Ladakh, Or Middle Thibet, a state of central Asia, subject to Cashmere, bounded N. by East Turkistan, E. by Great Thibet, S. and S. W. by the Punjaub and Cashmere proper, and W. by Cashmere and Bulti; area, about 30,000 sq. m.; pop. about 150,000. The country is elevated and rugged, lying mostly between the Karakorum range and the western Himalayas. The river Indus flows N. W. between these ridges, its elevation here being nearly 11,000 ft. above the sea. The climate is cold and arid. The soil is sterile, but the slopes, being industriously cultivated, produce wheat, barley, buckwheat, apples, and apricots. The domestic animals are horses, yaks, cows, the zho (cross of the yak and the cow), asses, sheep, and goats. The sheep attain great size, and are used as beasts of burden in some parts of the country. Iron, lead, copper, and sulphur are found in considerable quantities. The people of Ladakh are mostly Thibetans. They are mild, good-humored, peaceable, and honest, but indolent, given to intoxication, and very sensual. Polyandry prevails among the lower classes. They carry on a trade in wool, used for the manufacture of Cashmere shawls.

The country was formerly governed by independent despots, from whom it was wrested by Gholab Sing, the late rajah of Cashmere, in 1835. Capital, Leh.