Old town lanes and Leh Palace

We start at the foot of the old town, behind Main Bazaar, where the lanes narrow and the houses lean in. Many were built from sun-dried mud brick and poplar beams in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Leh was the main trading stop between Kashmir, Tibet and Central Asia. Your guide explains how the houses work: animals on the ground floor, a winter kitchen in the middle, and a flat roof for drying apricots and storing fodder.

On the way up we stop at a bakery for kambir, the dense round bread Ladakhis eat with butter tea, and at a few restored buildings now used as studios and small galleries. The pace is set by your breathing, not the clock. At this stage of the trip, we walk slowly and pause often, and the car waits at the palace gate if anyone prefers to ride the last stretch.

Leh Palace was built for King Sengge Namgyal in the early 17th century and rises nine storeys. Much of the interior is bare, but the roof gives the best view in town: the old town below, the Shanti Stupa on its ridge, the green fields of Changspa and the snow on the Stok range to the south. We finish with tea in the bazaar. Allow two and a half hours.