Although Likir now seems rather out of the way, it used to be on a major trade route which travelled via Tingmosgang, Hemis and Likir to Leh.
Sengge Namgyal (r. 1616-1642), known as the 'Lion' King made efforts to restore Ladakh to its old glory by an ambitious and energetic building program including the Leh palace and the rebuilding of several gompas, the most famous of which are Hemis and Hanle.
Hemis |
The German orientalist Max Müller corresponded with the Hemis monastery that Notovitch claimed to have visited and Archibald Douglas visited Hemis Monastery.
J. Archibald Douglas who was a professor of English and History at the Government College in Agra India then visited the Hemis monastery to interview the head lama who had corresponded with Müller and the lama again stated that Notovitch had never been there and no such documents existed.