Ladakh, the virgin land known for its extraordinary beauty is bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges - the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram.
In geological terms, this is a young land, formed only a few million years ago by the buckling and folding of the earth's crust as the Indian sub-continent pushed with irresistible force against the immovable mass of Asia.

Today, the breathtaking Ladakh is known as a high-altitude desert, sheltered from the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the Great Himalaya, but it was once covered by an extensive lake system, the vestiges of which still exist on its south-east plateaus of Rupshu and Chushul - in drainage basins with evocative names like Tso-moriri, Tsokar, and grandest of all, Pangong-tso. Occasionally, some stray monsoon clouds do find their way over the Himalaya, and lately this seems to be happening with increasing frequency. But the main source of water remains the winter snowfall.

Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Thus summer temperatures rarely exceed about 27 degree Celsius in the shade, while in winter they may plummet to minus 20 degree Celsius even in Leh.

Ladakh offers great scope for undertaking adventure activities amidst landscapes of breathtaking, rugged beauty. The most popular and best established among these are trekking, mountaineering and river-rafting. It offers wonderful sight of beautiful Buddhist monasteries.

Ladakh offers pilgrimage tourism in the form of places such as Zanskar, Padum, Stongley and Zangla. Some of these Buddhist religious foundations have evolved around remote meditation caves believed to have been used by a succession of famous Buddhist saints for prolonged meditation in pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment.

How to reach Ladakh: The main overland approach to Ladakh is from the Kashmir Valley via the 434 km Srinagar-Leh road which remains open for traffic from early June to November. Indian Airlines operates regular scheduled flight to Leh from Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar. Some private airlines are also planning to operate air services between Delhi and Leh in the near future.

The cheapest way to travel within the region is by public buses which ply on fixed routes according to fixed time schedules. The most comfortable and convenient though expensive mode of travel, however, is by taxis (car, Gypsy), which are available for hire on fixed point-to-point tariff.