Leh district is a district in the union territory of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

, India. With an area of 45,110 ''km''^''2'', it is the second largest district in the country smaller only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has ...

Kharmang The Kharmang Valley (), also known as Kartaksho, is one of the five main valleys situated in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The area became an individual district in 2015, with its temporary headquarters set at the town of Tolti. The valley is loc ...

and Ghanche districts and

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

's Kashgar Prefecture and Hotan Prefecture linked via the historic Karakoram Pass. It has

Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

are to the east, Kargil district to the west, and

Lahul and Spiti The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul () and Spiti (; or ). The present administrative centre is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were me ...

to the south. The district headquarters is in

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

. It lies between 32 to 36 degree north latitude and 75 to 80 degree east longitude. The whole of Ladakh was under the administration of Leh until 1 July 1979, when the Kargil and Leh administrative districts were created. Religion has been a source of grievances between Buddhists and Muslims since the late 20th century and was a contributor to this division. In 2017, the district was declared a tobacco-free zone. The Directorate of Health Services Kashmir under the National Tobacco Control Programme began working towards the designation early in 2017 and the status was declared in August. Rehana Kousar (in-charge, NTCP, Kashmir) said that work was done with civil society, religious and women's groups and that a "major success was achieved by the involvement of women in the anti-tobacco campaign." In August 2019, the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

passed an act that contained provisions to make Leh a district of the new union territory of

, which was formed 31 October 2019.

Administration

There are seven sub-divisions and twelve tehsils. The sub-divisions are: Nubra, Durbuk (Durbok), Khalatse (Khaltsi/Khalsi),

Kharoo Kharoo is a village in the Leh district in the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Kharu tehsil. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India, Kharoo has 42 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy ...

Likir Likir is a village and headquarter of eponymous Subdivision in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.Nyoma. The tehsils are: Panamik, Sumoor, Turtuk, and Diskit in Nubra Valley, Durbuk, Khalatse, Saspol,

, Chuchot,

Likir Likir is a village and headquarter of eponymous Subdivision in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.NyomaLeh tehsils
As a result of ''The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2019'', Leh district would claim

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

jurisdiction over the following areas of Pakistani-administered Kashmir: Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilas, and Tribal territory, making it slightly smaller than the country of Tunisia. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh (LAHDC Leh), is the Autonomous District Council that administers the Leh district. As of July 2019, Leh district is divided into 7 sub-divisions (new sub-divisions in Leh), 12

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s (new tehsils in Panamik, Turtuk, Chuchot and Likir) and 18 (new blocks in Sumoor and Likir) blocks.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Leh district had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 133,487, roughly equal to the nation of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

. This gives it a ranking of 609th in India (out of a total of

640 Year 640 (Roman numerals, DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 13.87%, (it was 30.15% for 1991–2001). Leh has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species de ...

of 690

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

for every 1000 males (this varies with religion), and a literacy rate of 77.2%.

Religion

Languages

Ladakhi Ladakhi can mean: * of, from, or related to Ladakh, a union territory in northern India * Ladakhi language, the Tibetic language spoken there * Ladakhis Ladakhis or Ladakhi people or Ladakspa are an ethnic group and first-language speakers of ...

is the most spoken language ,Hindi/ Urdu is the second largest language, mainly spoken in Leh. Balti is found in Nubra near the boundary with Gilgit-Baltistan. Tibetan,

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

are all mainly spoken in Leh.

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and English are widely understood in Leh.

Politics

Parliamentary Constituency

The district falls under Ladakh (Lok Sabha constituency). The present

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) of Ladakh is Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the BJP

Assembly constituencies

Leh district had two assembly constituencies, Nubra and Leh under Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. Since Ladakh is a union territory without legislature, it does not have a present legislative assembly.

Autonomous Hill Council

Leh District is administered by an elected body known as the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh. The LAHDC was established in 1995. The latest elections were held in October 2020. The BJP secured 15 seats while the INC won 9 and the Independents won 2.

Transportation

Road

Leh is connected to the rest of India by two high-altitude roads both of which are subject to landslides and neither of which are passable in winter when covered by deep snows. The

National Highway 1D National Highway 1D (NH 1D), also known as Srinagar-Leh Highway, was a National Highway entirely within the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in North India that connected Srinagar to Leh in Ladakh. It was one of the only two roa ...

from Srinagar via Kargil is generally open longer. The Leh-Manali Highway can be troublesome due to very high passes and plateaus, and the lower but landslide-prone Rohtang Pass near

Manali Manali may refer to: Places in India * Manali, Himachal Pradesh, * Manali, Chennai, a locality of Chennai * Manali New Town, a locality of Chennai * Manali, Gummidipoondi, a village in Tamil Nadu * Manali River, a river in Kerala People * ...

. The third road axis is under construction. * National Highway 1 The overland approach to Ladakh from the Kashmir valley via the 434-km. National Highway 1 typically remains open for traffic from June to October/November. The most dramatic part of this road journey is the ascent up the 3,505 m (11,500 ft.) high Zoji-la, a tortuous pass in the Great Himalayan Wall. The Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) operates regular Deluxe and Ordinary bus services between Srinagar and Leh on this route with an overnight halt at Kargil. Taxis (cars and jeeps) are also available at Srinagar for the journey. * National Highway 3 or Leh-Manali Highway Since 1989, the 473-km Leh-Manali Highway has been serving as the second land approach to Ladakh. Open for traffic from June to late October, this high road traverses the upland desert plateaux of Rupsho whose altitude ranges from 3,660 m to 4,570 m. There are a number of high passes en route among which the highest one, known as Tanglang La, is sometimes (but incorrectly) claimed to be the world's second-highest motorable pass at an altitude of 5,325 m. (17,469 feet). See the article on Khardung La for a discussion of the world's highest motorable passes. * Nimmu–Padam–Darcha road This is the third road axis to Leh. It is currently under construction.

Air

Leh's

Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport is a domestic airport serving Leh, the capital of Ladakh, India. It is the 23rd highest commercial airport in the world at above mean sea level. The airport is named after 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, an In ...

has flights to Delhi at least daily on

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed ...

which also provides twice-weekly services to

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

and a weekly flight to Srinagar. Passengers connect in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

for other destinations. Go First operates

to Leh daily flights during peak time.

Rail

There is no railway service currently in Ladakh, however, 2 railway routes are proposed- the Bilaspur–Leh line and Srinagar–Kargil–Leh line.

Gallery

Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe.jpg, Tsomoriri lake Pangong Tso 2.jpg, Pangong lake India - Ladakh - Leh - 053 - flower fields outside my guesthouse (3844435507).jpg, Leh district flower fields and mountains

References

External links

Official Website of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh

Maps of India
Ladakh Tourism Guide
- Photo Gallery of Leh, Monasteries in Leh, NGO's in Leh, Important Phone #.
Shaam Region in Leh
(not to be confused with the Middle Eastern region) {{Coord, 34.1667, N, 77.5833, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:IN, display=title 1979 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Leh Geography of Ladakh Minority Concentrated Districts in India Autonomous regions of India Districts of Ladakh