Ladakh places of interest
Leh The Leh is the capital of Ladakh lies near the eastern parts of Jammu and Kashmir, on the crossroads of the historic "Silk Route" from Sinkiang to West Asia and to the plains of India.
Leh only became regional capital in the seventeenth century, when Sengge Namgyal shifted his court here from Shey, 15km southeast, to be closer to the head of the Khardung La–Karakoram corridor into China.
There are two roads in to Leh, one from Manali in the south, and one from Kashmir (Srinagar) in the west. Both routes are equally spectacular in different ways, and both are time consuming with winding, narrow roads, and numerous military checkpoints.
It's a small town, easy to get most places by foot. The old town is a compact area of mud brick houses and narrow lanes directly to the east of Main Bazar The main Bazaar's elevation is 3505 meters , so take it easy on your first couple of days there or risk possible altitude sickness. Main Bazaar and the surrounding streets have numerous shops selling souvenirs, mostly Tibetan antiques or replicas. The Tibetan market is a good place to buy little jewelery, souvenirs, and various other goodies. There are half a dozen good book shops with an excellent range of books on the Himalayas, including guidebooks, phrase-books, books on history, and on Buddhism, as well as novels.
Ladakh is a region of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and lies between the Karakoram mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. Known for its wide variety of fauna, the region has a great diversity of birds like Black Redstart, Hoopoe, Brown Headed Gull, Brahminy Duck, etc. The other wild animals found in Ladakh are Bharal, Shapu a rare variety of goat, Argali, Chiru or Tibetan Antelope and Snow Leopards.
Ladakh is a land of endless discoveries. There are many magnificent sites in and around Leh, the capital city of Ladakh. Important amoung them are the 17th century, nine storey Leh Palace built by Singey Namgyal, 1825 built Stok Palace which houses a museum which has a unique display of rare royal ornaments, Thangkas and traditional clothing and jewellery and Shey Palace where 12mts.
You can also visit Namgyal Tsemo Gompa which contains a fine three storey high Buddha image and ancient manuscripts and fresco, 11th century Alchi Gompa in village Alchi, Thiksey Gompa (it houses the two storey Maitreya Buddha), 17th century Hemis Gompa, 10th century Lamayuru Gompa (the oldest Gompa in Ladakh), Pangong Tso (One of the highest brackish lake in the world), Tsomoriri (28 km long and 8 km wide lake) and the highest motorable road in the world (18,380 ft.) Khardong La (Pass).
Ladakh lies at an altitude from 9000 ft to 25170 feet. At these heights, you are on the roof of the world! As the highest inhabited land in the world, it holds a fascination for many, while for some there is an enchantment of seeing mountains which had been under the sea for million of years.
Ladakh means "land of high passes". Until the coming of the aircraft, the only access into this remote, high Trans-Himalayan kingdom was across several high pass crossings. From the west the Zoji La at 14,000 feet is the lowest. Taglang La to the southeast is 17,200 feet high and a military highway now crosses this coming from Manali. To the north is the Khardung La - at 18,200 feet, the only access into the Nubra valley and the Karakorams. Dead ends now, but important in centuries past, were the northern passes on the Central Asian trade route - Saser La and the Karakorum pass.
Sangam ladakh means Confluence (where two rivers meet each other). Zanskar river is the river formed from the junction of two streams, Lungnak means "dark gorge" and Stod, which carries the meltwater of the great Drang-drung glacier. At Nimo Zanskar river joins Indus river which ultimately called Indus river. In this picture the river coming from the left is Indus, which is very clear, and forms the fertile Indus valley (Leh, Saspol, Basgo, Alchi etc) and the one on the right is the muddy Zanskar, which water is not very much useful for the cultivation purpose.
Nubra Valley Known as Ldumra (the valley of flowers) is situated in the north of Leh. Nubra is a tri-armed valley located to the north east of Ladakh valley. Diskit the capital of Nubra is about 150 km north from Leh town, the capital of Ladakh district, India. The Shyok River meets the Nubra or Siachan River to form a large valley that separates the Ladakh and Karakoram Ranges. The Shyok river is a tributary of the Indus river. The average altitude of the valley is about 10,000 ft. i.e. 3048 metres above the sea level. The common way to access this valley is to travel over the Khardung La pass from Leh town. Non-locals require an Inner Line Permit (obtainable in DC office, Leh town or Travel agent) to enter Nubra.
The main attraction in this area is the Bactarian Camels (Shaggy double hump Camel) around sand dunes, Diskit, Turtuk and Panamik
The main road access to the Nubra Valley is over Khardung La pass which is open throughout the year. Its status as the highest motorable road in the world is no longer accepted by most authorities. An alternative route, opened in 2008, crosses the Wari La from Sakti, to the east of Khardung La, connecting to the main Nubra road system via Agham and Khalsar along the Shyok River.
Nubra Valley is a strange and fascinating collection of starkly opposite geographical elements. It is one of the rarest places on earth where you can see wide, blue rivers, a glittering desert and snow capped mountains in one site. Here there are farms that produce a good amount of food as well as two-humped Bactrian camels that remind you of the barren, desert lands
Pangong Lake Ladakh Situated at an altitude of 4,350 meters above sea level, Pangong Lake lies in the northeast of Leh. This famous blue blackish lake of Pangong is 5-6 km wide and over 134 km long with half of it running to the other side of the Indo-China border.
Pangong Lake, also referred to as Pangong Tso: Pangong Tso: A beautiful lake with deep blue waters, surrounded by tall mountain peaks. This lake lies on the Indo - China boundary, with only one fourth of the lake being in India. The road to this lake passes through Chang-la, the world's third highest motorable road. It's a 4 & Half hour drive (149 Kms) from Leh to this place. If one is staying in Leh please leave around 7 in the morning. The problem in reaching Pangong Lake is that around 5 kms before the Lake, water from the snow melting blocks the passage by 1 O’clock in the afternoon & it doesn’t clear up until 8 in the evening. So, unless you want to get stuck there till late, leave early. The passage is also very tough to cross by car. So a four-wheel drive car is recommended. Experienced biker’s should not have any problem.