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Introduction 

Mulbek - Situated 45 kms east of Kargil on the road to Leh, Mulbek (3,230 m) is a predominantly Buddhist area. Many monuments of the early Buddhist era dot the landscape among which the chief attraction is Mulbek Chamba, a 9 m high rock sculpture in deep relief of the Maitreya, the "Future Buddha", which reflects a unique blend of esoteric Saivite symbolism, with early Buddhist art. Situated right on the highway, it dates back to the period when Buddhist missionaries came travelling east of the Himalayas during the 7^th and 8^th centuries. Mulbek gompa, the main monastery of the area is perched atop a rocky hill that dominates the valley below. It is easy to see why in the past this site served as an outpost to guard the caravan route between Kashmir and Ladakh.

Further up inside the picturesque upper part of the Wakha river valley is Wakha Rgyal, an interesting hilltop village that appears like a medieval settlement of cave dwellings. Its mud houses, neatly whitewashed and closely stacked, are built around caves dug into the face of a vertical cliff rising high bove the lush valley floor. From a distance, Rgyal looks like a cluster of beehives hanging from the ochre granite of the cliffside. A small monastery, similarly constructed, on the top of the brown hillside, completes this interesting Buddhist village. Breathtaking views of the undulating hills crowned by rocky peaks can be had from the plateau, the terminal point of a 5-km long rough road linking the village with the main highway.

Shergol - Another picturesque village of the area, Shergol has a mixed opulation of Muslims and Buddhists, and can be approached through a link road from the main highway. The main attraction for visitors is a cave monastery visible from afar as a white speck against the vertically rising brown hillside, from which it appears to hang out. Down below is a Buddhist nunnery with about a dozen incumbents. There is an interesting 4- day trek from here into the Suru Valley across two mountain passes, Safi-la and Rusi-la. Urgyan-Dzong, a meditation retreat tucked deep inside the surrounding mountains, can also be approached via the nearby village of Pho-khar. This natural mountain fortress conceals a circular tableland with a small Buddhist temple at its centre while the surrounding hillsides reveal several caves where high-ranking Buddhist saints are believed to have meditated in seclusion. One such cave is associated with the visit of Padmasambhava, the patron saint of Tibetan Buddhism.

Drass - Drass (3,230 m), 60 kms west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar, is a small township in the centre of a valley of the same name. Locally called Hembabs ("snow land"), it is renowned as the second coldest inhabited place in the world because of the intensely cold winters and heavy snowfall. Winter temperatures are known to plummet to 40^oCelsius below zero. During the four months of spring and summer, however, the valley turns very picturesque as the gently surrounding hillsides turn into green pastures splashed with a variety of wild flowers. Lately, Drass has become famous all over the world due to the extensive television coverage it received during the 3-month long conflict at the Line of Control (LoC) between India & Pakistan. Its physical landmarks like Mushkoo Valley, Tiger Hill, Tolo-ling, etc., have become part of India's modern national epic.

Drass valley starts from the base of the Zoji-la pass across which the 434 km Srinagar-Leh road passes. For the most part, this road follows the historic trade route, also known as the 'Treaty Road'. The most dramatic part of the road is the ascent up the Zojila pass (3505 m), the principal gateway to Ladakh. It is a legendary feature through which traders and explorers traversed the Himalayas, the world's greatest mountain range, as it lay on the route to Ladakh, Tibet, Central Asia and China. It has played critical roles in the passage of trade and cultural influences between Kashmir and Ladakh and on to Tibet and Central Asia through the centuries. It also marks the drastic transition between two contrasting environments, those of Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh plateau, within the span of an hour's drive.

As soon as the last turn of the road at 'India Gate' near the top of the pass is crossed, the luxurious forests of Kashmir suddenly disappear and the dramatic bleakness of Ladakh with the ever-changing colours of its brown and ochre mountains suddenly hit the eye.

The population of Drass comprises mainly of Dards, who are descendents of Dard immigrants from the Gilgit valley and other Dard areas from down the Indus. They speak Shina, which unlike the Tibetan-originated dialects spoken elsewhere in Ladakh, belongs to the Indo-European linguistic family. Polo the ancestral sport of the Dards, is played with particular zeal and fervour in Drass. A hardy people enduring with fortitude the harshness of the world’s second coldest place, the people of Drass can well be described as the guardians of Ladakh's gateway.

For centuries they are known to have negotiated the formidable Zoji-la pass, even during the late autumn or early spring when the whole sector remains snow-bound, for transporting across traders’ merchandise and to help stranded travellers to traverse it. By virtue of their mastery over the pass they had established a monopoly on the carrying trade during the heydays of the Central Asian trade. They are also known to have kept the mail running between Kashmir and Ladakh across the Zoji-la, regardless of the season and the climate.