Stakna Monastery, erected on a 60 m high isolated rock, is at
Stakna in
Leh District of
Jammu and Kashmir. It is few km upstream from
Thiksey. The monastery was built in the year 1580 by a great scholar saint Chosje Jamyang Palkar, the step brother of King Singge Namgyal, during the reign of King Jamyang Namgyal. He was a member of the Drukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Located on the left bank of the Indus, the Gompa, on top of a mountain, is shaped like a tiger leaping up towards the sky, with the monastery itself perched on the nose. Thus it is also known by the name 'Tiger's Nose Monastery.' The significance of the monastery lies in its marble statue of
Avalokitesvara brought from Assam. There is a small museum that displays an interesting collection of armory and arms.
This small monastery houses about 35 lamas of the red-hat sect of Buddhism. The monastery consists of the head lama's private apartment, a Dukhang (main temple and assembly hall) and the rooms of the lamas and their attendants. The paintings on the walls are worth seeing. The three statues of the Past, Present and Future Maitreya Buddha are on the right of the Dukhang. The monasteries at Mud and Kharu and those of Stakrimo, Bardan and Sani in Zanskar are the monasteries attached to Stakna.
Stakna is on the way to Stok and Hemis. Leh is at a distance of 25 km. Regular buses pass by here. From the road, it is a 30 min walk up a steep hill.
