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A land of freezing winds and burning hot sunlight, Ladakh is a cold desert lying
in the rain shadow of the Great Himalayas and other smaller ranges. Little rain
and snow reaches this dry area, where natural forces have created a fantastic
landscape. Surrounded by rugged mountains this land is completely different
from the green landscape of many parts of the Himalayas. Bounded by two of the
world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karokaram, it
is a land which has no match.
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 in this land remains the winter snowfall. Ladakh was
once covered by an extensive lake system, the vestiges of which still exist
on its south -east plateaux of Rupshu and Chushul - in drainage basins with
evocative names like Tso-moriri, Tsokar,and grandest of all, Pangong-tso. The
temperature rarely exceeds 27 degree celcuis in summer while in winter it may
drop to minus 20 degree celcuis.
Made up of two administrative districts - Leh and Kargil, Ladakh covers a total
area of about 59,000 square kilometers. Leh is the chief town. Allied ethnologically
and geographically with the Tibet region of China, the area has a predominantly
Lamaist Buddhist population. It was nominally a dependency of Tibet. After 1531
it was invaded periodically by Muslims from Kashmir; it was annexed to Kashmir
in the mid-19th cent.
However todays Ladakh which forms a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in
India has some of its areas under the illegal occupation of Pakistan and China.
Inner-line Restrictions
Movement in this majestic land is not free from restrictions. Foreign tourists
are not allowed to move beyond one mile north of the Zoji-la-Dras-Bodhkarbu-
Khalatse road .However, they can visit the monasteries of Tia-Tingmosgang, Rizong,
Likir and Phyang on the Khalatse-Leh road. They are also allowed to visit Shey,
Thikse, Chemrey and Tak-thok monasteries lying north of the Leh-Upshi road.
The Leh-Manali road is also open upto one mile east of its general alignment.
.The north eastern and northern regions of Ladakh have recently been opened
partially for foreign visitors, though it requires prescribed permission from
the Deputy Commissioner, Leh. This is issued only subject to several conditions,
including the condition of travelling along certain identified tour circuits
in groups of 4 or more. Permission to enter the other restricted areas can be
sought from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Lok Nayak Bhawan,
Khan Market, New Delhi.
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