Nestled in the Himalayas lies a region of India called Ladakh, where the mountainous desert nearly reaches the clouds. As the Ladakh Range spans from Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan) to the west to the Tibetian border, its lowest point is still 3000(+) meters above sea level. Flying into Leh, the region's capital, you'll glimpse mountainous valleys, the snaking blue and brown of big volume rivers, and the huge glaciers that feed them. These rivers form a network of water veins the people of Ladakh desperately need. Water is a precious good here, a necessary resource for agriculture, and a crucial element in making a living.
Landing at the military airport in Leh is immediately grounding. Control of this region has been fiercely contested by Pakistan, China, and India for decades. Driving around feels like you are at a local fitness center with all the bodybuilders flexing their pumped-up muscles in front of you all the time to make you feel small and weak, only instead of bodybuilders, it is the Indian army showing off its grandeur.
But Ladakh's history extends far beyond modern-day borders or disputes. The Silk Road ran alongside the Indus River and over some of its mountain
