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{{Short description|Tehsil of Kargil district, Ladakh, India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{About|region or district in Ladakh|the mountain range|Zanskar Range}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Zanskar
| settlement_type    = Tehsil of [[Kargil District]] (until 2028)
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{Flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[States and union territories of India|Union Territory]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Ladakh, India.svg}} [[Ladakh]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[District]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Kargil district|Kargil]]
| subdivision_type3  = Administrative centre
| subdivision_name3  = [[Padum]]
| area_total_km2     = 7000
| native_name        = 
| image_skyline      = Zanskar Valley.jpg
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = View of Zanskar Valley
| seat_type          = 
| parts_type         = Administrative divisions
| leader_title       = [[District magistrate (India)|District collector and magistrate]]
| demographics_type2 = Languages
| demographics2_title1 = Official
| demographics2_info1 = [[Hindi]] and [[Indian English|English]]<ref name="officiallanguage">{{Cite news |last=Ganai |first=Naseer |date=19 January 2022 |title=Urdu No More Official Language Of Ladakh |work=[[Outlook India]] |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/national/urdu-is-dogra-legacy-to-j-k-and-ladakh-not-kashmiri-imposition-news-38816 |access-date=8 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407144133/https://www.outlookindia.com/national/urdu-is-dogra-legacy-to-j-k-and-ladakh-not-kashmiri-imposition-news-38816 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| demographics2_title2 = Spoken
| demographics2_info2 = [[Purgi language|Purgi]], [[Shina language|Shina]], [[Ladakhi language|Ladakhi]], [[Urdu]], [[Balti language|Balti]], [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]]
| leader_title1      = [[Lok Sabha|Lok Sabha constituencies]]
| leader_name1       = [[Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency|Ladakh]]
| leader_title2      = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|MP]]
| leader_name2       = {{nowrap|[[Mohmad Haneefa]]}}
| timezone1          = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1        = +05:30
}}
'''Zanskar''', '''Zahar''' (locally) or '''Zangskar''', is the southwestern region of [[Kargil district]] in the Indian [[union territory]] of [[Ladakh]]. The administrative centre of Zanskar is [[Padum]]. Zanskar, together with the rest of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kingdom of [[Geography of Tibet|Western Tibet]] called Ngari Khorsum. Zanskar lies 250&nbsp;km south of [[Kargil|Kargil City]] on [[National Highway 301 (India)|NH301]].

In August 2024, the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] announced that Zanskar will become a [[district (India)|district]] in Ladakh by 2028.<ref name=district>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/travel-news/ladakh-to-have-5-new-districts-by-2028-centre-announces/articleshow/112801765.cms|title=Ladakh to have 5 new districts by 2028; Centre announces|publisher=Times of India|date=26 August 2024}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Zanskar ({{lang|zau|ཟངས་དཀར་}} ''zangs dkar'') appears as ''“Zangskar”'' mostly in academic studies in social sciences ([[anthropology]], [[gender studies]]), reflecting the Ladakhi pronunciation, although the Zanskari pronunciation is Zãhar. Older geographical accounts and maps may use the alternate spelling "Zaskar". An etymological study (Snellgrove and Skorupsky, 1980) of the name reveals that its origin might refer to the natural occurrence of [[copper]] in this region, the Tibetan word for which is "Zangs". The second syllable however seems to be more challenging as it has various meanings: "Zangs-dkar" (white copper), "Zangs-mkhar" (copper palace), or "Zangs-skar" (copper star). Others claim it derives from ''zan'' = copper + ''skar'' = valley.<ref>{{harvnb|Schettler|Schettler|1981|p=150}}</ref> [[John Crook (ethologist)|John Crook]] (1994) partly shares this interpretation but suggests that the origin of this name might also be "Zan-mKhar" (food palace), because the staple food crops are so abundant in an otherwise rather arid region. The locally accepted spelling of the name in Tibetan script is zangs-dkar.

Some of the religious scholars of the district, also cited by Snellgrove and Skorupsky (1980) and Crook (1994), hold that it was originally "bzang-dkar", meaning good (or beautiful) and white. "Good" would refer to the triangular shape of the Padum plain, the triangle being the symbol of [[Dharma]] and religion; "white" would refer to the simplicity, goodness, and religious inclinations of the native population.

