History of Ladakh

Ladakh was the erstwhile Kingdom of Ladakh for 900 years.

In the 10th century, Ladakh existed as an independent kingdom for almost 900 years. The region started facing the onslaught of Muslim rulers from Kashmir and finally became a part of Kashmir in the 19 th century.

The earliest inhabitants of Ladakh were the Indo-Aryan Mons and the Darads and the nomadic tribes from Tibet. Mons brought in Buddhism to the valley. The Darads and the Baltis are credited with the introduction of farming and the Tibetans started herding livestock.

Historically, the growth period for the Kingdom of Ladakh was the 17 th century. King Sengge Namgyal ruled the region at this time. It was during this time that Ladakh was regarded as an important trade route between Punjab and Central Asia. Textiles, Spices, Raw Silk, Carpets, Dyestuff, Narcotics were all transported across the rough terrain on ponies from Amritsar to Yarkand and Khotan and Leh was an important transit point in the route.

The world famous Pashmina also known as Cashmere was produced in the high altitudes of Eastern Ladakh and Western Tibet and was brought into Kashmir. Ironically, the famous Pashmina led to the kingdom's downfall as well. The then the ruler of Kashmir, Gulab Singh sent his general to invade Ladakh in 1834 following the Pashmina trail. The British forces ultimately gained control of entire North India.

The rugged mountainous region was made habitable by road with the opening up of the 434 kms long Srinagar - Leh Highway in the 1960's.

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