Tibetan Refugee Market

Leh


Leh has several colourful handicraft markets run by long-term Tibetan refugees, many from families who first fled to Ladakh more than 50 years ago.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Leh attractions

1. Central Asian Museum

0.08 MILES

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…

2. Chokhang Vihara

0.11 MILES

With its coppiced willows, the large courtyard of this 20th-century temple offers an oasis of relatively meditative calm just steps from the bustle of…

3. Jamia Masjid

0.13 MILES

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…

4. Guru Lhakhang

0.14 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…

5. Leh Old Town

0.17 MILES

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…

6. Leh Palace

0.17 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. LAMO

0.18 MILES

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…

8. Chamba Lhakhang

0.22 MILES

The early 15th-century Chamba Lhakhang was one of a trio of Maitreya ('future Buddha') temples built in Leh by King Draspa Bum-lde. The obvious…