Forts, Palaces, and Mansions of Ladakh

Text and Photographs by Mr. Sachin Vaidya Leh Palace (Lehchen Pelkhar) is the most popular tourist destination in Ladakh. Ladakh is an union territory in India. However, Tsemo Castle, even though near to  Leh Palace,  is not visited by many tourists.  Leh town is at an altitude of 11,562 ft. There are two ways of approaching Tsemo Castle. Firstly, tourists can visit Leh Palace and then walk / drive to  Tsemo Castle. The route to  Leh Palace has been explained in my post (within the same blog) on  Leh Palace. The second route is walking from Sankar Gompa. (Buddhist monastery is called Gompa in Ladakh). This is a long route and can be explored after minimum two nights acclimatization in Leh. Following is the deity at  Tsemo  Gompa: Tsemo Gompa and  Tsemo   Castle are adjacent to each other. They are visible from terrace of Leh Palace.  Tsemo Gompa is also called Namgyal  Tsemo Gompa. Namgyal  Tsemo Gompa, or the Te...