==History==
The first traces of human activity in Zanskar seem to go back as far as the [[Bronze Age]]. [[Petroglyph]]s attributed to that period suggest that their creators were hunters on the steppes of central Asia, living between Kazakhstan and China. It is suspected that an Indo-European population known as the [[Mon (Kashmir ethnic group)|Mon]] might then have lived in this region, before mixing with or being replaced by the next settlers, the [[Dardic peoples|Dards]]. Early Buddhism coming from Kashmir spread its influence in Zanskar, possibly as early as 200 BC. The earliest monuments date from the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] period. After this eastward propagation of Buddhism, Zanskar and large parts of the Western Himalaya were overrun in the 7th century by the Tibetans, who imposed their then animistic [[Bön]] religion.
[[File:Phuktal Gompa Tall View Zanskar Oct22 A7C 04461.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The [[Phugtal Monastery]] in south-east Zanskar]]
Buddhism regained its influence over Zanskar in the 8th century when [[Tibet]] was also converted to this religion. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, two Royal Houses were founded in Zanskar, and the monasteries of Karsha and Phugtal (see picture) were built. Until the 15th century Zanskar existed as a more or less independent Buddhist Kingdom ruled by two to four related royal families. In the early 17th century, Zanskar was conquered by [[Sengge Namgyal]] and was incorporated into Ladakh.<ref name=Handa>{{cite book|last=Hāṇḍā|first=Omacanda|title=Buddhist Western Himalaya: A politico-religious history|location=India|publisher=Indus Publishing Company|year=2001}}</ref>{{rp|241}} In 1822 a coalition of [[Kullu district|Kulu]], [[Lahoul]], and [[Kinnaur]] invaded Zanskar, plundering the country and destroying the royal palace at Padum.<ref name=Handa/>{{rp|251}}

In the mid-20th century, border conflicts between India, Pakistan and China caused Ladakh and Zanskar to be closed to foreigners. During these wars Ladakh lost two thirds of its original territory, losing [[Baltistan]] to Pakistan and the [[Aksai Chin]] to China. Ladakh and Zanskar, despite a tumultuous history of internal wars and external aggressions, have never lost their cultural and religious heritage since the 8th century.  {{cn-span|Thanks to its inclusion in the [[India|Indian Union]],|date=May 2024}} this is also one of the rare regions in the Himalaya where traditional Tibetan culture, society, and buildings survived the Chinese [[Cultural Revolution]]. In the last twenty years, the opening of a road and the massive influx of tourists and researchers have brought many changes to the traditional social organisation of Zanskar. In 2007 the valley suffered its third year of a [[desert locust]] infestation with many villages losing their crops. The response of the monasteries [[Puja (Buddhism)|puja]] (prayer) to get rid of them, while the government advocated insecticides, which the Buddhists were reluctant to use, but in some cases were forced to try, with as yet undocumented success. In 2008 it was reported that the locusts had left the central Zanskar plains.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

People of Zanskar demanded having their own district, separate from the existing Kargil district, for more than 70 years.<ref name=san2>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ladakh-buddhist-association-district-status-for-zanskar-1595142-2019-09-04|title=Ladakh-based Buddhist association demands district status for Zanskar|newspaper=India Today|date=September 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 Jan 2024 |title=Residents seek district tag for Drass |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/j-k/residents-seek-district-tag-for-drass-581118/amp |access-date=26 Aug 2024 |work=Tribune India}}</ref> The [[Ladakh Buddhist Association]] also demanded the creation of a Zanskar district.<ref name=san2/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://thewire.in/rights/sankoo-district-protests-kargil|title=3,000 Demonstrate for Separate District in Sub-Zero Temperatures at Kargil|newspaper=The Wire|date=6 February 2020}}</ref> In August 2024, the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] announced that Zanskar will become a [[district (India)|district]] in Ladakh by 2028.<ref name=district/>

==Geography==
===Topography===
[[File:Hemis region map.gif|thumb|right|Topographic map of Zanskar region]]
Zanskar covers an area of some {{convert|7,000|km2|sqmi}}, generally at an elevation between {{convert|3600|and|4000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Deboos>{{cite journal|first=Salomé|last=Deboos|title=Religious Fundamentalism in Zanskar, Indian Himalaya|journal=Himalaya|volume=22|issue=1–2|pages=10–16|url=https://hal.science/hal-04604205/document}}</ref> It consists of the country lying along the two main branches of the [[Zanskar River]]. The first, the [[Doda River]], has its source near the [[Penzi La]] {{convert|4400|m}} mountain-pass, and then flows south-eastwards along the main valley leading towards Padum, the capital of Zanskar.

