There are two gompas on the hillside above the village of Mulbekh. As in other villages, it is wise to Enquire if the gompa is before making the ascent. If not, somebody from the village may have keys and will accompany you to the gompas. Just beyond Mulbekh is a huge Chamba statue, an image of a future Buddha, cut into the rock face beside the road. It's one of the most interesting stops along the road to Leh. Those with time to spare can make a short trek from Mulbekh to the village of Get.

From Mulbekh the road crosses the 3718-metre Namiks La, passes through the large military encampment of Bodh Kharbu and then crosses the 4094-metre Fatu La, the highest pass on the route. Lamayuru is the first of the typical Ladakhi gompas perched on a hilltop with its village at the foot of the hill. In its heyday the gompa had five buildings and as many as 400 monks, but today there is only okne building, tended by 20 or 30 monk.

On beyond Khalsi, and a few km off the road, is the nunnery of Julichen and the mionastery of Rizong. If you stay here overnight men must stay in the monastery, women in the nunnery.

Near Saspul, this gompa is unusual in that it is built on lowland, not perched on a hilltop. It is noted for its massive Buddha statues and lavish woodcarvings and the only examples of Kashmiri-style wall paintings in the area. There are two hotels here with basic rooms around Rs 120 for doubles and some dormitory accommodation. There's also a pleasant little hotel in saspul; it makes a good base for visiting Rizong, Alcdhi and Lekir.

Shortly after Saspul a steep road turns off to the Lekir Gompa, which also has a monastery school. Closer to Leh there is a badly damaged fort at Basgo. The Basgo Gompa has interesting Buddha figures, although its wall paintings have suffered much water damage.

Drass 3230 metres, 60kms west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar, are a small township lying in the centre of a valley of the same name. It has become famous as the second coldest inhabited place in the world by virtue of the intense cold that descends upon the valley along with repeated snowfall during winter. Winter temperature is sometimes known to plummet to less than 40 degree Celsius. During the spring and summer, however the valley around the township becomes very picturesque as the gently undulating hillsides turn into lush green pastures splashed with a variety of fragrant wild flowers. Its inhabitants are mainly of Darad stock, an Aryan race believed to have originally migrated to the high valleys of the Western Himalayas from the Central Asian steppes. They speak Shina which, unlike the Tibetan-originated Ladakhi dialects spoken elsewhere in Ladakh region, belong to the Indo-European linguistic family. Their ancestral sport, Horse Polo, which the Darads play with particular zeal, resembles our modern polo. The Drass vallley starts from the base of the Zojila pass, the Himalayan gateway to Ladakh. For centuries its inhabitants are known to have negotiated this formidable pass even during the most risky period in the autumn or early spring, when the whole sector remains snow-bound and is subject to frequent snow storms, to transport trader's merchandise across and the to help stranded travelers to traverse it. By virtue of their mastery over the pass they had established a monopoly over the carrying trade during the heydays of the Pan-Asian. A hardy people enduring with fortitude the harshness of the valley's winter, the inhabitants of Drass can well be described as the guardians of Ladakh's gateway.

One of the most beautiful regions of Ladakh, the Suru Valley forms the main stay of Kargil district. Lying nestled along the northeastern foothills of the Great Himalayan wall, it extends from Kargil town, first south ward for a length of about 75 kms up to the expanse around Panikhar, thence eastward for another stretch of nearly 65 kms up to the foot of the Penzila watershed where the Suru River rises. With its extensive tract of alluvial floor and verdent hillsides that are intensively cultivated by a zealously argarian peasantry, the Suru valley serves as Ladakh's granary. Their composite populations of about 30,000- mainly of Tibeto-Darad descent-are Muslims who had converted their Buddhists faith around the middle of the 16th century. The upper reaches of the valley, particular around the Sankoo bowl, the Panikhar expanse and the higher stretch beyond, present a spectacle of breathtaking features majestic mountain ramparts crowned by snowcapped peaks, undulating alpine slopes draining into wild mountain streams of foaming cascades of pristine water, awesome glacier descending along the Himalayan slopes to river bed.
The region around Panikhar and further up is a veritable valley of flowers with hundreds of varieties of wild plant blossoming to spread a riot of colour around the countryside during the months of June and July. The beauty of this region is further enchanced by the sheer contrast provided by the towering peaks of Nun 7135 metres and Kun 7035 metres, which loom over the skyline in their crystalline majesty.

