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Leh
 If you’ve battled across the mountains by road, it will be with some relief that you’ll greet Leh. Here are all the restaurants, cosy guesthouses and services of recuperation that you’ve longed for, all in a stunning desert-and-mountain landscape.
Leh nestles in a side valley just north of the Indus. Until 1947 it had close trading relations with Central Asia and yak trains would set off over Karakoram La to Yarkand and Kashgar.
Leh is dominated by the dilapidated nine-storey Leh Palace, home to the Ladakhi royal family before they were exiled to Stok in the 1830s. The old town, at the base of Namgyal Hill, is a labyrinth of alleyways and houses stacked with dry wood and dung, collected to use as fuel to withstand the long winter months. To the south of the old town is the polo ground, the site for many Ladakh festival activities.
Leh is small enough to find your way around easily. The bus station lies just south of the town centre, while the road from the airport ends in the main street, Main Bazaar
Road, where there are plenty of shops and restaurants. The most popular area to eat, reside and spend money is around Fort
Road, while Changspa, about 2km northwest of central Leh, is a village with many guesthouses frequented by long-term visitors. Sankar, a similar distance northeast, also has many family-run guesthouses and is becoming more popular with visitors.
Other Useful Information
- Around Leh
- Festivals & Events
- Sights
Around Leh
Several gompas and villages can be linked together in a day trip. Even Lamayuru and Mulbekh can be incorporated into day trip with an early enough start.
Spituk
Proud on a hilltop above the Indus and only 8km from Leh stands Spituk Gompa, built in the 15th century by the Gelukpa
order. It is near the military airport. The two prayer rooms have some nice Buddha statues, unveiled only once a year during the Gu-Stor festival
Spituk is the main trailhead for the seven-day Markha Valley trek
Phyang
Not far past Spituk, a long, roughish track off the main road leads to the picturesque village of Phyang. Mani walls lead to the little-visited gompa, which was built around the 16th century by King Tashi Namgyal and is home to about 45 monks of the Kagyupa
order. An elaborate thangka is unveiled at the colourful annual festival, one of Ladakh’s big festival draws.
Nimmu
Nimmu is a pleasant place to stop for tea. Travelling from Leh, 2km before Nimmu you can look down onto the junction of two gorges carrying the differently coloured Indus and Zanskar Rivers – a road is planned here to link Leh to Zanskar.
Basgo
Basgo was once capital of lower Ladakh before the kingdom was united at Leh. Listed as one of the top 100 endangered World Heritage sites in 2000, the 400-year-old mud-brick gompa and 500-year-old citadel are up winding, steep tracks. The Serzang Temple houses an enormous gold-and-copper Maitreya (the future Buddha) statue. The citadel is mostly in ruins, damaged by ancient wars and decay.
Likir
The magnificent and less-visited gompa, known as Klu-kkhyil Gompa (klu-kkhyil means ‘water spirits’), was founded in the 11th century and was the first in Ladakh known to have been built by Tibetan monks. The present gompa was rebuilt in the 18th century and rededicated to the Gelukpa
order.
Alchi
This small village, home to as many chortens as houses, is on the south side of the Indus. Most people just come for the day, but it’s a good place to taste a bit of Ladakhi village life
Alchi Gompa is the only gompa in Ladakh on flat ground, so no knee-breaking climbs are involved. The gompa was founded in the 11th century by the Great Translator, Ringchen Zangpo, on his return from India, which accounts for the Indian (and particularly Kashmiri) influences.
Up a side road, north of the main highway, is an isolated area containing Julichen Nunnery and Rizong Gompa. The gompa is at the back of a natural amphitheatre and has three rooms to visit, two with large Buddhas and the
third with a big stupa.
Khalsi
There has been a bridge over the Indus River at Khalsi, at the turn-off to Dha-Hanu, for many centuries and the latest seems to have been under construction for several years. This is a major military area where passports are often checked.
