Padar Valley, Kishtwar, J&K

The beautiful Padar Region is located in the Kishtwar District of the Jammu Division of the UT of J&K bordering the Pangi Valley of the Chamba District in Himachal Pradesh.

The main Village or Town as it is almost one now is Gulabgarh which used to be called Chattargarh earlier.

The Inner Sanctum of the Great Himalayas : The Paddar Valley.

The Place I Wanna Go To After the Pandemic Goes is The Paddar Valley, Kishtwar. Paddar Valley or Paldar as its called by the Ladakhis is today is a part of the Kishtwar District of the Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir. Paddar lies between the Pangi Valley on one side, Zanskar on another side and Kishtwar main on one side.

The Pangi Valley is a part of the Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh while Lahaul is a part of the Lahaul Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh.

Historically they were all part of the Chamba Kingdom at some point of time and of the Kashmir Kingdom also probably earlier which is demonstrated by Kashmir style designs of some of the Temples including the Trilokinath Temple. Lahaul also used to be divided between the Chamba Kingdom and the British Empire till the time of Independence.

There are also Cultural similarities especially amongst the Buddhists communities which dwell on the higher reaches of Paddar and Pangi as well as the Buddhists in Lahaul. The Hindu communities also share a commonality especially between Paddar and Pangi. The syncretic form of Hindusim and Buddhism practices in Lahaul is indeed unique and is exemplified by the Trilokinath Temple which is held sacred by Hindus as well as the Buddhists.

And as mentioned these are the Inner Himalayas and as such as pristine and primeval as they get . The least visited but nothing beats these Valleys if you want sheer verticality. If you havent seen these places you havent really been to the wilds of the Western Himalayas. Hopefully with the completion of the Machail Road more areas would open.