Leh Palace also known as Lachen Palkar Palace
is a former royal palace overlooking the city of
Leh in
Ladakh,
India.
It was constructed circa 1600 by
Sengge Namgyal
Sengge Namgyal (''Sen-ge-rnam-rgyal'', c. 1570–1642) was a 17th-century Namgyal dynasty King of Ladakh, India from 1616 to his death in 1642. A Buddhist, he was noted for his immense work in building monasteries, palaces and shrines in Ladakh ...
.
The palace was abandoned when
Dogra
The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himac ...
forces took control of Ladakh in the mid-19th century and forced the royal family to move to
Stok Palace.
It is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, while the lower floors held stables and store rooms.
Much of the palace is in deteriorated condition, and little survives of its interior decorations.
The Palace Museum holds a rich collection of jewellery, ornaments, ceremonial dresses and crowns.
Tibetan thangka or paintings, which are more than 450 years old, with intricate designs still retain the bright colours derived from crushed and powdered gems and stones. Structures around the palace's base include the prominent Namgyal Stupa(Tibetan:གཙུག་གཏོར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་མ།, Sanskrit: Uṣṇīṣavijayā),the colourfully muralled Chandazik Gompa. (Tibetan:སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས།,Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर/ Avalokiteśvara) and the 1430 Chamba Lhakhang(Tibetan:བྱམས་པ་མགོན་པོ། Sanskrit:मैत्रेय/ Maitreya Buddha) with medieval mural fragments located between the inner and outer walls.
The palace is being restored by the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
.
The palace is open to the public and the roof provides panoramic views of Leh and the surrounding areas.
Gallery
File:Leh Palace in night.jpg, Leh Palace lit at night during the Galdan Namchot
Galdan Namchot is a festival celebrated in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and many regions of Himalaya, particularly in Ladakh, India. It is to commemorate the birth as well as parinirvana (death) and the Buddhahood of Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419 AD), a ...
festival.
File:Leh Palace Morning View.jpg, Leh Palace, Morning view (2021)
See also
*
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is a ''dzong'' fortress in Lhasa, Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World Heritage Site since 1994.
The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythi ...
, built in 1645 in the same architectural style
References
{{Reflist
Buildings and structures in Ladakh
Palaces in Ladakh
Ruined palaces
Leh
Tourism in Ladakh