Phyang Monastery

Phyang Monastery, known locally as Gangon Tashi Chodzong, stands in Phyang village, 15 or 16 kilometres west of Leh. The name refers to Gang Ngonpo, the blue mountain, meaning the hill behind it. One tradition says the site was among lands given to Chosje Damma Kunga in the time of Jamyang Namgyal and that the monastery was set up in 1515, bringing the Drikung teachings to Ladakh; another credits King Tashi Namgyal. It is one of the earliest Drikung Kagyu monasteries in Ladakh, and its head lama is the current reincarnation of Skyabje Toldan Rinpoche.

Inside are many shrines and frescoes from the royal period, and a museum said to be 900 years old holds idols, including Kashmiri bronzes probably of the 14th century, along with thangkas and Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolian weapons. The Gang-Sngon Tsedup festival runs from the 17th to the 19th day of the first Tibetan month, and sacred dances are held on the 2nd and 3rd days of the sixth month.