Hari Parbat, popularly known as Sharika Peeth, houses the temple of Sharika Devi, the presiding deity epitomizing the unity in diversity and religious tolerance of present-day Kashmir. It is the site of Durrani fort, built in 1808. It has the famous Shakti Temple on the western Slope and Muslim shrines of Makhdoom Sahib and Badakhshi on the southern slope. The Gurdwara Chatti Patshahi, a resplendent gateway that is sacred in Sikh culture is also present at the foot of the southern slope.

According to legend, the Hari Parbat hill was once a huge lake inhabited by the demon Jalobhava. The inhabitants called on the goddess for help. She took the form of a bird and dropped a pebble on the demon's head, which grew larger and larger until it crushed the demon. Hari Parbat is revered as that pebble, and is said to have become the home for all the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Another version of the myth says that two demons, Tsand and Mond, occupied the fair valley. Tsand hid in the water near the present location of Hari Parbat and Mond somewhere above the present Dal Gate, and both terrorized the people of the valley. The gods invoked Shakti who assumed the form of a Haer (myna) and flew to Sumer, picked up a pebble in her beak, and threw it on the demon Tsand to crush him. The pebble grew into a mountain. Hence was named Hari (myna) Parbhat. Parvati is worshipped as Sharika in Shri Tsakra (an emblem of cosmic energy pervading the universe) occupying the middle part of the western slope of the hill. The hill is also called Predemna Peet

Sharda Peeth, the Seat of Sharda, is thought to be an ancient center of learning and a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu Goddess of Learning, Sharda (manifestation of Goddess Saraswati), established in Sharda Village, Neelum Valley in 273 BC (present day Pakistan occupied Kashmir), even before the Takshila and Nalanda universities. The Temple university has been built near the confluence of Kishanganga and Madhumati Streams.

It is believed to have been founded in 237 BC during the reign of Ashoka. However, the origins of Sharada Peeth are uncertain. Some historians believe that it was built under the Kushan Empire while others believe that it was built by Lalitaditya because of similarities between Sharada Peeth and the Martand Sun Temple.

The shrine was taken up by Pakistan after Partition in 1947. Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, is 150 kilometers away, while Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is 130 kilometers away

Krimchi temples is a complex of seven ancient temples in Udhampur District in Jammu and Kashmir. It is located on bank of a stream Birunala in village Krimchi, 12 km from Udhampur. This group of temples is locally known as the Pandava Temples. According to the Archaeological Survey of India these temples were constructed during 8 to 9 century AD.

These temples were constructed in stages. It appears that temples No. 6 and 7 were damaged several centuries ago. Local belief holds that they go back to the protagonists of the Mahabharata War, or a late Pandava dynasty that ruled in Jammu and Kashmir. In ancient time Krimchi remained a big halting station. The Caravan carrying trade goods used to stay at Krimchi in the course of their journey to Kashmir valley. It was an ancient trade route from Kannauj to Kashmir. This place also, finds mentioned by Alberuni.

Many historians worked and wrote on Krimchi temples but each have a different opinion about the erection of these famous temples.

According to one version, the group of Krimchi temples in the vicinity of Udhampur are said to have been built in the reign of the Kushan King, Kanishka, that is, around 1st century A.D. whereas the local people of the region say that the Raja Kichak, a warrior of Mahabharta period, laid the foundation stone of Krimchi.

The ruins of an ancient fort of Krimchi kingdom near the temples are still there and the area of the fort has been maintained by the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA). From the fort one can see the scenic view of this beautiful group of temples.

Famously named as the “Rice Bowl Of Kashmir”, this quaint village in Jammu and Kashmir is a great place to witness the nature’s real beauty of the state. Situated at a distance of 40 Kms from Srinagar, this place has many tourist sites for the first time travelers to explore. This multi hued city offers amiable weather, pleasant odor saffron fields, malleable citizens. One cannot have enough of the saffron fields and the rich culture in Pulwama.

