Ethnobotany of Ladakh,India: Beverages,narcotics, foods

Ladakh is India’s link with the exotic past. Popularly known as little Tibet or Western Tibet, Ladakh is one of the richest centres of Buddhist art and culture. It has its own deep-rooted traditions, which have been protected and practised for centuries. The present communication puts on record some of the traditional ladakhi preparations that have been used for hundreds of years. Those described are (1) beverages — chhang and gur gur cha; (2) narcotics — berzeatsink, staspakchek, techepakchiatzen, zimpating, and lingeatzish; and (3) foods — khambir, kholaq, mok mok, and thukpa.