Hemis Gompa

A relatively new addition to the rocky skyline around Leh is the toothpaste white Shanti Stupa above Changspa village, 3km west of the bazaar. Inaugurated in 1983 by the Dalai Lama, the "Peace Pagoda", whose sides are decorated with gilt panels depicting episodes from the life of the Buddha, is one of several such monuments erected around India by a "Peace Sect" of Japanese Buddhists. The Stupa is a vintage point to enjoy the wondrous views of the exotic locales of Leh.

The Dusky Beauty
The site of the Stupa is particularly atmospheric at dusk, when the drums played at evening Puja seem to set the pace of growing shadows as the sun sinks behind the mountains in the west.

How to Get there
.. By Road
The Shanti Stupa can be reached by car, or on foot via a steep flight of five hundred steps, which winds up the ridge from the end of Changspa lane.