Alchi Monastery

Alchi Monastery, also called Alchi Choskor, is a Buddhist temple complex in the village of Alchi beside the Indus, about 65 km west of Leh in Ladakh. Alchi Monastery holds some of the oldest surviving Buddhist wall paintings in the region, in a colourful Kashmiri style, and is one of the most precious sites in Ladakh.

Local tradition links Alchi Monastery to the great translator Rinchen Zangpo, while many scholars date its founding to around the 11th to 12th century. Unlike most Ladakhi monasteries, it sits on low ground in a village rather than on a hilltop. Alchi is no longer an active monastery with a large community of monks; it is looked after by Likir Monastery. Its small temples, including the three-storey Sumtsek and the Dukhang assembly hall, hold wall paintings of mandalas, Buddhas and court life, along with fine woodcarving and large clay statues. Photography is not allowed inside the temples, which helps protect the fragile paintings.

What to see

• The Sumtsek, a three-storey temple with giant clay statues
• The painted mandalas in the Dukhang
• Carved wooden doorways in a Kashmiri style
• Chortens with painted interiors
• Alchi village, its apricot orchards and the Indus

What to wear

Alchi is a sacred site, so dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, remove shoes before temples, and speak quietly. The temples are dark inside; a small torch helps, though flash is not allowed. Alchi is lower and warmer than Leh, so a sun hat and sunscreen matter. Ladakhis traditionally wear the goncha, a long woollen robe tied with a sash.

Local food to try

Alchi village has cafes and garden restaurants serving thukpa noodle soup, skyu (a hearty stew of thumb-pressed wheat pasta and vegetables), momos, khambir flatbread with apricot jam, and salty butter tea. In July and August, look for fresh apricots, and apricot jam and dried apricots year round. Vegetarian food is the norm.

Good to know

• Best from May to October in the morning
• Open daily, morning to evening
• Small entry fee payable at the gate
• Allow 1 to 1.5 hours
• About 65 km west of Leh, 1.5 to 2 hours by road
• No photography inside the temples

Nearby places

Alchi is usually combined with Likir Monastery, about 20 km east. On the way back to Leh, stop at the Indus and Zanskar Sangam and Magnetic Hill.