Ladakh means a land of passes. Viewed from high above its surface, Ladakh appears a vast monotony of three colours: the brown of the earth, the white of the snow and the blck dark shadows in the valleys. Leh, 434 km from Srinagar and at a height of 3521 meters on the Karakoram range is the district headquarters of Ladakh.

Ladakh's early history is woven into its mythology. The great Chinese wanderer Fa-Hien travelled its folds as far back as 399 AD. Ladakh is renowned for its Buddhist monasteries which are dotted all over the sparsely populated countryside, each richly decorated with paintings and virtually a storehouse of ancient religious manuscripts.