About Indian Himalaya

About 300 million years ago, the continental shelf split into the continents Australia, Africa, South America, and the Near East. Since then, the "Indian floe" has been pushing against the Asian mainland, thus forming the Himalayan mountain range (variously called in Sanskrit "Home of the Snow", or "Seat of the Gods", or "Roof of the World"). This range covers 2,500 km from the North-West to the South-East.

Starting with the Hindukush in Afghanistan, the Himalaya continues with the Karakorum (incuding the K2 and the Nanga Parbat) in Pakistan, the Ladakh/ Zanskar/ Garhwal-ranges in the Indian Himalaya, Mount Everest in Nepal, through Sikkim, all the way to Butan. 

Many great rivers spring from this mountain range, giving life to past and present civilisations: The Indus and the Ganges in the west, the Brahmaputra in the East. 

The Indian Himalaya rises from the North-Western plains around Patiala and Jammun (this is the Punjab province, where the famous Basmati rice is grown), reaching 1,300 meters with the Sivalik range and continuing to the lower Himalaya (which characterizes the Kashmir landscape) with heights up to 4,000 meters, before reaching the crowning range with average heights of 6,000 meters in Zanskar and Ladakh. 

The climate is dry, what precipitation mainly in the form of snow during winter. 

Situated on the 34th latitude (the same as, e.g., Los Angeles or Beirut) Indian Himalaya boasts warm temperatures in summer: oranges and peaches are grown in the Indus valley near Leh. During winter, which usually lasts 8 months per year, temperatures drop sharply down to minus 40 degrees Celsius. 

The legendary caravan routes, many of them leading like the spokes on a wheel to Leh at the centre, formed the shortest connections between India and the Near East, and are still in use today (the traveller is tempted to say that they have not changed much over the centuries!).

The Situation

The Indian Himalaya forms part of the provinces Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir-Jammun. In 1999, we made a trekking tour to the Zanskar valley (Kashmir-Jammun), up to the Phuktal monastery.

We travelled through the districts of Lahuol and Spiti, which belong to Himachal Pradesh, situated south of the Manali - Leh road and between the Rothang pass (4,000 meters) and the Baralacha La (4,900 meters).

The residents of the province live widely scattered at a hight of 2500 to 4500 meters. They raise sheep and goats, as well as growing grain, potatoes, and vegetables.

The infrastructure of this area is characterized by very low development. It can be reached only for a few months anually on account of its terrain and weather conditions.

Therefore it is very important to help the residents in their daily needs. While some basic needs (food, clothing and housing) are largely met, there is practically no medical care and schooling available.

In the Lahuol and Spiti districts, as well as in Ladakh and Zanskar, populated areas are inhabited mainly by people of Buddhist faith, many of them refugees from Tibet. Due to the Buddhist inheritance, there are many monasterys in the area.

Unfortunately, the Kashmir border conflict between Pakistan and India has an impact here (mainly in the border regions between the towns of Srinagar and Jammun, but also as far as the town Kargil): The road from Manali to Leh has been severely damaged by military vehicles, and is still in heavy use as a supply route.