List of districts of Ladakh

The union territory of Ladakh in India consists of 7 notified districts, including two Muslim-majority districts of Kargil (with 80 revenue villages) and Drass (19 villages) with total 99 revenue villages; the Buddhist majority districts of Sham (27), Changthang (24), Nubra (30), Leh (44) and Zanskar (26) with total 151 revenue villages. Out of the seven districts, five are Buddhist majority, only two are Muslim. Basically five districts for 39.65 per cent population and only two districts for 46.40 per cent population. Additionally, India also claims Pakistan-administered entire Gilgit-Baltistan area and its districts including the 1,942 sq km Shaksgam valley given by Pakistan to China, China-administrated Aksai Chin.

Ladakh has no union territory level legislature, but it has one member of parliament. There are two autonomous district councils, LADHC Kargil and LAHDC Leh. Recently Autonomous Hill Development Council announced for all seven districts in Ladakh.

History

See also: History of Ladakh

1846-1947: Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir

Main article: Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)

Prior to 1947, Ladakh was part of Kashmir when Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state under the paramountcy of the British Indian Empire. The central part of the princely state was administratively divided into the provinces Jammu and Kashmir. In addition there were frontier districts and semi-autonomous jagirs (principalities). They were subdivided as follows:

• Jammu and Kashmir core
  • Jammu province: Districts of Jammu, Udhampur and Mirpur (later became part of Azad Kashmir)

• • Kashmir province: Districts of Anantnag, Baramulla and Muzaffarabad (Muzzafarabad later became part of Azad Kashmir).

• • Internal jagirs within Jammu and Kashmir: Poonch (half of it later became part of Azad Kashmir), Chenani and Bhaderwah.

• Frontier districts:
  • Ladakh district with three sub-districts: Leh, Kargil and Skardu (Skardu later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan).

• • Gilgit district with two sub-districts: Gilgit and Astore. (Both later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan)

• • Frontier ilaqas (areas): Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin, Kuh Ghizar, Hunza, Nagar and Chilas (all of these regions later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan).

The Gilgit district and the frontier ilaqas were administered by the British administration as the Gilgit Agency, which were returned to the princely state prior to the Partition of India.

1948-2026

Kargil

Leh

Nyoma

Dras

Diskit

Khalatse

Padum

Headquarters of districts of Ladakh.

After the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union, it consisted of three divisions: the Jammu Division, the Kashmir Division and Ladakh. In 2019, as per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, Ladakh became a separate Union Territory. At that time, Ladakh had two districts, the Shia Muslim-majority Kargil district with 99 revenue villages and the Buddhist-majority Leh district with 151 revenue villages.

2026: 5 new districts in Ladakh Union Territory

On 27 April 2026, 5 new districts were notified in the government gazette for boosting the service delivery and infrastructure, taking the number of districts in Ladakh to 7. Three new districts Nubra, Sham, and Changthang were carved out of the Leh district; while Zanskar and Drass were carved out of the Kargil district. This reorganisation saw Leh district with 44 revenue villages, Nubra with 30, Changthang with 24, Kargil with 80, Sham with 27, Drass with 19, and Zanskar with 26 revenue villages. These districts, earlier announced on 26 August 2024, were awaiting the formal notification for the creation. 6 new tehsils, 9 niabats (sub-tehsils), and 18 Patwar circles were also created. More than 97% of the population in these new districts are various Scheduled Tribes, including the Balti Shia, Boto, Brokpa, and Changpa communities. Since announcement in 2024, the Ladakh administration has been constructing the physical infrastructure (buildings, etc) on the land identified in Khaltsi (Sham), Diskit (Nubra), Nyoma (Changthang), Padum (Zanskar), and Drass for the District Collectorate complexes. 359 gazetted jobs via UPSC and nearly 4,000 non-gazetted jobs via the Ladakh Subordinate Services Staff Selection Board were recruited in 2026 for these new offices.

List of districts

Sl no.	District	Headquarters	Established	Subdivisions	Tehsils	Area	Population (2011)	Autonomous District Council	Map
1	Changthang	Nyoma	2026	Nyoma Durbuk	Nyoma Durbuk Chushul Chumathang	10,610 km2 (4,100 sq mi)	13,000	LAHDC Changthang
2	Drass	Dras	2026	Dras	Dras-Ranbirpura	2,036 km2 (786 sq mi)	21,998	LAHDC Drass
3	Kargil	Kargil	1979	Sankoo Shakar-Chiktan	Kargil Sankoo Shakar-Chiktan Shargole Taisuru Gund Mangalpore Pashkum	9,006 km2 (3,477 sq mi)	140,802	LAHDC Kargil
4	Leh	Leh	1979	Kharoo	Leh Kharoo Chuchot Gongma Fiang Thiksey	12,110 km2 (4,680 sq mi)	133,487	LAHDC Leh
5	Nubra	Diskit	2026	Nubra	Diskit Sumoor Panamic Turtuk Bogdang Khardong	11,500 km2 (4,400 sq mi)	22,433	LAHDC Nubra
6	Sham	Khalatse	2026	Likir Khalatse	Khalatse Likir Suspol Skur Buchan Bodhkharboo	11,000 km2 (4,200 sq mi)	33,000	LAHDC Sham
7	Zanskar	Padum	2026	Zanskar	Padum Karsha Lungnak Chah	3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi)	13,793	LAHDC Zanskar
—	Total			10	32	59,146 km2 (22,836 sq mi)	274,289	7

^† Area and population figures for districts established in 2026 are provisional estimates based on the 2011 Census and administrative boundaries and are not official figures.

See also

• Geography of Ladakh
• Tourism in Ladakh
• List of districts in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan-administered claimed-by-India