Ladakh travel guide

Complete Travel information and Travel Guide to plan your trip to Leh Ladakh

Ladakh is the land of many passes, snow clad mountains and arid land is among the highest of the world’s inhabited plateaus. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 2,750 meters at Kargil to 7,672 meters at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. The summer temperatures exceed up to 35 ° C, while in winter they may drop to -40 ° C in some high altitude areas. Ladakh has been the described as ‘Moon Land’, ‘Magic Land’, and ‘Mysterious Land’ for its unique landscape and exquisite culture. One sees no horizon here but only mountain peaks soaring up to 5 to 6 km. In the prehistoric period Ladakh formed a great lake. Even at present the region has some of the largest and most beautiful lakes, Pangong and the Tsomoriri lakes. Covering an area of approximately 98,000 sq. km with a population of about more than 2 lakhs, it is a repository of myriad cultural and religious influences from Tibet, India and Central Asia. The population of Ladakh is evenly divided between Muslims and Buddhists. There are several hundred Christians also. Ladakh has witnessed Stone Age, as stone tools have been found in some parts of the region. The early history of Ladakh is shrouded in mystery. It formed originally a part of Tibet. But in the 10th century it became independent under a line of Tibetan kings who accepted the Grand Lamas as their Suzerains. This dynasty known as Namgyal continued to rule till 1836, when Gulab Singh, the ruler of Jammu & Kashmir invaded Ladakh and annexed it to the Jammu & Kashmir territory. For centuries, Ladakh has been an important center of trade between India and the countries of the Central Asia.Leh, the capital served as the terminus for caravans.

The people of Ladakh represent a blend of at least three distinct groups. Two of them were Aryans and third was of Mongols stock. The centuries old culture of Ladakh has found expression in its monuments, monasteries, mosques, Imambaras, oral literature, paintings, fairs, and festivals. The monasteries or gompas constitute the most interesting and fascinating feature of the cultural landscape. The exuberance, gaity, colorfulness, and pageantry associated with religious, social, and seasonal festivals make them great occasions of rejoicing & joy. A prominent feature in the Ladakhi etiquette is the presentation of scarves known as khadags on all occasions. A Ladakhi female in full costume would create no small sensation amongst the fashionable dames of European capital.” This remark made by William Moorcroft (1767 – 27 August 1825) , an Englishman in 1820-22 is true even today. Ladakh has undergone tremendous changes in post-independence India. People are now more prosperous economically, conscious socially, and advanced politically. However the forces of change and modern age today threaten the balance with the natural environment, which has been the basic characteristic of Ladakhi life.

Geographical Background

Ladakh is sandwiched between two vast mountain systems, the Karakoram to the north and the Himalaya to the south. Covering an area of about 60,000 sq km and ranging in elevation from 2600m to 7070 m, it is the largest and highest district in India. The Indus valley is the Ladakhi heartland, with the highest population density, and large amounts of agricultural land. Running parallel, roughly north-east south-west with it are a series of valleys and mountain ranges. North of the Indus valley is the Ladakh range, on the other side of which is the Shayok, and Nubra valleys. South of the Indus is the Stok range, clearly visible from Leh. On the other side is the Markha valley, a popular trekking destination. Farther south-west is a series of minor ranges and then uninhabited valleys we come to Zangskar, with the Kargyak and the Stod rivers joining at Padum, to form the Zangskar river which bucks the trend and flows north through a narrow gorge to join the Indus. To the south of Zangskar is the Grand Himalayan range marking the southern limit of Ladakh. To the east of this series of ranges is the Changtang, a high plateau home to nomads. It is known as Kharnak in the west, Samad Rokchen in the north east and Korzok in the south east. Not a true plateau, it has a chaotic assortment of minor mountains ranges not much higher than the wide valleys between them. With no drainage leading out of this area, there are a number of beautiful salt water lakes that make popular destinations for tourists.


Ladakh is country’s coldest, highest and the driest zone. Ladakh has a cool and generally dry mountain climate. Much of Ladakh is above 11,000 feet (3,350 M). Therefore, you can expect warm to hot days in the summer and cool nights. In winter the temp may drop as low as -35*C. There is occasional snowfall in winter caused by “Western Disturbances”. Summer days are generally warm, 25-30*C. Annual rainfall does not normally exceed 10cm/3.5 in though over the past decade or so there have been occasional spells of unusually heavy rainfall.

