Lehwas the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh now the Leh District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir India. Leh with an area of 45110 km2 is the second largest district in the country (after Kutch Gujarat) in terms of area. The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace. Leh is at an altitude of 3524 meters (11562 ft). National Highway 1D connects it to Srinagar in the northwest. Leh was for centuries an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east Kashmir to the west and also between India and China.
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