Ladakhi People
The Ladakhi (approximately 300,000) inhabit Ladakh, India—a high-altitude cold desert at 3,000-5,000 meters with less than 100mm annual rainfall. They endure extreme cold, intense UV radiation, and oxygen levels 40% lower than sea level. Tibetan Buddhist culture, barley agriculture, elaborate monasteries, and traditional polyandry characterize this resilient mountain civilization surviving in one of Earth's harshest inhabited regions.