Culture of Ladakh has been considerably influenced by the Buddhist too. The religious diversifications have enriched Ladakh with different cultures and developed distinctive forms of the parent culture. This seems to have come about due to a unifying and centralizing tendency in religion and partly because of the line of kings and the ancient Tibetan dynasty who ruled Ladakh. Religious painting is a living tradition of Ladakh. Every gesture of the paintings has a symbolic meaning which has no room for individual interpretation. There is equivalence about the murals in almost all the Gompas. The artifacts evoke an awe inspiring effect to the people who envision them.

One of the most important forms of art and culture of Ladakh is the `thangkas`. It is a devotional painting on cloth, a kind of Buddhist icon made with repeating the same motifs endlessly. Besides these the carpets came from Yarkand and Tibet; decorative metal-ware from Yarkand and elsewhere in central Asia; brocades and other kinds of silk from China; and fine shawls from Kashmir are also included among the art and crafts of Ladakh.

Traditionally, every household of Ladakh spun and wove its own woolen cloth which exists even today in the villages. Ladakh`s most famous product is the warm soft winter under-coat of the pashmina goat known as `shawl-wool`. Carpets are manufactured according to the Tibetan technique. The embroidery on the carpets involves crewel-work, stylized flower patterns, Tibetan-style geometrical borders.

The Ladakhi people are brilliant in dance, music and literature. Ladakh was exposed to cultural influences other than those of Tibetan Buddhism. The religious dance-dramas performed in the `Gompas` is an import from Tibet. The social dance of Ladakh is a different form of art. The beauty of the Ladakhi dance is that it is a living tradition. It remains an important part of every Ladakhi Buddhist`s training in the social graces. With the music of Ladakh there is a clear division between the religious and the secular traditions. The gompa music which is used in worship and as an accompaniment to the dance-dramas follows Tibetan forms. The instrument used is a horn which has to be supported at the bell end in a loop of cloth carried by an acolyte. The other form of instrumental music which is performed in public and ceremonial occasions involves the `surna` and `daman`.

The masterly form of Ladakhi music is called `lha-rnga`, or music of the gods which played at the beginning of any auspicious occasion such as sowing or the arrival of spring and also when serving food to incarnate lamas or to aristocratic people. This music consists of 360 tunes. There are musical forms meant for every ceremonial occasion: a form for the arrival of dignitaries and one for their departure; getting rid of evil men; special music for polo, rising accelerando crescendo when a goal is scored and so on. The Hemis monastery is a centre for an annual masked dance festival. The dances typically narrate a story of fight between good and evil and the war ends with the eventual victory of the almighty. The blend of dance music and song that went into the Ketuk-chenmo festival is the essence of Ladakh`s popular culture. Ladakh Harvest Festival, Sindhu Darshan, Losar Festival, Dosmoche Festival, Hemis Festival are also celebrated with great enthusiasm and delectation.

The architectural ethnicity has been enriched with a composite culture. The environmental conditions also played an important role for creating the architectural monuments that prevail in Ladakh. The Leh Palace and the Gompas, for example, belong to the same architectural tradition as the Potala. Similarly, the `goncha`, is certainly a variant of the Tibetan `chuba`. The beautiful monasteries scattered in Ladakh like the Thiksey Monastery, Alchi Gompa, Spituk Monastery, Phugtal Gompa, Phiyang monastery and Lamayuru monastery are worth the appraisal of the visitors.

The predominant feature of Ladakh`s instrumental music is its beat which seems to be derived from its exposure to traditions originating in the Islamic world. The folk-verse has no fixed forms, though it does have a strong sense of rhythm. The imagery is rich and powerful and much of it relates to the sun.

The great dish of Ladakh called `haute cuisine` shows traces of Chinese influence. This cuisine relies largely on noodles and meat-filled dumplings. Ladakh is also fructified with the tradition of Tibetan medicine. This traditional healing system involves the elements of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine along with the philosophy and cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism. This traditional healing system of has revolutionized Ladakh`s culture and separated it from the cultures of other regions.

The culture of Ladakh enriches the tradition with art, songs, paintings, oral and written literature. Buddhist festivals that are celebrated in Ladakh with great enthusiasm and joy are an important feature of Ladakh culture.