The Martand Temple was built by the third ruler of the Karkota Dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida during 725-756 CE. The foundation of the temple was laid around 370-500 CE by Ranaditya. The Martand Temple was a Kashmiri Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (Sun). Martand is another Sanskrit name for the Hindu god - Sun.

The temple was completely destroyed on the orders of Muslim ruler Sikandar Butshikan in the early 15th century, with a year long demolition. The ruins of the temple is located five miles from Anantnag in the Jammu and Kashmir. Amongst other interesting sights in the vicinity of Anantnag, the ruins of Martand Temple hold the first place and they are easy to access, being just 10 Kms from the main town.

​The Martand temple was built on top of a plateau from where one can view whole of the Kashmir Valley. From the ruins and related archaeological findings, it can be said it was an excellent specimen of Kashmiri architecture, which had blended the Gandharan, Gupta, Chinese, Roman, Syrian-Byzantine and Greek forms of architecture. The ruins of the Hindu temple of Martand, as it is commonly called, the Pandu-Koru or the house of Pandus and Korus, is situated on the highest part of a karewa above Islamabad.

Poonch Fort located in the district of Poonch in Jammu Kashmir is an important landmark in Indian history. This fort has witnessed many political and historical events which shaped the future of the region. It has more than 80 rooms that are elegantly designed and also accommodates a small mosque, a temple and a Gurdwara in its premises. This enthralling structure not only adds beauty to the city but it’s also an example of a living era in the course of time.
According to local sources the construction of fort was started by a Muslim Raja of Poonch, Abdul Razaq in 1701 A.D. Only isolated sections of the fort rampart wall on the southern side date back to this period most of which was constructed by Rustum Khan in 1779 A.D. A series of buildings located in the north-western corner of the fort complex date back to the Sikh period. Most of the buildings in this section of fort are said to have been constructed by either Misar Diwan Chand or Diwan Moti Ram, as per the local sources. The main building of the fort housing the Durbar Hall was constructed during the Dogra rule when Poonch was ruled by descendants of Raja Dhian Singh, brother of the first Dogra ruler of Kashmir, Maharaja Gulab Singh. The Durbar Hall building which was constructed by Raja Moti Singh in the closing part of the 19th century is modelled on European patterns.
The confines of the fort house several buildings oriented around open courtyards offering a mix of Mughal, Dogra and Colonial architectural styles. Much of the historic fabric of the fort complex has been lost during past reconstruction and repair practises and the destruction caused by the earthquake. In addition to the older structures in the fort, there are a number of newly constructed office buildings that further spoil the historic character of the complex. Despite the apathy facing the fort and the buildings therein, it still retains a historic character reminiscent of its bygone glory.

Peer Kho Cave Temple is where history, myth and legend all come together. Positioned on the bank of river Tawi, at a distance of 4km from Jammu city, it is extensively believed that a character from epic Ramayana named Jamvant, who was famously worshipped as the bear god had meditated in this cave. As per some of the historical records, the temple was built in 15th Century A.D., during the ruling regime of Raja Ajaib Dev, for the then Peer, Saint Siddha Ghareeb Nath. These caves are built underground and at a heart wrenching depth of twenty to thirty feet. Also known as the Jamvant cave, these caves are located on an altar of igneous rocks, laced with the sedimentary deposits from the river and are placed on the edges of a circular road in the Northeast of Jammu city and are surrounded by the acacia jungle.

The dome of the temple is an inverted lotus and is a modern structure made of stone. This dome serves as an entrance to the cave and is ornamented with beautiful paintings on the ceilings which resemble a strong and stark Mughal and Dogra influence with floral motifs at the centre of the dome. The paintings bear a close resemblance to the designs of paintings in the Ram Nagar palace complex, which is situated in the Udhampur District of the province of Jammu. The paintings portray an immense use of the colour indigo, which drives home the fact that the paintings belong to the erstwhile era of the 19th century of Jammu school of painting.

