Stongdey Monastery

Stongdey Monastery in the Zanskar region near Kargil is a Gelug-sect gompa and the second-largest monastic institution in Zanskar. Lama Marpa Lotsawa, a translator who studied under Naropa, established it in 1052. Its library holds rare Buddhist texts and commentaries that resident monks and visiting scholars study and debate, and the monastery runs programmes that teach Buddhism to people in the surrounding valley.

The assembly hall, called the Tshogs-khang, has wall paintings of deities drawn in gold on a black ground, a style particular to this monastery. Thangkas on silk showing deities and mandalas hang across the complex, and the main prayer hall holds butter sculptures. Local artisans continue to restore old religious objects and make new ones.