Located to the North of the Indus River on a hilltop, less than 20km from Leh town, Thiksey Monastery built in 1430 AD belongs to the Gelukpa Order of Buddhism. Lakhang Nyerma a Temple dedicated to Goddess Dorje Chenmo is within the Thiksey monastery. Apart from Lakhang Nyerma there are a few more shrines inside the monastery complex. Thiksey Gompa hosts the Gustor ritual, organized from the 17th to 19th day of September. Celebrated on an annual basis the sacred mask dance is also performed during the Gustor ritual. The Maitreya Buddha statue here is probably the most photographed statue of the Buddha of the future! The 15 m (49 ft) magnificent high statue took over 4 years to craft.
In the 15th Century, the founder of the Gelug School (“the Yellow Hats”), Je Tsongkhapa, sent six disciples to spread the message of his teachings in remotest areas of Tibet. As part of this exercise, one of his disciples instituted a little monastery in Stagmo. Nearly half a century later, it was decided to set up a bigger complex.
When performing the prayers at the place of the new monastery – some crows grabbed the Torma offerings, meant to be spread across the valley as peace offerings. Searching for the torma, the monks found it on the opposite side of the valley, placed perfectly in Thiksey. The name of the village, coincidently, means – a perfect order. Thus, the monastery was set up here and named the same as the village.
