A thousand years of painted walls
Alchi guards the Indus' south bank with the finest early-Buddhist art in the Himalaya — 11th-century murals in Kashmiri style that survived because the village lies low, off the raiders' routes. The Choskhor temple complex, apricot lanes and riverside cafés make it the cultural essential of any Sham valley day.
Plan my Alchi tripThousand-year-old paintings of breathtaking detail and colour.
Willow-shaded banks below the temple complex.
One of the Sham valley's prettiest settlements.
Combine with two more monastery citadels in a day.
April–October; murals are viewable year-round when the complex is open.
Leh → Khardung La → Pangong (day trips)
Leh → Alchi → Nubra → Pangong → Leh
Leh → Nubra → Leh → Pangong → Leh