Small but visually impressive, the 1618 Stakna Gompa crowns a rocky outcrop across the Indus. Off the small central courtyard are four rooms with vivid new Tantric murals. Behind the main prayer hall, smaller subshrines retain 400-year-old sandalwood statues, original frescoes and statuettes of the founding Bhutanese lamas. From Km449 on the Leh–Thiksey road, it's 800m on foot, double if you wind up the access road. Either way you'll cross a narrow suspension bridge (wide enough for small taxi-vans).