Interestingly it has an intricate network of tunnels which connect different shrines together and even to shrines outside India hence it is also believed to be the gateway to faith. There is a small opening to a low-level passage from the round domed entrance which leads to the Amarnath Cave or Guffa. There is also a temple of Lord Shiva in this cave. Another opening leads to the Nav Durga shrine, which has a temple that is populated with life size idols of Lord Vishnu, Lord Rama, Sita and other gods and goddesses. This thin route then opens up to another cave which is called the Nau Devi’s Guffa or the shrine of Nine Goddesses. This provides a brilliant view of statues of nine goddesses placed on a platform and the statues look elegant because of there decorated red sarees and unique craftsmanship. The Nine Goddesses are namely Shri Mata Sakandanatha Devi, Shri Mata Maha Devi, Shri Mata Shella Puri Devi, Shri Mata Bhadrachani Devi, Shri Mata Kushamandra Devi, Shri Mata Chandra Ghanta Devi, Shri Mata Kalarathri Devi, Shri Mata Katyani Devi and Shri Mata Siddhi Devi.

The temple is thronged by numerous devotees during the time of some of the prime festivals of Jammu. There is a culture of huge celebration during festivals amidst togetherness and reverence for each other and the feeling of brotherhood and love is eminent across the devotees of the temple in their conduct and their mannerisms.

Vaishno Devi Templ is located in the Trikuta mountains in Jammu. It is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimage places for Hindus in north India. The temple is at a height of 5,200 ft. The Goddess Shakti is worshipped here in forms of Maha Kali, Maha Saraswati and Maha Lakshmi. It is a cave temple and the shrine houses three sacred ‘pindis’ (stone representations), which are worshipped as the aforementioned goddesses.

The holy cave shrine is said to have been built by the Pandavas of the epic Mahabharata. The first reference to the goddess is found in Mahabharata, when the Pandavas and Kauravas were preparing for the war at Kurukshetra. On Lord Krishna's advice, Arjun is said to have meditated on the Mother Goddess seeking her blessings for the victory.

Another legend says that more than 700 years ago, Vaishno Devi, who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, had taken a vow of celibacy. One day another god, Bhairon Nath, saw her and chased after her. During the chase, the goddess felt thirsty and shot an arrow into the earth from where a spring gushed out. A place called, Charan Paduka is where she rested and it has the imprints of her feet. She later meditated in the cave at Ardhkanwari. Nine months later Bhairon Nath found her and the goddess blasted an opening through the other end of the cave. She then took the form of Maha Kali and beheaded Bhairon Nath. A temple of Bhairon Nath stands at the place where the severed head fell.

Shivalik Hills have remained an abode of pilgrims since ancient times. The rise of local rajas in Jammu embellished the city with a spurt of spiral-type temples all over the Jammu region during late 18th and 19th century. Raghunath temple was the first temple built by Gulab Singh dedicated for his guru Baba Prem Das located at Sui, 18 kilometres, west of Jammu however its construction was completed in 1860 by his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh. The temple complex is located in the old part of the Jammu city north of River Tawi with an average elevation of 350 m (1,150 ft) in Jammu and Kashmir.

As the name suggests this temple complex is dedicated to Raghunath which is another name for Rama. The complex consists of main shrine, an octagonal Hanuman temple and a pyramidal Samadhi of Prem Das which was buit in 1840 AD. One of the noticeable features of this style is the stucco decoration which is created on a brick core and finished with lime plaster. Be it the recurring motif of lotus petals, arches or niches, all show a combination of floral and geometric designs. The twenty feet square ‘garbha griha’ in the main shrine is surrounded by ten feet wide verandah like the ‘pradakshina path’. All inner walls are decorated with the wall paintings. These depict, other than mythological subjects drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharta, Bhagwat Puran, the secular scenes like Kabir working on a loom, Dogra and Sikh soldiers. These paintings are good examples of Jammu school of wall paintings and also provide a glimpse into the contemporary dresses worn by ladies and weapons carried by foot soldiers.

