Thak Thok Gompa

Thak Thok gompa shelters a cave in which the apostle Padmasambhava is said to have meditated during his epic eight-century journey to Tibet. Blackened over the years by sticky butter-lamp and incense smoke, the mysterious grotto is now somewhat ustaged by the monastery’s more modern wings nearby. As well as some spectacular 35-year-old wall paintings, the Urgyan Photan Du-khang harbours a collection of multicolored yak-butter candle-sculptures made by the head lama. for a glimpse of “state-of-the-art” Buddhist iconography, head to the top of Thak Thok village, where a shiny new temple houses a row of huge gleaming Buddhas, decked out in silk robes and surrounded by garish modern murals.

Apart from during the annual festival, the village of Sakti is a tranquil place, blessed with serene views south over the snowy mountains behind Hemis. Accommodation is available in the J&K Tourist Bungalow. There are also plenty of ideal camping spots beside the river, although as ever you should seek permission before putting up a tent on someone’s field. Nine buses a day leave Leh for Sakti.

The Main Temple

The main shrine here is a cave in which the apostle Padmasambhava is said to have meditated during his epic 8th century journey to Tibet. Blackened over the years by sticky but ter-lamp and incense smoke, the dark and mysterious grotto is now somewhat upstaged by the monastery's more modern wings nearby. As well as some spectacular thirty-year-old wall paintings, the Urgyan Photan Du-khang harbours a collection of multicoloured yak butter candle sculptures made by the head lama.

For a glimpse of "State of the art" Buddhist iconography, head to the top of Thak Thok village, where a shiny new temple houses a row of huge gleaming Buddhas, decked out in silk robes and surrounded by garish modern murals.

The Festivities

Apart from during the annual festivals of Thak Thok Tse Chu (9-11 of the sixth Tibetan month) and viz Thak Thok Manchog (20-29 of the ninth Tibetan month), the village itself is a tranquil place, blessed with serene views south over the snowy mountains behind Hemis.

HOW TO GET THERE

Road: Three buses a day leave Leh for Thak Thok: the first and most convenient at 10.30 am, and the last at 4.00 pm, returning at 7.00 pm.

Valley of Ladakh

The Suru Valley

Diving two of the world's most formidable mountain ranges, the Suru Valley winds south from Kargil to the desolate Pensi La the main entry point for Zanskar. 

North of Leh : Nubra Valley

Until 1994, the lands north of Leh were off limits to tourists and had been unexplored by outsiders since the nineteenth century.

Drass Valley

Drass (3230 m), 60 km west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar, is a small township lying in the centre of the valley of the same name . 

Shyok Valley

The Shyok River receives the waters of the Nubra and Changchenmo rivers. It rises from the Khumdang glacier, which can be approached from Shyok.