The Himalaya Range or Himalayas meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan mountain system is the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest and K2.

The Himalayan system, which includes various outlying subranges, stretches across six countries: India, Bhutan, Tibet, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan. Some of the world's major rivers, the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, and the Yangtze, rise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 1.3 billion people. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism.

The main Himalaya range runs, west to east, from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc 2,400 km (1,490 mi) long, which varies in width from 400 km in the western Kashmir-Xinjiang region to 150 km in the eastern Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region. The range consists of three coextensive sub-ranges, with the northern-most, and highest, known as the Great or Inner Himalayas.

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The Main Himalayan Ranges are:

Pir Panjal Range

Dhaula Dhar Range

Zanskar Range

Ladakh Range

East Korakoram Range

Pir Panjal Range:
To the south of the main Himalayas lies the Pir Panjal Range at an average height of 5,000m. From Gulmarg in the Northwest it follows the southern rim of the Kashmir valley to the Banihal pass. Here the Pir Panjal meets the ridgeline, which separates the Kashmir valley from the Warvan valley. The major passes here in Pir Panjal are the pir panjal pass due west of Srinagar, the Banihal pass which lies at the top of the Jhelum River at the southern end of the Kashmir valley, and the sythen pass linking Kashmir with Kishtwar.
Dhaula Dhar Range:
To the south of the Pir Panjal lies the Dhaula Dhar range. It is easily visible because of its distinct feature of the snow-capped ridge, which forms the division between the Ravi and the Beas valleys. In the west it divides the Chenab valley and the Tawi valley. Towards the east it extends across Himachal Pradesh forming the high ridges of the Largi gorge and extending towards the south of the Pin Parvati valley before it forms the ridgeline east of the Sutlej River.
Zanskar Range:
It lies to the north of the main Himalaya. It acts as a backbone of Ladakh south of the Indus River, extending from the ridges beyond Lamayuru in the west across the Zanskar region; there it is divided from the main Himalaya by the Stod and Tsarap valleys, the Zanskar valley. On the east of the Zanskar region the range continues through Lahaul and Spiti. While on the North it continues across the Kinnaur before extending towards west across Uttaranchal. Some of the main passes are the Fatu La, on the Leh-Srinagar road, while the main trekking passes into the Zanskar valley are Singge La, the Cha Cha La and the Rubrang La are.
Ladakh Range:
To the north of the Leh lies the ladakh range and it is an important part of the Trans-Himalayan range that merges with the Kailash range in Tibet. Here the important passes are the famous Kardung La, and Digar La, which lie to the north east of Leh.
East Korakoram Range:
It is a giant range, which geographically divides India and Central Asia. The range consists of high mountain peaks like Saltoro Kangri, Rimo and Teram Kargri. The Korakoram Pass acts as the main connector between the markets of Yarkand, Leh and Kashgar.
Siwalik Hills:
It lies to the south of the Dhaula Dhar, with an average height of 1,500 to 2,000m.It includes the Jammu hills and Vaishno Devi, and extends to Kangra and if you move further east to the range south of Mandi. In Uttaranchal side it stretches from Dehra Dun to Almora before it heads across the southern borders of Nepal.