India/ladakh

India:

India is one of the biggest countries in south Asia, surrounded by China, Nepal and Bhutan in its north, Pakistan in its northwest, Myanma and Bangladesh in its east and the Indian Ocean in its southeastern boarder. Being the country rich in it's natural resources it is renowned as the land of mysticism, superstitions and myths. Every part of India holds an individual identity in itself. The northern part of "Uttar Pradesh" is an area of beautiful hills, mountains and lakes.

Ladakh; " the land of high passes" lies in the eastern half of Jammu and Kashmir State in the far north of India. Covering an area of about 60,000sq km and ranging in elevation from 2600m to 7670m,it the largest and highest district of India. Ladakh is sandwiched between two vast mountain systems the Himalaya to the south and the Karakoram to the north.

Ladakh is known for its remote mountain beauty and budhhist culture. Being strongly influenced by the Tibetan culture it is also known as Little Tibet. Set deep in the Indian Himalayas on the western edge of the Tibetan plateau, Ladakh, or 'Little Tibet', is one of the highest and driest inhabited places on earth.

The feature of Ladakhi people, their clothes, and dialects are similar to Tibet and Mongoloid. Most of the people in Ladakh are Tibetan Buddhists and the majority of the remainders are Shia Muslims. The Indian Government has encouraged tourism in Ladakh from 1974.