12 December 2020
Leh Palace: Abandoned Bastion of the Himalayas
The ASI considers the palace to be one of its most important buildings. It is vital to archaeologists’ understanding of just how advanced the structural engineering of its Tibetan builders truly was. It is also pivotal in their understanding and appreciation of the history and culture of Ladakh. Yet for the most part the palace is slowly mouldering away. Its restoration is a truly monumental task which is expected to take many years, something which is not helped by the graffiti that some visitors insist on leaving to mark their visit.
Inside, the palace is a seemingly never-ending labyrinth of dark and bare rooms with low ceilings. As you might imagine, for a place which has been abandoned for almost 200 years anything of value has long since been removed - the structural shell is all that is left in most parts of the palace. It is difficult to imagine from the interior that it was the seat of power in the region for hundreds of years.
Yet all one needs is a little imagination to picture its original splendor.
Of course from the outside one can instantly see what a glorious sight the palace must have been to those seeing it for the first time.
Even before the palace there had been fortifications above the town for at least a hundred years. However, the view of the town of Leh from its roof is something else entirely. Leh Old Town is an extraordinary example of a complete historic Tibeto-Himalayan urban site.
There are several hundred mud and timber buildings inside the four hundred year old city walls – so very rare in a place where most people traditionally opted for a nomadic lifestyle. Despite many years of neglect, with many of the wealthier families leaving as the local economy declined, the historic character of the old town is largely intact.
You get an idea of the town's almost unique structure and layout from the top of the palace.
Despite being billed as one of the Seven Wonders of India, Leh Palace is little visited, attracting only around 70 thousand visitors each year, the majority of them Indian. This is perhaps partly due to its remoteness and the fact that to many visitors the place would seem in a state of decline and decay despite the restorative work that has been done there.
For those, however, who prefer their history bare and their perusing unfettered by the trappings of mass tourism, Leh Palace is a little-known treasure – and most definitely has the right to be called one of India’s many marvels.
