{{short description|Former royal palace in Ladakh}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox historic building |name = Leh Palace |native_name = གླེ་ཆེན་དཔལ་མཁར། |image = Leh Palace 2011.jpg |image_size = |alt = The Leh Palace |caption = The Leh Palace |location_town = Leh |location_country = India |pushpin_map = India Ladakh#India |map_caption = Location in India |pushpin_relief = y |pushpin_label = Leh Palace |coordinates = {{Coord|format=dms|display=it}} |location = Ladakh |current_tenants = |architect = |floor_area = |construction_start_date = |completion_date = {{circa}}{{start date and age|1600}} |architectural_style = |size = |website = |mapframe = yes }} '''Leh Palace''', also known as '''Lachen Palkar Palace''',<ref name=wmf>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wmf.org/project/leh-old-townleh-palace|title = Leh Old Town/Leh Palace|publisher=World Monuments Fund}}</ref> is a former royal palace overlooking the city of Leh in Ladakh, India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgSGu1v9XyIC&pg=PA130|title=Ladakh: Architectural Heritage|last=Sharma|first=Janhwij|date=2003|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=9788124109793|pages=130–131|language=en}}</ref> It was constructed circa 1600 AD by Sengge Namgyal.<ref name=":0" /> The palace was abandoned when Dogra forces took control of Ladakh in the mid-19th century and forced the royal family to move to Stok Palace.
==Details==
It is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, while the lower floors held stables and store rooms.<ref name=":0" /> Much of the palace is in deteriorated condition, and little survives of its interior decorations.<ref name=":0" />
==Palace Museum ==
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 muraled 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.
==Conservation and restoration==
The palace is being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India.<ref name=":0" /> The palace is open to the public and the roof provides panoramic views of Leh and the surrounding areas.
==Festival== {{see also | Tourism_in_Ladakh#Festivals | l1= Festivals in Ladakh }}
The annual Dosmoche festival is celebrated around February in Leh Palace as well as the Likir and Diskit monasteries.<ref name="Leh Likir Dosmoche">{{cite web|title=Leh, Likir Dosmoche begins|url=http://news.statetimes.in/leh-likir-dosmoche-begins/|access-date=3 March 2018}}</ref>
==Transport==
{{anchor | Ropeway}} Leh Palace Ropeway, proposed in 2022 as part of Parvatmala, is in the planning stage.<ref>[https://www.firstpost.com/india/centre-plans-to-begin-work-on-18-ropeway-projects-spanning-90-km-in-next-few-months-11390871.html Centre plans to begin work on 18 ropeway projects spanning 90 km in next few months], FirstPost, 5 Oct 2022.</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery caption="Leh Palace" mode="packed"> File:Leh Palace in night.jpg|Leh Palace lit at night during the Galdan Namchot festival. File:Leh Palace Morning View.jpg|Leh Palace, Morning view (2021) </gallery>
==See also== *Potala Palace, built in 1645 in the same architectural style.<ref name=wmf/>
==References== {{Commons category|Leh Palace}} {{Reflist}} Category:Leh Category:Palaces in Ladakh Category:Ruined palaces Category:Tourism in Ladakh