Leh District

Leh District

Leh is one of the two districts located in Ladakh, the other being the Kargil District to the west, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. With an area of 45,110 km2, it is the second largest district in the country (after Kutch, Gujarat) in terms of area. It is bounded on the north by Ghanche District (Gilgit-Baltistan), a small border with Xinjiang, China, via the Karakoram Pass which is part of the district. Aksai Chin and Tibet are to the east, Kargil district to the west, and Lahul and Spiti to the south. The district headquarters is based in Leh. It lies between 32 to 36 degree north latitude and 75 to 80 degree east longitude.

The whole of Ladakh was under the administration of Leh until July 1, 1979, when the Kargil and Ladakh administrative districts were created. Religion has been a source of grievances between Buddhists and Muslims since the late 20th century and was a contributor to this division.

As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Jammu and Kashmir (out of 22), after Kargil.