Chah (also Cha) is a small village in the Lungnak valley in Zanskar tehsil,

Kargil district Kargil district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Dispute, disputed Kashmir-region,The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The village is situated at the base of a mountain range on the right bank of the

Tsarap River Tsarap River, also known as Tsarap Chu, forms the eastern part of the Zanskar valley, in the Ladakh union territory of India. The long river is used for irrigation in riparian villages, and for adventure sports by tourists. Geography The ...

. It is located on the Padum-Darcha road, south from

Padum Padum (also known as Padam) is the main town and the administrative centre of the Zanskar tehsil in Kargil district, Ladakh, India. Named after the Buddhist guru Padmasambhava, it was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kin ...

Description

Chah (elevation ) is a small village in the Lungnak valley on the right bank of the

. It is located at a distance of from Padum on the Padum-Darcha road. The distance from

Darcha Darcha (elevation 3,360 m or 11,020 ft) is a pair of villages (Darcha Sumdo and Darach Dangma) on the Bhaga River in the Lahaul sub-division in the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Himac ...

Lahaul The Lahaul and Spiti district is a high-altitude district in Himachal Pradesh, north India. This entirely mountainous district consists of two geographically distinct as well as formerly separate political-administrative units, called Lahaul ( ...

is , the road climbing over the Shinko La pass. Chah village has an area of .

Demographics

The population as of the 2011 Census was 465 with 61 households. Females comprised 40.2% of the population. The literacy rate was 56%. All but 2 of the 465 persons belonged to scheduled tribes.

Governance

The Cha Gram Panchayat is a government office and local self-government body. The villages of Chah and Shunshday (Shan Shaday) come under its jurisdiction. In 2011, the population of these two villages was 709.

Amenities

Chah has a pre-primary and primary school. Household power supply and mobile phone coverage are available. The village has a primary health sub-centre (PHS). There is an

India Post The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

branch post office with PIN code 194302.

Economy

The economy is largely agrarian with tourism also providing jobs and income. As the annual precipitation is low, fields are irrigated through channels from streams fed by snow-melt. About 46% of the agricultural land is irrigated.

Tourism

Phuktal Bridges Upstream Tsarap Oct22 A7C 04449

From Chah there is a trail to Phugtal Monastery. The trail is difficult in some places. The distance can be covered in 2-3 hours.

Transport

In June 2024, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) announced that it would soon commence a bus service from

Keylong Kyelang (also spelled Keylong) is a town and the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, north of Manali via Atal Tunnel and from the Indo-Tibetan border. It is located along the Mana ...

in Lahaul to Padum. This would run on the Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road and would serve Chah. Taxis are available.

References

{{reflist Villages in Zanskar tehsil