Kargil is the most important town in the Suru Valley. It is the headquarters of Kargil District and has the most modern amenities, although not of the level of those found in the plains of India. There are a number of other settlements of significant size in the Suru Valley. Kargil is a fairly busy town servicing the villages of the surrounding region. The important Srinagar-Leh road passes through Kargil.

Kargil, the headquarter of Kargil district, is around 204 Kms. to the east of Srinagar and 234 Kms. to the west of Leh.It was a transit point of caravans on their way to and from China, Tibet, Yarken and Kashmir till 1949, but since 1974 tourism has replaced as centre for tourism related activities . Torurists travelling between Zangskar, Leh and Srinagar have to make a night halt here, before starting for the second day of their journey.
Kargil is located on the bank of the Suru River which flows at around 10,000 ft. high. Here people were followers of Buddhist religion till the 14th century AD. Presently, Kargil is inhabited by Muslims of Shia sect.

The landscape of the Suru valley is wonderful, especially when it gets dotted by flowers in the summer. It expands from Kargil town upto the Penzi La watershed, from where the Suru river rises. The Suru valley has a large population, mainly of Tibetan-Dard Muslims, who converted to Islam in the 15th century. The beauty of the region is enhanced by the peaks of Nun (7,135m) and Kun (7,035m) Massif.

Kartse Khar: The Kartse Khar an ancient village with a 7m tall rock carved statue of Maitriya Buddha. All this is evidence of the presence of Buddhist community in the valley in the past. There are other rocks carved statues and stupas are to be seen in Suru valley, if any one wishes to explore.

Panikhar: Panikhar is the best station for undertaking mountaineering expeditions to the various Peaks surrounded the valley. Tanyol, the approach base for climbing Mt. Nun, is just 6 Kms. further up the valley along the road. A short walk up the hill slopes from here takes one across the Sentik Ridge to the base camp on the rim of the ice plateau. Another very interesting hike is to the Nun- Kun view saddle (3810m) in the Parkachik ridge. This requires 3 hours of walking along verdant slopes overlooking the fertile valley below.

Drass is around 60 Kms. to the west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar. The place has beautiful pasture grounds. Drass is the second coldest inhabited place in the world, where the temperature goes as low as - 50 in winter.
Drass has become famous in recent years because of Pakistans misadventure in the Tiger hill and Tolloling areas. One can have a lovely view of Tiger hill from Drass village.
Drasss inhabitants consist mainly of the Dards stock, an Aryan race believed to have originally migrated to these villages of the western Himalaya from central Asian steppes. They speak Shina, which is very much unlike the Ladakhi dialects spoken elsewhere in the Ladakh region. The favorite pass time of the inhabitants of Drass is Polo.

Buddhist remains at Drass
Drass is dominated by Muslims, which was predominant Buddhist region, converted to Muslims in 15th Century. The only Buddhist remains of note in the whole area are images carved in relief on stone of Maitriya, Avaloketeshvara, a lotus flower, a man on horseback and a stupa.