Changthang district | |
|---|---|
| Country |  India |
| State |  Ladakh |
| Region | Ladakh |
Changthang district is one of the 5 newly proposed districts in Ladakh, India. [1] [2] [3]
Contents
The intent to create the district was announced on 26 August 2024. [2]
Changthang district | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| State | Ladakh |
| Region | Ladakh |
Changthang district is one of the 5 newly proposed districts in Ladakh, India. [1] [2] [3]
The intent to create the district was announced on 26 August 2024. [2]
Changthang, also known as Eastern Flat Land, is the region where nomads reside, situated to the east of Leh near the Chinese border. The typical elevation of the region hovers at approximately 14600 meters above sea level. Rupsho valley is another name for this region. Changpa nomads, wild animals, lakes, and rare birds are the primary draw of this region. [4] [5]
Located in the Rupsho Valley, the Tsomoriri Lake is a stunning body of water surrounded by mountains and situated approximately 240 kilometers from Leh. The Lake sits at an altitude of 14,000 ft close to the tiny village of Korzok. Another option is to tour the 19th-century Korzok Monastery, which contains statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and other deities. The most remarkable characteristic of this Lake region is the Nomadic people who herd goats and yaks. Another gorgeous Lake, Tsokar (also known as the salt lake), is situated approximately 76 kilometers away from Tsomoriri. [6] [7]
Pangong Lake stretches for 40 miles and is approximately 2 to 4 miles wide, situated at an elevation of 4267 m above sea level. India occupies one-third of the lake, with the rest falling under China's territory. The lake's most notable feature is its water color, which is a vibrant deep blue in the evening and becomes light blue in the morning, catching the eye at first sight. The lake water is not as salty as ocean water, but it is as cold as ice. [8] [7]
Tso Kar Lake, also referred to as the 'White Lake,' is located in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern region of Ladakh. Wetlands and lush green meadows are all around it. The water in the lake is slightly salty. There are wide range of birds. A significant quantity of grebes and brown-headed gulls, as well as a few strip geese, rust geese, and terns, can be observed. Tso Kar Lake supports various other animals like Kiang, Tibetan gazelles, Tibetan wolves. The tent-dwelling Samad-Rokchen nomadic group resides around the lake. Thugjay village serves as the central hub of this nomadic community. [9] [7]
Ladakh is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India and China since 1959. Ladakh is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, both the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south. The eastern end, consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains, is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh, but has been under Chinese control.
Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of 4,225 m (13,862 ft). It is 134 km (83 mi) long and divided into five sublakes, called Pangong Tso, Tso Nyak, Rum Tso and Nyak Tso. Approximately 50% of the length of the overall lake lies within Tibet administered by China, 40% in Indian-administered Ladakh, and the remaining 10% is disputed and is a de facto buffer zone between India and China. The lake is 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its broadest point. All together it covers almost 700 km2. During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water. It has a land-locked basin separated from the Indus River basin by a small elevated ridge, but is believed to have been part of the latter in prehistoric times.
Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Nubra district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan name Dumra means "valley of flowers". Demands have been raised and BJP has hinted at creation of Nubra as a new district. Diskit, the headquarters of Nubra, is 120 km north of Leh, the capital of Ladakh.
Ladakh is an administrative territory of India that has been under its control since 1947. The geographical region of Ladakh union territory is the highest altitude plateau region in India, incorporating parts of the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River and valley.
The Changtang is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India, with vast highlands and giant lakes. From eastern Ladakh, the Changtang stretches approximately 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) east into Tibet as far as modern Qinghai. The Changtang is home to the Changpa, a nomadic Tibetan people. The two largest settlements within the Tibetan Changtang are Rutog Town the seat of Rutog County and Domar Township the seat of Shuanghu County.
Tourism is one of the economic contributors to the union territory of Ladakh in Northern India. This union territory is located between the Karakoram mountain range to the north and the Himalayas to the south, and is situated at a height of 11,400 ft. Ladakh is composed of Leh and Kargil districts. The region contains prominent Buddhist sites and has an ecotourism industry.
Tso Moriri or Lake Moriri or "Mountain Lake", is a lake in the Changthang Plateau in Leh district of the union territory of Ladakh in India. It is located approximately 219 km from Leh City, capital of Ladakh. The lake and surrounding area are protected as the Tso Moriri Wetland Conservation Reserve.
The Shyok River is a tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh and enters Gilgit–Baltistan, in Pakistan, spanning some 550 km (340 mi).
Karzok or Korzok is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located close to Nyoma, in the Rupshu region and block, on the shores of the Tso Moriri lake. It is among the highest towns in the world and the highest settlement in India. Various sources give slightly different measurements of the altitude from 14,995 ft to 15,075 ft above sea level. The Drukpa Buddhist Korzok Monastery is located here.
Korzok, དཀོར་མཛོད་ is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Drukpa Lineage. It is located in the Korzok village, on the northwestern bank of Tso Moriri, a lake in Leh District of Ladakh, a union territory of India. The gompa (monastery), at 4,560 metres (14,960 ft), houses a Shakyamuni Buddha and other statues. It is home to about seventy monks.
The Tso Kar or Tsho kar is a fluctuating salt lake known for its size and depth situated in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern part of Ladakh in India. It is also recognised as India's 42nd Ramsar site.
The Khurnak Fort is a ruined fort on the northern shore of Pangong Lake, which spans eastern Ladakh in India and Rutog County in the Tibet region of China. The area of the Khurnak Fort is disputed by India and China, and has been under Chinese administration since 1958.
All Ladakh Gonpa Association (ALGA) is the central organisation of the Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh, India. It aims to preserve and strengthen the monastic institutions. It was founded by the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche in 1949 and he acted as its president for 41 years, from 1949 until 1991. In 1949, the first meeting of the great monasteries was held and ten monasteries took part. All Ladakh Gonpa Association was registered in 1959 and is run by a governing body consisting of fifteen lama members belonging to all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. There are sixteen major monastic institutions with hundreds of monks in each monastery.
Tangtse or Drangtse (Tibetan: བྲང་རྩེ, Wylie: brang rtse, THL: drang tsé) is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil. Traditionally, it was regarded as the border between the Nubra region to the north and the Pangong region to the south. It was a key halting place on the trade route between Turkestan and Tibet. It was also a site of wars between Ladakh and Tibet.
Durbuk or Darbuk, is a village and the headquarters of the eponymous subdivision and block in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, and falls between Chang La mountain pass and Tangste village on the way to Pangong Tso Lake.
Drass district is one of the 5 newly proposed districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It is one of the smallest districts in India.
Sham district is one of the 5 newly proposed districts in Ladakh, India.
Nubra district is one of 5 new proposed districts in Ladakh, India.
Sham Valley, nicknamed the "Apricot Valley", is a Himalayan valley along the Indus River and NH1 - Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway in the Sham district of the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh. The valley is located around 170 kilometres from Kargil and 180 kilometres from the Ladakh's capital Leh. The nearest airport is Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh.