Turtuk

Turtuk, in the Nubra Valley just 10 km from the Line of Control with Pakistan, is one of India's northernmost villages - a Balti settlement of apricot orchards, glacial streams and stone-and-mud houses, isolated from the rest of India until 1971 when it was captured from Pakistan. The residents, of Balti (Tibetan-Muslim) descent, speak Balti and maintain Central Asian cultural traditions - a stark contrast to the Tibetan-Buddhist villages elsewhere in Ladakh. Turtuk's lush greenery amid the cold desert, its apricot harvest in August, the royal house (Yagbo) of the local chieftain, and its relative obscurity make it among Ladakh's most distinctive and rewarding side-trips.