Leh Ladakh itinerary for 3 days: what to see, in what order

A nine-storey palace of mud brick and timber, built in the 1600s for the kings of Ladakh. It stands on the rock above the old town and looks a little like the Potala in Lhasa. Inside are dark old rooms, a small prayer hall and a roof with a wide view over Leh.

A small monastery and an old fort on the peak above Leh Palace, strung with prayer flags. It was built in the 1400s and holds a large golden Maitreya Buddha. The view from the top takes in the whole Leh valley.

A museum built by the Indian Army in memory of soldiers who died defending Ladakh. It covers the wars of 1947, 1962, 1971 and Kargil in 1999, life on the Siachen glacier, and Ladakh's people and wildlife. Captured weapons and a memorial wall stand outside.

A monastery of the Gelugpa order on a rock above the Indus, at the end of the airport runway. It was founded in the 1000s. The temple at the top holds a statue of the goddess Kali whose face is shown only once a year, at the Gustor festival in winter.

A Sikh shrine on the Srinagar highway, about 25 km from Leh, looked after by the Indian Army. It honours Guru Nanak, who is said to have meditated here. A boulder inside carries what is believed to be the imprint of his back.

A short stretch of the Srinagar highway where a car left in neutral seems to roll uphill. It is an optical illusion: the shape of the land hides a gentle downhill slope. A yellow sign and a painted box on the road mark the spot.

The point near Nimmu where the Zanskar river meets the Indus. In summer the green-blue Indus and the muddy brown Zanskar run side by side for a while before they mix. In deep winter the Zanskar freezes into the Chadar ice trek.

A white dome on a hill above Changspa, built by Japanese and Ladakhi Buddhists and opened by the Dalai Lama in 1991. It holds relics of the Buddha. From the terrace you see Leh Palace, the town and the snow on the Stok range.

A twelve-storey monastery that climbs a hill above the Indus, 19 km from Leh, with red and white buildings stacked up the slope. Its Maitreya temple holds a seated Buddha about 15 m tall. It is the most photographed monastery in Ladakh.

The largest and richest monastery in Ladakh, hidden in a side valley 45 km from Leh. It was founded in 1672. A big courtyard holds the masked dance of the Hemis festival each summer, and the museum keeps thangkas, statues and old costumes.

A small monastery on a rock shaped like a tiger's nose, standing alone in the Indus plain across the river from the main road. It is quieter than Thiksey and Hemis, with old paintings and a view up and down the valley.

The old summer palace of the kings of Ladakh, on a rock 15 km south of Leh. Its temple holds a copper and gold statue of the seated Buddha, two storeys high. Rows of white chortens run across the plain below.

One of the highest road passes in India, about 5,360 m up, on the way from Leh to Pangong. The top has prayer flags, a small temple, an army tea point and snow for much of the year.

A long, narrow salt-water lake at about 4,250 m, 134 km long, with about a third in India and the rest in Tibet. Its water changes from turquoise to deep blue as the light moves. The end scene of 3 Idiots was shot near Lukung.