Choglamsar
This is an important centre for Tibetan Buddhism and the study of Tibetan culture and history. Around the refugee camp, off the main road from Leh, is a medical centre, handicraft shops, bookshops, some restaurants and the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, which houses a reference library.
Stok
Over the bridge from Choglamsar, Stok Palace (admission Rs 25; opens 8am-7pm summer) was the home of the kings of Ladakh. Built in 1825, it is still inhabited by the royal family, who retire to Manali in the winter when the palace becomes too difficult to heat. There are more than 80 rooms, only five of which are open to the public.
The museum has a unique display of rare royal ornaments, plus thangkas, traditional clothing and jewellery.
Shey
Shey, 15km southeast of Leh, was the former summer palace of the kings of Ladakh. The gompa, still partially used, is under restoration. There’s a small library, a collection of thangkas, and some stupas and mani walls nearby.
Thiksey Gompa
About 17km south of Leh, this beautiful Gelukpa gompa is the best place near Leh to observe a puja (offering or prayers). Visit around 7am, and sit quietly at the back or make your way to the roof to see the monks blowing the gigantic Tibetan horns for prayer time. The roof also provides some of the best views of the Indus Valley in Ladakh.
Hemis Gompa
Also known as Chang-Chub-Sam-Ling (or Lone Place of the Compassionate Person), Hemis Gompa, 45km south of Leh, belongs to the Brokpa
order and was founded in the early 17th century. It is now one of the most accessible, famous and visited gompas. The gompa has well-preserved frescoes showing Kashmiri influence, a three-storey statue of the renowned sage Padmasambhava and the largest thangka in Ladakh – 12m long and four storeys high. The famous annual Tse-Chu festival commemorates Padmasambhava’s birth. The great thangka is only unfurled once every 12 years – its next outing isn’t until 2016.
Nubra Valley
North of Leh and hard against the sensitive Chinese border, the Nubra Valley is an outstanding area to visit, dominated by two broad, empty flood plains through which the braided channels of the Nubra and Shyok Rivers wander before converging. Ninety per cent of Nubra’s population is Buddhist, but once you’ve crossed
Khardung La you feel as though you’re on the welcome mat of Central Asia.
Khardung La
The year-round road to the Nubra goes over the highest motorable pass in the world at
Khardung La. The pass is occupied by a grubby military camp and stacks of oil drums, but none of this detracts from gawking at the distant vistas and the thrill of being perhaps as high as you can go on solid ground.
Diskit
After the turn-off to Diskit, the valley’s largest village, the road stretches about 3km alongside the rocky flood plain before climbing and clinging to the hillside for another 13km. Diskit Gompa, with about 100 monks, is the oldest (more than 500 years old) and biggest of its kind in the Nubra Valley
Hunder
The Hunder Gompa, by the main road, is worth a visit for its Maitreya statue.
Sumur
The Samstemling Gompa, over 150 years old, is a large complex with seven temples. The prayer rooms that are open to the public house an impressive collection of thangkas and excellently restored frescoes. It’s possible to visit the apartments used by the Dalai Lama when he visited the gompa in 2003.
Panamik
Another small village, Panamik has been famous for centuries for its hot springs and as a stop along the ancient trade route to China. If you come just for the springs you’ll be disappointed. But come for the satisfaction of going as far north as a foreign visitor can in India and to appreciate the natural beauty of this isolated spot.
Pangong Tso
Tibet, a dream destination for many independent travellers wandering Ladakh, is so close here yet unreachable. This brackish lake, one of the largest in Asia, is some 130km long, three-quarters of which extends into Tibet. The lake is a deep iridescent blue and green, backed by dun mountains often capped with snow. It is stunningly beautiful and pristine in its isolation.
Rupsu Valley
Known as ‘mountain lake’, Tso Moriri is in the Rupsu Valley, about 240km (a rough-and-tumble six or so hours by jeep) southeast from Leh. This saltwater lake is about 28km long, 8km at its widest and more than 4000m above sea level. Surrounded by barren hills and backed by snow-covered mountains, Tso Moriri is another example of outstanding Ladakhi scenery. A permit is required to visit the Rupsu Valley.
