Leh (Ladakhi: ) is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the largest city and the joint capital of Ladakh. Leh, located in the Leh district, has been the capital of Ladakh since the medieval period and was historically capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh.
History
thumb|People of Leh in traditional dress
Leh was for centuries an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet, Kashmir, India and China. The main goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere wool, charas or cannabis resin from the Tarim Basin, indigo, silk yarn and Banaras brocade.
Although there are a few indications that the Chinese knew of a trade route through Ladakh to India as early as the Kushan period (1st to 3rd centuries AD), and certainly by the Tang dynasty, little is actually known of the history of the region before the end of the 10th century, when Tibetan prince Skyid lde nyima gon (or Kyide Nyimagon), a grandson of the anti-Buddhist Tibetan king, Langdarma (r. c. 838 to 841), founded the kingdom. He conquered Western Tibet, although his army originally numbered only 300 men. Several towns and castles are said to have been founded by Nyimagon, and he apparently ordered the construction of the primary sculptures at Shey. "In an inscription, he says he had them made for the religious benefit of the Tsenpo (the dynastical name of his father and ancestors), and of all the people of Ngaris (Western Tibet). This shows that already in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had disappeared." Shey, 15 km east of modern Leh, was the ancient seat of the Ladakhi kings.
During the reign of Delegs Namgyal (1660–1685), the Nawab of Kashmir, then a province in the Mughal Empire, arranged for the Mongol army to temporarily leave Ladakh, though it returned later. As payment for assisting Delegs Namgyal in the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal war of 1679–1684, the Nawab made a number of onerous demands. One of the least was construction of a large Sunni Muslim mosque in Leh, at the upper end of the bazaar below Leh Palace. The mosque reflects a mixture of Muslim and Tibetan architecture and can accommodate more than 500 people. This was apparently not the first mosque in Leh; there are two smaller ones that are said to be older.
Administration
The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) is in charge of governance in Leh. It has 30 councillors, 4 nominated and 26 elected. The Chief Executive Councillor heads and chairs this council. The Deputy Commissioner of Leh also holds the power of chief executive officer of the LAHDC.
Geography
thumb|300px|right|Leh and its surroundings
Topography
The city is located on the bank of the Indus River. The mountains dominate the landscape around the Leh, as it is at an altitude of . Peaks such as Nanga Sago can reach well above . The principal access roads include the Srinagar-Leh highway and the Leh-Manali Highway. Both roads are only open on a seasonal basis. Although the roads from Srinagar and Manali are often blocked by snow in winter, the local roads in the Indus Valley usually remain open due to the low levels of snowfall.
Climate
Leh has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk) with long, cold winters from late November to early March, with minimum temperatures well below freezing for most of the winter. The city gets occasional snowfall during winter, which is very cold by Indian standards, mainly due to its high elevation. The weather in the remaining months is generally fine and warm during the day. Average annual rainfall is only , with summer months seeing the most precipitation due to rare residual monsoon systems that enter the Himalayas. In 2010, the city experienced flash floods that killed more than 100 people.
Since climate data was recorded in 1951, Leh's climate has significantly changed, with average temperatures rising by and yearly precipitation decreasing by .
Demographics
thumb|right|People at the old market in Leh
Population
As of the 2011 India census, Leh had a population of 30,870. Males constituted 70% of the population and females 30%, due to a large presence of transient labourers, traders and government employees. The child sex ratio was 987. Leh had an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 74.04%; male literacy was 94.89%, and female literacy was 78.85%. In Leh, 5.5% of the population was under 6 years of age.
Ethnicity
The people of Leh belong to Ladakhi ethnicity who speak Ladakhi, a Tibetic language.