Lingshed: Aba Tsering Mutup and Ama Tsering Dolkar.

In the past the natives of Lingshed sourced salt from distant regions, including Zanskar and Skyu Markha. Tsering Mutup, 80 years old, a native of Lingshed himself traveled to Zanskar to procure salt from Changpa traders, who arrived with their stock transported on sheep. In exchange, barley was offered as payment. The mode of transport for these goods involved carrying barley and peas on the back or loading them onto donkeys for the journey. The Changpas set up their camp between Zangla and Padum, where trade was conducted. The standard exchange rate was a woolen sack, known as a lugal, filled with salt in return for an equivalent amount of barley. Mutup distinctly recalls carrying ten battis of barley and returning with an equal amount of salt, all on his back.

These visits to Zanskar always took place in the autumn months, a time when freshly harvested barley was available for exchange—a schedule that aligned with the trading needs of the Changpas. Apart from his travels to Zanskar, Mutup also visited Leh to purchase wool from a Balti merchant, who would temporarily set up shop in the city. This transaction was conducted in cash. His journey to Leh occurred during the winter months when the frozen Zanskar River, known as the Chadar, provided a natural pathway. He would travel with four to five goats, selling them in the Leh market for approximately Rs 30 to 40 per goat. The money earned was then used to purchase wool from the Balti shopkeeper. Any surplus cash was spent on essentials such as butter and chai, with prices during that era recorded at Rs 16 for a batti of chai and Rs 30 for a batti of butter. Mutup was around 17 years old at the time, making these journeys before his marriage.

Every year, traders from Sham Valley villages—including Khlaste, Domkhar, Shyurbuchan, and Kanji—visited Lingshed to sell apricots, apples, rice, and kerosene. Mutup recalls purchasing a bottle of kerosene in exchange for five Bay (a small container) of barley, while salt could be acquired at a rate of three Bay of barley for one Bay of salt. These exchanges formed an integral part of the seasonal trading traditions that sustained communities across the region.

 

Lingshed: Aba Lobzang Tsering.

                                                  

Lobzang Tsering, now 77 years old, recalls stories from his father about the salt trade of earlier times. Elders from his village would carry salt on their backs from Skyu and Kaya villages, where it was purchased from Changpa traders during their annual visits to the Markha valley. In exchange, the people of Lingshed offered peas and barley from their harvests.

Later, Lobzang’s father and his relative, Tsering Angchuk, would walk all the way to Zangla in Zanskar to obtain salt, timing their journey to coincide with the arrival of the Changpa caravans. Lobzang also remembers a relative named Norphel from Pishu village in Zanskar, who used to bring salt to Lingshed in winter and take back peas. Norphel would stay with the family for a few days during his trips. Lobzang was around fifteen at the time.

During the harvest season, traders from the Sham region—particularly from Tingmosgang, Wanla, and Khaltse—would cross the Singge La and Sir Sir La passes to reach Lingshed. They brought wool, salt, kerosene, apricots, and apples to barter for barley, which was much prized. Most of the Sham traders stayed with the Shalang family; others were hosted in cow pens or temporary shelters offered by local households. Their stay would last 10 to 15 days. At the time, there was no road through the Machu valley, where a motorable route is currently under construction.

Barley from Lingshed was in high demand and considered a staple annual ration for many of these traders. Occasionally, traders from Kargil would also visit Lingshed to buy yaks, although yak numbers were limited in the region.

As a young boy, Lobzang once journeyed to Akshow in Zanskar with Ajang Dorjey of the Jorpey family, who was taking yaks for sale. There, Lobzang witnessed Changpa traders in large numbers, camped in tents and conducting trade in salt and wool. These goods were transported on sheep burdened with lugals, the traditional woven carrying sacks. He vividly recalls a striking sight—how the sheep, when tired, would dig shallow depressions in the earth and settle into them in such a way that their loads rested outside the hollow, thereby relieving the weight on their backs.

Lingshed connects to the outside world through several ancient routes. One prominent path leads across Barmi La to Dibling La, and from there to Rangdum. From Rangdum, one can reach Zanskar by crossing Pensi La or continue to Kargil through Parkachik and the Suru Valley. Lobzang himself has traveled these routes, especially when collecting buldut or karlong—donations made for the local gompa, as per longstanding tradition.