A distinct feature noted in the entire temple complex is the stucco style embellishments built with brick masonry and finished with plaster. The motifs crafted are of floral (lotuses) and geometric designs, on the walls, in the niches and on arches. Apart from paintings on the walls, the niches in the interior parts of the shrines have 300 well-crafted images of deities. The profusion of paintings and images on the internal and external faces of the temple was considered an auspicious feature, instead of leaving the wall surfaces blank. However, the images and murals on the outer walls of the temple have since been demolished.

During the reign of Ranbir Singh, the temple complex started a pathshala (school) which welcomed students from all castes and classes. The temple housed a library with some 6,000 manuscripts. These are mostly copies made from manuscripts not available for sale, in Devanagari from Sarada originals, by scribes employed by the library in the nineteenth century. The library added to its collection, in the 19th century, a dozen rare Sanskrit birch bark codices in the Sarada script as an object of curiosity. The collection as indexed by Stein, included Sanskrit manuscripts (predominantly Devanagari) of Vedic literature, grammar, lexicography, prosody, music, rhetoric, Kavya, drama, fables, dharmasutras, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Jyotisha, Architecture, Medicine, Epics, Puranas, Bhakti and Tantra.

The Raghunath temple still remains a significant scholarly source of Sarada script manuscripts and one of the largest collections of Hindu and Buddhist texts of the Kashmir tradition. The Raghunath temple has been an early promoter of digitization initiative of the manuscripts it houses, and has started the eGangotri initiative to digitize ancient manuscripts from other parts of India.

Chinar Dharohar, an outdoor museum located in Badami Bagh, Srinagar is a significant archaeological site hosting several excavated figurines and monoliths of 200 A.D. to 400 A.D origin. These include two large Shivalingas, seven Gandhara style sculptures, a huge rock fragment with carving of feet and a part of stone column. While the Shivalingas and rock fragment trace their origin between 200 A.D. to 400 A.D., the remaining monuments are from 600 - 750 A.D. The figurines were unearthed in 1982 during the construction of one of the Army Units in Badami Bagh Cantonment.

From Apr to Jun 2021, the rejuvenation of unearthed figurines was undertaken with a view to display them in themed manner as a heritage site. Research to ascertain the timeline and history of the monuments revealed antecedents of the unearthed figurines from original paper published in “Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol XVII 1848” by Gen A. Cunningham in 1866. It was analysed that the largest Shivalinga and the monolithic feet carvings are the part of “Chaturmukhalinga, A symbol of Pravaresvara” erected in 410 A.D.

Rejuvenation of ‘Chinar Dharohar’ involved radial disposition of figurines on raised platforms with archaeological details engraved on a stone plaque. Further details and photos of seven more figurines excavated from Badamibagh / Pandrethan in 1926 were obtained from SPS Museum Srinagar. Based on these details, scaled fiber replica were prepared and installed on the outer radial boundary of the museum.

Famously known as the ‘Meadow of Flowers’, Gulmarg is a treat to the eyes with its spread of vibrant flowers against snow capped mountains as backgrounds. Gulmarg is considered to be one of the best places to visit in Kashmir for all right reasons. This region of Kashmir is also known as the adventurer’s paradise because of its vast options of skiing in the snow while enjoying the views around.

Kargil is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh in India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located 204 kilometres (127 mi) to the east of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, and 234 kilometres (145 mi) to the west of Leh. It is the centre point of the Suru River.

The name Kargil is said to derive from the words Khar, meaning castle, and rKil means "centre". "Kargil denotes a place between many forts, a central place where people could stay". It appears to be a fitting description for a place that is equidistant from Srinagar, Leh and Skardu.

Historically, the region around Kargil was called Purig. A major study of the history of Purig is included in the 1987 book Qadeem Ladakh by Kacho Sikander Khan, which includes genealogies of various dynasties that ruled the region.

