Hanle is a village in Ladakh, India. It is the site of the 17th century Hanle Monastery (gompa) of the "Red Hat" Tibetan Drukpa Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism and is located in the Hanle Valley on an old branch of the ancient Ladakh - Tibet trade route. The valley is home to about a thousand people, with about 300 people living in Hanle village. Sengge Namgyal died at Hanle on his return from an expedition against the Mongols who had occupied the Tibetan province of Tsang and were threatening Ladakh. Hanle is also home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory. The location of both the village and the observatory are highly sensitive due to the close proximity of the Tibetan / Chinese border and special permission is needed to visit either by the Indian Government. Fukche airport is 24 km away, and Ukdungle town is close by. India has also set up a GRT (Gamma Ray Telescope), Himalayan Chandra Telescope, of 2 m diameter at Hanle. Once complete the Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment Telescope gamma ray telescope being built here will be the world's largest telescope at the highest altitude and the second largest gamma ray telescope in the world.
