After the teachings I headed to Stondge (pronounced Ton-day) Gompa, which has to be the coolest monastery in all of Ladakh and Zanskar. It sits high atop a ridge in a surreally beautiful mountain range and has the most spectacular views of Zanskar I’ve seen. Like Karsha Monastery, Stondge belongs to the Gelugpa (yellow hat) sect and was founded in the 11th century. This place is a gem, full of interesting rooms and artifacts, and the energy positively great. A sacred site indeed. I stayed in the room of Lotus Gyatso, a warrior of a monk, and was the only foreigner around…thank goodness! After the masses of people at the Dalai Lama’s teachings I needed to be in a quiet place like this, alone. It was a very good day for me.