Srinagar is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and famous places to visit in Kashmir as well as in India. From boating to trekking, bird watching to water skiing, Srinagar place has it all. Locally this place is known as the mirror to the mountains, Srinagar is a first stopover for every traveler and there are a long list of places to visit in Srinagar, Kashmir. The largest city of Kashmir, this place is enclosed by the green mountains and the main highlight being the Dal Lake which is the gem of the city. This place gives a close outlook to the Kashmiri cuisine and the state’s culture.

Sonamarg, as the name suggests, is famous as the ‘Meadow of Gold’. An endless stream of stunning flowers and undulated trekking routes are its attractions. Sonamarg has to be in every visitors’ list of places to visit in Kashmir for its mesmerizing aura and breathtaking views. The best season to visit Kashmir would be in summer i.e. May-June when the valley is blooming with variegated flowers.

Amarnath is a heaven for pilgrims and is counted among the top places to visit in Kashmir. Worshippers of Lord Shiva visit this place every year to take blessings and witness the enshrined image of Shiva which is popularly called Shivaling. People from all over the world resort to this place and indulge in the well-known ‘Amarnath Yatra’. It is believed that this is the same cave where Lord Shiva told about the secret of life and eternity to Goddess Parvati. If you are a true follower of Lord Shiva then make sure that you include this attraction in your Kashmir tour itinerary.

Shalimar garden was established in the year 1616 by the well-known Emperor Jehangir especially for his wife, Nur Jahan. After some time, another garden named Faiz Baksh was added to this one. You’ll find a canal inside the garden that has been embellished with polished stones at the boundaries. This canal at the center of the garden is considered to be the focal point here.

Baltal is one of the most famous places in Kashmir and it owes its popularity to its picturesque environment. It is only 14 km away from Amarnath caves and offers a base for the devotees to spend a night. The staggering beauty of this valley makes it one of the most amazing kashmir tourist places. You must visit this place as it is located at a convenient location from Srinagar and Pahalgam.

Pari Mahal or The Angels’ Abode is a seven terraced garden located at the top of Zabarwan mountain range over-looking city of Srinagar and south-west of Dal Lake The architecture depicts an example of Islamic architecture and patronage of art during the reign of the then Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
The Pari Mahal was built by Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh in the mid-1600s. It served as a library and an abode for him. Dara Shikoh was said to have lived in this area in the years 1640, 1645, and 1654. It was further used as an observatory, useful for teaching astrology and astronomy.
It is five-minute drive from Cheshmashahi Garden.

Parihaspora is a small town 22 km northwest of Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley. It was built on a plateau above the Jhelum River. Parihaspora is also known as Parihaspur and Paraspur. The present name of the place is Paraspore which is derived from the original Sanskrit name of the city, Parihaspur.

It was built by Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty i 695–731 CE. He moved his capital from Srinagar to Parihaspur. According to Kalhana's Rajatarangini, Lalitaditya built his residence and four temples in this area. The temples included one for Vishnu (Muktakeshva) where according to Kalhana the emperor used 84,000 tolas of gold to make the image of Vishnu. In another temple he used as many Palas of silver for the image of Parihaskesana. He also had made a statue of Buddha in copper that according to Kalhana "reached up to the sky." The main temple was larger than the famous temple that Lalitaditya built in Martand.

Parihaspur lost its status as a capital after Lalitaditya's death. His son moved the royal residence. The real destruction occurred when Avanti Varman's son Shankar Varman moved his capital to the new city of Shankarpur. According to Kalhana he cannibalized all the "good material" from these temples and palaces to build his city of Shankarpur (Pattan).

Parihaspur however survived the pillage because Kalhana mentions that during the war between King Harsha and Uccala (1089–1101 AD), Uccala took refuge in Parihaspur. King Harsha believing that Uccala was in one of the buildings set the place on fire. He broke and melted down the statues of Parihaspur. The final blow to the temples came when Sultan Sikandar destroyed them completely in the fourteenth century.

Only ruins in the form of large boulders, some ornately carved, and in situ carved footings are left of the old city now, and the place is commonly known as "Kani Shahar" (City of Stones) to local residents. Some of the finest examples of the carved figures of seated and standing atlantes have been taken to the Srinagar Museum.

