Exploring monasteries of Zanskar

A monastery or gompa means ‘solitary place’ and Zanskar sure has no dearth of places like that. Due to the lack of flat ground, often monasteries are built on a slope or spur; they rise tier upon tier and look quite pretty as whitewashed structures amid the barrenness, which is a customary of Ladakh, Zanskar. Since time immemorial, Zanskar, as a region is part of the bigger province of Ladakh.
Once inside, they are typically rooms connected by dark lanes, which lead to principal places of worship—the Lha-Khang and Du-Khang (prayer halls.) The dwelling of Rinpoche (or head lama) is usually at the top. Buddhist monasteries are living places of worship and occupy a vital part in the daily life of Ladakh and Zanskar.

A monastery may be affiliated to one of the Buddhist sects, mostly Kargyud and Gelugpa. Walls of the monasteries are painted with murals that depict the life of the Buddha and various incarnations such as Padmasambhava, Sakyamuni. You might find a huge statue of the Buddha along with many Bodhisattvas (small clay and metal idols of Buddha) in these monasteries. The wheel of life is depicted in the form of mandalas on the walls of the monastery. Some monasteries also have a gon-khang, which is a separate room for tantric masks.