Leh town is still dominated by the ruined Leh Palace, former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace.(The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama Leh connects via National Highway to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali via Leh-Manali Highway in the south. Leh was an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet, Kashmir and also between India and China for centuries. The main goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere wool, Silk yarn and Banaras brocade.
Leh Palace: The royal palace, known as Leh Palace, was built by King Sengge Namgyal .The Leh Palace is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, and the stables and store rooms are located on the lower floors.The Palace Museum holds a rich collection of jewellery, ornaments, ceremonial dresses and crowns. Chinese thangka or sooth paintings which are more than 450 years old, with intricate designs, retain bright and pleasing colours derived from crushed and powdered gems and stones.[ Every year Sindhu Darshan Festival is held at Shey, 15 km away from town to promote religious harmony and glory of Indus (Sindhu) river. At this time, Leh is packed with thousands of tourist coming from all over India, as well as foreign countries