With only a day to go, I thought you might be interested in a few facts from my guide book...
Location – Northern India, in the state of
Neighbours - Pakistan, Tibet and China.
Altitude – The lowest point is at 2500m!!! The highest is 7500m.
Population – 175 000. That’s less than the population of
There are four mountain ranges crossing Ladakh, the Zanskar, the Ladakh, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram. We will be starting in Leh in the Ladakh valley, and then travelling by bus over a mountain pass (4420m/14500 feet high!) into the Zanskar valley, before kayaking down the Zanskar river!
For 8 months of the year, the Zanskar river freezes and and walking it becomes the only access to the zanskar valley!
The weather is dry, less than 50mm of rainfall a year! So all the river water is meltwater from the largest glaciers outside the Polar regions. Swimming will be a bit chilly, so no bailing! (Will)
Temperature vary from -50C to +35C and it is said that if you lie half in sun and half in shade, you can get sunburnt on one half and frostbite on the other!
The Ladakhis practice Tibetan Buddhism and Islam.
Until recently Polyandry was common, that's having more than one husband!
Subsistence farmers grow barley, peas, apples and apricots, using methods of farming that haven't changed in centuries.
This includes the use of dzos which are a cross between a cow and a yak and also maintaining miles of irrigation channels that are constantly redirected to make up for the lack of rainfall.
The time difference is +4.5 hours from British summertime.
Look at some Ladakhi pics at http://www.travel-pictures-gallery.com/pageladakh.html
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