Top Attractions in Leh

Leh Essentials

Leh serves as the gateway to Ladakh’s high-altitude desert and ancient Tibetan Buddhist heritage. This selection covers the city's 17th-century royal palace and the white-domed Shanti Stupa, alongside the massive Gelug-pa monastery at Thikse and the Drukpa lineage’s Hemis Gompa. Beyond the town, the list includes the 5,359-meter Khardung La pass, the brackish waters of Tso Kar, and the high-altitude Pangong Lake, which extends from India into Tibet.

Pangong Lake

Endorheic lake situated at an elevation of 4,225 meters. It is 134 km long, extending from India to the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Known for its saline water and changing blue hues, the lake freezes completely during winter despite its salt content.

Samson Joseph / CC BY-SA 4.0

Khardung La

Khardung La or Khardung Pass is a mountain pass in the Leh district of the Indian union territory of Ladakh.

Redtigerxyz / CC BY-SA 3.0

Thikse Monastery

Thiksey Monastery or Thiksey Gompa is a Buddhist monastery affiliated with the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

John Hill / CC BY-SA 4.0

Hemis Gompa

Hemis Monastery is a Himalayan Buddhist monastery of the Drukpa Lineage, in Hemis on the bank of the Indus River, Ladakh, India.

McKay Savage / CC BY 2.0

Shanti Stupa

White-domed Buddhist stupa on a hilltop in Chanspa, built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura. It houses relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama, and provides panoramic views of Leh.

Prads12000 / CC BY-SA 3.0

Leh Palace

Former royal palace built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century. Modeled after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the nine-story stone structure features massive sloping walls and wooden balconies overlooking the Indus Valley.

Fulvio Spada / CC BY-SA 2.0

Magnetic Hill

A gravity hill located on the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar highway. The layout of the surrounding slopes creates an optical illusion where the downhill road appears to be an uphill slope, causing stationary vehicles to seem to roll upward.

McKay Savage / CC BY 2.0

Namgyal Tsemo tower and chapel

Buddhist monastery founded in 1430 by King Tashi Namgyal. It is home to a three-story high gold statue of Maitreya Buddha and sits prominently on a crag above Leh Palace, offering views of the surrounding Himalayan peaks.

Confluence

The meeting point of the Indus and Zanskar rivers near Nimmu. The site is characterized by the distinct contrast between the emerald green waters of the Indus and the muddy brown flow of the Zanskar River.

Shey Palace

Former summer capital of Ladakh built in 1655. The complex features a monastery housing a 12-meter-high copper and gold-plated statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, which is the second-largest statue of its kind in the region.

Moebius1 / CC BY-SA 2.5

Tso Kar

The Tso Kar or Tsho kar is a fluctuating salt lake known for its size and depth situated in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern…

Stok Palace

Built in 1820, this palace remains the residence of the Ladakhi royal family. It contains a museum displaying royal artifacts, including traditional crowns, ancient coins, and 16th-century thangkas.