STONGDEY MONASTERY

STONGDEY Monastery is my all time favorite in the entire Zanskar Valley. STONGDEY is located at a distance of 18 kms north of PADUM on the PADUM – STONGDEY – ZANGLA road. Resembling Tibetan style of architecture, the white washed Stongdey monastery complex is strategically perched on the top of a rocky cliff in the backdrop of towering mountains. The monastery balcony offers the most mesmerizing & a stupendous 180 deg. view of the entire valley stretching from PADUM on the left side to the road converging to ZANGLA on the right side. KARSHA village & monastery can also be seen diagonally on the left side. The monastery perched on a massive hillock offers an aerial view of the village below nestled cozily in the vast valley. This is the place where you can feel that time comes to a stop. The sight is a complete mind healing experience to a tired & a weary soul. Spend some time gazing at the endless valley

The approach road to the STONGDEY monastery is much farther to the monastery. As you approach, you can see the towering monastery perched on a hillock. But you would have to drive one kilometer well past the monastery, when you will find a right turn. Although the road is steep, it is tarred & quite good till the top. There is a facility of accommodation for tourists at Stongdey.

HISTORY

The Monastery was instituted in 1052 by the famous translator Lama Marpa Lotsawa (1012-1097), a disciple of Naropa. It was taken over by the Gelugpa about four centuries later and became dedicated to Je Tsongkhapa.

The Stongdey Monastery is the second largest monastic institution in Zanskar housing a community of about 60 Gelukpa monks. Stongday houses seven temples in the monastery and Tshogs-khang is decorated with the paintings of the deities. Apart from a number of shrines in the monastery, you can also see images of Buddha, the ancient murals, thangkas and religious scriptures displayed to view. Visit the monastery during the GUSTOR FESTIVAL which is hosted annually to experience the culture of the ZANSKAR region. 

FESTIVALS

The Gustor Festival is hosted on the 28th and 29th day of the eleventh month of the Tibetan calendar every year.