Nurtured by the Drass River which rises in the Machoi glacier near the famous Zojila Pass, the enchanting Drass Valley is situated at a height of 3230 m. The valley experiences extremely harsh cold weather in winters and temperature may even fall to minus 40 degree Celsius. This cold valley (60 km to the west of Kargil) starts from the Zojila pass, the Himalayan Gateway to Ladakh.
Drass suffered heavily in the summer of 1999, when the town was shelled by Pakistani backed incursions. The Indian army eventually re-captured the town, its surrounding areas, and Kargil district. It is the nearest point to the Line of Control.
At the entrance of Drass are three stone figures of a king and two women carved on pillars. The inscription on the pillars is in the old Brahmi script and the ornaments worn by the women, Kashmiri.
Drass inhabitants consist mainly of Dard stock, an Aryan race believed to have originally migrated from Central Asia. They speak Shina, a Dardic language, which is unlike the Ladakhi dialects spoken elsewhere in Ladakh. The population is majority muslim, as is the rest of Kargil district. It was predominantly a Buddhist region, which converted to Islam in the 15th century. The only Buddhist remains of note in the whole area are images of the Maitreya Buddha carved on a rock face in Mulkekh.
Drass Valley PRIME ATTRACTIONS
Zoji La
By virtue of their mastery over the pass they had established a monopoly over the carrying trade during the heydays of the Pan-Asian trade. A hardly people enduring with fortitude and harshness of the valley’s winter, the inhabitants of Drass can well be described as the “Guardian’s of Ladakh’s Gateway”.
Puga Valley
Trekking in Drass Valley
Drass is a convenient base for a 3-day long trek to Suru valley across the sub-range separating the two valleys. This trek passes through some of the most beautiful upland villages and flower sprinkled meadows on both sides of the 4,500m high Umbala pass, which falls enroute.
The trek to the holy cave of Amarnath in neighboring Kashmir, which stars from Minamarg below Zoji La, takes 3 days and involves crossing of 5,200m high pass. Drass also offers numerous shorter treks and hikes to the upland villages
Sports Activity
The short summer season begins in May with the melting of snow. Winters are long and harsh, with snow often falling to a depth of 14 feet, and the temperature dropping to -40 C.
Bed and breakfast
The Tourist Complex here provides furnished rooms and suites. Advance reservation can be done through the tourist office at Kargil or its branch at Drass. Some private hotels also provide rooms equipped with basic necessities.
How To Reach
Avoid traveling to the Drass Valley in late autumn or early spring season because the valley witnesses heavy snowstorms during this period.
By Air: Srinagar (147 km) is the nearest airport.
By Road: Buses or taxis from Srinagar to Kargil and Leh pass through the Drass Valley.
Jammu & Kashmir, India
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Came here while googling for Ladakh related information. Didn’t know about the springs in Punga when we were in the area last year.
Looks like we missed something interesting.