There are two subsidiary valleys, the Stod (Doda Chu) and the Lung-Nak - Valley of darkness (Tsarap Chu) which converge below Padum, the capital. The Zanskar River flows along the valley from Padum to Zangla, then cuts through the Zanskar range in a series of impressive gorges to join the I ndus. The main valley is approximately 300 km long and is ringed by mountains so access to it is over one of the high passes. The most important are the Pensi La con­necting Zanskar with the Sum Valley in the west, the Umasi La with the Chenab Val­ley in the south and the Shingo La with Lahul in the east. This makes for very spectacular trekking country. The long Zanskar Valley was 'opened' up for tourism even later than the rest of Ladakh and quickly became popular with trekkers. There is now river rafting on the Zanskar River. The jeep road from Kargil to Padum over the Pensi La is usually open mid-June to mid-October.

Zanskar became an administrative part of Ladakh under Senge Namgyal whose three sons became the rulers of Ladakh, Guge and Zanskar/Spiti. This arrangement collapsed after Ladakh's war with Tibet and the Zanskar royal house divided, one part administering Padum, the other Zangla. Under the Dogras, the rulers were reduced to puppets as the marauding army wreaked havoc on the villages, monas­teries and population. The present king of the Zanskar valley, Punchok Dawa who lives in his modest home in Padum, is held in high regard.

People The Zanskaris are of the same stock as the Ladakhis and because of the sheer isolation of their homeland were able to preserve their Buddhist culture against the onslaughts of Islam. The majority of Zanskaris are Buddhist, though there are Muslim families in Padum, the capital, dating from the Dogra invasion.
Religion The foundation of Sani in the 1 lth century is recognized as the first monastery in Zanskar. Phugta) and Karsha date from the same period. The sects developed alongside those in Ladakh. The Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) order was estab­lished in the 15th century and monasteries at Karsha, Lingshet and Mune belong to this. The Drukpa sect set up monasteries at Bardan and Zangla and 'occupied' that at Sani. These have links with Stakna near Leh and the Gelugpa is associated with the Lekir monestary.

Traditional Ladakhi and Zanskari life: Even today, comes close to Gandhi's ideal-ized vision of life in ancient India: small village 'republics', each self-sufficient everyone playing a valuable part, with no crime and discrimination with regard to caste or religion and where disparities in wealth would not exist.

Economy  Agriculture An almost total lack of precipitation has meant that cultivation must rely on irrigation. As in Ladakh, the rivers have been harnessed but with difficulty. The deep gorges presented a problem. Headworks were constructed and irrigation channels (yura) were contoured along to the fields, some up to 5 km away. Barlay is the most suitable crop as it is very hardy, copes well with poor soils and can be roasted to form the staple tsampa (ngamphe) which can be eaten without cooking This is useful in winter when fuel is scarce. Peas are the only other crop. Animal hus-bandry complements agriculture which only produces one major crop per year. Sheep and goats are taken to high meadows in the summer after the snow melt and grazed while the shepherds live in small stone huts.