here.
Article by Vidyut
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