Tayul Gompa/Monastery | Stingri | Lahaul Valley

Tayul Monastery, located above the town of Stingri on the Manali-Leh route beyond Keylong, features a massive statue of Padmasambhava. This gompa holds Kangyur’s entire library. In addition, the gompa contains several thangkas depicting various incidents from Lord Buddha’s life.

Tayul Gompa translates to Ta-Yul, which means “selected location” in Tibetan. It is one of Lahaul’s oldest Drukpa (Red Hat sect) monasteries. According to legend, this monastery was built in the early 17th century by Rinchen Lama of Tibet’s Kham area.

There is a walking route that leads to this monastery and passes past beautiful potato and pea farms. It is a nearly hour-long uphill walk with juniper trees spreading as you approach the monastery and a line of ancient shortens with spectacular views of the mountain from the other side.

On top, there is a chomo (female monk) gompa, and close is a beautiful monastery with historic mud and stone architecture. Tayul Monastery is not a large monastery, but it is well-located and attractive, with brilliantly coloured doors and windows.