The second branch is formed by two main tributaries known as Kargyag river (also known as Kurgiakh river), with its source near the [[Shinku La]] {{convert|5091|m}}, and [[Tsarap River]], with its source near the Baralacha-La. These two rivers unite below the village of Purney to form the Lungnak river (also known as the Lingti or Tsarap river). The Lungnak river then flows north-westwards along a narrow gorge towards Zanskar's central valley (known locally as jung-khor), where it unites with the Doda river to form the Zanskar river.

[[File:Waterfall at village Sheela , Zanskar.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Sheela waterfall, eventually feeding the [[Tsarap River]]]]
The Zanskar river then takes a north-eastern course until it joins the [[Indus River|Indus]] in Ladakh. High mountain ridges lie on both sides of the Doda and Lingti&ndash;kargyag valleys, which run north-west to south-east. To the south-west is the Great [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] Range which separates Zanskar from the Kisthwar and Chamba basins. To the north-east lies the Zanskar Range, which separates Zanskar from Ladakh. The only outlet for the whole Zanskar hydrographic system is thus the Zanskar river, which cuts the deep and narrow [[Chadar trek|Zanskar Gorge]] through the Zanskar range.

These topographical features explain why access to Zanskar is difficult from all sides. Communication with the neighbouring Himalayan areas is maintained across mountain passes or along the Zanskar river when frozen. The easiest approach leads from [[Kargil town|Kargil]] through the [[Suru valley]] and over the Penzi-La. It is along this track that in 1979 the only road in Zanskar was built to connect Padum with the main road from Srinagar into Ladakh. One of the first Tibetologists to spend an extended period in the region was Hungarian scholar [[Sándor Kőrösi Csoma|Sándor Csoma de Kőrös]] who spent over a year living in the region in 1823. After being integrated into the newly formed state of India in 1947, Zanskar and the neighbouring region of Ladakh were both declared restricted areas and only opened to foreigners in 1974.

===Climate===
Zanskar is a high altitude semi-desert lying on the northern flank of the Himalayan Range. This mountain range acts as a barrier protecting Ladakh and Zanskar from most of the [[monsoon]], resulting in a pleasantly warm and dry climate in the summer. Rain and snowfall during this period are scarce, although recent decades have shown a trend towards increasing precipitation. Several water-driven mills were built during ancient periods of drought at a great distance from the villages, but have been abandoned because running water is now available nearer to the settlements. Zanskari houses, though otherwise well built, are not adapted to the recently increasing rainfall, as their roofs leak, catching their surprised inhabitants unprepared. Most of the precipitation occurs as snowfall during the harsh and extremely long winter period. These winter snowfalls are of vital importance, since they feed the [[glacier]]s which melt in the summer and provide most of the irrigation water. Parts of Zanskar valley are considered some of the coldest continually inhabited places in the world.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{Weather box
|location=Padum
|collapsed=Y
|single line=Y
|metric first = yes
| Jan high C  = -16.5
| Feb high C  = -14.3
| Mar high C  = -10.4
| Apr high C  = -4.9
| May high C  = 0.2
| Jun high C  = 6.7
| Jul high C  = 13.0
| Aug high C  = 13.3
| Sep high C  = 9.1
| Oct high C  = 1.4
| Nov high C  = -7.0
| Dec high C  = -13.8
| Jan mean C  = -20.6
| Feb mean C  = -18.0
| Mar mean C  = -15.1
| Apr mean C  = -10.1
| May mean C  = -4.7
| Jun mean C  = 1.6
| Jul mean C  = 7.6
| Aug mean C  = 7.8
| Sep mean C  = 3.3
| Oct mean C  = -4.6
| Nov mean C  = -12.7
| Dec mean C  = -18.9
| Jan low C  = -26.0
| Feb low C  = -23.1
| Mar low C  = -21.4
| Apr low C  = -16.8
| May low C  = -11.6
| Jun low C  = -5.3
| Jul low C  = 1.3
| Aug low C  = 1.6
| Sep low C  = -3.7
| Oct low C  = -11.9
| Nov low C  = -19.6
| Dec low C  = -25.4
| precipitation colour  = green
| Jan precipitation mm  = 58
| Feb precipitation mm  = 74
| Mar precipitation mm  = 70
| Apr precipitation mm  = 49
| May precipitation mm  = 26
| Jun precipitation mm  = 28
| Jul precipitation mm  = 53
| Aug precipitation mm  = 57
| Sep precipitation mm  = 27
| Oct precipitation mm  = 12
| Nov precipitation mm  = 22
| Dec precipitation mm  = 36
| humidity colour = pastel
| daily = Y
| Jan humidity    = 64
| Feb humidity    = 67
| Mar humidity    = 69
| Apr humidity    = 74
| May humidity    = 76
| Jun humidity    = 72
| Jul humidity    = 65
| Aug humidity    = 63
| Sep humidity    = 56
| Oct humidity    = 50
| Nov humidity    = 55
| Dec humidity    = 63
| Jan rain days  = 8
| Feb rain days  = 9
| Mar rain days  = 8
| Apr rain days  = 7
| May rain days  = 4
| Jun rain days  = 5
| Jul rain days  = 9
| Aug rain days  = 9
| Sep rain days  = 4
| Oct rain days  = 2
| Nov rain days  = 3
| Dec rain days  = 5
| Jand sun  = 5.0
| Febd sun  = 5.1
| Mard sun  = 6.8
| Aprd sun  = 7.8
| Mayd sun  = 8.6
| Jund sun  = 8.7
| Juld sun  = 8.0
| Augd sun  = 7.4
| Sepd sun  = 7.8
| Octd sun  = 7.9
| Novd sun  = 6.9
| Decd sun  = 5.8
| source 1 = climate-data.org, 1991-2021 weather averages<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.climate-data.org/asia/india/jammu-and-kashmir/padum-175654/|title=Padum climate (India)|publisher=climate-data.org|access-date=27 October 2024}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
Zanskar's population is small, the 2011 census recorded a population of 13,793 people.  The sex ratio was 862 females per 1,000 males.  The literacy rate was 59.73%.<ref name="CensusKargilA">{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=District Census Handbook: Kargil, Jammu & Kashmir -- Village and Town Directory|publisher=Directorate of Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India|year=2011|isbn=|series=2 Part XII A|location=}}</ref>{{rp|page=49,52,61}}  The majority of Zanskaris are of mixed [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] and Indo-European origins; notably [[Changpa]], [[Dard people|Dard]] and Mon. The latter are ethnically Dard, but "Mon" is used in order to distinguish them from later Dard settlers.  A small fraction are Sunni Muslims whose ancestors settled in Padum and its environs in the 19th century.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

