Towards the western end of the Tibetan Plateau in the northernmost part of India lies the mountain kingdom of Ladakh. It’s altitude varies from 9,000 ft (2,750 m) high at Kargil to 25,170 ft (7,672m) at Saser Kangri, in the Karakoram Range. Many of its remote villages are at altitudes of 14 thousand feet or higher having connecting passes at 16 to 18 thousand feet.
Ladakh has the same latitude (34.1°N:Leh) South Carolina and Los Angeles, CA in the US and the south coast of Spain in Europe, however, its high altitude means that the winter tempratures in many regions often reach -40° and lower. The 2 main roads leading into Ladakh, Manali from the south and Srinagar, Kashmir from the west are generally closed from about November through May because of snow, however, airports function throughout the year.
The name Ladakh is derived from the Tibetan term “La-tags” which means the “land of the la’s” or land of the “passes”. Indeed KardungLa (Kardung pass), located 3 hours north of Leh, boasts the highest motorable road in the world at 18,340ft.
The enormous mass of the Himalayas creates a rain shadow, preventing entry for the moisture-laden clouds of the Indian monsoon. Ladakh is thus, a high altitude desert. The main source of water being the winter snowfall on the mountains. The regions on the north flank of the Himalayas—Dras, the Suru valley and Zanskar—do however, experience heavy snowfall and remain virtually cut off from the rest of the country for several months in the year. Summers are short, but long enough to grow crops. The proportion of oxygen is lesser than in many other places at a comparable altitude because of lack of vegetation. There is little moisture to dull the effects of rarefied air.
The climate of Leh is – cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk) with long, harsh winters from October to early March, keeping minimum temperatures well below freezing for most of the winter. The city gets occasional snowfall during winter. The weather in the remaining months is usually fine and warm during the day.
