Padum (also known as Padam) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
named after
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
. It is the only town and the administrative centre in
Zanskar
Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brie ...
,
Kargil district 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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other being
Zangla. It is via the link road from
Kargil city (National Highway No. 1D). The new
Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road
Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road or Zanskar Highway is a road under construction between the Indian union territory of Ladakh and the state of Himachal Pradesh, passing through the region of Zanskar. It connects Nimmu in the Indus Valley to Padum, ...
(under construction) connects Padum directly to
Leh in the east and to
Darcha
Darcha also known as Dartse (elevation 3,360 m or 11,020 ft) is a pair of villages (Darcha Sumdo and Darach Dangma) on the Bhaga River in the Lahaul sub-division in the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. ...
in
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
.
Description
The present population of Padum town is about 2,000 people. The traditional heart of the village is below the
gompa
A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a universit ...
and Palace khar (now in ruins) where two large
chorten
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circuma ...
s stand above old buildings. A road was constructed in 1980 from NH1 at Kargil over
Pensi La
Pensi-la (Pensi Pass) is a mountain pass in the Ladakh union territory of India, which is known as the Gateway to Zanskar. Pensi La is above sea level and connects the Suru Valley region to the Zanskar Valley region. The summit at this end of ...
which is 235 km away. The 145 km road to Darcha passing through Shinkula pass is now operational , which connects to Manali- Leh Highway.
Padum has several hotels, homestays and restaurants meant for tourists. Padum has a post office, internet cafes and telephone booths.
Geography
Padum is at the centre of the tri-armed Zanskar valley.
[Osada et al (2000), p. 298.] It has an average elevation of . There are several villages to the north-east of Padum leading to Karsha monastery.
People
Padum is largely inhabited by people of
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, Taman ...
an descent who follow
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, but there is a sizable
Muslim population (accounting for ~40% of the town's population and growing steadily), mainly
Balti, who have been present in Padum since the 17th century.
Town
The sub-divisional capital Padum is a town of the
Zanskar
Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brie ...
sub-division or tehsil in the
Kargil district 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 ...
state,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The
Zanskar River
The Zanskar River is the first major tributary of the Indus River, equal or greater in volume than the main river, which flows entirely within Ladakh, India. It originates northeast of the Great Himalayan range and drains both the Himalayas and ...
flows through the valley from its source at the Drang Drung glacier of the
Pensi La
Pensi-la (Pensi Pass) is a mountain pass in the Ladakh union territory of India, which is known as the Gateway to Zanskar. Pensi La is above sea level and connects the Suru Valley region to the Zanskar Valley region. The summit at this end of ...
.The
Zanskar River
The Zanskar River is the first major tributary of the Indus River, equal or greater in volume than the main river, which flows entirely within Ladakh, India. It originates northeast of the Great Himalayan range and drains both the Himalayas and ...
joins the Lungnak River near Pibiting village.
A number of notable Buddhist monasteries are located near Padum including
Bardan Monastery and
Karsha Monastery and the newly built Dalai Lama Photang. The
Phugtal Monastery
Phuktal Monastery or Phuktal Gompa (often transliterated as Phugtal) is a Buddhist monastery located in the remote Lungnak Valley in south-eastern Zanskar, in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, in Northern India. It is one of the only Buddhist monas ...
is accessible from here. It is a day's trek from Dorzang, the end of the road leading from Padum.
Access
By Bus:
The bus operates during the tourist season between 1 June and 30 September only, after this period the Manali-Leh NH21 highway is normally closed. The other roads including the highway from Leh to Srinagar via Kargil, remain open until the end of October. Despite heavy blizzards, the road from Leh to Nubra valley over the extremely high Khardung La is kept open throughout the year.
The
Nimmu–Padam–Darcha road is being made which runs through Padum. The road to Darcha via Purne is now ready and half of the length is now 2 lane-tarmac, the remaining being unpaved.
See also
*
India-China Border Roads
*
Line of Actual Control
The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...
*
List of disputed territories of India
There are several disputed territories of India. A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more states or over the possession or control of land by a new state and occupying power after it has co ...
References
Bibliography
* Janet Rizvi. (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. .
*Osada ''et al.'' (2000). ''Mapping the Tibetan World''. Yukiyasu Osada, Gavin Allwright, and Atsushi Kanamaru. Reprint: 2004. Kotan Publishing, Tokyo. .
* Schettler, Margaret & Rolf (1981). Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar. Lonely Planet Publications. South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. .
External links
Photos of PadumImages taken at the Karsha Monastery, near Padum
{{Kargil district
Cities and towns in Kargil district
Ladakh
Geography of Ladakh