Stok Palace Heritage Hotel

Top choice in Ladakh


How often do you get the chance to bed down in a genuine, functioning Himalayan royal palace? The six suites of old rooms here have been stylishly redecorated with modern bathrooms, but maintain plenty of traditional design features, while the remarkable 'Queen's Room' (single/double ₹20,400/23,600) retains brooding 200-year-old original murals. You might even get to have tea or dine with the king during your stay.

There's also a trio of exclusive, modern Ladakhi-style cottages in the Chulli Bagh (Apricot Garden) in the village below. Each cottage has two bedrooms with a shared lounge and there's underfloor heated bathrooms and bukhari wood stoves for winter heating (open year-round).

The manager can arrange a heritage village walk, mountain biking, an overnight retreat at the Gotsampa Hermitage behind Hemis Monastery, and even a meeting with a local oracle.

All rates are half board and include 28% tax. Discounts of 10% May and June.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ladakh attractions

1. Stok Palace

This stately three-storey edifice was built in 1820 by King Tsepal Namgyal – a good investment, it turned out, since 14 years later his larger main palace…

2. Stok Abagon

0.1 MILES

Across from Stok Palace, a short alley leads to the 350-year-old Stok Abagon, the decrepit former home of the royal physician, with a few dusty displays…

3. Stok Gompa

0.63 MILES

Around 2km south of the palace, Stok's small monastery has some crumbling old stupas, but the dominant feature, 200m above, is its huge 21m-tall gilded…

4. Gyab-Thago Heritage House

0.82 MILES

Over 200 years old, this beautifully preserved traditional house has been in the same family for six generations. Used until 2001, it remains almost fully…

5. Spituk Gompa

3.84 MILES

Founded in the late 14th century as See-Thub (Exemplary) Monastery, impressive Spituk Gompa surveys the Sengye Tsangpo (Indus) Valley, with surreal views…

6. Hall of Fame

4.57 MILES

Two rooms of this extensive, well-presented museum look at Ladakhi history and culture. But mostly it commemorates the Indian Army's role in Ladakh, from…

7. Royal Palace Temple

4.84 MILES

The greatest attraction in Shey's palace complex is the royal temple, with its splendid 17th-century Buddha statue. The highly revered 7.5m-tall gilded…

8. Royal Palace

4.85 MILES

Along the top of Shey's ridge, a series of fortress ruins bracket the three-storey, 17th-century Royal Palace, which has enjoyed a wholesale…