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 museum. From here continue west to the nearby 11th-century Tisseru Stupa, a bulky, partly restored mud-brick ruin that looks like a half-built ziggurat (stepped pyramid).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Leh attractions

1. Ladakh Rocks & Minerals Museum

0.04 MILES

This sweet one-room museum outside Sankar Gompa presents labelled examples of Ladakh's geological curiosities, including a natural lingam (phallic image…

2. Sankar Gompa

0.04 MILES

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…

3. Gomang Stupa

0.36 MILES

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

4. Tsemo Gompa

0.49 MILES

Namgyal Tsemo Gompa consists of two little 15th-century temple buildings directly beneath the Tsemo Fort ruins. One enshrines an 8m-tall gold-faced…

5. Tsemo Fort

0.5 MILES

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…

6. Leh Palace

0.52 MILES

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

7. Guru Lhakhang

0.53 MILES

Restored in 2004 but often locked, this 17th-century shrine to Padmasambhava sits on the edge of the Old Town palace ridge, directly below the palace and…

8. Chandazik Gompa

0.55 MILES

Till the 1950s, this temple was Leh's main Buddhist place of public worship. It features internal murals celebrating the pantheon of 1000 Buddhas, of…