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 only two tower stubs remaining, but the site sports a small gompa, and a new one is under construction. There are symphonic views across the green valley.
The 2.8km spaghetti of narrow access lane starts 100m west of the Chamba statue opposite a small red-roofed new building.
20.01 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…
28.8 MILES
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…
24.91 MILES
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…
10.76 MILES
Little visited, Chiktan's shattered palace ruins are a startlingly dramatic sight. Originally the 16th-century palace of the Chiktan royals, the structure…
18.06 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…
21.85 MILES
This ancient Buddha carving is an impressive sight and all the more appealing for being unknown to most visitors. It's hardly a five-minute walk off the…
0.71 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…
3.36 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…
0.71 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…
3.36 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…
3.6 MILES
This intriguing little monastery includes troglodyte cell rooms tucked improbably into pillars of unstable-looking composite rocks. It's backed against a…
10.76 MILES
Little visited, Chiktan's shattered palace ruins are a startlingly dramatic sight. Originally the 16th-century palace of the Chiktan royals, the structure…
14.85 MILES
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…
6. Munshi Aziz Bhat Serai Museum
18.06 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…
20.01 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…
21.85 MILES
This ancient Buddha carving is an impressive sight and all the more appealing for being unknown to most visitors. It's hardly a five-minute walk off the…