Dhankar Gompa

Dhankar Gompa is perched atop a rocky spur overlooking the meeting of the Spiti and Pin Rivers high in the Himalayas in the extreme north of India. The fort monastery is located right above the settlement of Dhankar, which served as the former capital of the Spiti Valley Kingdom and is surrounded by notable peaks and lunar-like scenery. The whitewashed walls of the monastery, which is thought to be over a thousand years old, are home to some exquisite courtyards and ceremonial rooms, with its stunning statue of Vairocana serving as one of the primary features. It also offers breathtaking views of the valley, rivers, and mountains that surround it.

In the little town of Shichilling, which is located under the Gompa, you'll find the brand-new Dhankar Monastery, which is home to 150 Gelug school monks. In addition to the surrounding bleak, lunar terrain, Dhankar Gompa is home to several crumbling thangkas and a statue of Vairocana that is made up of four figures sitting back-to-back. In the gompa, there is a little museum. Dhankar Gompa was named one of the top 100 most endangered sites in the world in 2006 by the World Monuments Fund. Dhangkar Initiative, a nonprofit organization, is striving to coordinate its conservation. A motorable road, suitable mainly for small vehicles, diverges from the main Kaza-Samdu route for Dhankar at a location about 24 kilometers from Kaza.

Location: Himachal Pradesh, India