Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India[
]
- "The Tibetan soldiers pursued the remaining troops as far as a place called Dumra,10: just one day’s journey from Leh, where the Tibetan army pitched their camp."
that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra River and Shyok River rivers. Its Tibetan name Dumra means "valley of flowers".[
] Demands have been raised and BJP has hinted at creation of Nubra as a new district.[ 3,000 Demonstrate for Separate District in Sub-Zero Temperatures at Kargil, The Wire, 06/FEB/2020.] Diskit, the headquarters of Nubra, is 120 km north of Leh, the capital of Ladakh.
The Shyok River meets the Nubra River (or Siachan River) to form a large valley that separates the Ladakh Range and Karakoram Ranges. The Shyok river is a tributary of the Indus river. The average altitude of the valley is more than above the sea level. The most common way to access this valley is to travel over the Khardung La pass from Leh.
Foreign nationals are required to get a Protected area permit to visit Nubra. Since 1 April 2017 Indian citizens are also required to get an Inner Line Permit to visit it.[ People, Attractions & Transportation in Nubra Valley, The Off: Leh Ladakh XP (Jai Kishan), 17 March 2021.]
Etymology
The name
Nubra () is believed to derive from the Tibetan word
Ldumra or
Dumra (), meaning "valley of flowers".
Historically, the Nubra River was called Yarma Tsangpo (“Yarma River”) in Tibetan sources. The modern usage of “Nubra River” appears to derive from the valley name.
Geography
Alexander Cunningham listed Nubra as one of the five natural and historical divisions of Ladakh.[
]
- "The natural divisions of the country are: 1st, Nubra on the Shayok; 2nd, Ladak Proper, on the Indus; 3rd, Zanskar, on the Zanskar river; 4th, Rukchu Rupshu, around the lakes of Tshomo Riri Tso and Tsho-Kar; 5th, Purik, Suru, and Dras, on the different branches of the Dras river; 6th, Spiti, on the Spiti river: and 7th, Lahul, on the Chandra and Bhaga, or head-waters of the Chenab. These also are the actual divisions of the country, for the natural boundaries of a mountainous district generally remain unaltered, in spite of the changes wrought by war and religion. Ladak is divided politically between Maharaja Gulab Sing and the East-India Company. To the former belong all the northern districts, to the latter only the two southern districts of Lahul and Spiti."
Nubra occupies the northeastern portion of Ladakh, bordering Baltistan and Chinese Turkestan in the north, and the Aksai Chin plateau and Tibet in the east. In Cunningham's conception, Nubra includes all the region drained by the Nubra River and Shyok River rivers. it is 128 miles long and 72 miles wide, making up an area of 9,200 square miles. It extends south till the Pangong Lake.
In modern nomenclature, the Nubra region is divided into "Diskit" in the north and the "Darbuk" in the south, both of which are regarded as tehsils and subdivisions of the Leh district.[ Tehsil, Leh district administration, retrieved 15 November 2020.] The Diskit Nubra region includes the Turtuk block populated by Balti people, which became a part of Indian-administered Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and the unpopulated Siachen Glacier region.[
Muhammad Raafi, Interview of Delan Namgial, Kashmiri Life, 17 January 2017.
]
The populated part of Nubra is often described as a "tri-armed valley",[
Sumedha Das, Paradise on Earth, The Statesman, 24 November 2019.
]
the three arms being:
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the Nubra River Valley (divided into three sections called Yarma, Tśurka and Farka),
-
Gyen, the upper Shyok valley from its southern bend till the confluence with the Nubra River, and
-
Shama, the lower Shyok valley from the confluence till the Chorbat area.
The eastern Shyok valley is mostly unpopulated, even though it has numerous camping sites that have been used by trade caravans. Murgo is a village on the tributary called Murgo Nala.
Topography
Like the rest of the Tibetan Plateau, Nubra is a high altitude cold desert with rare precipitation and scant vegetation except along river beds. The villages are irrigated and fertile, producing wheat, barley, peas, mustard and a variety of fruits and nuts, including blood apples, walnuts, apricots and even a few almond trees. Most of Nubra is inhabited by Nubra dialect or Nubra Skat speakers. The majority are Buddhists. In the western or lowest altitude end of Nubra near the Line of Control i.e. the Indo-Pak border, along the Shyok River, the inhabitants of Turtuk are Balti people of Gilgit-Baltistan, who speak Balti, and are Shia and Sufia Nurbakhshia Muslims.
Siachen Glacier lies to the north of the valley. The Sasser Pass and the famous Karakoram Pass lie to the northwest of the valley and connect Nubra with Uyghur Khaganate (Mandarin : Xinjiang). Previously much trade passed through the area towards western China's Xinjiang and Central Asia. The people of Baltistan also used the Nubra valley for passage to Tibet.[Senge H. Sering,
“Reclaiming Nubra” – Locals Shunning Pakistani Influences , Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi, 17 August 2009.]
