LEH, In a historic initiative to preserve Ladakh’s ancient heritage, Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena on Saturday laid the foundation stone of India’s first protected rock park on the banks of the Indus here on World Heritage Day.
Petroglyphs are prehistoric images, symbols, or sculptures engraved, incised, or etched directly into rock surfaces.
Officials said the park aims to serve as a dedicated space for the preservation of centuries-old rock carvings that are under increasing threat due to unregulated tourism, rapid development of infrastructure and lack of awareness.
The park will house petroglyphs collected from vulnerable and isolated sites across Ladakh, ensuring their preservation for future generations while also making them accessible to visitors in a curated and educational environment, they said.
They said that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums and the Archaeological Survey of India to preserve heritage for future generations through joint intervention.
Officials reported that nearly 400 sites across Ladakh contain petroglyphs, found either in groups or in isolation.
While the cluster sites are relatively easier to preserve, isolated petroglyphs, especially those found along the banks of the Indus River and Zanskar River, face a high risk of damage due to construction activities and lack of awareness among people.
The officials said that these endangered artifacts will be carefully transferred to the Rock Inscriptions Conservation Park for protection and display, adding that some of the oldest rock inscriptions contain inscriptions in Chinese, Arabic, Sanskrit and other ancient languages.
The governor stressed that the park will be a vital step towards preserving the ancient art and history of the region for future generations.
Describing Ladakh as a “repository of ancient heritage”, he said the region hosts one of the largest collections of prehistoric rock art in South and Central Asia.
“Besides natural weathering and climate stress, human activities, such as road construction, rock blasting and unregulated tourism, pose serious risks to these petroglyphs.
While addressing a workshop on the occasion of World Heritage Day, titled “Ancient Art and Modern Challenges: Protecting Petroglyphs and Shaping Tourism Circuits in Ladakh,” Saxena said, “Preserving these heritage sites must be treated as a moral responsibility and integrated into development planning.”
He noted that these rock carvings depict early human life, including hunting scenes, animals such as ibex and snow leopards, and later symbols of the Buddhist religion such as stupas and inscriptions.
He said this showed cultural transformation over the centuries.
The governor also stressed the establishment of coordinated heritage circuits, including megalithic and Buddhist circuits, to responsibly manage tourist flow while promoting lesser-known sites.
He described the petroglyphs as “open-air museums” and “civilizations carved in stone,” representing a continuous record of human history from the Paleolithic to later historical periods.
Found in regions such as Dumkar, Dah Hanu, Elche, Chiling, and Tangzi, these sculptures depict ancient trade routes, migration patterns, belief systems, and environmental history.
Calling for community participation, the Governor urged locals, monks, youth and stakeholders to act as guardians of Ladakh’s heritage. He reiterated that sustainable conservation requires collective effort, awareness and respect for cultural and environmental sensitivities.
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