Thankyou Amanda and Angela!  I have just discovered that Josie was actually stepping into a temple … not a ‘Gompa’ … the Hundar Gompa was actually a hundred metres below us. Sorry! It was the 14th century Lachung Temple, one of the oldest temples in the Nubra, the temple has a huge idol of Tsong-kha-pa, crowned with a Gelugpa yellow hat – it took our breathe away,

A Gompa (Tibetan: དགོན་པ།) might best be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a monastery or nunnery, and a university located in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Their design and interior details vary from region to region, however, all follow a general sacred geometrical mandala design of a central prayer hall containing a representation of Buddha or thangka, benches for the monks or nuns to engage in prayer or meditation and attached living accommodation. The siting and aspect of the Gompa, satellite buildings and grounds are founded on ancient principles of geodesic lore and environmental metaphysics. A gompa can also be just a meditation room or hall, without the attached living quarters. Meditation rooms in urban Buddhist centres are often referred to as gompas. They are a tradition in Ladakh. [this is mainly from Wiki].

A major part of travel and tourism here is visiting the different Gompas that sit along the valleys. Often they contain extraordinarily beautiful art: statues, wall paintings or thangkas – paintings on silk. They are remarkable in the way they stand high above the valley floors. From the roof of one you can usually see another up the valley.

I suppose they are a little like churches, or monasteries. They often contain displays of artefacts as well … there are always surprises! Snow Leopard skin masks … the odd human skull bowl … etc

We were seduced by Diskit Gompa in the Nubra Valley and visited it for ‘prayers’ one early morning. The Lamas (monks) were particularly welcoming and we will be supporting a young lama at the Gompa’s school.