Leh, Ladakh

But misery has clouded this Shangri-La. Ladakh’s greatest enemy is neither its remoteness nor its winter chill, but it’s aridity. It’s a cruel case of scarcity amidst abundance. Melting snows generate millions of gallons of water. But as the water flows into the mountain streams too late in the year, most goes to waste.

Nothing grows in Ladakh in winter - it’s too cold. Cultivation is limited to the extremely short season of warmth during spring and summer. Spring arrives in April, but the great Himalayan glaciers do not begin to melt and replenish the mountain streams until June.