DRASS

40 degrees. The Dras valley starts from the base of the Zojila pass, the Himalayan gateway to Ladakh. For centuries its inhabitants are known to have negotiated this formidable pass even during the most risky period in the late autumn or early spring, when the whole sector remains snow-bound and is subject to frequent snow storms, to transport trader's merchandise across and to help stranded travellers to traverse it. By virtue of their mastery over the pass they had established a monopoly over the carrying trade during the heyday of the Pan-Asian trade. A hardly people enduring with fortitude and harshness of the valley's winter, the inhabitants of Dras can well be described as the guardian's of Ladakh's gateway. 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 4500 mts high Umbala pass, which falls enroute. The trek to the holy cave of Amarnath in neighbouring Kashmir, which stars from Minamarg below Zojila, takes 3 days and involves crossing of 5200 mts high pass. Drass also offers numerous shorter treks and hikes to the upland villages. The town shot into prominence in the summer of 1999 following Pakistani-backed intrusions into Ladakh region. The Kargil War saw the town being shelled by infiltrators and the war ended with the Indian Army recapturing the areas surrounding the town and the Kargil district. Its inhabitants are of the Dard stock, an A***n race believed to have originally come from Central Asia. They are a hardy people enduring with fortitude the harsh winter in Drass. An ancestral sport played by the Dards with particular zeal resembles our modern- day polo. An encounter with the locals provides an opportunity to study their lifestyle.