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Landscape

Ladakh has a very clear physical identity, which can be instantly appreciated by anybody approaching by road, either via the Zoji La (from Srinagar) or the Baralacha La (from Keylong and Manali). However, it would be a gross over-simplification to say that Ladakh constitutes only one type of landscape. It is a huge area of nearly 60,000sq km (according to the official statistics of Kargil and Leh districts), similar in size to Croatia or Latvia. Its highest point stands at 7672m (Saser Kangri in the Ladakhi part of the Karakoram); the lowest at about 2650m. Human habitation is found within an altitude range of some 2000m.

Officially the region consists of two districts: Leh and Kargil, both within the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The sub-regions of Ladakh are usually defined as follows:

 Central Ladakh is the region along the Indus River between Upshi and Khalatse.

 Nubra consists of the valley of the Shayok River between its sharp turn towards the northwest, down through the confluence with the Nubra River, to its narrow section at the Line of Control (the Indian/Pakistani border and the boundary of Ladakh), together with the Nubra Valley.