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 Drass
(3230 m), 60 km west of Kargil on the
road to Srinagar, is a small township
lying in the centre of the 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 snowfalls during winters.
Winter temperature is sometimes known to
plummet to less than minus 40 degrees.
The Drass valley 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 late 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 to help stranded
travellers 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 trade. A hardly people
enduring with fortitude and harshness of
the valley's winter, the inhabitants of
drass can well be described as the
guardian's of Ladakh's gateway.
Drass is a convenient base for a 3-day
long trek to Suru valley across the
sub-range separating the two valleys.
This trek passes through some of the
most beautiful upland villages and
flower sprinkled meadows on both sides
of the 4500 mts high Umbala pass, which
falls enroute. The trek to the holy cave
of Amarnath in neighbouring Kashmir,
which stars from Minamarg below Zojila,
takes 3 days and involves crossing of
5200 mts high pass. Drass also offers
numerous shorter treks and hikes to the
upland villages.
Note : All Tourists to Ladakh travelling
from Srinagar by road are required to
register themselves at the Tourist
Registration Centre at Drass.
Ladakh - 'Ladakh' literally means 'land
of many passes' - not surprisingly.
Come to Indiainbound Tours for a
rewarding experience....
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rch
of a dream holiday ends here! Ladakh is a
land of vastness and strange beauty. Ever
changing scenery of rugged mountains, deep
gorges & sprawling plateaus. We visit the
incredible monasteries, Nubra Valley, the
world's highest lake - Pangong and the
world's highest motorable pass -
Khardungla! Surely bound to be your most
memorable trip!
