Day 03: ‘Ladakh, Living Through the Lens’ photo exhibition draws visitors at Ladakh Festival 2026

LEH: A photo exhibition documenting Ladakh’s landscapes, cultural heritage, traditions and changing way of life continued to draw local residents and tourists on the third day of the ongoing Ladakh Festival 2026 at Rang Thag in Leh.

Titled ‘Ladakh, Living Through the Lens’, the exhibition has been organised by the Department of Tourism, UT Ladakh, in association with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and Incredible India.

The exhibition was inaugurated on September 26 by Director, Tourism & Culture, UT Ladakh, Tashi Dolma, in the presence of Administrative Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Sanjeet Rodrigues, Deputy Director, Tourism & Culture, Mohd Taqi, and others.

It features a curated collection of photographs by renowned Ladakhi photographer Dorjey Kaya, whose work has documented Ladakh’s landscapes, people and cultural traditions over more than three decades.

Spanning the period from 2000 to 2026, the collection traces the changing character of Ladakh while bringing together images that reflect its enduring cultural heritage and transition into modern life.

The photographs cover a wide range of subjects, including monasteries, festivals, remote villages, the historic Silk Route, the Chadar Trek, shepherds and pastoral communities, traditional weaving, harvest seasons, rivers and Ladakh’s distinctive landscapes.

The exhibition also presents visual accounts of changing settlements, cultural practices and livelihoods, allowing visitors to view aspects of Ladakh’s history and contemporary life through the work of a local photographer.

The exhibition has provided residents, tourists and cultural enthusiasts an opportunity to engage with Ladakh’s diverse cultural and natural heritage through photography. It also draws attention to the role of visual documentation in recording traditions, landscapes and ways of life undergoing change.

Open to the public, the exhibition continues to offer visitors an opportunity to explore different facets of Ladakh through Kaya’s photographic work during the ongoing Ladakh Festival 2026.