Project

Leh Old Town is a rare example of an intact historic Tibeto-Himalayan urban settlement. Due to the inhospitable terrain and widespread nomadic lifestyle, few urban centers ever existed on the Himalayan high plateau and almost none survive today. Led Old Town provides insight into the high mountain cultures that adapted to their severe environments for centuries. (...)

Leh Old Town is a rare example of an intact historic Tibeto-Himalayan urban settlement. Due to the inhospitable terrain and widespread nomadic lifestyle, few urban centers ever existed on the Himalayan high plateau and almost none survive today. Led Old Town provides insight into the high mountain cultures that adapted to their severe environments for centuries. A maze of alleyways, the old town consists of roughly 200 stone, mud, and timber houses inside the remaining seventeenth-century walls along with eight Buddhist temples and three mosques. The historic urban fabric exemplifies traditional Tibetan architecture with influences from the central Asian trade routes that once converged in Leh. Lachen Palkar Palace demonstrates the finest building technology and craftsmanship in Ladakh. Since 2003, Tibet Heritage Fund has carried out pilot activities in partnership with local the government within the framework of a comprehensive restoration plan. In 2010, despite these many accomplishments, flash floods devastated the region and lower Leh was severely damaged. Many people rallied around the communities in the region to assist with remedial efforts after the storm.