Adventures in Ladakh

India is a massive country, stretching 3,214 km from north to south.  Thanks to its latitudinal height, during the spring when most of the country is enjoying the last of the temperate weather and dreading the impending summer heat, there are places in the north still locked in ice and freezing temperatures.  One such place is Ladakh, a region in the northern-most Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Located on the Tibetan plateau, north of the Himalayan mountains, Ladakh is a high-altitude desert - a land of barren mountains, narrow fertile valleys, long winters and subsistence agriculture. The people of this region are Buddhist and culturally identify more with Tibet than India. 

Although sparsely populated and remote, the Ladakh region is strategically important due to its proximity to Pakistan and China.  Leh, the main town of the area, hosts a massive Indian army presence, to the extent that the soldiers outnumber the townspeople. The Khardung pass, thought to be the highest motor-able mountain pass in the world, is only 40 km from Leh.  Despite an elevation of 5,359 meters, the pass is kept open all year by the Indian army.  The thought is that if the pass were ever to be snowed in, China and/or Pakistan would take the opportunity to invade, knowing it would be impossible for India to send reinforcements to the region.

Ladakh is a prime tourist destination in the summer, but is much less visited during the bitterly cold winter.  However our objectives for visiting Ladakh required cold weather.  So, clutching our down jackets about ourselves, our intrepid team of three flew to Leh in mid-February.  The mission was three-fold.  First, complete the Chadar River trek.  Second, see a snow leopard.  Third bonus mission: don't die.  I'm happy to report we accomplished two of the three.  Coming up:  The Chadar trek!

Buddha on the dashboard with the Ladakh landscape behind

Rural Ladakhi children