Rangdum is a village located in the Suru Valley 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 and ...

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. On one side are the colourful hills while on the other side are rocky mountains and

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, notably Drang-drung. Rangdum is located midway between

Kargil Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Ja ...

and

Padum Padum (also known as Padam) is a town named after Padmasambhava. It is the only town and the administrative centre in Zanskar, Kargil district of Ladakh, India. It was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other ...

. It is about from Kargil.

"Rangdum, with its ''gompa'' and the attendant village of Juliodok, is the last inhabited region in the Suru valley; it is also the destination of the nomadic herds people called
Bakarwal The Bakarwal (also Bakkarwal, Bakharwal, Bakrawala and Bakerwal) are a nomadic ethnic group, who along with Gujjars are listed as Scheduled Tribes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1991.https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/CLM/CLM_1/17.p ...
s, who trek up every year from the Himalayan foothills near
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), 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 Ri ...
, bringing their flocks of sheep and goats to grow fat on the rich summer growth of grass. From Rangdum the valley rises to 4400 metres and the Pensi-la, the gateway into
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 brief ...
."

The country surrounding

Rangdum Monastery Rangdum Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Gelugpa sect, situated on top of a small but steep sugarloaf hill at an altitude of 4,031 m (13,225 ft) at the head of the Suru Valley, in Ladakh. It is next to the tiny v ...

is very bleak and crops sometimes cannot ripen in the brief summer. The locals depend on their flocks and supplies from lower down the Suru Valley or over the pass from Zanskar. The population of the Suru Valley as far as Parkachik are all Muslim. The valley is, however, practically uninhabited past Parkachik other than a couple of tiny settlements. The small villages of Yuldo and Julidok, at the end of the valley, are entirely Buddhist. The people are socially and culturally part of neighbouring Zanskar and support the 18th-century Rangdum Monastery belonging to the

Gelugpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Rangdum has a tourist bungalow, three tea-houses and, around 2 km from the village, a summer-only camp offering accommodation for tourists in bedded tents.Lonely Planet India guide, 12th edition

Footnotes

References

* Janet Rizvi. (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. . * Schettler, Margaret & Rolf (1981). ''Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar.'' Lonely Planet Publications. South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. . {{Kargil district Villages in Taisuru tehsil Geography of Ladakh Ladakh