Places
Diskit town in the valley have become the congregation centre for people of the region. Diskit is the headquarters of Nubra and thus has lot of government offices with basic facilities. It is also connected by road with Leh.
Along the Nubra or Siachan River lie the villages of Sumur, Kyagar (called Tiger Village by the Indian Army), Tirith, Panamik, Turtuk and many others.
Demographics
Travel routes
The main road access to Nubra is over Khardung La which is open throughout the year. The highest elevation of Khardung La is 5,359 m (17,582 ft), its status as the highest motorable road in the world is no longer accepted by most authorities.
Tourism
The Nubra valley was open for tourists up to Hunder (the land of sand dunes) until 2010. The region beyond Hunder gives way to a greener region of Ladakh because of its lower altitude. The village of Turtuk which was unseen by tourists till 2010 is a virgin destination for people who seek peace and an interaction with a tribal community of Ladakh. The local Balti people follow their age old customs in their lifestyle and speak a language which oral and not yet written. For tourists Turtuk offers serene camping sites with environment friendly infrastructure.
Panamic is noted for its hot springs. Between Hundar and Diskit lie seven kilometres of sand dunes, and (two-humped) graze in the neighbouring "forests" of Hippophae. Non-locals are not allowed below Hundar village into the Balti area, as it is a border area.
Monasteries
The 32-metre Maitreya Buddha statue is the landmark of Nubra and is maintained by the Diskit Monastery. On the Shyok River, the main village, Diskit, is home to the dramatically positioned Diskit Monastery which was built in 14th century. Hundar was the capital of the erstwhile Nubra kingdom in the 17th century, and is home to the Chamba Gompa.
Samstanling Monastery is between Kyagar and Sumoor villages. Across the Nubra or Siachan River at Panamik, is the isolated Ensa Gompa.
Yarma Gompa, between Sasser Pass and Siachen Base Camp, is one of the large monastery belonging to the Drukpa Kagyu lineage and it manages the following village gompas, Tong-sted, Nyung-sted, Dungsa, Khemi, Tsang-lung-ka, Sarsoma, Aarunuk, Ayi, Kovet, Tangsa & Murgo. The senior to lower hierarchy of gompa administration is Lopon, Gye-nyen, Geylong, Gye-tsul, and cun-zung.[Prem Singh Jina, 2009, Cultural Heritage of Ladakh Himalaya, p 114.]
Flora and fauna
The valley is famous for its forest of Hippophae shrub, popularly known as Leh Berry. It is within this shrub forest that one can spot the white-browed tit-warbler. One can also spot the Tibetan lark, Hume's short-toed lark, and Hume's whitethroat. The various water birds like ruddy shelduck, garganey, northern pintail, and mallard can be observed on several small water bodies scattered along the route. Besides these, Charadriiformes like black-tailed godwit, common sandpiper, common greenshank, common redshank, green sandpiper, and ruff can be spotted in Nubra.
Education
The valley has been secluded as has been most of the exterior parts of Ladakh. Almost all of the region has been facing problems to get good quality education. There have been initiatives in the past by the government but extreme weather conditions and vicinity to the borders have been a major hurdle in implementing a solid education base. There is also migration of the population that gets exposed to the big cities of India and hence the people do not get benefitted out of their local learned population. There are very few Non-Government organizations active in Nubra region.
In popular culture
Nubra valley was appeared, mentioned in Hollywood movie of Tom Cruise. In the film's climax Ethan Hunt (Cruise) stop Walker (Henry Cavill) from detonating Plutonium bomb at the base of Siachen Glacier . However filming of the scene was done in New Zealand due to India government denied filming.
Gallery
File:Sand dunes of Nubra Valley, Ladakh.jpg|Tourists riding camels in the sand dunes
File:Diskit gompa nubra1.jpg|Diskit Monastery
Image:Shoyok and Nubra Valley map.jpg|Local map with North towards down
File:5 Nubra valley.jpg|View from Diskit gompa on Nubra Valley
File:Seabuckthorn berries, Nubra valley, Ladakh.jpg|Seabuckthorn berries, Nubra valley, Ladakh
File:Bactrian camels - Nubra.jpg|Bactrian camels
File:Nubra valley, Ladakh.jpg|Nubra Valley
File:Nubra valley hunder.jpg|This is enroute town called Hunder in Nubra.
File:Nubra Valley 2.jpg|Nubra Valley with Diskit and town immediately below and Hunder in the distance
File:Hunder,_Nubra_valley.jpg|Hunder, Nubra Valley
File:Nubra Valley, Ladakh.jpg|Tent Resort in Nubra Valley
See also
Notes
Bibliography
External links
