Kargil War 1999: Kargil, Dras and Tiger Hill

Kargil is the town on National Highway 1, the road that links Srinagar with Leh. In February 1999 the Pakistan Army sent forces to occupy posts on the Indian side of the Line of Control, ridges above that road, and the town sits only 173 km from Skardu on the Pakistani-controlled side. India calls its campaign Operation Vijay.

Visitor guidance: A town on NH 1, the Srinagar–Leh highway.

Dras lies at 3,300 m in a valley and is often called the gateway to Ladakh. In early 1999 the peaks above it, notably Tololing 4 km away and Tiger Hill 8 km away, were occupied, and artillery fire could reach the town and the highway. The Indian Army cleared both peaks by July. Dras became a tourist destination after the war, when visitors came to see the former war zone.

Visitor guidance: On the national highway NH 1.

Tololing was the first big objective on the Indian side, because it dominated the highway. The assault began on 22 May against defenders who were very well entrenched and fortified. On 28 May a Mi-17 helicopter supporting the attack was shot down. Fighting dragged on for weeks as Indian units reinforced each other, and by 7 July the Pakistani positions were abandoned. The Dras memorial looks toward it.

Location precision: The pin marks Tololing near Dras; the exact summit position is not given in the sources.

Tiger Hill stands about 8 km from Dras. The final assault began on 3 July at 17:15. Men of 18 Grenadiers climbed a 1,000-foot rear cliff on fixed ropes in freezing rain. Defenders included Captain Karnal Sher Khan of the Sind Regiment, who led a counter-attack and was killed; he received Pakistan's Nishan-e-Haider, posthumously. India reported the whole feature captured by 8 July.

Location precision: The pin marks Tiger Hill near Dras; the exact summit position is not given in the sources.

Point 4875, now also called Batra Top, was fought over from 4 July. Captain Batra led the final assault on the point, rescuing Captain Nagappa, and died of sniper and RPG fire on 7 July.

Location precision: The sources give a map height and no coordinates, so the peak is left unpinned.

The memorial stands near Dras and remembers those who died in Operation Vijay. A pink sandstone wall carries a brass plate with their names. From the site you can see Tololing, Tiger Hill and Point 4875. The present memorial was built by the Indian Army in November 2014, and about 125,000 people visited in 2016. Each 26 July, India marks Kargil Vijay Diwas, Kargil Victory Day.

Visitor guidance: Memorial near Dras on the national highway.