Rangdum Monastery
While travelling from Kargil to Panikar and Parkutse, the first Buddhist monastery that presents itself before the tourists is Rangdum. Positioned at the top of the mountain outcropping of rocks, Rangdum Monastery is only a few miles from the small town or rather village of Rangdum. With a stream running around it like a moat, the structure of the monastery gives more of an impression of an ancient fort that towers over and safeguards a valley.

The history of the monastery is not very clear and there seems to be a bit of disagreement as regards its foundation in the 8th century. More consensus is gathered for 18th century. Also, what is clear is that the monastery was founded by the Gelukpa order.

The highlight of the monastery is its central prayer hall with a wonderful collection of statues and art objects. Two tiny hamlets, Yuldo and Tashi-Tongze, spread on either side of the monastery. The hamlets are surrounded by rows of chortens.

The monastery, home to around 40 monks, owns the land all around, pastures and even the hills and streams. The ownership is permanent as such the people who reside in the vicinity of the monastery have to work and till the land that does not directly belong to them.

Sani Monastery
As per beliefs, the base of Sani Monastery was laid in the 2nd century during the reign of the great Kushan king, Kanishka. This belief finds strength from the presence of the Kanika stupa which still stands in the backyard of the Sani Monastery complex. It is further believed that Sani is one of the eight holy Buddhist site in the world which was the reason why the eminent personalities associated with the Himalayan Buddhism like Padma Sambhava, Naropa and Marpa, all paid a visit to Sani.

Apart from the Kanika stupa, the main building consisting of a large multi-columned central prayer hall, is also an attraction of Sani Monastery. The prayer hall displays a number of different types of statues of popular Buddhists divinities and 'Drugpa' (Old Schools) saints. The walls of the hall, constructed in the 17th century, are adorned with frescoes and thankas.

However, it is a small and not so well looked after chapel at the back of the main building, that preserves the best frescoes and stucco murals. These depict landscapes as well as floral designs with the life of Padmasambhava as theme.

The Kanika stupa is considered the place where the much renowned Indian yogi hailing from Vikramshila sat in meditation. This yogi, Naropa, today has veiled bronze figure of his placed in the room constructed just below the stupa. The statue is unmasked only once a year during the two day festival.

Immediately outside the walls of the monastery complex, lies an old cemetry which is considered one amongst the eight most important cremation ground for Tibetan Buddhists. The cemetry is a wonderful example ancient rock carving.

This monastery is located at a distance of 6 km from the town of Padum.

Tonde Monastery
The monastery located in the Tonde village is known as the Marpa Ling Monastery. It orginally belonged to the Red Hat Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism, however, later it converted to the Yellow Hat or the Gelukpa sect. The monastery towers over a village enroute to the Ronde Pass and houses around 50 monks.

Zangla Monastery
At a distance of around 35 km from Padum, Zangla was the erstwhile seat of the Zanskar kingdom. The old castle of Zangla, located atop a hill, that once housed the royal family is now in ruins, however what still remains is a small chapel overlooking the quiet valley. In close vicinity is a nunnery where you can witness the simple and regulated life that the nuns lead.

Proceeding from the village of Zangla on the road to Stongdey, an old monastery in the village of Tsa Zar is worth a visit. There are some beautiful fresoces preserved in this monastery that make for an interesting sight.

Chemrey Monastery
40 km south of Leh, in the valley of Chemrey, a monastery by the same name sits on a rocky mound among the dry mountain tops of the Himalayas. Though the area is an unclean desert, cultivated terraced fields can be seen around the monastery. According to the widely accepted history of the monastery, it was founded by the great lama Stagtsang Raspa under the aegis of Sengye Namgyal. However, a renowned professor, Luciano Petech, differs a bit. As per him, the monastery was actually constructed between 1644-46 as a memorial to Sengye Namgyal after he died.

Presently, the monastery appearing more like a medieval European castle from the rear, is home to around 120 lamas of the Red Hat sect. Also, since, Chemrey was founded by the same lama who laid the foundation of Hemis, the head lama of the two monastery is one and the same person.

Diskit & Hundur Monastery
The gompa of Diskit, located atop a hill, was constructed by Changzem Tserab Zangpo, a student of Tsong-kha-pa in the first half of the 15th century. As per a legend, a demon was assassinated quiet close to the gompa but even after his death, his body kept on coming back to the gompa. Today, the gompa still preserves, what is widely believed to be the head and hand of the demon. Both the body part are seen in the hand of a fat image of a protector deity that stands in the mysterious and frightening Gon-khang along with images of other fierce gods and goddesses.

Moving upwards, you will reach the tiny Lachung temple. The temple, believed to be the oldest one here, houses a huge Tsong-kha-pa statue wearing a Geluk-pa yellow hat. Right infront of the statue are mural that have been damaged by soots. Murals can also be seen in the du-khang where the Panchen Lama of Tibet's Tashilhunpo Gompa is presented welcoming a long stream of guest approaching on camels, horses and carts.

Two more temples, the Kangyu-Lang & Tsangyu-Lang Temples are also worth visiting in the gompa. The two temple preserve a number of Mongolian and Tibetan texts beautifully rolled in colourful red and yellow silk.

A fantastic view of the surrounding areas - Sumur, Kobet peak and Hundur - is gained from the rooftop outside the Gonkhang.

The village of Hundur lies at a distance of 7 km from Diskit and is the farthest point open for tourists in this part of Nubra valley. Two monasteries, one generally locked and other in ruins, are found in this small village.

Shey Monastery
In 1645, Deldon Namgyal erected the Shey Palace 15 km south of Leh, on a hillock. This palace served as the summer residence of the king of Ladakh. A decade later, in 1655, he laid the foundation of the Shey gompa in memory of his father, king Singye Namgyal just adjacent to the palace.

A library stocked with a number of books occupies the lower storey of the gompa. The walls here are adorned with murals of Buddha with different hand gestures - preaching, teaching, blessing and "earth witness".

The central courtyard is located on the second storey. On its right side a room houses a 12 m high statue of Buddha. The statue is made up of copper and gilded with gold. The statue of Buddha was installed at the time the gompa was built and remained the largest one untill Thiksey Monastery set up a 15 m high clay statue of Buddha.

A statue of Padmasambhava, with Dogzang Guru Limbune on either side, stands on the right side of Buddha. Right infront of Buddha a large bowl of wax with a central flame, representive of divinity and purity, continues to burn for complete one year before being replaced by another one. To the right side is the a statue of a blue horseman, Paldan Lamo and to the left is a statue of the red horseman of Chakmen, representing the king of Ladakh.

Murals on the walls depict the 16 Arhats (Worthy Ones who have achieved Nirvana), 8 on each side; two famous disciples of Buddha and Tsong-kha-pa, founder of the Yellow Hat sect of Buddhism.

Currently, only two lamas reside in the Shey gompa and are responsible for its upkeep.

Stongdey Monastery
From Padum, a journey of 18 km on the road to Zangla, leads up to the Stongdey monastery. Perched on a rocky outcrop, the monastery towers over the village below. Stongdey holds the distinction of being the second largest monastery in the Zanskar valley with around 60 residing monks of the Gelukpa order. The significance of the monastery also lies in it being associated with the Tibetan yogi Marpa.

The complex of the monastery consists of a number of temples, each of which throws open a wealth of Buddhist relics for you to see and admire. Of special mention in this monastery is the Gon-khang, a temple dedicated to the guardian divinities of Buddhism.

Reaching the Stongdey monastery can be bit tiring since you need to walk uphill on foot for about four hours. However, once atop, you will completely enjoy the spectacular scenery of the valley around.

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