Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of
the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the
Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar
range. 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.
Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain
ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the
Ladakh range and the Zanskar range.
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, and 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!
