Things to do in Leh
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La Pizzeria
- Leh, India
- Restaurants › Pizza
Leh’s most attractively appointed garden restaurant is considerably pricier than most other eateries, but well worth the extra for thin-crust pizzas, excellent pumpkin soup (Rs90), tajines, tandoori dishes or even trout in brandy sauce. Beer is also served (Rs 150).
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Gesmo
- Leh, India
- Restaurants › Other
Loveable old-fashioned traveller haunt, with gingham tablecloths, checkerboard ceilings, and a range of cakes and breakfasts supplementing good-value curries.
reviewed
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Summer Harvest
Top-notch Indian and Chinese food, cold beers and international sports on the TV attract travellers to this warm and inviting restaurant.
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Ladakh Art Palace
Leh is packed with souvenir shops. There are some wonderful things on offer - from thangkas (Buddhist cloth paintings) and Ladakhi hats to heavy turquoise jewellery and wooden choktse (Tibetan tables) - but be aware that many souvenirs are trucked in from China, Kashmir and Nepal, providing little benefit to local people.
Probably the best selection in town is at Ladakh Art Palace, but prices are somewhat inflated.
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Splash Adventures
In summer, agencies like Splash Adven-tures, offer daily rafting excursions through splendid canyon scenery from Phey to Nimmu (for beginners, grade I/II, Rs650 to Rs850) and from Chiling to Nimmu (grade II/III, Rs1200 to Rs1400). Prepare to get very wet. By pre-arrangement, more serious multiday rafting trips are possible for experienced rafters on the Indus, climaxing with grade IV sections around Skurbuchan.
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KC Garden Restaurant
One of Changspa’s liveliest evening spots, KC’s is the pickup point for all-night full-moon parties (Rs400 including transport; full-moon night May to August). Movies are projected at 8pm several nights weekly.
reviewed
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Lamayuru Restaurant
Surrounded by other similar backpacker eateries, this is a plain but very reliable place for good inexpensive Indian, Chinese and international snacks.
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Neha Snacks
Locals flock to this Punjabi place for pure-veg snacks like channa puri (chickpea curry with bread) and Indian sweets.
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Grill-N-Curry
- Leh, India
- Restaurants › Other
Climb two flights of metal steps for un-usual palace views, then stay for the rich, spicy mushroom caju masala (Rs90).
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Tibetan Kitchen
Evening tables should be booked in the afternoon (in person) at this classy restaurant at the Hotel Tso-Kar. The menu has lots of Tibetan specialities like sha bakleh (bread stuffed with meat) and ruchowtse (cheese and vegetable momos in soup), but no alcohol.
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Leh View Restaurant
- Leh, India
- Restaurants › Balti
A Kashmiri-owned place with meaty Kashmiri curries as well as the usual traveller fare. Go up to the roof terrace for dinner with a view.
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Leh Palace
Construction of the nine-storey dun-coloured Leh Palace started in 1553. Built by the Buddhist kings of Ladakh, it was once the world’s highest building and bears more than a passing similarity to the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet). The very sturdy walls are mostly unadorned and a few interior sections remain in a state of partial collapse; only the palace prayer room gives any sense of former grandeur. Nonetheless it’s gently thrilling to weave your way through the maze of dark corridors, hidden stairways and makeshift ladders to reach the rooftop for great views across the city. Carry a torch and watch out for holes in the floor.
reviewed
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Sankar Gompa
The timeless two-storey Gelukpa Sankar Gompa takes you between stone walls and attractive Ladakhi farmhouses following little streamlets and passing a pretty rural stupa. Sankar’s small, main prayer room features a portrait of Kushok Bakula Rinpoche (died 2004), Ladakh’s former head lama. His recently identified reincarnation will eventually move to the gilt-roofed photang (official residence) opposite the monastery.
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Community Centre
A visit to this thought-provoking community centre should be compulsory for all visitors to Ladakh! It campaigns to educate locals and foreigners alike about the remarkable balance of traditional Ladakhi society. Screenings of the excellent hour-long documentary Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh (admission by donation) at 3pm Monday to Saturday are followed by a discussion. Various other films screen at 11am.
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Shanti Stupa
Built by Japanese monks to promote world peace, this large, hilltop stupa has brightly coloured reliefs on its mid-levels and is topped by a spired white hemisphere (smoking is prohibited here). The greatest attraction is the stunning view of Leh. Ideally make the breathless 15-minute climb around 5.30pm when golden afternoon light still illuminates the city, while the steps up from Changspa are in cooling shadow.
reviewed
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Himalayan Journeys
- Leh, India
- Activities › Other
In summer, Himalayan Journeys offers daily rafting excursions through splendid canyon scenery from Phey to Nimmu (for beginners, grade I/II, Rs650 to Rs850) and from Chiling to Nimmu (grade II/III, Rs1200 to Rs1400). Prepare to get very wet. By pre-arrangement, more serious multiday rafting trips are possible for experienced rafters on the Indus, climaxing with grade IV sections around Skurbuchan.
reviewed
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Buddhist Thangka House
Leh is packed with souvenir shops. There are some wonderful things on offer - from thangkas (Buddhist cloth paintings) and Ladakhi hats to heavy turquoise jewellery and wooden choktse (Tibetan tables) - but be aware that many souvenirs are trucked in from China, Kashmir and Nepal, providing little benefit to local people. Buddhist Thangka House has a good range of thangkas.
reviewed
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Meditation Centre
- Leh, India
- Activities › Other
Book for three- or 10-day residential courses in vipassana meditation at the organisation’s much bigger Meditation Centre, approximately 12km southeast. On Sunday the Meditation Centre runs a one-day discussion and introduction to meditation (Rs400 including lunch and bus transfer from Leh).
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Body Care
Numerous places offer yoga and meditation classes, and massages and rubs after long treks in the hills. Standards vary so check noticeboards and the traveller grapevine for recommendations. In Changspa, Body Care has a sauna and a wide range of massages and herbal rubs.
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