Another important route leads from Lingshed toward Nyerak, descending to the frozen Zanskar river—famously known as the Chadar route—which eventually leads to Leh. Lobzang has walked this treacherous winter trail, carrying barley and returning with tea and butter. To afford these goods, villagers sold goats and sheep to Balti traders who visited their village.

Yurutse: Ama Yangchen Tsomo.

Ama Yangchen Tsomo le  belongs to the only family residing in Yurutse, making the family name virtually synonymous with the settlement itself.

Before the construction of the motorable road through Zingchen Rong, Yurutse was connected to the surrounding regions by a network of seasonal routes. In winter, the main route ran through Zingchen Rong to Spituk. From there, travelers crossed the frozen or shallow Indus River on foot to continue their journey to Leh. However, in summer, when the glacial melt made Zingchen Rong impassable, villagers took the route over Stok La, descending to the Choglamsar Bridge before reaching Leh.

Other trails led southwest from Ganda La to Shingo, then to Skyu in the Markha Valley, opening access to Chilling and Nimo, before finally approaching Leh from the west. Some travelers took a more southerly route through Nimaling, crossing Kongmaru La to arrive at Shang Sumdo, and from there continued to Martselang and Kharu in the Indus Valley. Another path branched off from Zingchen Rong toward Rumchung, eventually descending to Tsogti, north of Chilling and the Indus River.

During the winter months, Yurutse villagers engaged in the trade of firewood and charcoal, which they sourced from the Markha Valley. Transport was by donkey, horse, or yak. Charcoal was prepared in Markha by burning thorn shrubs, then sprinkling them with water to arrest combustion. If overburned, the material turned to koktal (ash), rendering it useless. Once properly charred, the charcoal was packed into sacks and transported to Leh.

Villagers typically began their journey after the evening meal. They would walk down to Zingchen Rong and rest overnight before setting out again before dawn to reach Spituk. Tsomo herself remembered the hardship of crossing the Indus on foot before any bridge was constructed.

In summer, Tsomo’s grandfather journeyed to Markha Valley to collect Talu (Willow sticks) and Dungma (Poplar logs) for sale in Leh, as Yurutse had little wood of its own. The timber was sorted in Rumbak, then transported on donkeys via the Stok La route to Leh. While most villagers avoided Zingchen Rong in the warmer months due to dangerous river crossings, a few still braved the path, passing through Palam and rejoining the main route at Choglamsar Bridge en route to the Leh market. 

At Rumbak: Aba Nawang Yontan.

At Rumbak, Aba Nawang Yontan le, an 87-year-old elder, recalled his earliest memories of salt—how, in his youth, the elders of his village journeyed to Changthang to procure it. In later years, he witnessed traders from Korzok bringing salt to the Leh market. At times, villagers from Rumbak also traveled to Sakti and Chemrey to purchase salt. Eventually, the government began distributing salt in the form of solid lumps.

Nawang named several elders who once made the arduous journey to Changthang. From Yurutse, there was Meymey Mutup. From Rumbak, the salt traders included Ajang Gyapo, Ajang Norphel, Aba Tsewang of the Chunpey family, and Aba Tundup Tashi. These men typically took along 10 to 12 donkeys, setting out in the fifth month of the local calendar and returning by the eighth—just in time for the harvest. They carried money, apricots, and barley flour to barter for salt and wool in Changthang.

When asked why they sourced wool from Changthang despite rearing sheep in Rumbak, Nawang explained that local wool, known as Lugubal, was shorter in fiber. It was used for the Spun (weft), whereas the longer-fibered wool from Changthang was preferred for the Gyu (warp), which required greater tensile strength.

He also spoke of the scarcity of wood and charcoal in Rumbak, which made these resources difficult to trade. Nonetheless, villagers would gather dry wood during winter and collect more in summer to sell for supplemental income. For larger quantities, they journeyed to the Markha Valley, crossing the Ganda La Pass. They would spend a night at Shingo before reaching the valley the next day. The collected wood, transported on yaks or horses, was then taken to Leh for sale.

Trade with Sham Valley was minimal; only a few traders ventured into Rumbak, and primarily during the summer. Before a motorable road reached the area, access to Leh depended on seasonal routes: Zinchen Rong was used in winter, while the Stok La Pass was preferred in summer, as Zinchen Rong became treacherous in the warmer months due to high river discharge.