Thiksey Monastery
Twelve white storeys stacked on a hill, with a fifty-foot Maitreya inside.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
At the morning ceremony, around 6am
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
Thiksey was founded in the fifteenth century and belongs to the Gelugpa order, the Dalai Lama's. Its white buildings step up a hillside on twelve levels, which is why it is compared to the Potala in Lhasa.
The Maitreya temple, added in 1970 for a visit by the Dalai Lama, holds a fifteen-metre statue of the future Buddha, seated and occupying two floors. The morning ceremony, around six, is open to visitors: the monks blow the ritual horns from the roof before coming down to chant.
Getting there
Nineteen kilometres south-east of Leh, half an hour by road on the Manali highway.
What the price covers
a small entry fee, rate to be confirmed on site
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
The morning ceremony is a service, not a performance: enter quietly, sit at the back, and do not photograph the monks close up. The climb from the car park is steep and tells at three and a half thousand metres.