Ladakh is India at its most extreme — a high-altitude cold desert in the far north where the Himalayas and Karakoram ranges converge, the air is thin, the sky is an impossible shade of blue, and the landscape alternates between barren moonscape and green valleys nurtured by glacier melt. At elevations ranging from 2,750 to over 5,000 meters, Ladakh is one of the most remote and sparsely populated regions of India, and for many travelers, it is the most magnificent.Leh, the regional capital, sits at 3,524 meters and is the gateway to Ladakh.