About 200 kms. Southeast of Rangdum stands the Pazila watershed across which lies Zanskar, the most isolated of all the trans-Himalayan valleys. The Penzila Top 4401 metres is a picturesque table land adored with two small alpine lakes and surrounded by snow covered peaks. As the Zanskar road winds down the steep slopes of the watershed to the head of the stud valley, one of Zanskar's main tributory valleys, the majestic Drang-Drung glacier looms into full view. Along and winding river of ice and snow, the Drang-Drung is perhaps the largest glacier in Ladakh, outside the Siachen formation. It is from the cliff-like snout of this extensive glacier that the stud or Doda River, the main tributary of River Zanskar, rises. Zanskar comprises a tri-armed valley system lying between the Great Himalayan Range and the Zanskar mountains, the three arms radiate star-like towards the west, north and south from a wide central expanse where the region's two principal drainage meet to form the main Zanskar River. It is mainly along the course of this valley system that the region's 10,000 strong, mainly Buddhist population live. Spread over an estimated geographical area of 5000 sq.kms, Zanskar is surrounded by high-rise mountains and deep gorges. The area reamains inaccessible for nearly 8 months a year due to heavy snowfall resulting in closure of all the access passes, including the Penzila. This geographical isolation together with the esoteric nature of Buddhism practiced here has enabled its inhabitants to preserve and perpetuate their cultural identity. Today, Zanskar has the distinction of being the least interfered with microcosms of Ladakh, and one of the last few surviving cultural satellites of Tibet. Closer observation of the living condition evokes admiration for people who have learnt to live in perfect harmony with the unique environment. Within the mountain ramparts of this lost Shangrila stand a number of ancient yet active monastic establishments.

Some of these 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. One an important trading post, Kargil is now simply an overnight halt on the say to Leh or the point where you turn south for the Zanskar Valley. They people of Kargil are chiefly Muslim and noted for their extreme orthodoxy. Already you are in a region where irrigation is vitally important. Trekking In Zanskar Region The western flanks of the region, particularly the Suru and Zanskar Valleys due to their general lie along the Great Himalayan Range itself, offer a variety of routes, involving as they do crossing the world's greatest mountain range through various depressions or passes in its crest. The Zanskar Valley in particular, is a challenging area where even a causal visit to a monastery or a remote village settlement involves a rewarding trek. Padum, the region's ancient capital, is a major trekking base where at least four major circuits intersect, connecting the alpine areas of the Chenab Valley and Himachal Pradesh with the arid mountain scrape of Ladakh. Similarly, Panikhar in the Suru Valley is the nodal point in the popular trans-Himalayan traverse circuit between the Kashmir Valley and the Indus Valley. Mountaineering The Romance of Heights The Suru and Zanskar Valleys are adorned with a number of spectacular mountain peaks that attract climbers from the world over. In particular, the Nun-Kun massif serves as the focus of increasing mountaineering activities in the region. Its easy accessibility by road and the shortest possible approach march to reach the base camps makes the Nun-Kun massif one of the most attractive mountaineering destinations in the Western Himalayas. Nearly is the Zanskar massif with several challenging peaks surrounding the majestic Dran-Drung Glacier, adjoining Penzila. Srinagar to Leh It's 334 km from Srinagar to Leh and the road is surfaced most of the way. It follows the Indus River for much of the distance. Sonarmarg is the last major town in the vale of Kashmir, shortly before you climb over the Zojila 3529metres and enter the Ladakh region.