User:Rithikrajvemula17

'''LADHAK(A land of different culture) ''' Ladakh ("land of high passes") is a region in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that currently extends from the Kunlun mountain range[3] to the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent.[4][5] It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and its culture and history are closely related to that of Tibet. Ladakh is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture.

Area: 86,904 km²

Population: 274,289 (2011)

Topographically, the whole of the district is mountainous with three parallel ranges of the Himalayas, the Zanskar, the Ladakh and the Karakoram. Between these ranges, the Shayok, Indus and Zanskar rivers flow and most of the population lives in valleys of these rivers

'''CULTURE AND HERITAGE ''' Traditional music includes the instruments surna and daman (shenai and drum). The music of Ladakhi Buddhist monastic festivals, like Tibetan music, often involves religious chanting in Tibetan as an integral part of the religion.

Located 45 kms south of Leh, Hemis is one of the most accessible and visited gompas in Ladakh, besides being the most important in terms of spiritual hierarchy. It has a population of about 500 resident monks

This two-day festival features a series of mask dances by the lamas, both young and old, culminating in the destruction of the Storma (sacrificial offering) on the last day. The colourful masks

HISTORY

From a perusal of the aforesaid work, It is evident that Rudok was an integral part of Ladakh. Even after the family partition, Rudok continued to be part of Ladakh. Maryul meaning lowlands was a name given to a part of Ladakh. Even at that time, i.e. in the 10th century, Rudok was an integral part of Ladakh and Lde-mchog-dkar-po, i.e., Demchok was an integral part of Ladakh.

The Ladakh region was bifurcated into the Kargil and Leh districts in 1979. In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims. Following demands for autonomy from the Kashmiri dominated state government, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created in the 1990s. Leh and Kargil districts now each have their own locally elected Hill Councils with some control over local policy and development funds. In 1991, a Peace Pagodawas erected in Leh by Nipponzan Myohoji.

There is a heavy presence of Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police forces in Ladakh. These forces and People's Liberation Armyforces from China have, since the 1962 Sino-Indian War, had frequent stand-offs along the Lakakh portion of the Line of Actual Control. The stand-off involving the most troops was in September 2014 in the disputed Chumarregion when 800 to 1,000 Indian troops and 1,500 Chinese troops came into close proximity to each other.

Rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh indicate that the area has been inhabited from Neolithic times. Ladakh's earliest inhabitants consisted of a mixed Indo-Aryanpopulation of Mons and Dards, who find mention in the works of Herodotus,Nearchus, Megasthenes, Pliny, Ptolemy,and the geographical lists of the Puranas.Around the 1st century, Ladakh was a part of the Kushan Empire. Buddhism spread into western Ladakh from Kashmir in the 2nd century when much of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet was still practicing the Bon religion. The 7th century Buddhist traveler Xuanzang describes the region in his accounts.

FLORA & FAUNA

The fauna of Ladakh has much in common with that of Central Asia in general and that of the Tibetan Plateau in particular.[citation needed]Exceptions to this are the birds, many of which migrate from the warmer parts of India to spend the summer in Ladakh. For such an arid area, Ladakh has a great diversity of birds — a total of 225 species have been recorded. Many species of finches, robins, redstarts (like the black redstart), and the hoopoe are common in summer.

Vegetation is extremely sparse in Ladakh except along streambeds and wetlands, on high slopes, and in irrigated places.

Natural vegetation mainly occurs along water courses and on high altitude areas that receive more snow and cooler summer temperatures.

Natural vegetation commonly seen along water courses includes seabuckthorn(Hippophae spp.), wild roses of pink or yellow varieties, tamarisk (Myricaria spp.), caraway, stinging nettles, mint, Physochlaina praealta, and various grasses.[citation needed]

Natural vegetation in unirrigated desert around Leh includes capers (Capparis spinosa), Nepeta floccosa, globe thistle (Echinops cornigerus), Ephedra gerardiana, rhubarb, Tanacetum spp., several artemisias, Peganum harmala, and several other succulents. Juniper trees grow wild in some locations and are usually considered sacred by Buddhists.

TOURISM IN LADHAK

Ladakh is known for its natural beauty Ladakh (Tibetan alphabet: ལ་དྭགས་, Tibetan pronunciation: [lad̪ɑks]; Hindi: लद्दाख़, pron. [ləd̪ˈd̪aːx]), a word which means "land of high passes", is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir of Northern Indiasandwiched between the Karakoram mountain range to the north and the Himalayas to the south. The Indian portion of Ladakh is composed of the Leh andKargil districts. The Leh district is the second largest district of India, covering more than half the area of Jammu and Kashmir, of which it is the eastern part. Leh Palace, Leh, Ladakh￼Farming in Suru Valley, Ladakh.￼Farming in Leh Valley, Ladakh￼A farm in Lamayuru area

TRANSPORT

The only two roads into the area from outside are the Zoji-La Pass and Kargil route from Srinagar District in the Kashmir Valley, and the high altitude Manali-Leh Highway from Himachal Pradesh. The Manali-Leh road is open only from May or June to October or November, when snow is cleared from several passes. The Srinagar-Leh road is open from April or May to November or December, and is generally blocked by snow through the winter only at Zoji La Pass.

Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Airport at Leh has flights from Delhi year-round on Jet Airways, GoAir and Air India. Air India also operates weekly flights to Jammu and Srinagar. Cancellations and delays for two or three days are not uncommon and can happen at any time of year, so travellers must plan for that possibility when scheduling their onward travel.

￼A vehicle on the Leh-Kargil highway

Roads within Ladakh, except to Zangskar, are open all year round. Khardong-La Pass to Nubra has an alternate day schedule, is closed Mondays, and can get closed by snow for several days in winter and spring. Chang-La pass to Panggong Lake rarely closes, and if it does, rarely for more than one day.

Buses serve the whole area from Leh and Kargil towns. Taxis are available in Leh and Kargil as well as in block headquarters like Trangtse, Diskit and Khaltse. Shared taxis to Nubra, Kargil, Srinagar and Zangskar leave Leh in the early morning.

If planning one direction by air and the other by the Manali-Leh highway, the option closest to safety guidelines is to fly into Ladakh and go out by road to Manali. All Manali-Leh runs involve the risk of having to steep up to one thousand meters higher than Leh, with a high risk for severe altitude sickness. Travellers already acclimatised to the altitude of Ladakh, however, should suffer less and be able to enjoy the scenery.