#10 See the fascinating collection of the Ladakhi royal family’s most precious heirlooms at Stok
Visible from Leh, at the head of a huge moraine, the elegant four-storey Stok Palace overlooks barley terraces studded with whitewashed farmhouses.
Built early in the nineteenth century by the last ruler of independent Ladakh, it has been the official residence of the Ladakhi royal family since they were ousted from Leh and Shey two hundred years ago.
The present queen mother Deskit Wangmo still lives here during the summer, and has converted one wing of her 77-room palace into a small museum.
The fascinating collection comprises some of the royal family’s most precious heirlooms, including exquisite sixteenth-century thangkas illuminated with paint made from crushed rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The pièces de résistance, however, are the gyalmo’s peraks; still worn on important occasions, the ancient headdresses are encrusted with slabs of flawless turquoise, polished coral, lapis lazuli and nuggets of pure gold.
#11 Visit the magnificent gompa of Chemrey
Clinging like a swallow’s nest to the sides of a conical hill, the magnificent gompa of Chemrey sees very few visitors because of its location – tucked up the side-valley that runs from Karu, below Hemis, to the Chang La pass into Pangong.
Founded in 1664 as a memorial to King Sengge Namgyal, the monastery is staffed by a dwindling community of around twenty Drugpa monks and their young novices. Its main Du-khang, off the courtyard on the lower level, boasts a fine silver chorten and a set of ancient Tibetan texts whose title pages are illuminated with gold-and-silver calligraphy.
Upstairs in the revamped Guru-La-khang sits a giant brass statue of Padmasambhava. The museum on the top floor houses statues, thangkas, scrolls and utensils.
#12 Conquer Khardung La, one of the world’s highest stretches of road
First things first – Khardung La is not the world’s highest stretch of road, driveable or otherwise. There are at least two loftier places in Tibet, and another in Bolivia, while the highest of the lot opened in late 2017 in the southeast of Ladakh: Umling La, which tops out at just over 5800m.
Regardless, Khardung La is probably still the most dramatic of the lot, and it makes for an exciting journey. Most of the route north from Leh to Nubra is now good, metalled road, though there’s still around 7km of rough, bus-battering surface on either side of the pass; the ascent from Leh (1h 30min–2hr) is rapid, and on the way you may luck out and see planes landing at the airport, 20km away and a full 2km below – a wonderfully weird feeling.