Shanti Stupa

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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 peace. The views over Leh are superb.

Ideally, make the breathless 15-minute climb up from Changspa when golden afternoon light still illuminates the city but the steps are already bathed in cooling shadow.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Leh attractions

1. Gomang Stupa

0.33 MILES

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

2. Sankar Gompa

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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. Ladakh Rocks & Minerals Museum

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

4. Sankar

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For a charming wander, follow canal streams in the captivating yet relatively accessible area around little Sankar Gompa and the one-room geological…

5. Tisseru Stupa

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Ladakh's largest stupa is unlike anything else in the region – a giant, bulky mud-brick structure that looks like a half-built ziggurat (stepped pyramid).

6. Central Asian Museum

0.83 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…

7. Guru Lhakhang

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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. Leh Palace

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

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