Ladakh Indus Valley

Valleys of Ladakh · Dras Valley · Nubra Valley · Salt Lake Valley · Shyok Valley · Suru Valley · Indus Valley · Kargil Valley · Sankoo Valley · Rangdum Valley

Indus Valley

This is a large valley formed by the main channel of the Indus River as it flows across Ladakh. It includes parts of Leh district, the Skardu region and the vast cold desert beyond. This valley consists of large stretches of undulating lands interspersed by high mountains across which there are many passes. The Indus Valley is the soul of Ladakh and is strategically the most important part. Its borders touch those of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and India.

Kargil

Being located in the centre of the Himalayan region with tremendous potentials for adventure activities, Kargil serves as an important base for adventure tours in the heart of Himalayas. 234 kms from Leh in the east,It is also the take off station for visitors to the erotic Zanskar Valley. It is also a base for taking shorter excursions to Mulbek where the chief attraction is a 9-m high rock sculpture depicting the future Buddha. Kargil also offers some interesting walks along the river bank and up the hillside. The best among these is the one leading to Goma Kargil along a 2-km long winding road which, passing through some of the most picturesque parts of the town, presents breathtaking views of the mountain stream. A stroll in the bazaar might lead to a shop selling flint and tobacco pouches, travelling hookahs and brass kettles - handcrafted items of everyday use which find their way into the mart as curios. Most shops deals in common consumer goods, but some specialize in trekking provisions. The showroom of the Government Industries Centre near the riverbank displays and sell Pashmina Shawls, local carpets and other woolen handicrafts. The apricot jam produced here serves as a rare delicacy. Kargil's dry apricot has now become a souvenir item, which can be purchased freely in the bazaar.
The town lies nestling along the rising hillside of the lower Suru basin. Two tributaries of the Suru River that meet here are the Drass and Wakha. The land available along the narrow valley as also the rising hillsides are intensively cultivated in neat terraces to glow barley, wheat, peas, a variety of vegetables and other cereals. Kargil is famous for the fine apricots grown here. In May the entire countryside becomes awash with fragrant white apricot blossoms while August, the ripening fruit lends it an orange hue.

Sankoo

Sankoo, one of the major expanse of the Suru Valley, is a picturesque township surrounded with numerous villages and colourful rocky mountains all around. Dense plantation of poplars, willows and wild roses fill the bowl-shaped valley, giving it the ambience of a man-made forest. Two side valleys drained by large tributary streams of the Suru River, the Kartse flowing from the east and the Nakpo-chu descending from the west, open up on either side of the expanse
Sankoo is very popular among local picnic lovers, who throng the area from Kargil town and other places. Locally it is also popular as a place of pilgrimage to the shrine of a Muslim scholar-saint, Sayed Mir Hashim, who was specially invited from Kashmir for imparting religious teachings to the region's Buddhist ruler, Thi-Namgyal of the Suru principality, following his conversion to Islam during the 16th century. The shrine is situated in the village of Karpo-Khar on the outskirts of Sankoo, where the ruler had his summer palace.

Rangdum Valley

The farthest and most isolated part of the Suru valley, Rangdum (3657 m) is surrounded by colourful hills on the one side and glacier-encrusted rocky mountains on the other. Situated 130 kms south-east of Kargil, it falls midway between Kargil and Padum. Visitors to Padum (Zanskar) generally prefer to break the gruelling 240 km-long road journey for an overnight halt here. Set amidst spectacular surroundings, Rangdum is a convenient area for camping in the Himalayan wilderness while being sufficiently near a roadhead. In the late afternoon the setting sun lends the valley an ethereal ambience, as the ochre hills turn aflame, while the snow covered peaks sparkle with a reddish hue in the distant horizon.

View of Rangdum valley

The main attraction of Rangdum is the 18th century Buddhist monastery of the Geluks-pa order with about 40 resident monks. Perched picturesquely atop a central hillock, which is surrounded by a wild mountain stream, the monastery has the aura of an ancient fortification guarding a mystical mountain valley. Its central prayer hall houses an array of figures and art objects. Two small hamlets surrounded by rows of chortens, Yuldo and Tashi-Tongze, situated on either side of the monastery, are the only other habitations in the area. The inhabitants of these villages are descendants of the monastery's agricultural serf-tenants, who do not own any land in the region. The monastery enjoys perpetual and unalienable ownership of the entire valley, including the fields tilled by the villagers, the pastures, hills and even the streams.

Row of Stupas at Rangdum

Rangdum is also an important trekking base. The most popular trek from here leads to Henaskut on the Kargil-Leh highway, across the Kanji valley gorge. This 5-day trek is also the last leg of the 2-week long trans-Himalayan traverse between Kashmir and Ladakh. Among the shorter treks possible from here, the best is a hike up the Penzila Ridge, to camp for a night or two opposite the majestic Drang-Drung Glacier.. The trek to Shafat valley where the Nun-Kun base camp is situated, involves walking down valley, along the road to the campsite of Gulmatongo (20 kms), and thence crossing the Suru River on a foot bridge to enter the Shafat Nallah, upto the snout of the Shafat Glacier for camping.