Characteristics of Geosites for Promotion and Development of Geotourism in Ladakh, India

Geotourism is a form of sustainable and alternate tourism that attracts people to sites and destinations of geological significance. In addition, it deals with the heritage, diversity, and conservation of such places through appreciation and learning. India and particularly, the Ladakh region possess a rich number of sites of physiographic, geological, and cultural importance. The region is famous for varied rock types, tectonic structures, minerals, and geological history ranging from the Achaean (3.5 billion years BP) to the Recent (10,000 years BP). Geotourism plays a vital role in exposing and connecting an area of geological importance to the rest of the world. In the present work, some geological sites of the Leh district of Ladakh India, which are significant to understanding the formation of the subcontinent, the evolution of the mighty Himalayan mountain range, the fate of the Tethys Ocean, and past tectonic and climatic conditions of the region, have been described. These sites include U-shaped valleys of Umla, Taru, and Phyang, the oldest Indus valley moraines stretching along the left side of the Leh-Kargil highway near Pathar Sahib-Taru-Phyang area, syn- and post plutonic dykes Taru-Phyang, paleolake deposits of Spituk and Lamayuru, post-collision Indus molasse deposits near Hemis, pre-collision flysch deposits of Lamayuru, hot springs of Puga, Chumathang, and Panamik, zebra stripe pattern Leucocratic granites of Chumathang, Nidar Ophiolite suite, and Hunder sand dunes. These geological places are either less exposed to the outside world or under threat and demand promotion and preservation as heritage sites in Ladakh to educate the present and future generations.