Drass
Drass is often known as 'The Gateway to Ladakh'. The town is the second coldest inhabited place in the world and often features the best of the snowfall during winters. With temperatures descending down to nearly minus 40 degree, the valley remains snow covered even during late autumn or early spring.

Drass Valley also acts as the base for many long treks including Suru Valley and Amarnath Cave. A paradise for hikers, the quaint town also favor some of the shorter hikes and treks to the upland villages. Ardent hikers and trekkers can satiate their quest in just no time.

Positioned on the foot of 'Zoji La', Drass spellbinds with scenic beauty. The town has something for every kind of traveler. Holidaymakers throng the town for adventure, serenity, wildlife hunt and spiritual enlightenment.

Drass Memorial
Drass Memorial was built in the memory of the martyrs who placed their nation above their life; the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Operation Vijay that aimed at getting India back from the intruders. This Indo-Pak war took place in 1999, and finally the mighty Indian soldiers defeated Pakistani troops. Out of the million things an Indian can do for the country, visiting Drass Memorial is a gesture of respect for the immortal souls of Indian army men. The memorial is mainly built of pink-sandstone with an epitaph. The museum in this war memorial exhibits army emblems, model of Himalyan Mountain Range and documents archive. There is a special War Gallery namely Captain Manoj Kumar that has photographs and weapons. The walls have the name of the soldiers who sacrificed in the war. A beautiful poem by Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan is placed in the entrance. The Memento Shop sells t-shirts, mugs, caps etc.

Zozila Pass
Srinagar and Leh, is Zoji La pass, in the western section of the Himalayan mountain ranges.
Around 3528 m (11, 649 ft) above the sea level, the pass is 9 kms from Sonamarg and is an important link between Ladakh and Kashmir. This pass is considered to be the second highest pass after Fotu La on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway. At the peak of the winter season, most of the times, it becomes inaccessible but the Border Roads Organization (BRO) works to extend traffic in most of the time of the year. The Beacon Force is that unit of the BRO, which takes care of clearing and maintaining the road during winter season.


Kargil
Kargil, portion of the western Ladakh region, northwestern Jammu and Kashmir state, northwestern India. The sector, centred on the town of Kargil, lies in the Zaskar Range of the Himalayas and abuts the line of control between the portions of the Kashmir region administered by India and Pakistan. Kargil town, located roughly equidistant between Srinagar (southwest) and Leh (southeast), is considered the gateway to Ladakh.

Kargil's landscape is mountainous, rugged, and high, the minimum elevation being some 8,000 feet (2,440 metres). The climate is cold and dry, with scanty precipitation that falls mainly as snow in winter. One locality, Dras (Drass), is reputed to be one of the world's coldest permanently inhabited places, with winter temperatures falling to as low as - 40 F (- 40 C) or colder. Vegetation, mainly grasses and shrubs, is largely confined to river valleys at lower elevations, as the higher places are rocky and largely barren. Most of the residents of Kargil are of Balti origin, and the large majority are Shīʿite Muslims.

Because of its close proximity to the line of control, Kargil has often been the site of border conflicts between India and Pakistan. The largest and deadliest of these clashes took place in 1999. In early May the Indian military learned that Pakistani fighters had infiltrated Indian-administered territory. The intrusion triggered intense fighting between the two sides that lasted for more than two months. The Indian army reclaimed most of the area on the Indian side that had been occupied by the infiltrators, and hostilities finally ended in July, when the remaining Pakistani fighters retreated from the Indian zone. Several hundred combatants were killed on each side during the conflict.