Shey Gompa and Shey Palace

Shey, located in the upper Indus Valley, is about 15 Kms east of Leh. The Gompa and Palace sit on top of a hillock off the Leh-Manali highway.

Shey Gompa

The monastery was built in 1655 by King Deldon Namgyal in memory of his father, Singay Namgyal.

Shey Gompa

Chorten at the base of the hill

Shey Gompa

The main idol inside the Gompa is that of Buddha Shakyamuni (The Awakened One of the Shakya Clan). This is the second largest Buddha statue in Ladakh.

Buddha Shakyamuni (12m high)

Chorten within the temple complex

Shey Palace

The palace was built more than 500 years ago by King Lhachen Palgyigon.

View of the Fort from the Gompa

Shey was the old capital of the upper Ladakh region. In 1842, when the Dogras of Jammu invaded Ladakh, the Namgyals abandoned the palace and fled to Stok on the other side of the Indus River.

Shey Palace roof

View of the valley

View of the sunset from the palace roof

Shey

4 Responses to Shey Gompa and Shey Palace

Angchuk October 3, 2010 at 3:35 pm #

Nice pics and a good writeup.

One of my best places for solitude and to offer some prayer.

- Madhu October 3, 2010 at 4:25 pm #
  
  Thanks a lot, Angchuk!
  Yup … Shey is a really nice place to stay for couple of nights and get away from the madness in Leh 🙂
  Cheers!
  
Ashwin Bahulkar April 21, 2011 at 3:13 pm #

went through all your routes in the last couple of days..you have really convinced me to stay at shey.
So were there any homestays or guesthouses at shey(not fancy ones)?

- 10 Year Itch April 22, 2011 at 7:50 am #
  
  Hi Ashwin,
  Welcome to our blog. I’d recommend staying at Shey esp if you want to explore the region south of Leh. We had stayed at Whispering Willows. Here is the link to our review http://10yearitch.com/hotel-reviews/hotel-reviews-whispering-willows-shey-ladakh-jk/
  
  I am no sure but there could be homestays in the region. Check with Snow Leopard.
  
  Cheers,
  Madhu