Leh Palace.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Ladakh

Spectacularly jagged, arid mountains enfold this magical Buddhist ex-kingdom. Picture-perfect gompas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries) dramatically crown rocky outcrops next to fluttering prayer flags and whitewashed stupas, while prayer wheels spun clockwise release merit-making mantras. Gompa interiors are a riot of golden Buddhas and intricately colourful murals and home to red-robed monks. It's a little corner of Tibet marooned in the furthest reaches of India.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Leh palace with nice mountain range

    Leh Palace

    Leh

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

  • Thiksey Gompa

    Thiksey Gompa

    Ladakh

    Glorious Thiksey Gompa is one of Ladakh’s biggest and most recognisable monasteries, photogenically cascading down a raised rocky promontory. At its heart…

  • Wanla Gompa

    Wanla Gompa

    Ladakh

    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…

  • Choskhor Temple Complex

    Choskhor Temple Complex

    Ladakh

    The original murals and statues within these four outwardly modest 11th-century temples are considered the crowning glory of Ladakh’s Indo-Tibetan art…

  • Spituk Gompa

    Spituk Gompa

    Leh

    Founded in the late 14th century as See-Thub (Exemplary) Monastery, impressive Spituk Gompa surveys the Sengye Tsangpo (Indus) Valley, with surreal views…

  • Shanti Stupa

    Shanti Stupa

    Leh

    Dominating Leh from a high, rocky ridge, this gigantic white spired pudding of a stupa was built between 1983 and 1991 by Japanese monks to promote world…

  • Leh Old Town

    Leh Old Town

    Leh

    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…

  • Chemrey Monastery

    Chemrey Monastery

    Ladakh

    Spectacularly viewed across barley fields and buckthorn bushes, Chemrey village is dominated by the beautifully proportioned Thekchhok Gompa covering a…

View more attractions
  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: destinations/top
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "destination": "Ladakh",
  "region": "Kashmir-&-Ladakh",
  "continent": "Asia",
  "country": "India"
}

Plan with a local

Articles

Latest stories from Ladakh

Filter by interest:

Stunning view of the Himalaya mountains (Cholatse and Taboche to the left), Ngozumpa glacier, and Gokyo lakes (the world's highest freshwater lakes, sacred for both Hindus and Buddhists), as seen on top of Gokyo Ri (5,357 m), near the village of Gokyo, in Sagarmatha National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site in Khumbu region, Solukhumbu district, eastern Nepal, Asia.

Hiking

How to plan your dream trip to the Himalayas

Jan 28, 2021 • 5 min read

Read more articles

Go Beyond

Ladakh and beyond

Beyond Ladakh
  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: destinations/bottom
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "destination": "Ladakh",
  "region": "Kashmir-&-Ladakh",
  "continent": "Asia",
  "country": "India"
}