Saturday, Sept 21 2024

Trekking in Ladakh, Ladakh - Times of India Travel

By A Mystery Man Writer

Situated on the borderlands of Tibet, Ladakh is quite unlike any other region of India, both geographically and culturally. A rugged and arid high-altitude desert, set between the mighty Karakoram and Great Himalaya ranges, its very name literally translates to ‘the land of high passes’. Ladakh can basically be divided into 5 geographical regions—Central Ladakh (the heartland of the Indus valley), Nubra Valley, Rupshu (a dry, high altitude plateau lying in the south-east of Ladakh, Zanskar and Lower Ladakh (around Kargil). The trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh is bounded to the south by snow-capped peaks of the Himalayan Range that include the twin peaks of Nun and Kun (7000 m). To the north of the high Himalayas lies the fertile region of Zanskar Valley drained by the waters of the Zanskar River. As the river flows north and eventually into the Indus it forges its way through the Zanskar Range with its jagged ridges and almost barren peaks that sometimes extend above 6000 m. Immediately south of the Indus Valley are the peaks of the Stok Range that are easily identifiable from Leh, while to the north is the Ladakh Range that merges with the huge peaks of the east Karakoram.