About Leh - or Why Leh?

Leh is in the Himalayas in very northern India, northwest of Nepal. It's the primary city in Ladakh which is part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (although there are rumblings about splitting off from J & K). Ladakh is India's most remote and sparsely populated region. The town of Leh is at 3505 meters and has the highest elevation commercial airport in the world - at least according to the guidebooks. Roads into Leh from the south are only open from late June until late October. Ladakh borders both China (Tibet Autonomous Region) and Pakistan, so security is a huge concern and the military has a very significant presence in town. Leh is largely Tibetan and Buddhist - outside town, near Stok, is the Tibetan refugee camp at Choglamsar. Leh and the area around it is unlike anywhere else in India. In April when we were there, spring was just coming to the mountains and while it looks brown in the photographs, green shoots were everywhere. Every day was warmer than the previous day, and we watched the snow recede from the mountains. The air in Leh is thin (we had to rest for the first 36 hours we were there) and there is very little water or electricity. The monsoons don't reach Leh and they get very little snow. Annual rainfall is something on the order of four inches a year. Melting glaciers and snow from the mountains provide most of the water, which is channeled and collected for agriculture and domestic use. Electricity is scheduled only for 6-11 pm daily, in practice it was rarely available before 6:30 at the earliest - which in April in the mountains is after dark. Shops are either dark or powered by generators. Heating and cooking is by propane. With most of the rest of India at or above 100 degrees (April is the hottest month here) the temperature was no small factor in our decision to go to Leh. It really is a beautiful place.