 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kargil Area |
|
|
|
| |
| Kargil |
|
Kargil, the headquarter of Kargil district, is around 204
Kms. to the east of Srinagar and 234 Kms. to the west of
Leh.It was a transit point of caravans on their way to and
from China, Tibet, Yarken and Kashmir till 1949, but since
1974 tourism has replaced as centre for tourism related
activities . Torurists travelling between Zangskar, Leh
and Srinagar have to make a night halt here, before
starting for the second day of their journey.
Kargil is located on the bank of the Suru River which flows at around
10,000 ft. high. Here people were followers of Buddhist
religion till the 14th century AD. Presently, Kargil is
inhabited by Muslims of Shia sect. |
|
|
|
| Suru Valley |
|
The landscape of the Suru
valley is wonderful, especially when it gets dotted by
flowers in the summer. It expands from Kargil town upto
the Penzi La watershed, from where the Suru river rises.
The Suru valley has a large population, mainly of Tibetan-Dard
Muslims, who converted to Islam in the 15th century. The
beauty of the region is enhanced by the peaks of Nun
(7,135m) and Kun (7,035m) Massif.
Kartse Khar:
The Kartse Khar an ancient village with a 7m tall rock
carved statue of Maitriya Buddha. All this is evidence of
the presence of Buddhist community in the valley in the
past. There are other rocks carved statues and stupas are
to be seen in Suru valley, if any one wishes to explore.
Panikhar:
Panikhar is the best station for undertaking
mountaineering expeditions to the various Peaks surrounded
the valley. Tanyol, the approach base for climbing Mt. Nun, is just 6 Kms. further up
the valley along the road. A short walk up the hill slopes
from here takes one across the Sentik Ridge to the base
camp on the rim of the ice plateau. Another very
interesting hike is to the Nun- Kun view saddle (3810m) in
the Parkachik ridge. This requires 3 hours of walking
along verdant slopes overlooking the fertile valley below.
|
|
Rock Carved Statue of Matriya at
Mulbek near Kargil |
|
|
|
| Drass |
Drass is around 60 Kms.
to the west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar. The place
has beautiful pasture grounds. Drass is the second coldest
inhabited place in the world, where the temperature goes
as low as - 50 in winter.
Drass has become famous in recent years because of
Pakistan’s misadventure in the Tiger hill and Tolloling
areas. One can have a lovely view of Tiger hill from Drass
village.
Drass’s inhabitants consist mainly of the Dards stock, an
Aryan race believed to have originally migrated to these
villages of the western Himalaya from central Asian
steppes. They speak Shina, which is very much unlike the
Ladakhi dialects spoken elsewhere in the Ladakh region.
The favorite pass time of the inhabitants of Drass is
Polo.
Buddhist remains at Drass
Drass is dominated by Muslims, which was predominant
Buddhist region, converted to Muslims in 15th Century. The
only Buddhist remains of note in the whole area are images
carved in relief on stone of Maitriya, Avaloketeshvara, a
lotus flower, a man on horseback and a stupa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
