Leh Ladakh

Leh is the largest town and capital of the Leh district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Leh is located at an altitude of 3,524 metres (11,562 ft), and is the headquarters for the Leh district. Leh is connected to the rest of India by two passes: the Khardung La Pass and the Chang La Pass. The Leh district is bordered by the Kargil district to the west, the Kashmir Valley to the south, the Zanskar Range to the east and the Kunlun Range to the north. The Leh district has a population of 147,433, and the majority of the population are Buddhists. In October 2014, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was upgraded to a full-fledged district. The Ladakh region was once part of the Tibetan kingdom and is ethnically and culturally similar to Tibet. The Leh district is home to many Buddhist monasteries, including the Thiksey Monastery, the Shey Monastery, the Stok Monastery, the Hemis Monastery, the Matho Monastery, and the Phyang Monastery. The Leh Palace is a nine-storey palace located in the centre of Leh that was built in the 17th century. The Sankar Gompa is a Buddhist monastery located in the Leh district that is home to a large statue of the seated Buddha. The Chamba-Lamayuru-Padum trek is a popular trekking route in the Leh district that passes through the Chang La Pass, the Khardung La Pass, the Lamayuru Monastery, and the Zanskar Range. The Leh district is home to the Shanti Stupa, a white stupa located on a hill in the centre of Leh that was built in the early 1980s by the Japanese Buddhist monk Nichidatsu Fujii. The Leh