Ladakh had been ruled by many dynasties, most of them were descendants of the former kings of old Tibet. The location of this cold Desert made it an eminent trade center for India and it connected India to Central and West Asia. As the river Indus freezes in winter months it gets converted into solid road for people to conduct business in the neighbouring areas.

Ladakh has been inhabited since Neolithic times as indicated in rock carvings found in various parts of this region. The old scriptures in Puranas mentions earliest inhabitants to be Mons and Dards of mixed Indo Aryan descend. The land was part of Kushana empire around 1st century. In 842 Tibetan Royal prince founded a separate Ladakhi dynasty,. till 10th century Rudok was an integral part of Ladakh. Onset of 13th century saw Islamic conquest of South Asia subjugating Ladakh to accept guidance in religious matters from Tibet. Nearly for two centuries Ladakh faced invasions and infiltration from neighbouring Muslim states. Several mosques were built in Ladakh during that period. The Namgyal dynasty came into existence, they barricaded the raiders from Central Asia and extended their empire till Nepal. Legends also show advance of Balti army till Purang, the valley of Mansarwar lake, ladakh was made to pay annual tribute through Lama Yuru Gompa (monastery) till the Dogra conquest of Ladakh in the late 17th century. The Tibet- ladakh –  Mughal war of 1679-1684 ended with a treaty severely restricting independence of Ladakh.

In 1834 Ladakh was annexed to Sikh empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, later the province was transferred to Gulab Singh to be ruled as a Princely State under British suzerainty. The Namgyal family received Stok as jagir, the family retains the same till date and the royal descendants resides in the Stuk Palace.

Ladakh region was split into Kargil and Leh districts in 1979. The conflict between Muslims and Buddhist in 1989 the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created in 1990. Leh and Kargil each have their own locally elected Hill Councils with some control over local policy and development funds. In 1991 a peace Pagoda was erected in Leh.

The inhabitants of Ladakh are from different ethnic communities, the Tibetans, Monpas and Dards are most predominant. Most of the Ladakhis are either Shia Muslims or Tibetan Buddhists. The languages spoken are Tibetan, Urdu, Hindi, Ladakhi, Purig and English.