===Religion===
[[File:Front Sani Kani Khar Zanskar Jun24 A7CR 00792.jpg|thumb|[[Sani Monastery]], considered to be the oldest religious site in [[Ladakh]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rizvi|1998|p=254}}</ref>]]
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Zanskar Tehsil (2011)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Om |first=Hari |date=2023-07-12 |title=District Status for Nubra, Zanskar Will Promote Interests of Ladakhi Buddhists |url=https://www.pgurus.com/district-status-for-nubra-and-zanskar-will-promote-interests-of-ladakhi-buddhists/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=PGurus |language=en-US}}</ref>
|titlebar=#FCD116
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent(%)
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Tibetan Buddhism|Buddhism]]|Gold|93.91}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam in India|Islam]]|green|5.53}}
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism]]|darkorange|0.17}}
{{bar percent|Other or not stated|black|0.39}}
}}

An overwhelming majority of Zanskar is Buddhist.<ref name="Paddar Population">{{cite web|url=https://www.censusindia2011.com/jammu-kashmir/kishtwar/atholi-paddar-population.html|title=Paddar Population|work=Census India|access-date=29 August 2020|archive-date=13 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213052909/https://www.censusindia2011.com/jammu-kashmir/kishtwar/atholi-paddar-population.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Almost every village has a local monastery, often containing ancient wall-paintings and images. There are two main branches of Tibetan Buddhism here — the [[Drukpa Lineage|Drugpa]], including [[Sani Monastery]], [[Dzongkhul]], Stagrimo and [[Bardan Monastery]] - all loosely affiliated with Stakna in the [[Indus valley]]. The [[Gelugpa]] control [[Rangdum Monastery]], [[Karsha]], [[Stongde]] and [[Phugtal Monastery]], which all pay allegiance to the Ngari Rinpoche,<ref>{{harvnb|Rizvi |1998|p=253}}</ref> who has his main seat at [[Likir Monastery]] in Ladakh. The present emanation of the Ngari Rinpoche is the younger brother of the Dalai Lama.<ref>{{harvnb|Rizvi|1998|p=242}}</ref>

