Stakna Monastery

Location: Approximately 25 km from Leh Belongs To: Dugpa order Founded By: Chosje Jamyang Palkar Founded In: 16th Century

The gompa at Stakna, meaning 'Tiger's Nose', is set spectacularly on the Hemis side of the Indus River. The monastery was so named because it was built on a hill, which is shaped just like a tiger's nose. Stakna Monastery owes its inception to Choje Jamyang Palkar, the great scholar saint of Bhutan. It formed a part of the many religious estates offered by King Jamyang Namgyal to the saint, around 1580 AD.

The central image inside the monastery is that of the sacred Arya Avalokitesvara from Kamrup (Assam). The successive reincarnations of the Stakna Rinpoche continue to serve as the incumbents of the monastery, preserving the teachings of the Drukpa Lineage. Stakna Monastery also has a number of branch monasteries, namely Mud and Kharu and those of Stakrimo, Bardan and Sani in Zanskar.