Shey Palace

Shey Palace

Shey Palace is about 15 Km from Leh and lies on the Leh-Manali road. The Palace locates on the top of a hillock overlooking the Shey village and a sandy trail connects the palace with the highway. There are numerous prayer wheels along the trail which suggest the existence of a monastery inside the erstwhile royal palace. Deldan Namgyal, the 6th King of Ladakh, in the memory of his father built the Shey Palace and the Shrine in 1655. It was used as a summer palace by the royal families. The protruding balconies of Shey Palace are magnificent to give you a feel like a King while standing there and posing for a camera shot! In the extreme right side of the palace there are white chortens which add beauty to the splendid view of Shey. The Palace has the largest Namgyal Chorten (victory stupa) in Ladakh, the top of which is made of pure gold. Fortress, most of which is now in ruins. A post of sentry still stands tall around the ruined fortress. The king who built the Shey Palace also built a monastery adjacent to it, which is known as “Shey Monastery”.