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HISTORICAL
BACK GROUND
From
the middle of the 10th Century, Ladakh was an independent kingdom, its
dynasties descending from the Kings of Old Tibet. Its Political fortunes
ebbed and flowed over the centuries, and the kingdom, was at its greatest
in the early 17th century under the famous king Sengge Namgyal, whose
rule extended across Spiti and Western Tibet up to the Mayumla Beyond
the sacred sites of Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar. It recognized as
the best trade route between the Punjab and Central Asia, for centuries
it was traversed by caravans carrying textiles and spices, raw silk and
carpets, dyestuffs and narcotics. Heedless of the land's rugged terrain
and apparent remoteness , merchants entrusted their goods to relays of
pony transporters who took about two months to carry them from Amritsar
to the Central Asian towns of Yarkand and Khotan. On this long route,
Leh was the half way house, and developed into a bustling entrepot, its
bazaars thronged with marchants from far countries.
Laddakh
together with the neighboring province of Baltistan, was incorporated
into the newly created state of Jammu & Kashmir, just over a century later,
this union was disturbed by the partition of India , Baltistan becoming
part of Pakistan, while ladakh remained in India as part of the state
of Jammu and Kashmir.
GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS
Ladakh
is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain
ranges, the Great Himalaya and the karkoram, it lies athwart two others,
the Ladakh range and the Zanskar range, Geologically this is a young land,
formed only a few million years ago by the backling and folding of the
earth's crust as the Indian sub -continent pushed with irresistible force
against the immovable mass of Asia. 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,
Tso-kar , and grandest of all, Pangong-tso.
The Ladakh range, an extension of the Trans Himalayan Chain, is relatively
lower than the other ranges and has no major ridges and peaks. The river
Indus, after cutting through from the north, keeps to the south of range
throughout its course in Ladakh, till it makes its exit and enters Baltistan,
now in Pakistan. Another range bounds the Indus valley on its South -Western
range flank, the Zanskar range. Zanskar Range lie two of the loveliest
valleys of the region, the Suru and the Zanskar.
Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet at Kargil to 25,170
feet at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Thus summer temperatures rarely
exceed about 27 degree in the shade, while in winter they may plummet
to minus 20 degree even in Leh. Surprisingly though, the thin air makes
the heat of the sun even more intense than at lower altitude, 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.
PEOPLE RELIGION AND CULTURE
The
traveller from India will look in vain for similarities between the land
and people he has left and those he encounters in Ladakh. The faces and
physique of the Ladakhis, and the clothes they wear , are more akin to
those of Tibet and Central Asia than of India. The original population
may have been dards, an Indo -Aryan race from down the Indus. But Immigration
from Tibet, perhaps the millennium or so ago, largely overwhelmed the
culture of the Dards and Obliterated their racial characteristics. In
Eastern and central Ladakh, todays population seems to be mostly of Tibetan
origin. Further west, in and around Kargil, there is much in the people's
appearance that suggests a mixed origin.
Buddhism reached Tibet from India via Ladakh, and there are ancient Buddist
rock engravings all over the region, even in areas like Dras and the lower
Suru Valley which today are inhabited by an exclusively Muslim population.
Islam too came from the west. A peaceful penetration of the Shia sect
spearheaded by missionaries, its success was guaranteed by the early conversion
of the sub-rulers of Dras, Kargil and the Suru Valley.
The demeanor of the people is effected by their religion, especially among
the women. Among the Buddhists, as also the Muslims of the Leh areas,
women not only work in the house and field, but also do business and interact
freely with men other than their own relations. The Natural joie -de-vivre
of the Ladakhis is given free rein by the ancient traditions of the region.
Monastic and other religious festivals, many of which fall in winter,
provide the excuse for convivial gatherings. Summer pastimes all over
the region are archery and polo. Among the Buddhists , these often develop
into open air parties accompanied by dance and song, at which chang, the
local brew made from fermented barley, flows freely.
Of the secular culture, the most important element is the rich oral literature
of songs and poems for every occasion, as well as local versions of the
Kesar Saga, the Tibetan national epic.
ACCOMMODATION
Leh
offers a variety of accommodation to suit almost every pocket or preference.
Most hotels are family -run establishments and , as such , the services
are more personalized than professional. Hotels are classified into A,B,C
and Economy categories while Guest Houses fall under Upper , Medium and
Economy class. Tariff quoted in the A and A and B category hotels includes
all meals , a system followed by most establishments. Tariff in the top
of the line hotels ranges between Rs. 2000 to 2300 per double room. However
this is subject to change.
The Guest houses is a less formal facility offering rooms with a par tof
residential house or its annexe, where the guests can share the family
kitchen for meals. Apart from the low tariff offered for accommodation
ranging from very good to merely basic, the guest house system also provided
an opportunity for the tourists to see and experience Ladakhi life from
the inside.
In the newly opened areas of the region, Nubra , Changthang and Dah Hanu
Tourist infrastructure is not yet adequately developed. The State Tourist
Department has started the development of accommodation facilities like
tourist Complexes and Hiker's Huts at Tangse and Spangmik on the Pangong
Lake circuit. Tourist can also seek accommodation as paying guests in
a few selected homes in these places, though they would be well advised
to travel fully equipped with personal sleeping bags and some tinned provisions
to be on the safe side especially when visiting pangong and Tso-moriri
Lake areas.
There are also some Government run Tourist Bungalows located mainly along
the Srinagar -Leh road. These offer the best value in the medium range,
but room availability is uncertain unless you hold a confirmed reservation.
This is possible only if a written requisition has been sent to the Tourist
office at Leh or Kargil in advance.
State
Express