Location and Extent

Jammu and Kashmir sits at the northern tip of India, in the western Himalaya, where the Himalaya, the Karakoram and the Pamir-Hindu Kush systems meet.

Latitude and longitude

• Latitude: about 32° 17' N to 37° 05' N.
• Longitude: about 72° 31' E to 80° 30' E.
• These figures are for the whole territory of the former State, as India shows it.

Area

The rest of the territory is administered by Pakistan (known in India as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, PoK, and Gilgit-Baltistan) or by China (Aksai Chin, and the Shaksgam Valley, which Pakistan ceded to China in 1963).

Neighbours

• The border with Pakistan is the International Boundary (called the Working Boundary by Pakistan) in the Jammu plains, and then the Line of Control (LoC) up to NJ9842 (a map point near the Siachen Glacier).
• India and China are separated by the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
• Siachen Glacier is the highest battlefield in the world.

Capitals

• Srinagar is the summer capital and Jammu is the winter capital of the Union Territory. The Darbar Move, the six-monthly shift of the offices, was ended in 2021.
• The headquarters of Ladakh are Leh and Kargil (the Union Territory has no legislature).

Geographical importance

• The water tower of north-west India: the Indus system (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) rises or flows here and feeds Punjab (India and Pakistan).
• Strategic position: the roof of the subcontinent, with borders on three countries.
• Silk Route past: Ladakh was a trading centre between Central Asia and the Punjab for centuries, through the Karakoram Pass and Leh.