===Languages===
People living in Zanskar speak [[Zangskari language|Zanskari]] language of the [[Ladakhi–Balti languages|Ladakhi-Balti]] language group.<ref>{{citation|last=Rather |first=Ali Mohammad |title=Kargil: The Post-War Scenario |journal=Journal of Peace Studies |publisher=International Center for Peace Studies |volume=6 |number=5–6 |date=September 1999 |url=http://www.icpsnet.org/description.php?ID=138 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141201063036/http://www.icpsnet.org/description.php?ID=138 |archive-date= 1 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Beek, Martijn van Pirie, Fernanda|title=Modern Ladakh : anthropological perspectives on continuity and change|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-16713-1|oclc=896146052}}</ref> It is written using the [[Tibetan script]].<ref name="Zangskari SS">{{cite web|title=Zangskari|url=http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=language_detail&uid=2353hagba6|access-date=25 August 2012|publisher=Script Source}}</ref> Monks who have studied outside of Zanskar may know Standard Tibetan. Educated people of Zanskar know [[English language|English]] as it is a compulsory subject in numerous Indian schools.The population lives mainly in scattered small villages, the largest being the capital [[Padum]], with nearly 700 inhabitants. Most of the villages are located in the valleys of the Zanskar river and its two main tributaries. Given the isolation of this region, the inhabitants tend towards self-sufficiency, and until recently lived in almost complete [[autarky]]. External trade has, however, always been necessary for the acquisition of goods such as [[tool]]s, [[jewellery]], or religious [[Cultural artifact|artefact]]s.

==Flora and fauna==
[[File:Grey Goral Doe Zanskar Ladakh Oct22 R16 06676.jpg|thumb|Gray goral (female)]]
Much of Zanskar's vegetation is found in the irrigated villages, and on the upper slopes, which receive more precipitation and grow alpine and tundra species. Most impressive are the meadows covered with thousands of [[edelweiss]]. At the foot of the [[Gumburanjon]] mountain, blue poppies can be found. Crops including [[barley]], [[lentil]]s, and potatoes are grown by farmers at the lower elevations. Domesticated animals such as the [[yak]], [[dzo]], sheep, horse, and dog are found in the region.

Among the wildlife found in Zanskar are the [[marmot]], [[bear]], [[wolf]], [[snow leopard]], [[bharal]], alpine [[ibex]], [[Himalayan goral|gray goral]], and [[lammergeier]].<ref>{{harvnb|Namgail|2004}}</ref>

==Economy ==
===Livestock===
[[File:White yack col.jpg|thumb|right|White yak.]]
{{unsourced|section|date=July 2024}}
Livestock, and especially the [[yak]], is of paramount importance in Zanskar. Yaks are used to plough the land, thresh grain, and carry heavy loads (up to 200&nbsp;kilograms). Their dung not only serves as fertiliser but is also the only heating fuel available in the region. They are a vital source of milk and sometimes, but rarely, of meat. Yak fur is used to make clothes, carpets, ropes, and bed covers.

The Zanskaris' main occupations are cattle-rearing and farming of land that they almost always own. Cultivable land is scarce, and restricted to alluvial fans and terraces, cultivated fields being rarely found above an altitude of 4,000 metres. The Zanskaris have developed a system of intensive arable agriculture and complex irrigation to produce enough food in these conditions. The scarcity of cultivable land has also resulted in a tendency towards a stable, zero-growth population.  An efficient birth-control system in Zanskar has historically been achieved by the common practice of [[polyandry|polyandrous]] marriage, in which several brothers are married to the same wife, and the widespread adoption of a celibate religious life. A high infant mortality rate also contributes to population stability.
[[File:Zanskar alpage col.jpg|thumb|Group of Zanskari women and children.]]

In the summer, the women and children stay far away from the villages to tend to the livestock. This system, known as [[transhumance]], is similar to the one found in the Alps where the animals are sent during the summer higher up in the mountains (the alpine meadows) and were kept by the children and women.

