Karsha Gompa Kashmir & Ladakh

At the far side of a wide plain around 2½ hours’ walk from Padum, Karsha Gompa is Zanskar’s largest Buddhist monastery. Dating to at least the 10th century, it’s a jumble of whitewashed blocks rising almost vertically up a red rock mountain cliff. Concrete steps lead to the monastery’s Dukhang Yokma prayer hall. It’s a great vantage point from which to survey Karsha village’s old-fashioned homes, barley fields and threshing circles. Karsha's monastery festival is on the 6th and 7th days of the 6th Tibetan month (normally July).