World's Second Coldest Place Remains Inaccessible For Half A Year

DRASS- KASHMIR-INDIA - JULY 30: Residential houses located on the bank of Pakistani side can be seen from the post 43 some 212 km (131 miles) east of Srinagar the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, India. Drass, the second coldest place on earth straddles on the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. In a region with an altitude-influenced subarctic climate, average low temperatures are around -25 C (-10 F), and as low as -45 C (-10 F) at the height of winter, which lasts from mid-October to mid-May. Drass is located in a relatively flat and open space with extensive willow groves along the river. The town shot into prominence in the summer of 1999 following a war between Pakistani and Indian army , The Kargil War saw the town being shelled by the Pakistani and Indian army and the war ended with the killings of more than 700 Indian and pakistani army soldiers in the mountainous region. In summer this town presents a pleasant look while in winter it discovered under a thick blanket of snow for half a year and communication with the outside world is cut off. Its mountain chambers hosts the second highest pass and lowest temperature in the world. The town has been home to through the centuries to only small numbers of nomads with the flock of domesticated yaks, goats and sheep. The local population have adapted to thin air and freezing temperatures. Raised uplands of rolling hills and snowy mountains lie between 16000 and 21000 feet treeless and desolate with constant winds and blizzards. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/ Getty Images)