===Tourism===
[[Tourism]] is probably the major disruption that Zanskar has experienced during recent times. The opening of this region to foreigners has brought changes such as the financing of schools and the restoration of monasteries and roads, but has also taken its toll on the fragile mountain environment and its population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/response-tourism-ladakh|work=Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine|title=The Response to Tourism in Ladakh|date=March 1990}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://india.mongabay.com/2021/07/the-toxic-love-for-ladakh-is-weighing-heavy-on-its-natural-resources|title=The toxic love for Ladakh is weighing heavy on its natural resources|publisher=Mongabay|first=Archana|last=Singh|date=20 July 2021}}</ref> 

== In popular culture ==
The first colour film of life in Zanskar was shot in 1958 by an expedition of three British housewives.<ref>{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426000057/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2008/04/21/st_womenexplorers.xml&page=1|archive-date=2008-04-26|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2008/04/21/st_womenexplorers.xml&page=1|title=The housewife explorers who climbed the Himalayas|date=2008-04-21|newspaper=The Telegraph|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 2001 movie ''[[Samsara (2001 film)|Samsara]]'' was entirely shot in Zanskar.  In 2010, the American film director [[Frederick Marx]] made a documentary called "[[Journey from Zanskar]]". Narrated by [[Richard Gere]], the film tells the story of two monks helping 17 poor children reaching Tibetan schools in [[India]] through a difficult and dangerous terrain.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

== See also ==
*[[Pensi La]]
*[[Shingo La]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|title=Travels In Zanskar: A Journey to a Closed Kingdom|first=Mark|last=Boyden|publisher=The Liffey Press|location=Dublin|date=2013|isbn=978-1-908308-51-1}}
* {{Cite book|last=Conover|first=Ted|title=The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today|pages=71–112|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|date=2010|isbn=978-1-4000-4244-9}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Crook |first1=John |first2=Henry |last2=Osmaston |year=1994 |title=Himalayan Buddhist Villages: Environment, Resources, Society and Religious Life in Zangskar, Ladakh |place=Bristol |publisher=University of Bristol UK |pages=866 |isbn=0-86292-386-7 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Crowden|first=James|title=The Frozen River: Seeking Silence in the Himalaya|publisher=William Collins|date=2020|isbn=978-0008353179}}
* {{Cite book|last=Deboos|first=Salomé|title=Être musulman au Zanskar: Himalaya indien|publisher=Editions Universitaires Européenne|date=2010|isbn=978-613-1-52976-4}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Dèzes |first=Pierre |year=1999 |title=Tectonic and metamorphic Evolution of the Central Himalayan Domain in Southeast Zanskar (Kashmir, India) |journal=Mémoires de Géologie  |series=Doctoral thesis |place=Universite de Lausanne |volume=32 |pages=149 |issn=1015-3578 |url=http://zanskar.geoheritage.ch }}
* {{Cite book |last=Gutschow |first=Kim |year=2004 |title=Being a Buddhist Nun: The Struggle for Enlightenment in the Indian Himalayas |publisher=Harvard University Press }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Namgail |first=T. |year=2004 |title=Zangskar: mystic land |journal=Sanctuary Asia |volume=24 |pages=44–47 |url=https://sanctuarynaturefoundation.org/article/zangskar-mystic-land }}
* {{Cite book |last=Noble |first=Christina |year=1991 |title=At Home in the Himalayas |publisher=Fontana |place=London |isbn=0-00-637499-9 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Rizvi |first=Janet |year=1998 |title=Ladakh, Crossroads of High Asia |publisher=Oxford University Press <!-- 1st edition 1963. 2nd revised edition 1996. 3rd impression 2001. --> |isbn=0-19-564546-4 }}
* {{Cite book |year=1981 |publisher=Lonely Planet Publications |place=South Yarra, Victoria, Australia |isbn=0-908086-21-0 |last1=Schettler|first1=Margaret|last2=Schettler|first2=Rolf |title=Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Snellgrove |first1=D.L. |last2=Skorupsky |first2=T. |year=1980 |title=The Cultural Heritage of Ladakh |publisher=Warminster, Aris and Phillips |isbn=0-85668-058-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Tsering |first=Tobden |year=1985 |title=Lamas of Zaṅs-dkar a collection of manuscript material about the lives of Kun-dgaʼ-chos-legs, Bla-ma Kar-ma, and Grub-dbaṅ Nag-dbaṅ-tshe-riṅ |place=Gemur, Distt. Lahul |postscript=. Mkhas-grub-chen-po Dpal Bzad-pa-rdo-rje rnam thar mgur bum Ma rig mun sel dran pai klog phren. }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://zanskar.geoheritage.ch Geology of Zanskar]
* [http://csoma.mtak.hu/en/index.htm Alexander Csoma de Koros Hungarian scholar-traveler to Zanskar]

{{Municipalities of Ladakh}}
{{Ladakh}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Kargil district]]
[[Category:Districts of Ladakh]]
[[Category:Valleys of Ladakh]]
[[Category:Regions of India]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]