Historical Outline


Earliest History:

The earliest layer in the population of Ladakh was probably composed of the Dardi.Herodotus mentions twice a people called Dadikai, first along with the Gandarioi, and again in the catalogue of king Xerxes’s army invading Greece. Herodotus also mentions the gold-digging ants of Central Asia, which is also later mentioned in connection with the Dardi people by Nearchus , the admiral of Alexander, and Megasthenes

In the 1st century CE, Pliny the Elder repeats that the Dards are great producers of gold. Herrmann brings arguments to show that the tale ultimately goes back to a hazy knowledge of gold-washing in Ladakh and Baltistan .Ptolemy situates the Daradrai on the upper reaches of the Indus, and the names Darada is used in the geographical lists of the Puranas.
The first glimpse of political history is found in the kharosthi inscription of “Uvima Kavthisa” discovered near the Khaltse bridge on the Indus, showing that in around the 1st century, Ladakh was a part of the Kushana empire. A few other short Brahmi and Kharosthi inscriptions have been found in Ladakh.

The Chinese pilgrim monk, Xuanzang , c. 634 CE, describes a journey from Chuluduo (Kuluta, Kulu ) to Luohuluo (Lahul), then goes on saying that: “From here the road, leading to the north, for over one thousand eight hundred or nine hundred li by perilous paths and over mountains and valleys, takes one to the country of Lahul. Going further to the north over two thousand li along a route full of difficulties and obstacles, in cold winds and wafting snowflakes, one could reach the country of Marsa (also known as Sanbohe). The kingdom of Moluosuo , or Mar-sa , would seem to be synonymous with Mar-yul , a common name for Ladakh. Elsewhere, the text remarks that Mo-lo-so , also called San-po-ho borders with Suvarnagotra or Suvarnabhumi (Land of Gold), identical with the Kingdom of Women ( Strirajya ). According to Tucci , the Zhangzhung kingdom, or at least its southern districts were known by this name by the 7th century Indians. In 634/5 Zhangzhung acknowledged Tibetan suzernaity for the first time, and in 653 a Tibetan commissioner (mnan) was appointed there. Regular administration was introduced in 662, and an unsuccessful rebellion broke out in 677.

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. In 719 a census was taken, and in 724 the administration was reorganized. In 737, the Tibetans launched an attack against the king of Bru-za ( Gilgit ), who asked for Chinese help, but was ultimately forced to pay homage to Tibet. The Korean monk Hyecho (704-787) ( pinyin : Hui Chao) reached India by sea and returned to China in 727 via Central Asia. He referred to three kingdoms lying to the northeast of Kashmir which were “under the suzerainty of the Tibetans. The country is narrow and small, and the mountains and valleys very rugged. There are monasteries and monks, and the people faithfully venerate the Three Jewels . As to the kingdom of Tibet to the East, there are no monasteries at all and the Buddha’s teaching is unknown; but in [these above-mentioned] countries the population consists of Hu, therefore they are believers.

The first Western Tibet Dynasty:

After the break-up of the Tibetan empire in 842, Nyima-Gon, a representative of the ancient Tibetan royal house founded the first Ladakh dynasty. Nyima-Gon’s kingdom had its centre well to the east of present-day Ladakh. This was the period in which Ladakh underwent Tibetanization, eventually making Ladakh a country inhabited by a mixed population, the predominant racial strain of which was Tibetan. However, soon after the conquest, the dynasty, intent on establishing Buddhism, looked not to Tibet, but to north-west India, particularly Kashmir. This has been termed the Second Spreading of Buddhism in the region (the first one being in Tibet proper.) An early king, Lde-dpal-hkhor-btsan (c. 870 -900), swore an oath to develop the Bön religion in Ladakh and was responsible for erecting eight early monasteries including the Upper Manahris monastery. He also encouraged the mass production of the Hbum scriptures to spread religion. Little however is known about the early kings of Nyima-Gon’s dynasty. The fifth king in line has a Sanskrit name, Lhachen Utpala , who conquered Kulu, Mustang , and parts of Baltistan .

Around the 13th century, due to political developments, India ceased having anything to offer from a Buddhist point of view, and Ladakh began to seek and accept guidance in religious matters from Tibet.

