Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s3.t2.127

v2.c13.s3.t2.127

Ladakh forms part of the province of Jammu & Kashmir in the northernmost part of India today. The main town of Ladakh is Leh. A region of very high altitude, Ladakh is wedged between the Great Himalayan mountain range to the south and the Karakoram range to the north. The Kunlun mountain range lies still further to the north. It is because of these great mountain ranges that Ladakh is often seen as a remote and inaccessible area. Despite this, for many centuries it was the hub of several important trade routes connecting South Asia with Central Asia. These can be considered subsidiary or feeder routes to the well-known east-west Silk Route of ancient times but they were also important in their own right for the economies of Punjab, Kashmir, Tibet and Xinjiang.