M.A.Stein first visited the place in 1892 and was able to place each of these constructions based on ruins that he found at that time. Stein also thinks that the village Gurdan near Parihaspur comes from Govardhana. Govardhana dhara is one of the names of Vishnu. Apparently Maharaja of Kashmir was building the Jhelum cart road and using the Parihaspur ruins as road material.

Right in the middle of the Nubra valley stands its oldest and largest monastery – the beautiful and milky white Diskit Monastery. Diskit Monastery is located at an altitude of 3142 just above the flood plains of the Shyok River, on its right bank in the Diskit village. This valley is also called as the “Orchard of Ladakh”, because of its lush green meadows.

The Diskit monastery was founded by Changzem Tserab Zangpo in the 14th century. Ladakh was then ruled by King Grags-pa-‘bum-lde (1400–1440) and his brother, who unsuccessfully attempted to usurp Nubra Valley, which was under a local ruler named Nyig-ma-grags-pa. The local ruler assisted a Gelugpa order advocate to build the monastery at Diskit and deify the idol of Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelugpa sect, in the monastery.

During the rule of King Blogros-chog-idan (1440–1470) who had even controlled western Tibet, Panchen Lha-btsun, a resident of Nubra Valley by birth, studied in Tibet and later became a regent to the founder of Tashilhunpo Monastery and finally during his last stage of life returned to Nubra. In 1500, Ladakh was ruled by Bkra-shis-rnam-rgyal, who fought the invader Mirza Haider of Central Asia, in Nubra and close to Leh, finally defeated the latter and thus bringing Nubra under Ladakh King’s rule. Even then, the local chieftains still yielded power in Diskit and Hundar.

Shia Muslims started settling in Nubra after this war. Bkra-shis-rnam-rgyal’ son, Tshedbang-rnam-rgyal ruled Ladakh from 1530 and expanded his kingdom. At that time, Nubra people prevailed on him and preventing him from invading Hor in Xinjiang, as trade with Yarkand was considered crucial to Nubra. During the reign of Jams-dbang-rnam-rgyal, historical records indicate that a regular tribute payment was made by the Nubra people to the king.

The King Bde-‘Idanrnam-rgyal (1620–45) successfully defeated Baltistan and the Mughals. Rgyal kings were very religious and built mani walls throughout their kingdom. Monks were specially engaged to recite hymns of Mani-tung chur in Nubra Valley and in other surrounding areas. In mid eighteenth century, Tshe-dbang-rnam-rgyal gave away the control of Diskit monastery to the Rinpoche of Thikse Monastery and this arrangement has been perpetuated to this day. Since then, Diskit is considered a sub-gompa of Thikse.

At the footsteps of monastery a marvelous, gigantic statue of Jampa (Maitreya) Buddha is situated. This impressive 32 metre (106 foot) statue on top of a hill below the monastery, faces down the Shyok River towards Pakistan and, most of the money for its construction came from local donations. The statue's construction was started in April 2006 and it was consecrated by the Dalai Lama on 25 July 2010. Mr. Nophel says the statue was built with three main functions in mind - protection of Diskit Village, prevention of further war with Pakistan, and to promote world peace.

The monastery houses about 100 monks and also runs a school for Tibetan Children. The school has been upgraded recently to enable teaching of scientific subjects with support from the Lungtda, a 'Tibet Support Group' (a non-governmental organization) that has created computer facilities in the school. Lungta has trained the monks of the monastery in computer skills and in the English language so that they could in turn teach the children of the school.

Likir Monastery or "water spirits" gompa, one of the oldest in Ladakh region, dates back to the year 1065, belongs to the Tsongkhapa Order. During the reign of Lhachen Gyalpo, the fifth king of Ladakh, Lama Duwang Chosje was offered land for building this monastery 52 km from Leh. The monastery became renowned as Likir (meaning- 'the Naga encircled') because it was encircled by the bodies of the two great serpent spirits, the naga- rajas (Nanda & Taksako). The monastery was burnt down in 15th century. The present gompa is an 18th century construction that has a rich collection of paintings, robes and artifacts.

