List of districts of Ladakh

As of 2026, the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region consists of 7 notified districts.^[1] They include Kargil (with 80 revenue villages), Drass (19), Sham (27), Changthang (24), Nubra (30), Leh (44) and Zanskar (26), with a total of 151 revenue villages.^[2] Out of the seven districts, first two are Muslim majority while the rest have a Buddhist majority.^[3]

Ladakh has no union territory level legislature, but sends a single member of parliament.^[2] There are two autonomous district councils, LADHC Kargil^[4] and LAHDC Leh.^[5] Recently, Autonomous Hill Development Councils were announced for all seven districts in Ladakh.^[6]

History

1846-1947: Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir

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:^[7]

Jammu and Kashmir core
- Jammu province: Districts of Jammu, Udhampur and Mirpur (later became part of Azad Kashmir)^[7]

- Kashmir province: Districts of Anantnag, Baramulla and Muzaffarabad (Muzzafarabad later became part of Azad Kashmir).^[7]

- Internal jagirs within Jammu and Kashmir: Poonch (half of it later became part of Azad Kashmir), Chenani and Bhaderwah.^[7]

Frontier districts:
- Ladakh district with three sub-districts: Leh, Kargil and Skardu (Skardu later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan).^[7]

- Gilgit district with two sub-districts: Gilgit and Astore. (Both later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan)^[7]

- Frontier ilaqas (areas): Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin, Kuh Ghizar, Hunza, Nagar and Chilas (all of these regions later became part of Gilgit-Baltistan).^[7]

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

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.^[8]

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.^[1] These districts, earlier announced on 26 August 2024, were awaiting the formal notification for the creation.^[9]^[10]^[11] 6 new tehsils, 9 niabats (sub-tehsils), and 18 Patwar circles were also created.^[12] More than 97% of the population in these new districts are various Scheduled Tribes, including the Balti Shia, Boto, Brokpa, and Changpa communities.^[13] 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.