Dras
Dras, a tourist hub for its high altitude trekking routes and tourist sites, is a Hill Station in the Kargil district of the union territory of Ladakh in India. It is on the NH 1 between Zoji La pass and Kargil town. It is often called "The Gateway to Ladakh". The government's official spelling of the town is Drass.
Etymology
Traditionally, Dras is known as Hem-babs means "snow land" with the word "Hem" meaning snow. It is noted as "the second coldest inhabited place in the world" although it is not. The average temperature of Dras in winter is -20 degrees Celsius. There are many inhabited place in the world with average temperature lower than 20 degrees Celsius.Geography
Dras town is located at. It is often called "The Gateway to Ladakh". It is at a height of Dras lies in the centre of the valley of the same name. Dras is 140 km from Srinagar and 63 km from Sonmarg. Kargil town is further 56 km after Dras on the national highway NH 1 from Srinagar towards Leh.History
In the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Dras was part of the Kargil tehsil of the Ladakh wazarat.During the invasion by Pakistan in 1947-48, the reinforced Gilgit Scouts, having gone over to Pakistan, attacked the Kargil area on 10 May 1948. The Indian army, which was by now in charge of the defence of Kashmir, sent reinforcements. However, they could not reach Dras in time and Dras fell to the Gilgitis on 6 June 1948. Kargil and Skardu also fell in short order. In November 1948, the Indian Army launched Operation Bison, supported by tanks, and retook Dras and Kargil. Skardu, however, remained under the control of Pakistan. The 1949 ceasefire line runs 12 km north of Dras through Point 5353.
The ceasefire line was renamed the Line of Control in the 1972 Simla Agreement, by which India and Pakistan agreed to respect the line without prejudice to their stated positions.
However, in the early months of 1999, Pakistani soldiers, masquerading as mujahideen, infiltrated into the area and took control of the peaks overlooking Dras and the highway, in particular Tololing, 4 km from Dras, and Tiger Hill, 8 km from Dras. They directed artillery fire at Dras and the highway, leading to the Kargil War. The Indian army cleared the Tololing and Tiger Hill peaks by July 1999.
In 1965 war,dras cantonment was a sight of commando action by special service group killing 412 indian troops and destroying the whole cantonment a classing behind enemy line raid
Climate
Dras is the coldest place in India, experiencing an altitude-influenced mediterranean continental climate. Winters are cold with average lows around −20 °C, and as low as −23 °C at the height of winter, which lasts from mid-October to mid-May. Summers start in June and go on up till early September, with average temperatures near 23 °C and little precipitation. Annual precipitation is almost entirely concentrated from December to May when Dras gets around water equivalent of snowfall.Demographics
The major ethnic groups are the Shina people, who speak the Indo-Aryan language Shina, and the Balti people, whose language, Balti, belongs to the Tibetic group. The small town has a majority of people following Islam. The local population is of 64% male and 36% female. In total the population of Dras is 1,201.Tourism
Dras has been developed as a tourist destination since 1999, following the Kargil War. This new facet of the local economy initially took the form of visitors specifically arriving to see the war zone. Notable places include:- Manman Top, 10 km from Dras, from where one can view the Dras Valley and the LOC )
- Gomchan Valley, 5 km from Dras
- Dongchik, 10 km from Dras
- Ningoor Masjid, Bhimbet, 7 km from Dras
- Bhimbet Stone, 7 km from Dras
- Dras War Memorial, 7 km from Dras
- Draupadi Kund – 18 km from Dras
- Minamarg
- Matayen
- Laser La
- Chorkiat Forest
- Tiasbu Astana 2 km from Dras
- Sando Top/Sando Base 8 km from Dras – Pakistani posts are visible from Sando Top, and Tiger Hill is located in front of Sando Top.
- Mushku Valley 8 km from Dras
- Dras-Gurez Trek Route
- Brigade War Gallery 3 km from Dras – information relating to the 1999 war.
- Pandrass village 13 km from Dras – border village that was evacuated during the 1999 war.
- Tololing Waterfall – it is the only waterfall in the Ladakh Region located 10km from Dras. It is under the rocky mountains of the Tololing Hill.
- Tsochak Lake – located in the Tololing hills about 15km from Dras. It is located at an altitude of 15,420 ft above the sea level. It is a fresh water lake.
- Goshan Valley – it is a green valley about 2km from Dras. It is believed that the village was founded by a person known as Mon-Choto and his family. After they were forced to leave their home in Chilas, Gilgit Baltistan. They said to have been the first settler in Drass.
- Gangzla Trek – it is a 2 days trek from Dras To Gangzla to pay tribute to soldiers who lost their life during 1999 Kargil War. During winter, there is almost 10ft of snow.
- Drass-LaserLa-Saliskote Trek – Three days trek from Dras to Saliskote through laser La top. Laser La is a hill station about 10km from Dras. There is also a waterfall which can be seen from Drass-Kargil highway.
- Amarnath Trek – the trek to Holy Cave of Amarnath starts from Dras, takes almost four to five days and involves crossing a pass of 15,060ft.
- Machoi Glacier – it is located 30km from Dras. The highest peak named after the glacier is Machoi Peak at an elevation of 17,907ft. It is a snow covered glacier all around 12 months. Drass river originates from this glacier.
- Tiger Hill – it is also known as point 5065. It is one the highest peak in the area. It was recaptured by the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan.
- KBS – that imparts training to Indian soldiers. After the Kargil War ended, a specialised Kargil Battle School was set up by the Indian Army to train the Jawans in mountain climbing and high altitude warfare.