Likir is mentioned in the Ladakhi chronicles as having been erected by King Lhachen Gyalpo (Lha-chen-rgyal-po) (c. 1050-1080 CE). It presumably, originally belonged to the early Kadampa order of Tibetan Buddhism. When Francke visited the monastery in 1909 he was shown a long inscription written in black ink on a wall which outlined the history of the monastery. Francke had it copied and interprets it as follows:

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"King Lha-chen-rgyal-po founded the monastery in the 11th century. In the 15th century, Lama Lha-dbang-chos-rje converted the lamas to the reformed doctrines of the Ge-lug-pa order, and thus founded the monastery afresh as a Ge-lug-pa establishment. Then it is stated that seven generations after Lha-chen-rgyal-po, King Lha-chen-dngos-grub [c. 1290-1320] arose, and that he introduced the custom of sending all the novices to Lhasa. This statement is found in exactly the same words as we find in the rGyal-rabs"

Likir Monastery

Eighteen generations later King bDe-legs-rnam-rgyal reigned, but his name had been erased from the inscription because he embraced Islam after the battle of Basgo in 1646-1647. The inscription itself is dated to the reign of King Thse-dbang-rnam-rgyal II, who repaired the monastery after a conflagration. Below the monastery was a large chorten with frescoes inside representing Tsongkapa and other lamas of his time. The monastery currently has approximately 120 Buddhist monks and a school with almost thirty students. The Central Institute of Buddhist Studies runs it and teaches in three languages, Hindi, Sanskrit and English.

Overlooking the Himalayan Leh town, on the top of Tsemo Hill lies the former palace or residence of Royals known as Leh Palace. Locally, the Palace is also known as Lhachen Palkar. It is a 9 storied structure one of its own kind erected in the 17th century. Indeed it was the tallest of all structures during its heydays.

It is believed that the Leh Palace was built by Singge Namgyal (1590-1635 AD) around 1600 AD. This palace was actually built by his father however the site, was chosen by King Singge hence he is credited for this beautiful palace located on a unique elephant head shaped ridge. It was built to house the royal family, hence four ministers and sixty elders completed this architecture in a period of three years and due to King’s urge to keep his building unrivalled in the region, the right hand of mater mason was chopped off.

But when the Dogras captured this area in 1836, this palace was partially destroyed, which forced the family to move to Stok permanently, which made the palace further redundant.

This palace is an ensemble of several structures that crown the ridge of Namgyal Tsemo. Beside the main palace, the ridge comprises several structures of importance which include the palace fort of Tashi Namgyal, several religious structures, chortens and royal stables. It is undoubtedly the finest example of palace architecture in the entire Ladakh region. It is one of the most imposing structures ever built on the Ladakhi Soil. The palace has nine levels, the lower level has rooms for staff and servants, storage spaces for animals, fodder and wood. The upper level had apartments for the royal family, two small temples, a throne room, reception halls and rooms for religious purposes. In the middle of the building, at fourth level, is a small courtyard which was the main congregation place for any social or cultural activity.

Leh palace dominates the entire Leh townscape due to its sheer stark façade. Its east facades’s battered walls incline to provide the structural strength, the side and rear facades constittuw of numerous balconies and windows to break the monotony of the vast surface. The structural system of the building is simple and typical, heavier base and lighter top. Surprisingly it follows a no foundation system as the building directly rests on the granite rock beneath, followed by a fine framework of timber beams, which counters any lateral movement due to an earthquake, which is very common in this region.

This palace even after being decayed by the passage of time and stormy winds, preserves the most exquisite works of art in the fourth level and multiple ornamental carvings done on beams and columns in the hall of audience at the fifth level and the throne room at the seventh level, which further adds to the grandeur of this majestic palace.