Thiksey Monastery

Thiksey Monastery climbs a hilltop in the Indus valley about 19 km east of Leh, at 3,600 metres. Belonging to the Gelug school, it is the largest monastery in central Ladakh, and its tiers of whitewashed buildings rising up the hill are often compared to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It also has a separate complex for nuns, which has seen much recent building.

Its origins go back to the early 15th century, when Tsongkhapa sent his disciple Sherab Zangpo to Ladakh; his pupil Palden Zangpo later founded the present monastery, legend says on the spot where two crows carried a ritual offering. The twelve-storey complex holds stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords. Its highlight is the Maitreya Temple, built to mark the Dalai Lama's visit in 1970, with a 15-metre statue of the future Buddha, the largest in Ladakh, rising through two floors.