Must-see attractions in Ladakh

  • Leh palace with nice mountain range

    Leh Palace

    Leh

    Bearing a passing similarity to the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet), this nine-storey dun-coloured edifice is Leh's dominant structure and architectural…

  • Thiksey Gompa

    Ladakh

    Glorious Thiksey Gompa is one of Ladakh’s biggest and most recognisable monasteries, photogenically cascading down a raised rocky promontory. At its heart…

  • Choskhor Temple Complex

    Ladakh

    The original murals and statues within these four outwardly modest 11th-century temples are considered the crowning glory of Ladakh’s Indo-Tibetan art…

  • Wanla Gompa

    Ladakh

    Above Wanla village, tiny medieval Wanla Gompa is dramatically perched on a towering knife-edge ridge flanked by two shattered tower remnants of a now…

  • Leh Old Town

    Leh

    Behind Leh’s central Jamia Masjid, winding alleys and stairways burrow between and beneath a series of old mud-brick Ladakhi houses and eroded chortens…

  • Yungdrung Gompa

    Ladakh

    Lamayuru's gompa is one of the most photogenic Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh. Behind glass within the gompa’s main prayer hall is a tiny cave-niche in…

  • Spituk Gompa

    Leh

    Founded in the late 14th century as See-Thub (Exemplary) Monastery, impressive Spituk Gompa surveys the Sengye Tsangpo (Indus) Valley, with surreal views…

  • Shanti Stupa

    Shanti Stupa

    Leh

    Dominating Leh from a high, rocky ridge, this gigantic white spired pudding of a stupa was built between 1983 and 1991 by Japanese monks to promote world…

  • Chemrey Monastery

    Ladakh

    Spectacularly viewed across barley fields and buckthorn bushes, Chemrey village is dominated by the beautifully proportioned Thekchhok Gompa covering a…

  • Guru Lhakhang

    Ladakh

    Restored by the army in the late 1990s, this tiny white cube of a temple is said to date back to the time of the 'Great Translator' Ringchen Zangpo (10th…

  • Gotsang Hermitage

    Ladakh

    Predating Hemis Monastery by several centuries, Gotsang is a hillside hermitage with two attractive main temple buildings. The main shrine is the mountain…

  • LAMO

    Leh

    This arts-media trust occupies an adjoining pair of 17th-century Ladakhi mansions, one of which was the home of the munshi (king's secretary) and thus one…

  • Tsemo Fort

    Leh

    Visible from virtually everywhere in Leh, 16th-century Tsemo (Victory) Fort is a defining landmark that crowns the top of Palace Ridge, though there's…

  • Manggyu Temple Complex

    Ladakh

    The trio of millennium-old temple chambers at Manggyu share many of the features that you'll see at the world-famous Choskhor temple complex at Alchi but…

  • Stok Palace

    Ladakh

    This stately three-storey edifice was built in 1820 by King Tsepal Namgyal – a good investment, it turned out, since 14 years later his larger main palace…

  • Basgo Palace

    Ladakh

    Rising above Basgo village on a surreal collection of eroded earthen pinnacles are the photogenic stubs of a once-great palace dating from when Basgo was…

  • Hemis Gompa

    Ladakh

    This expansive, 17th-century monastery is the spiritual centre of Ladakh’s Drukpa Buddhists; it was the fifth Gyaling Drukpa who founded Hemis after…

  • Matho Gompa

    Ladakh

    Perched on a impressive ridge above the village, this little-visited gompa commands stupendous valley views. Ladakh's only major Sakya Buddhist monastery,…

  • Central Asian Museum

    Leh

    One of Leh's most remarkable buildings, this tapered four-storey stone tower is a modern construction based on a historic Lhasa mansion and built on the…

  • Phyang Gompa

    Ladakh

    Sitting on a knoll in the heart of Phyang, this large Drigung Kagyud school monastery complex has been heavily rebuilt in the last decade but its core…

  • Razi Khor

    Ladakh

    Little visited, Chiktan's shattered palace ruins are a startlingly dramatic sight. Originally the 16th-century palace of the Chiktan royals, the structure…

  • Ney Buddha

    Ladakh

    The golden form of Ney's 21st-century Buddha statue is claimed to be 26m tall. In reality it looks about half that high but is still an impressive sight…

  • Royal Palace Temple

    Ladakh

    The greatest attraction in Shey's palace complex is the royal temple, with its splendid 17th-century Buddha statue. The highly revered 7.5m-tall gilded…

  • Stakna Gompa

    Ladakh

    Small but visually impressive, the 1618 Stakna (Tiger's Nose) Gompa crowns a rocky outcrop that rises abruptly from the Indus Valley floor. The heart of…

  • Saspol Caves

    Ladakh

    The orchard town of Saspol is backed by a conglomerate promontory topped with the ruins of Toyos Khar fortress-palace. Somehow still surviving in the…

  • Gyab-Thago Heritage House

    Ladakh

    Over 200 years old, this beautifully preserved traditional house has been in the same family for six generations. Used until 2001, it remains almost fully…

  • Timishgan Khar

    Ladakh

    Originally King Dragpa-Bum's 15th-century fortress, Timishgan's three-storey palace site has an obvious defensive strength commanding the confluence of…

  • Sankar

    Leh

    For a charming wander, follow canal streams in the captivating yet relatively accessible area around little Sankar Gompa and the one-room geological…

  • Mulbekh Castle Site

    Ladakh

    Mulbekh is overlooked by the impregnable site of King Tashi Namgyal’s 18th-century castle, high above the road. Burnt during an 1835 raid, the castle has…

  • Sankar Gompa

    Leh

    The timeless two-storey Sankar Gompa is Upper Leh's modest main monastery. It's a calming, meditative place, and the walk to reach it from Sankar Lane…

  • Tisseru Stupa

    Leh

    Ladakh's largest stupa is unlike anything else in the region – a giant, bulky mud-brick structure that looks like a half-built ziggurat (stepped pyramid).

  • Likir Gompa

    Ladakh

    Though founded in 1065, this monastery’s current incarnation as a Gelukpa monastery originated in the 15th century. The main prayer hall to the right on…

  • Royal Palace

    Ladakh

    Along the top of Shey's ridge, a series of fortress ruins bracket the three-storey, 17th-century Royal Palace, which has enjoyed a wholesale…

  • Hemis National Park

    Ladakh

    Hemis National Park covers the roadless villages of Rumbak and Yurutse, the whole Markha Valley, and the passes and access trails to Stok trekking point…

  • Takthog (Dakthok) Gompa

    Ladakh

    The region’s only Nyingmapa monastery, Takthog's name means ‘stone roof’, referring to a small but highly revered cave shrine where the great 8th-century…

  • Gomang Stupa

    Leh

    This large 9th-century whitewashed stupa rises in concentric serrated layers flanked by numerous chortens. The charming, shady setting retains a…

  • Tso Moriri

    Ladakh

    Tso Moriri is a giant high-altitude lake whose crystal-clear waters reflect majestic cloudscapes and snow-topped peaks. The views are best seen from a…

  • Hall of Fame

    Leh

    Two rooms of this extensive, well-presented museum look at Ladakhi history and culture. But mostly it commemorates the Indian Army's role in Ladakh, from…

  • Jamia Masjid

    Leh

    In the heart of Leh's market area, the first mosque on this site was built in 1666–67, sealing a political agreement between Ladakh's then ruler Deldan…

  • Mulbekh Chamba

    Ladakh

    Mulbekh's foremost sight is a 1000-year-old Maitreya Buddha relief, carved into an 8m fang of rock. It's right by the roadside, rising through the middle…

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