In July 1679, the Ganden Phodrang government in Central Tibet launched a war against Ladakh. The operation was led by Ganden Tsewang (1644-1697), a Mongol prince, grandson of the Gushri Khan (1582-1655) who had conquered Eastern and Central Tibet some decades earlier through a series of military campaigns on behalf of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682). After a four-year military stalemate, Ladakh eventually succeeded in pushing back the Tibetan/Mongol armies with the help of Mughal forces from Kashmir. In this paper I take a close look at the origins of the war, attempting to use a broad range of sources, and drawing on my research on the Drukpa heritage in Ladakh. I address five main themes: • the political and religious situation in Ladakh and the wider western Himalayan region of Ngari before the war, and the claims that its rulers were sectarian; • developments in Central Tibet leading up to the war, and the Ganden Phodrang’s attempts to establish Gelug hegemony; • the Bhutan question and the ‘threat’ that the Drukpa overall posed to the Ganden Phodrang; • possible economic motives for the war; and • the aftermath of the war. By addressing these themes, I hope to show that the generally accepted reasons for the attack are inadequate, and to present a more nuanced view of the complex political and religious powerplay that contributed to the conflict. In particular, I present a more balanced view of the Ladakhi monarchy and its relationship with the various religious schools prevailing in the Himalayas.