Drass
A small township
60 km short of Kargil on the Srinagar - Leh highway, Drass (3230m) is reputed
to be the second coldest inhabited place in the world. Temperatures often
plummet to - 40°C in winter. Summers, however, are balmy when many
hikers and campers visit Drass.
Its inhabitants are of the Dard stock, an Aryan
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.
Sculpture near Drass
A short three-day trek from Drass across gently
sloping verdant hills leads to Suru valley, terminating in the village
of Sankoo.
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