Ladakh is a region administered by India as a union territory. It constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947, and China since 1962.
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⛰️ Hill spots ️🏜️ Badlands spots ⛰️ Mountain range spots ⛰️ Highland spots ⛰️ Mountain spots 🏞️ Mountain river spots 🌲 Nature reserve spots 🏞️ Reservoir spots ️🏜️ Canyon spots ❄️ Glacial landform spots ⛰️ Hill station spotsIn the east of historical Kashmir, the high valley of the Indus River is wedged between two giants: the Himalayas in the south and the Karakorum in the north. It is there, at an average altitude of 5,300 m, in grandiose landscapes of desert mountains, that Ladakh nestles. Most of the population of this ancient Buddhist kingdom, nicknamed "Little Tibet", lives on the banks of the river and its meager tributaries - whose waters, with their fantastic milky turquoise reflections, irrigate patchworks of small wheat and barley fields, apple and apricot orchards. Willows and poplars draw ribbon-like oases, contrasting with the omnipresent stony ground. Ladakh is divided into 2 entities: in the west, the district of Kargil, mainly Shi'ite (65%), from where the influence of Islam rises; in the east, the district of Leh, the capital, Buddhist in an equal proportion. The population is complemented by an important presence of the Indian army. To hold this strategic border region, no less than 150,000 soldiers are spread out in dozens of military camps. Stage on the Silk Road, Ladakh is an authentic crossroads of civilizations. And if Tibetans have found refuge there in number since the annexation of their homeland by China in 1951, one can also meet, deep in the secret valleys, authentic descendants of Alexander the Great... More recently, trekkers have had to get used to sharing this vast and wild territory with newcomers: Indian tourists, attracted by the sets of successful Bollywood films. And if the amchis (healers) and astrologers keep a large audience, the Ladakhis, rejected by the rough nomadic and rural life of the past, become guides or civil servants.
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