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…
Must-see attractions in Kashmir & Ladakh
Srinagar
Over 15km around, Dal Lake is Srinagar's jewel, a vast sheet of water reflecting the carved wooden balconies of the houseboats and the misty peaks of the…
Ladakh
Glorious Thiksey Gompa is one of Ladakh’s biggest and most recognisable monasteries, photogenically cascading down a raised rocky promontory. At its heart…
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…
Srinagar
This distinctively spired 1730s Muslim pilgrim hall is Srinagar’s most beautiful mosque. It was constructed without any nails, and both frontage and…
Kashmir & Ladakh
Set in a sharp mountain gully 11km northeast of Kargil, the tumbledown ghost village of Hundarman is a remarkable sight. Rocky crags tower above, a…
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…
Srinagar
Of all Srinagar's Mughal gardens, Nishat Bagh is arguably the most appealing, with beautiful water features that frame a lovely lake panorama. It's on…
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…
Nubra Valley
Directly above Old Diskit, a 2km spaghetti of hairpins winds up to this photogenic monastery complex, much of which dates to between the 14th and 17th…
Ladakh
Lamayuru's gompa is one of the most photogenic Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh. Behind glass within the gompa’s main prayer hall is a tiny cave-niche in…
Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Five fingers of glacier descend from a fine array of Alpine peaks in the parallel valley behind Sonamarg. The scene is best appreciated from a small…
Leh
Founded in the late 14th century as See-Thub (Exemplary) Monastery, impressive Spituk Gompa surveys the Sengye Tsangpo (Indus) Valley, with surreal views…
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…
Kashmir & Ladakh
One of Zanskar's most important monasteries, Stongdey Gompa doesn't look like much when viewed from below, but it crowns a bird’s-eye perch with…
Srinagar
On the strategically and spiritually significant Koh-e-Maran hill, north of the city centre, is this powerful qila (fort), which dates to the 6th century…
Ladakh
Spectacularly viewed across barley fields and buckthorn bushes, Chemrey village is dominated by the beautifully proportioned Thekchhok Gompa covering a…
Ladakh
Restored by the army in the late 1990s, this tiny white cube of a temple is said to date back to the time of the 'Great Translator' Ringchen Zangpo (10th…
Ladakh
Predating Hemis Monastery by several centuries, Gotsang is a hillside hermitage with two attractive main temple buildings. The main shrine is the mountain…
Leh
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…
Kashmir & Ladakh
In a cave within a forested mountain rising steeply above Katra, the Vaishno Devi Shrine was popularised in the 1990s songs of Gulshan Kumar, and has…
Srinagar
On top of thickly forested Shankaracharya Hill, this small Shiva temple is built from hefty blocks of ancient grey stone. Previously known as Takht-i…
Kashmir & Ladakh
In the 1890s the Dogra maharajas moved from the Mubarak Mandi to this European-style brick mansion in the north of town, with castle-style miniturrets and…
Leh
Visible from virtually everywhere in Leh, 16th-century Tsemo (Victory) Fort is a defining landmark that crowns the top of Palace Ridge, though there's…
Ladakh
The trio of millennium-old temple chambers at Manggyu share many of the features that you'll see at the world-famous Choskhor temple complex at Alchi but…
Ladakh
This stately three-storey edifice was built in 1820 by King Tsepal Namgyal – a good investment, it turned out, since 14 years later his larger main palace…
Nubra Valley
The Yabgo rajas of Chorbat-Baltistan trace their dynasty back to Central Asia, and have had a palace in Turtuk from at least the 15th century. What…
Ladakh
Rising above Basgo village on a surreal collection of eroded earthen pinnacles are the photogenic stubs of a once-great palace dating from when Basgo was…
Nubra Valley
At 5602m, Khardung La is claimed (and disputed) to be the world’s highest motorable pass. A plethora of prayer flags festoons a flanking chaos of rocks…
Kashmir & Ladakh
Bardan Gompa is a fortress-like monastery with a spectacular setting atop a rocky outcrop commanding an S-bend in the Lugnak Valley. The main prayer hall…
Kashmir & Ladakh
The three-storey ruin of a 17th-century royal palace sits on a crag surveying Zangla village and the valley looking north towards Hanamur. From 1823,…
Ladakh
This expansive, 17th-century monastery is the spiritual centre of Ladakh’s Drukpa Buddhists; it was the fifth Gyaling Drukpa who founded Hemis after…
Nubra Valley
Remote 600-year-old Ensa Monastery, 35km north of Sumur on the west bank of the Nubra, feels like it's close to the end of the world. The monastery itself…
Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Naranag has two enigmatic 8th-century Shiva temple ruins in a beautiful valley setting that gives one the impression of having stumbled across a great…
Ladakh
Perched on a impressive ridge above the village, this little-visited gompa commands stupendous valley views. Ladakh's only major Sakya Buddhist monastery,…
Leh
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…
Ladakh
Sitting on a knoll in the heart of Phyang, this large Drigung Kagyud school monastery complex has been heavily rebuilt in the last decade but its core…
Kashmir & Ladakh
At the far side of a wide plain around 2½ hours’ walk from Padum, Karsha Gompa is Zanskar’s largest Buddhist monastery. Dating to at least the 10th…
Ladakh
Little visited, Chiktan's shattered palace ruins are a startlingly dramatic sight. Originally the 16th-century palace of the Chiktan royals, the structure…
Ladakh
The golden form of Ney's 21st-century Buddha statue is claimed to be 26m tall. In reality it looks about half that high but is still an impressive sight…
