Our Leh Heritage walk is a day tour visit to Leh Old Town. In a day we will be completing total 28 heritage sites, there is so much to learn, see and capture in a day. It will start from Lala’s Art Cafe which was saved from demolition in 2006, now it is successfully transformed into gallery cum café serving the old town and offering Ladakhi and international artists and photographers a small platform to exhibit their work.
The tour will start at 10 in the morning and you will be visiting the antique yet the well preserved site one by one as follow
1. Namgyal Tsemo Tower and Chapel, built by King Tashi Namgyal
2. Tsemo Lhamo Goenkhang (protector temple), built by King Tashi Namgyal after visiting over an invading army from Yarkand in 1532.
3. Tsemo Chamba Lhakhang (Maitreya Temple), built by Tragspa Bumde (r.ca. 1400-1440)
4. Leh Palace, Leh-chen Pel-Khar, built by King Senge Namgyal) (r.ca, 1616-1642), since the overthrow of the dynasty in the mid-19th century vacated, currently owned by the Indian government, restored by the Archeological survey of India.
5. Namgyal Choerten, Buddhist Stupa to protect the palace.
6. Guru Lhakhang, a Buddhist Shrine built in the early 17th century and operated by 44 Buddhist families of Leh, restored 2004-2005 by THF/L.O.T.
7. Lonpo House, formerly the residence of one of the king’s ministers, presently owned by Chemrey monastery.
8. Gonpa Soma built in 1840 by Lama Tashi Tenpal above the old royal stables.
9. Gonpa Soma’s chamra courtyard; here the Ladakhi group LASOL perform traditional songs and dances.
10. Red Chamba Lhakhang; the red temple of Maitreya was built by king Tragspa Bumde (ca. 1400-1440); it was restored in the 19th century after a Dogra invasion, and again in the 1950’s when it was partly rebuilt. In 2005 THF/L.O.T.I. discovered underneath whitewash remains of the original 15th century wall paintings. These were brought back and conversed by a group of Romanian, German, Belgian and Ladakhi restorers and restoration students.
11. Chenrezi Lhakhang (temple of Avalokiteshvara), built in the 17th century as main monastic assembly hall of Leh.
12. :akruk house, one of the best-preserved old leh mansion houses, currently the office of THF/L.O.T.I.
13. Stupa gate.
14. Stalam (horse road) leading up to the palace.
15. Munshi house, formarly home to a royal secretary, under conversion into an art center by the Mumbai based group Lamo.
16. White Champa Lhakhang, the white Maitreya temple, also credited to king Tragspa Bumde in the 15th century.
17. Manikhang, a group of Stupas close to the now demolished main entrance gate to old Leh town.
18. Sankar house formerly the home of the keeper of the white Maitreya temple, now a gallery cum café operated by THF/L.O.T.I; in the groundfloor is a chapel room with stone carvings =, and upstairs are exhibitions about the history of Leh and art by Ladakhi artists.
19. Jama Masjid, Sunni mosque, founded around 1666/7
20. Stupa gate to old town
21. Chutayrangtak street, where bread is freshly baked
22. Tsas Soma Masjid Sharif (Sunni0
23. Shi’a Masjid-e-Sharif
24. Leh Jokhang, the new main Buddhist temple for Leh built in 1957-1962 by the Ladakh Buddhist association
25. Stupa gate
26. Old carved gateway to the former Tehsildar office
27. Stagopilog stupagate, THF/L.O.T.I. paved the alley with slate stone and built a drain, and restored the historic Sofi and Hor Yarkandi houses
28. Mani Wall
The tour ends…
Dear Overland Escape, My family just returned back from Leh and we all agreed that we left part of our heart there - and one of the biggest reasons why was our experience with the team at Overland Escape. From the moment we arrived everything was smooth and the orientation and meetings at the hotel were very helpful. We were expertly driven to see the sights with Doulje and we ...
Our trip was even more memorable and enjoyable because of the facilities that Overland Escape provided us.Mr. Tunduk Namgyal, who drove us in and around Ladakh , was very well versed with the roads, had an excellent idea about the climate and all the information & history about the places we visited. Overland provided us excellent hotel arrangements and made sure our trip was one of the best ever....
It's been a week since we've returned to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong and we haven't stopped raving and reminiscing about the fabulous time we had trekking from Raru to Shang Sumdo. We just wanted you to know that we have really enjoyed having Namgyal as our guide. His enthusiasm to share his knowledge of the wildlife and the local culture has enriched the experience of our trek ...
Overland Escape helped us discover the amazing Nubra Valley, then guided us through the spectacular Markha Valley trek and also arranged for a successful summit bid on Kang Yatze 2 (6200m). An amazing trek! Overland were professional and friendly. Our guide (Namgyal) and support team were fantastic and we would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to experience the wonders of Ladakh. We would love to return and will certainly be ...
Thank you very much for your all Support & Service.Hotel, Bike & tents all the services are up to the Mark. We must say the correct and prompt support from Your Side was appreciable. Guest is Satisfied and Happy with All Services. Thanks Again for Making Tour Memorabe!
That’s about all Ladhkhi I could learn in one week from Tundup.Recently my wife and me had the pleasure of visiting Leh and some of the popular surrounding areas like Ule / Lamayuru, Nubra Valley and Pangong lake.Our visit was from July 3 to 10, 2016 and was indeed a very nice trip. This was made possible because of the 2 persons who attended and took care of us.One was Mr ...
We would like to let you know that we enjoyed the trekking (22th august - 3 september from Padum to Dat) with your organisation very much!We had a very good time, and enjoyed the beautiful landscape of Zanskar and Rupshu.The team we travelled with was great! ( Sonam, Samstan, Sonam Tashi). We had a very good time with them.Thanks for everything, we will keep it in mind as a ...
It was a great experience with Overland Escape. The team that travelled with us - Thinles, Dawa and Norbu were such wonderful people. We never had issues with the bikes while riding. Norbu was the most fun. Despite us having girls in the group, they were comfortable to travel in the car and with your team.I would like to thank Thinles, Dawa and Norbu for traveling with us and ...
We are extremely happy with Sikkim trip. Sikkim people were really friendly and I have zero complains from the trip. Things that really went well. Driver was very mature and handled tough situations well. He ensured safety and very capable of handling tough terrains. Teen taley resort is highly recommended. The resort had nice garden, friendly people and organic food. They took care well. Anil and driver took care of ...
The weather during the trekking was so good as the service of Tundup Dorjey, the director of Overland Escape.My guide Sanggye (not sure the spell of his name) was so supportive on every details. As a Korean group, we ate Kimchi, which bad smell, but he helped me on cutting it and cooked. Thank you guys very much again. I hope to see you again and again.
