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Where is Leh-Ladakh located in India?

First things first – Leh and Ladakh are NOT synonymous to each other. Ladakh is a district in Jammu and Kashmir and Leh is the district headquarters.

Ladakh is a Union territory located in North India. It is the highest plateau in India. Most of Ladakh is at an altitude above 3000 meters. Surrounded by the high Himalayan mountains Ladakh falls in the rain shadow region, making it a high altitude cold desert and one of the most remote and sparsely populated regions of India.

It has two districts – Leh and Kargil. In this travel guide for Ladakh, we are focusing on the district of Leh. The town of Leh is the district headquarters of the Leh district.

There are some important things you need to know before you start planning your trip to Ladakh –

● Ladakh is ruled by one force, and one force only – nature. That’s the first and the most important point to keep telling yourself when you plan your trip to Ladakh.

● Ladakh extends far beyond Leh. Some parts of Ladakh are so remote that they are accessible only by foot, a large part of it is beyond civilian access and all of it is a high altitude Himalayan region. As such, even a few months at a stretch might not be enough to explore the entire Ladakh region. Don’t pack too much while planning the itinerary for your trip to Ladakh.

● Being the district headquarters as well as the amalgamation point for all tourists visiting Ladakh, Leh town has the maximum tourist facilities which come close to the material comforts one is used to in cities. While enjoying these comforts, it’s important to keep reminding yourselves that Ladakh is a high altitude cold desert. Natural resources, like water (and air) are hard to come by. Wastage of anything here is a sacrilege.

How to reach Ladakh?

● You can reach Ladakh by air or by road. Ladakh does not have a rail network so you can’t reach Ladakh by train.

● Reaching Ladakh by air The airport in Ladakh is in the town of Leh. There are regular flights to Leh including direct flights to cities like Srinagar, Delhi. When the weather is clear, you get some spectacular views of the Himalayas on the flight to Leh. During the winter months, when the high altitude mountain passes are closed, flying into Leh is the only option to reach Ladakh.

● The nearest railhead to Ladakh is Jammu. A railway line to Leh is an ambitious project that has been announced. When done, it will be an engineering marvel. We are several years away from seeing this happen.

● There are 2 routes to reach Leh, Ladakh by road.