Rangdum
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Rangdum is a village located in the Suru Valley in the
union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...
of
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 ...
in
Northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
. On one side are the colourful hills while on the other side are rocky mountains and
glaciers A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
, notably Drang-drung. Rangdum is located midway between
Kargil Kargil or Kargyil is a City in Indian-administered Ladakh in the 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 WP:TERTIARY, tert ...
and Padum. It is about from Kargil.
"Rangdum, with its ''gompa'' and the attendant village of Juliodok, is the last inhabited region in the Suru valley; it is also the destination of the nomadic herds people called Bakarwals, who trek up every year from the Himalayan foothills near
Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
, bringing their flocks of sheep and goats to grow fat on the rich summer growth of grass. From Rangdum the valley rises to 4400 metres and the Pensi-la, the gateway into
Zanskar Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is the southwestern region of Kargil district in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre of Zanskar is Padum. Zanskar, together with the rest of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kin ...
."
The country surrounding Rangdum Monastery is very bleak and crops sometimes cannot ripen in the brief summer. The locals depend on their flocks and supplies from lower down the Suru Valley or over the pass from Zanskar. The population of the Suru Valley as far as Parkachik are all Muslim. The valley is, however, practically uninhabited past Parkachik other than a couple of tiny settlements. The small villages of Yuldo and Julidok, at the end of the valley, are entirely Buddhist. The people are socially and culturally part of neighbouring Zanskar and support the 18th-century Rangdum Monastery belonging to the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Rangdum has a tourist bungalow, three tea-houses and, around 2 km from the village, a summer-only camp offering accommodation for tourists in bedded tents.Lonely Planet India guide, 12th edition


Footnotes


References

* Janet Rizvi. (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. . * Schettler, Margaret & Rolf (1981). ''Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar.'' Lonely Planet Publications. South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. . {{Kargil district Villages in Taisuru tehsil Geography of Ladakh Ladakh