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.
Leh is a city in Ladakh in the Kashmir region. It is the largest city and the joint capital of Ladakh. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh. The seat of the kingdom, Leh Palace, the former residence of the royal family of Ladakh, was built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace in Tibet. Since they were both constructed in a similar style and at roughly the same time, the Potala Palace in Tibet and Leh Palace, the royal residence, are frequently contrasted. Leh is at an altitude of 3,524 m (11,562 ft), and is connected via National Highway 1 to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via the Leh-Manali Highway.
Kargil district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir-region. It is one of the two districts comprising the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh. The district headquarters are in the city of Kargil. The district is bounded by the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the west, the Pakistani-administered administrative territory of Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, Ladakh's Leh district to the east, and the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south. Encompassing three historical regions known as Purig, Dras and Zanskar, the district lies to the northeast of the Great Himalayas and encompasses the majority of the Zanskar Range. Its population inhabits the river valleys of the Dras, Suru, Wakha Rong, and Zanskar.
Tourism is one of the economic contributors to the union territory of Ladakh in Northern India. The union territory is sandwiched 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.
The Brokpa, sometimes referred to as Minaro, are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh, India around the villages of Dha and Hanu. Some of the community are also located across the Line of Control in Baltistan in the villages around Ganokh. They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Brokskat. The Brokpa are mostly Vajrayana Buddhist while some are Muslim.
Batalik is a village and military base in Ladakh, India, located in a narrow section of the Indus River valley, close to the Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Baltistan. It was a focal point of the 1999 Kargil War because of its strategic location between Kargil, Leh and Baltistan.
Chalunka is a small mountainous village, in Nubra tehsil and Turtuk community development block, in Chorbat area of Shyok River valley in Ladakh, India. At the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, it was on the cease-fire line agreed between the India and Pakistan. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the village came under the jurisdiction of Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir.
Khalatse, often written as Khaltse or Khalsi, is the headquarters of the eponymous subdivision, block and tehsil in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located 95 km from Leh city on the old main road to Kargil, where it crosses the Indus over an iron bridge. Much of its importance is because it is the place where the road from Kashmir debouches into the Indus Valley.
Turtuk is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous community development block in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is a small village sandwiched between the Karakorum Range and the Himalayas, and one of the northernmost villages of India, close to the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. Turtuk is situated in the Nubra tehsil of the Leh district, on the banks of the Shyok River. Geographically, the village is in the Baltistan region, which has been under Pakistani administration, except for five villages of the Turtuk block which are part of India. These villages form the only region in India populated by Balti people. Turtuk is known for its fruit, especially apricots.
Chorbat Valley is a section of the Shyok river valley divided between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and Indian-administered Ladakh. The Pakistan-administered portion is in the Khaplu tehsil of Ghanche District in Gilgit–Baltistan, and the Indian-administered portion is in the Nubra tehsil, Leh district of Ladakh. Chorbat stretches from the edge of Khaplu to the Chalunka village of Nubra.
Hanu is a village panchayat in the Khalsi tehsil in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is one of the main Brokpa villages in Ladakh. It is in the valley of the Hanu stream that flows from the Chorbat La pass to drain into the Indus river.
Dah is a panchayat village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is the most prominent of all the Brokpa settlements, other than Dah, it has six hamlets: Biama(or phunder), Baldes, Sannit, Pardos, Lastyang and Dundur It is located east of Batalik in Aryan Valley of Indus river of Ladakh in the Khalsi tehsil.
Garkon is a panchayat village in the Aryan valley region located in the Kargil block of Kargil district, in a rural region of the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is located east of Batalik in Aryan Valley of Indus river system.
Darchik is a village in the Kargil district of Ladakh, primarily populated by the Brokpa people.Main language spoken here is Known as brokskat which is part of Dardic language of Indo-European branch.
Chulichan is a village in the Kargil district of Ladakh, India, close to the Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It is populated by Shia Brokpas and Baltis.
Aryan Valley, historically known as Dah Hanu region, is an area comprising four village clusters — Dah and Hanu in Leh district, and Garkon and Darchik in Kargil district — in Central Ladakh in India. It is inhabited by Brokpa people of Dardic origin. Until its absorption into the Maryul kingdom, Brokpa chiefs wielded nominal autonomy in the region.
Ganokh, locally called Ganishah, is a village in the Kharmang District of Baltistan, Pakistan, close to the Line of Control with Indian-administered Ladakh. It is populated by Brokpas professing Shia Islam.
Brokpa, Drokpa, Dard and Shin is a category of Scheduled Tribes under the Indian constitution.
The Bono-na or Bono nah is an ancient festival of the Minaro ( Brokpa) people hosted alternatively between Dha and Garkon villages of the Aryan Valley region of Ladakh, India with a gap of a year. It is a festival of thanksgiving to their deities and gods for good crops and prosperity to the people and the land of Minaro.
Marol is a village situated near the confluence of the Suru River and the Indus River in the Kharmang District of Baltistan, Pakistan. It is close to the India–Pakistan border (LOC).
