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Ladakh,
a part of Jammu & Kashmir State in north of India consisting
of two districts Leh and Kargil. Leh with an area of 45110 Sq Km
makes it largest district in the country in terms of area.
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.
Yes, water! Today, a high -altitude desert, sheltered from the rain-bearing
clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the Great Himalaya,
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,a
nd grandest of all, Pangong-tso.
Occasionally, some stray monsoon cluds do find their way over the
Himalaya, and lately this seems to be happening with increasing
frequency. But the main source of water remains the winter snowfall.
Dras, Zanskar and the Suru Valley on the Himalaya's northern flank
receive heavy snow in winter; this feeds the glaciers whose meltwater,
carried down by streams, irrigates the fields in summer. For the
rest of the region, the snow on the peaks is virutally the only
source of water. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain,
but for sun to melt the glaciers and liberate their water. Usually
their prayers are answered, for the skies are clear and the sun
shines for over 300 days in the year.
Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m) at
Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram.
Thus summer temperatures rarely exceed about 27 degree celcuis in
the shade, while in winter they may plummet to minus 20 degree celcuis
even in Leh. Surprisingly, though, the thin air makes the heat ofthe
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!
Ladakh,
a part of Jammu & Kashmir State in north of India consisting
of two districts Leh and Kargil. Leh with an area of 45110 Sq Km
makes it largest district in the country in terms of area. 
