Shey Palace and Monastery

Shey Palace and Monastery stand on a hillock at Shey, 15 km from Leh on the Leh–Manali road, in the upper Indus valley at about 3,415 metres. Shey was once the summer capital of Ladakh and the old capital of upper Ladakh. The first palace, now in ruins, was built in the 10th century by Lhachen Palgyigon, king of what was then called Maryul. The present palace and monastery were raised below it in 1655 on Deldan Namgyal's orders, in memory of Sengge Namgyal, his father.

The monastery is known for its huge seated Shakyamuni Buddha of gilded copper, said to rank second in size among Ladakh's statues of its kind. The Namgyals abandoned the palace for Stok when the Dogras invaded in 1842, though heirs to the throne were still required to be born at Shey. Shey lies on the road to Thiksey, lined with monasteries, stupas and rock carvings, and can also be reached on foot from Thiksey, about 4 km, across wide fields of whitewashed chortens.