Lamayuru
The village of Lamayuru was once completely overshadowed by one of the most famous and spectacularly set gompas in Ladakh.
The oldest-known gompa in Ladakh, dating back beyond the 10th century, has an impressive location perched on an eroded crag overlooked by massive mountains and a drained lake.
Mulbekh
From Lamayuru the road passes through barren lands by way of Fotu La (4147m), then Namika La (3760m), before turning down into a fertile valley. A gompa high on a hill stands as a sentinel marking the last sign of Buddhism before you head into the Muslim regions near Kargil. The valley here is particularly picturesque.
Kargil
Administering the valleys of Suru, Drass, Wakha and Bodkarbu, Kargil lies midway between the alpine valleys of Kashmir and the fertile reaches of the Indus Valley. Geographically part of Ladakh, but culturally it’s more related to Baltistan and the people here are mostly Shiite Muslim rather than Buddhist – you’ll notice more mosques, and signs in
Urdu.
Until 1947, Kargil was an important trading centre linking Ladakh with Gilgit (in Pakistan) and the lower Indus Valley. From Zanskar, even 20 years ago, yak trains trudged their way from Padum all the way into Kargil Bazaar.
Panikhar
Further down the Suru Valley, Panikhar is a pretty place to admire, or even get closer to, the twin mountains of Nun (7135m) and Kun (7087m). It is a lovely area in summer, often full of flowers.
Rangdum
Just beyond Panikar the valley pivots round to run east to Rangdum, about halfway in time, but not distance, between Kargil and Padum. From here the road seriously deteriorates in quality, but the truly spectacular scenery makes up for any discomfort. Watch out for chough, and marmot sunning themselves on the rocks.
Festivals & Events
Every year from 1 to 15 September the Ladakh Festival is held, just in time to catch the end of the tourism season. Centred on the polo ground, the festival includes a procession of monks and townsfolk in Ladakhi costume, displays of archery, polo and plenty of singing and dancing. Celebrations spill out into nearby villages, and it’s a great time to be in the area, but mind the altitude, as the free-flowing chang (Tibetan rice or millet beer) can really go to your head. Dosmoche is also a popular festival in Leh, held in February.
Sights
Leh Palace
Undergoing much reconstruction, Leh Palace (Indian/foreigner Rs 5/100; opens sunrise-sunset) was built in the 17th century, and is sometimes called the 'mini Potala', for the palace in Tibet that it resembles. The views are great but inside there's little to actually see. Entry includes a look at the central prayer room.
Namgyal Tsemo Gompa
This gompa (opens 7-9am), built in 1430, contains a fine three-storey-high Buddha image and ancient manuscripts and frescoes. The fort above the Tsemo Gompa is ruined, but the views of Leh from here among the fluttering prayer flags are superb. The steep path starts from the road to the Leh
Palace.
Soma Gompa
Hidden behind Main Bazaar Road, but deceptively large, this gompa is Leh's modern centre of Buddhism and headquarters of the Ladakh Buddhist Association. It has the usual gompa features, including a library and notice
board displaying articles on Buddhist persecution, both in other parts of Jammu & Kashmir, and in Tibet.
Sankar Gompa
The Sankar Gompa (opens 7-8.30am & 5-7pm), north of the town centre, is an easy 2km amble through pleasant country lanes. It's a busy little Gelukpa
order monastery, and the upstairs part of the gompa has an impressive representation of the Buddhist deity of compassion,
Shanti Stupa
Looming impressively, especially when illuminated at night, this stupa (opens 5am-9pm) was built by a Japanese
order extending a message of global peace.
Opened by the Dalai Lama in 1985, the stupa rises up at the end of the road through Changspa.
Hall of Fame
This small museum (admission Rs 20; opens 9-10.30am, 11am-1pm, 2-4.30pm & 5-6.30pm) claims to represent Ladakhi culture and military
heritage.
Changspa
Changspa an outlying village has important Buddhist carvings dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries when Ladakh converted to Buddhism.
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