The Illustrated Mountain Geography of Ladakh

April 24, 2019 Prashant Mathawan

The mighty Nun Peak of the Great Himalayan Range at 7135 m its the highest Himalayan Peak in Jammu ans Kashmir (not including the areas under occupation). On the side is the Saddle Peak.

The Mountain Geography of Ladakh makes for interesting reading situated as it is between the Great Himalayan Range and the Karakoram Range. Also running within Ladakh are the Ladakh Range and the Zanskar Range but most people do not have a clear idea as to which Pass co-relates to which Pass.

The Consulate at Chini Bagh

November 2, 2018 Prashant Mathawan

passport-kashgar-amarchand-hoshiarpur-kargil-leh-yarkand

The story of Chinni Bagh, which at once upon a time was the Consulate of the British Empire in Kashgar to facilitate the Trade between India and Central Asia and also keeping a watch on the Russians during the Great Game.

Saddles of the Horse Empires

October 15, 2018 Prashant Mathawan

The Horse and its Saddle were the main means of transport and one of the most important weapons in Warfare especially on the Central Asian steppes. No wonder the Empires built by the Nomads of Asian Steppes including the one built by Mongols under Changez Khan were also known as Horse Empires.

Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum of Central Asian Antiquities

July 22, 2018 Prashant Mathawan

The Munshi Aziz Bhatt Museum of Central Antiquities which holds a priceless treasure of Items and Objects which were once traded on the legendary Kashmir to Yarkand Silk Route via Ladakh.

Herodotus's Legendary Fox Sized Gold Digging Ants

July 6, 2018 Prashant Mathawan

Herodotus was a famous Greek historian of the ancient times who lived around 500 BC and he was born in Asia Minor in the Persian Empire. He was referred to as the Father of History as he wrote a lot of history and tales of the unknown from lands far off. One of his most intriguing account was the one of the legendary Gold digging ants, as big as Foxes, which lived in the high Himalayas in a land he called Dardae.

Zanskar : The Valley of Copper

April 8, 2018 Prashant Mathawan

The first look at Zanskar after crossing the Pensi La

Zanskar has an area exceeding 7000 sq km and a population estimated to be between 18000 to 20000. It is located bang in the middle of the Great Himalayas which separate it from Kishtwar and Lahaul in the South. In the East it touches Tibet almost and in the North is Ladakh and to the East is what used to be Baltistan but now better known as the Kargil area. Zanskar gets its name from the Tibetan word for Copper "Zang" and Valley. So probably it was because of the Copper deposits it was called so. And the name stuck.

Glawan Valley to be opened for Tourists