Namgyal Dynasty:

Continual raids on Ladakh by the plundering Muslim states of Central Asia lead to the weakening and partial conversion of Ladakh. Ladakh was divided, with Lower Ladakh ruled by King Takpabum from Basgo and Temisgam, and Upper Ladakh by King Takbumde from Leh and Shey. Bhagan, a later Basgo king reunited Ladakh by overthrowing the king of Leh. He took on the surname Namgyal (meaning victorious) and founded a new dynasty which still survives today. King Tashi Namgyal (1555-1575) successfully managed to repel most Central Asian raiders, and built a royal fort on the top of the Namgyal Peak. Tsewang Namgyal temporarily extended his kingdom as far as Nepal.

During the reign of Jamgyal Namgyal concerted efforts were made to convert Ladakh to Islam and destruction of Buddhist artifacts.Today, few gompas exist from before this period. Sengge Namgyal (1616-1642), known as the ‘lion’ king made efforts to restore Ladakh to its old glory by an ambitious and energetic building programme by rebuilding several gompas and shrines, the most famous of which is Hemis. He also moved the royal headquarters from Shey Palace to Leh Palace and expanded the kingdom into Zanskar and Spiti but was defeated by the Mughals, who had already occupied Kashmir and Baltistan. His son Deldan Namgyal(1642-1694) had to placate the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb by building a mosque in Leh. However, he later with the help of the Mughal Army under Fidai Khan son of Mughal viceroy of Kashmir, Ibrahim Khan successfully defeated the 5 th Dalai Lama in the plains of Chargyal, situated between Nimo and Basgo.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the Mughal Empire had collapsed, and Sikh rule had been established in Punjab and Kashmir. However the Dogra region of Jammu remained under its Rajput rulers, the greatest of whom was Maharaja Gulab Singh whose General Zorawar Singh invaded Ladakh in 1834. King Tshespal Namgyal was dethroned and exiled to Stok. Ladakh came under Dogra rule and was incorporated into the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846. It still maintained considerable autonomy and relations with Tibet.

In 1947, partition left Ladakh a part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir,to be administered from Srinagar. In 1948, Pakistani raiders invaded Ladakh and occupied Kargil and Zanskar, reaching within 30 km of Leh. Reinforcement troops were sent in by air, and a battalion of Gurkhas made its way slowly to Leh on foot from south. Kargil was a scene of fighting again in 1965, 1971, and 1999.

In 1949, China closed the border between Nubra and Sinkiang ,blocking the 1000-year old trade route from India to Central Asia. In 1950, China invaded Tibet, and thousands of Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama sought refuge in India. In 1962,China occupied Aksai Chin,and promptly built roads connecting Sinkiang and Tibet , and 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. Simultaneously, China closed the Ladakh-Tibet border, ending the 700-year old Ladakh-Tibet relationship.

Since the early 1960s the number of immigrants from Tibet (including Changpa nomads) have increased as they flee the occupation of their homeland by the Chinese. Today, Leh has some 3,500 refugees from Tibet. They hold no passports, only customs papers. Some Tibetan refugees in Ladakh claim dual Tibetan/Indian citizenship, although their Indian citizenship is unofficial. Since partition Ladakh has been governed by the State government based in Srinagar, never to the complete satisfaction of the Ladakhis, who demand that Ladakh be directly governed from New Delhi as a Union Territory . They allege continued apathy, Muslim bias, and corruption of the state government as reasons for their demands. In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims, provoking the Ladakh Buddhist Council to call for a social and economic boycott of Muslims, which was lifted in 1992. In October 1993, the Indian government and the State government agreed to grant Ladakh the status of Autonomous Hill Council. In 1995, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created.

Ladakhi Language


Ladakhis usually know Hindi and often English, but in villages without road access neither can be expected. A high quality Ladakhi phrasebook, Getting Started in Ladakhi, by Melong Publications, is available in Leh and well worth getting. Not only will any attempts you make to speak the language be appreciated, it will be useful.

Ladakhi food.

As Ladakh moves toward a less sustainable, cash based economy, imported Indian foods are becoming more important. You are likely to be served rice, dal (lentils) with veggies even in villages without road access, and it’s standard in Leh.
In leh town you can taste a vaste range of cuisines- which include north Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, Italian and even Korean. Bakeries are plenty in Leh town. Strangely they all claim to be German Bakeries. They serve seasonal fruit pies, tarts, brownies and a variety of breads.

Flora & Fauna of Ladakh.
