Zanskar range is a geographical and cultural region located in the Kargil district in the u and Keastern part of the state of Jammashmir, India. Administratively, it holds the status of a tehsil and Padum is its capital. The area is inhabited by two branches of the river Zanskar.
The Zanskar region is divided by the Zanskar range from the nearby Ladakh region. This range has an average elevation of 4000 meters (19400 ft) and its eastern part is a plateau-likee area known as Rupshu. The Zanskar ranges also continue in Himachal Pradesh where it separates the Kinnaur region from the Spiti valley.
Zanskar and some of the adjoining Ladakh used to be part of the Gugu kingdom which was also spread over western Tibet. The name Zanskara is pronounced "Zangskar" in the Ladakhi accent, although it is pronounced "Zanhar" in the local Zanskari accent. In Tibetan language, copper is called "zangs" and copper is also found in the Zanskar region. Some sources speculate that the name originated from this and "Zanskar" originally meant "white copper" or "copper star".
In the local health census in April 2006, Zanskar had a population of 1389 of which approximately 95% were followers of Tibetan Buddhism. A small minority community of 5% was Sunni Muslim. Ethnically Zhanskari people are the Changspa, Dard mix, and Mon people. The capital, Padum, has a population of about 500 and is the largest city in Zanskar.
A lot of Zanskar's vegetation is available in the lower reaches of the valleys and comprises of alpine and tundra species. Most remarkable are the grazing land shielded with a huge number of edelweiss. Yields including grain, lentils, and potatoes are cultivated by agriculturists at the lower altitudes, just as apricot trees. Domestic animals, for example, the yak, dzo, sheep, pony, and dogs are found in the Zanskar range.
Zanskar mountain range is amazingly hard to go for travelers during November and May, given the briskness and the substantial snowfall. Without a doubt, very solid and steady tourists should attempt to endeavor this. Nonetheless, one can visit all of Zanskar during the more favorable months. Trekking is the best strategy to increase full access to Zanskar, albeit one may drive a jeep or take transport from Kargil to Padum over the Pensi-La mountain pass.
Despite the fact that Padum, the managerial capital of Zanskar, isn't of extraordinary intrigue, one can take from that point the Padum-Stongdey-Zangla-Karsha-Padum full circle, which covers the greater part of the social destinations of the Zanskar range. Another prime fascination along the way to Padum is the Pensi-La, 4,200 meters (13,800 feet) high, and isolating Zanskar from the Suru Valley and Ladakh.
The most well-known trekking courses to enter Zanskar range by foot are the one from Darcha or Sarchu (on the Manali-Leh Street) to Padum and the one from Lamayuru (on the Srinagar-Leh Street) to Padum. The two courses take around ten days to finish.
The travel industry is presumably the significant interruption that the Zanskar range has encountered of late. The opening of this area to outsiders has brought advantages, for example, the financing of schools and the reclamation of religious communities and streets, yet has additionally negatively affected this delicate mountain condition and its populace. Not exclusively do the campgrounds along the trekking courses look an ever-increasing number of like junkyards toward the finish of the traveler season, however, the nearby populace has now and then built up a sketchy disposition towards guests.
