The Yurbaltak Buddha figure makes an appealing half-day trip from Kargil. It's the smallest and most eroded of the region's Buddha statues but getting here is half the fun. Access is via a short, scenic walk from the end of the road on a stone-paved path through the traditional homes of Apati village. A taxi from Kargil costs ₹1500 return.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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Nearby Kashmir & Ladakh attractions
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5.05 MILES
Celebrating Kargil's pre-1947 role as a Silk Route trading centre, this small, intriguing private museum illustrates the caravan trade to Central Asia…
5.27 MILES
Set in a sharp mountain gully 11km northeast of Kargil, the tumbledown ghost village of Hundarman is a remarkable sight. Rocky crags tower above, a…
12.67 MILES
Built memorably into a cliff face, little Shargol Gompa's minuscule prayer chamber is lit by a single flickering butter lamp. To access the site from the…
14.85 MILES
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…
15.49 MILES
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…
17.75 MILES
This intriguing little monastery includes troglodyte cell rooms tucked improbably into pillars of unstable-looking composite rocks. It's backed against a…
18.13 MILES
Little visited, Chiktan's shattered palace ruins are a startlingly dramatic sight. Originally the 16th-century palace of the Chiktan royals, the structure…
23.71 MILES
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