Leh is located to the north of the Indus River at an elevation of 3600m above the sea level. The town is dominated by the nine-storey Namgyal Palace and Namgyal Tsemo (victory peak), built by Tashi Namgyal on his victorious in reunification of the Upper and Lower Ladakh.

In the later period, Leh became an important center for trade in Central Asia. Leh remained merely a headquarter of Ladakh district until 1974, when Ladakh was opened for foreign tourists. Since then period Leh became the centre for tourism related activities in the region.

Leh is also a good base for longer day trips out into the Indus Valley. Among the string of picturesque villages and Gompas within reach by