Leh - the capital of the Himalayan principality of Ladakh, now the center of the district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The former palace of the rulers of Ladakh, Lech Palace, which is now in ruins, resembles a reduced copy of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The city is located at an altitude of about 3500 meters above sea level.

Lech is located in the valley of the upper Indus, which separates the Himalayas in the south and Karakorum in the north. The climate is sharply continental. 90 mm of precipitation falls annually. The temperature varies from -28 ° C in winter to 33 ° C in summer. Winter lasts from October to early March, most of the time the temperature stays below zero. Lech is connected by highway to the capital, Srinagar (434 km) and Manali (473 km). Both are closed in winter.